This course focuses on political and social issues affecting Aboriginal people in contemporary Australia. The aim of the course is to raise students’ awareness of the impact of colonization on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their response to this with particular emphasis on social and political issues over the past 45 years. A range of Indigenous voices will be presented and the course will encourage students to assess the relevance of Indigenous discourses and movements to their own Australian citizenship.

This course is exploratory and relies on your willingness to carefully read and think about the material set for discussion. When you read the set material in preparation for tutorials and the essays it is useful to take notes about what you think is being said, how these claims might be related to the themes of the course, and whether or not you find the claims interesting or plausible and why. You will need to maintain a close watch on media reports throughout this course in order to stay informed of current developments in Aboriginal Affairs.