Handbook

THIS STREAM IS FOR STUDENTS COMMENCING FROM 2016.

Indigenous Studies is a theoretically complex and continually developing field of inquiry which collects, develops and redistributes an ever-expanding corpus of knowledge about and for Indigenous peoples. As a student studying the Indigenous Studies Major, you will be led in a sequential way to understand that solutions in practice requires deep, ongoing, critical reflection at the level of theory and practice.

The learning experience across the levels has been configured to allow for transferability of skills and knowledge into other contexts.

You will begin by focusing on the continuities of Indigenous ways of understanding the world. In this way you will be drawn into an awareness of Indigenous knowledge and tradition as an organiser of Indigenous worlds and continuing Indigenous practices. This alerts you to your prior assumptions, positions the contests that occur within Indigenous Studies, and prepares you for deeper intellectual inquiry at levels two and three.

The Indigenous Studies Major culminates in a capstone course, where you will practice navigating a range of issues potentially encountered in the workplace. Understanding Indigenous knowledge and practice, and the historical relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia are required for comprehension of the complex mix of continuities, ruptures and convergences that condition the contemporary Indigenous position and how it can be understood.

The Indigenous Studies Major is designed for those of you seeking to specialise in Indigenous Studies as the central focus of your degree program. If you are interested in Indigenous Studies, but do not have room in your program, you may consider studying an Indigenous Studies Minor or Indigenous Studies Minor Extended.