Indigenous Knowledge and Australian Heritage (KNL2001)
Semester 1, Semester 2 / 2012

Description

A course on managing and recording Indigenous knowledge should provide a comprehensive understanding of traditional knowledge systems related to the environment, technology and science, language and communication, survival skills, artefacts and weapons, economics, kinship and social organisation. Essentially the course will present an overview of elements of traditional Indigenous knowledge, how it is used and how it has survived change and the processes we need to follow to manage it, and to record it. The course will endeavour to explain the importance of knowledge to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and societies to the learner. It will illustrate the need to record and manage the knowledge of different groups to document such knowledge. In this course, students should gain knowledge and understanding of: The structure and influence of knowledge, communication and language globally, and in Indigenous and non-indigenous societies, and how knowledge can be utilised and managed; The importance of oral history and traditions and their relationship to nature, the customs and behaviours of Australian Indigenous societies and cultures; Indigenous intellectual property rights and copyright, Government legislation and policy formulation in relation to Australia Indigenous societies and cultures; Cultural Heritage and Native Title Legislation - implications for Indigenous Australian peoples; Research ethics in Indigenous contexts.

Assessment

"Compare and Contrast" task: 30%; Essay: 40%; Essay & Reflection: 30%.

Supplementary Texts

Abdullah, J and Stringer, E 1997, Indigenous knowledge, indigenous learning, indigenous research, Curtin University Indigenous Research Centre, Perth.

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 2000, Guidelines for Ethical Research in Indigenous Studies,

(May, Canberra)

McDonald, I 1999, Indigenous arts and copyright: a practical guide, Australian Copyright Council, Redfern, NSW.

Sefa Dei, GL, Hall, BL and Rosenberg, DG (Eds) 2000, Indigenous knowledges in global contexts: multiple readings of our world, University of Toronto Press, Toronto.

Semali, LM & Kincheloe, JL (Eds) 1999, What is Indigenous knowledge?: Voices from the academy, Falmer Press, New York.

Williams, NM 1998, Intellectual property and aboriginal environmental knowledge, Northern Territory University, Darwin.

(Centre for Indigenous Natural and Cultural Resource Management)

Other Details

Semester 1: External; Semester 2: On campus at Toowoomba.

Part of the Australian Studies Major.


Offered in: 2011, 2010, 2009
Current Campus: Toowoomba, External
Levels: Undergraduate
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