The Major in Australian Indigenous Studies (AuIS) offers students opportunities to develop insight into the extraordinary breadth, depth and diversity of First Peoples' knowledges and ways of knowing, and the diverse perspectives and experiences of Australia’s First Peoples. Study the deep past of our places and the more recent, brief and impactful shared histories. Develop insight into First Peoples’ philosophies and the shared basic precepts that underlie relations within Country and its first laws. Our courses explore diverse Indigenous worldviews, including critical theories, methodologies and methods Indigenous peoples have developed. Our courses explore important contemporary themes, social systems, colonialism and their impact locally, nationally and globally. The Major offers a broad-based understanding of First Peoples' societies, cultures, and continuities, and our relationships with other Indigenous Peoples globally.
AuIS uniquely and explicitly centres the knowledges and perspectives of First Peoples. Students also have an opportunity to learn from Country with the People of that Country in our field schools. We study the scholarship of First Nations and other Indigenous scholars, especially those whose work is in the discipline of critical Indigenous Studies who also have expertise in other disciplines. Redressing the historical exclusion by educational institutions of Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing, this Major facilitates the expansion and development in tertiary education of Indigenous Studies, respecting the authority of Indigenous peoples’ intellectual and cultural property. Australian Indigenous Studies is taught by scholars in Indigenous Studies from across the Schools and Centres of the Colleges of Arts and Social Science, Science, Health and Medicine, including those in the Indigenous Studies Portfolio. As such, Australian Indigenous Studies theories and methodologies intersect with that of other disciplines including those with of the physical sciences, social sciences, health and medicine, legal fields and the humanities.
Learning Outcomes
- demonstrate an informed insight into First Peoples' diverse perspectives on Australian histories, cultures, and societies;
- demonstrate insight and understanding into First Peoples' diverse knowledges, philosophies and ways of knowing;
- demonstrate insight and informed understanding into colonisation and diverse impacts of colonialism on First Peoples and Australian society broadly;
- apply theoretical perspectives and methodologies of Critical Indigenous Studies in Australia; and
- demonstrate informed understanding of Indigenous Studies globally.
Other Information
Cross-institutional course/s: Students may apply to have credited courses in Indigenous studies from other Australian tertiary institutions, including those who teach Indigenous studies local to that institution or your Country. Convener approval is required for accreditation to this Major.
Students are encouraged to study global Indigenous studies and cognate disciplines and scholarly movements such as settler colonial studies and postcolonialism. To this end, exchange students who study Indigenous Studies of the place where they are on exchange may apply to have that accredited to the AUIS-MAJ (e.g. Sami Studies, Hawaiian Studies, Native Studies (North America), Aboriginal Studies (Canada), Maori studies, Pacifika Studies, or Indigenous Studies in a Latin American place). Convener approval is required for accreditation to this Major.
Relevant Degrees
Requirements
This major requires the completion of 48 units, of which:
A minimum of 18 units must come from completion of 3000-level courses
The 48 units must consist of:
Basic precepts, shared histories, decolonising methodologies, First Peoples' perspectives on social justice, diverse Indigenous knowledges and philosophies
12 units from the completion of the following required foundational courses:
INDG1001 - Country, Kinship and Continuities (6 units)
INDG1002 - Resilience, Rights and Resurgence (6 units)
A minimum of 6 units from the completion of the following capstone course:
INDG3004 - Research Project in Australian Indigenous Studies (6 or 12 units)
A minimum of 6 units from the completion of the following course(s) in diverse Indigenous knowledges and perspectives:
ARTH2098 - Australian First Nations Art and Culture (6 units)
HIST2022 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History (6 units)
INDG2002 - Contemporary Australian Indigenous Music Studies (6 units)
INDG2009 - Critical Indigenous Studies in Australia (6 unit introduction)
A minimum of 6 units from the completion of the following course(s) on methods, ethics and protocols:
SOCY2038 - Introduction to Quantitative Research Methods (6 units)
SOCY2043 - Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods (6 units)
A maximum of 18 units from the completion of the following other course(s):
Other courses in Australian Indigenous Studies regarding literature, wellbeing, language, policy, economy and special topics
HLTH3001 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (6 units)
INDG2001/ENVS2025 - Indigenous Cultural and Natural Resource Management (6 units)
INDG2003 - Gamilaraay - introduction to an Australian Indigenous Language (6 units)
INDG2004 - Continuing an Australian Indigenous Language (6 units)
INDG2005 - Introduction to an Australian Indigenous language (6 units)
INDG3001 - First Nations Peoples, the State and Public Policy in Australia (6 units)
INDG3003 - First Peoples' economic self-determination and prosperity in the Australian economy (6 units)
INDG3005 - Special Topics in Indigenous Studies (6 or 12 units)
LING2016 - Language and Society in Indigenous Australia (6 units)
PSYC2012 - Culture and Psychology (6 units)
Immersive learning experiences - On Country, in-place learning experiences taught by the people who belong to that place
ARTV2921 - Environment Studio: Field Based Research and Studio Practice in Visual Arts (6 units)
INDG3008 - Indigenous Studies Field School (6 or 12 units)
A maximum of 12 units from the completion of the following courses:
Work integrated learning: Intern with Indigenous organisations, peak bodies, politicians and other lawmakers, and policy makers
ANIP3003 - Australian National Internships Program A (6 units)
INDG3007 - First Peoples Social Justice Initiative Internship Program (6 or 12 units)
The internship must have a focus on Australian Indigenous Studies and be approved by the Australian Indigenous Studies Major convenor.
Global indigenous or postcolonial studies
PASI2001 - Pacific Studies in a Globalising World (6 units)
PASI2002 - Australia in Oceania in the 19th and 20th centuries (6 units)
MEAS2005 - Gender and Culture in Iran and the Middle East (6 units)
MEAS3003 - Critical Perspectives on Arabic Culture (6 units)
MEAS3005 - Modern Iraq: State, Politics and Society (6 units)
MEAS3007 - Syria in the Levant: State, Society, and the Current Turmoil (6 units)
MEAS3008 - Egypt: Social and Political Dynamics in a Changing Middle East (6 units)
PASI3002 - Gender and Sexuality in the Pacific (6 units)
PASI3005 - Pacific Islands Field School (6 units)
Other courses in Indigenous knowledges and/or colonial history that are culturally safe and respect research/education ethics and protocols developed by critical Indigenous scholars, but which are not necessarily taught from First Peoples' perspectives and may not centre Indigenous scholars' research.
ANTH2005 - Traditional Australian Indigenous Cultures, Societies and Environment (6 units)
ANTH2017 - Culture, Social Justice and Aboriginal Society Today (6 units)
ARCH2004 - Australian Archaeology (6 units)
ARCH2055 - Archaeological Field Schools & Fieldwork Practice (6 units)
HIST1214 - Empires in Global History (6 units)
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