Connecting with Culture: Indigenous Australian Experiences
Duration
- One Semester
Contact hours
- 36 hours
On-campus unit delivery combines face-to-face and digital learning.
2023 teaching periods
| Swinburne Online Teaching Period 2 |
||
|---|---|---|
Dates: Results: Last self enrolment: Census: Last withdraw without fail: |
Aims and objectives
This unit examines contemporary culture as a construct through initiating the education of students in Indigenous issues. With particular focus on the world’s oldest living, continuing culture, students learn concepts of imperialism and colonialism, the diversity of Indigenous Australian people and culture, and a basic understanding of issues that define our experiences as Australian citizens in a postcolonial society. Fundamental Indigenous concepts are introduced, including respect and relationships, connection to country spirituality, and kinship. Students will learn to challenge existing knowledge of Indigenous cultures and encouraged to form their own connections to help underpin their knowledge of contemporary culture.
Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO)
Students who successfully complete this unit will be able to:
1. Analyse and discuss theories of imperialism, colonialism, and postcolonialism, and their relevance to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians today
2. Examine Indigenous knowledge and spirituality, as well as the contemporary implications of traditional aspects of Indigenous life
3. Describe factors that explain historical and contemporary change in Indigenous cultures
4. Explain the ongoing significance of Indigenous culture to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
5. Confidently practise and further encourage broader thinking in issues of inter-cultural relationships
Unit information in detail
- Teaching methods, assessment and content.
Teaching methods
Hawthorn
Type | Hours per week | Number of Weeks | Total |
On-campus Lecture | 2 | 10 | 20 |
On-campus Class | 1 | 10 | 10 |
Study Tour Site Visit | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Online Learning activities | 3 | 12 | 36 |
Unspecified Activities Independent learning | 6.5 | 12 | 80 |
TOTAL | 150 hours |
Swinburne Online
Type | Hours per week | Number of Weeks | Total |
Online Directed Online Learning and Independent Learning | 12.5 | 12 | 150 |
TOTAL | 150 hours |
Assessment
Types | Individual/Group Role | Weighting | Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) |
Written Assignment | Individual | 35% | 1, 2, 4, 5 |
| Reflective Piece | Individual | 30% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| Presentation | Group | 35% | 2, 3, 4, 5 |
Content
- The roles of colonialism and imperialism in Australian society
- Culture as a construct; the role of race and racial identity
- Diversity within Indigenous cultures
- Connections to country and local Wurundjeri culture
- Sovereignty of Indigenous cultures and knowledges
- The roles of narrative and storytelling in cultural identity
- Concepts central to Indigenous culture including The Dreaming, kinship structures, non-linear time and gendered knowledges
- Indigenous cultures in contemporary society
Study resources
- Reading materials.
Reading materials
Students are advised to check the unit outline in the relevant teaching period for appropriate textbooks and further reading.