WMST2016 Indigenous Women's Voices: Race, Gender and Colonialism

This topic engages student with the voices and perspectives of Indigenous women in Australian society, exploring some of their many struggles and achievements across a variety of fields. It takes a history of colonialism as its starting point and investigates how ideas about and practices of race, interwoven with gender, shape the lives of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people. In this context the topic will introduce the idea of whiteness as a racial category and will raise questions about the relationship of feminist theory, as a non-Indigenous conceptual framework, to the lives of Indigenous women. The scholarly writing and creative work of Indigenous women form the basis for investigation of a range of issues and for student research and exploration. The topic stresses the differences as well as commonalities among Indigenous women in Australia and will also make reference to Indigenous women in other countries.

This topic aims to critically engage students with the voices and perspectives of Indigenous women in Australia. Students will critically assess the ethics and relevance of non-Indigenous conceptual frameworks as the basis for engaging with Indigenous women. Students will work both collaboratively and independently to explore the lives and scholarly and creative work of Indigenous women and their own positions in relation to Indigenous women. The topic aims to develop students' oral presentation skills, independently and in collaboration with others.

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the diversity of Australian Indigenous women's lives and perspectives and an understanding of some of the issues faced by Indigenous women
2. Demonstrate knowledge of their own position in relation to Indigenous women
3. Apply this knowledge to understanding practical situations involving Indigenous women in Australia
4. Work collaboratively with others to explore Indigenous women's perspectives
5. Know how to approach research about Indigenous women's lives in an ethical manner
6. Demonstrate facility with an appropriate vocabulary through which to discuss the situation of Indigenous women and be able to communicate orally and in written form about Indigenous women and themselves in relation to Indigenous women