This is a shelf course. A shelf course comprises a number of modules related to this broad area of study. Each module is a separate semester of study in this area and is offered in rotation. You can study TWO modules but you cannot study the same module twice.

Subject Area: Australian Studies
This course can also be studied in the following specialisations: History; Women's and Gender Studies

Module: "Gender Relations in Australia"
This course examines the complexities of gender relations in Australian politics, society and culture, using contemporary and historical case studies and placing Australian developments in their international context. How has gender - in relationship with race, class, religion, age and place - been important in the construction of individual, regional and national identities? What are the historical origins of many of the unresolved issues in gender relations today? What are the sources of contemporary gender stereotypes? Where do current tensions between domesticity and women’s public achievement come from? Why is Australian nationalism associated with a certain male type? Why have indigenous women tended to identify with ‘womanist’ rather than ‘feminist’ movements? Why do women still tend to be judged at either end of a moral continuum?


Module: "Australians at War: Contact!" (Semester 1, 2011)
Australians at War explores the impact of armed conflict on national life from before European settlement till the War on Terror. As well as tracing the history of the major conflicts that have engaged Australians, the course will explore how the experience of war has shaped national identity. Themes will include the ""Australian way of war"", relationships with allies, gender, ethnicity, loss, disability and rehabilitation. A range of sources — from literature to film, from private diaries to official records will be used to examine these themes.