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HIS2001 Sovereignty, Equality and Racism in Australia's Past

Semester 1, 2023 Springfield On-campus
Units : 1
School or Department : School of Humanities & Communication
Grading basis : Graded
Course fee schedule : /current-students/administration/fees/fee-schedules

Staffing

Course Coordinator:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: HIS1004 or HIS1005 or ISE1001 or ISE1003 or ANT3000 and one other History or Indigenous Studies or First Nations Australia or Anthropology course

Overview

Racism has been a central component in the foundations of Australian society since the time the British invaded and conquered unceded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lands. This course offers advanced critical and theoretical knowledge and skills, essential for engaging with the historical development of racial and discriminatory beliefs and structures from the late-eighteenth century to today. Students engage with racial inequality and the episodic nature of racially-motivated outbursts in Australia’s history by applying several theoretical frameworks, which resonate with other settler societies and our current world. By investigating the treatment of First Nations Australians, forced indentured labourers and ethnic-migrant communities, students explore the construction of ‘race’ and the diversity of Australia’s cultural, political and social heritage throughout history. The course facilitates an appreciation of how contemporary Australia functions for skills in professional and public engagement which is highly relevant to students in the History major or minor, and in the Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSED), and contributes to the study of other disciplines.

In this course you will explore how the historical development of racial ideas and structures has affected numerous peoples over Australia's history and impacted Australia's reputation internationally. By researching Indigenous-European relations and case studies on indentured South-Sea Islander, Melanesian, Irish, Chinese, German, Italian and post-war migrant communities, we unpack the historical layers of individual and institutional racism from the late-eighteenth to the twentieth-first centuries. You will engage with episodes of frontier violence, `responsible government' in the post-1856 era, dispossession, institutionalised racism, the White Australia policy, gender/race coercion and exploitation, and social crises and scapegoating, and empowerment. Can an overarching pattern be discerned? The course provides a theoretical lens to assist in answering this question through the overt and covert impact of racial beliefs on and the resilience of First Nations Australians, Pacific Islanders and migrants.

Course learning outcomes

On successfully completing this course students should be able to:

  1. define and apply key terms within the context of Australia’s history in an informed manner;
  2. apply theories of race and racism to identifying how constructs of race marginalise groups and are entangled with power relations across specific eras;
  3. articulate an understanding of the historical conditions under which racism has been either manufactured or discouraged;
  4. demonstrate competent research skills, critical and creative thinking, primary-source analysis, oral and written arguments, and documentation in line with History-discipline standards;
  5. work independently and collaboratively and communicate the results with professional integrity and inclusivity.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Theories of race and racism 10.00
2. Sovereignty and the pattern of invasion and occupation from 1788 35.00
3. Equality and the maintenance of Anglo-ascendancy 25.00
4. Weakening of the White Australia policy 15.00
5. Patterns of racism and theoretical underpinnings 15.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

Broome, R 2019, Aboriginal Australians: A history since 1788, 5th edn, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney.
Fozdar, F Wilding, R & Hawkins, M 2009, Race and ethnic relations, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne.

Student workload expectations

To do well in this subject, students are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week including class contact hours, independent study, and all assessment tasks. If you are undertaking additional activities, which may include placements and residential schools, the weekly workload hours may vary.

Assessment details

Approach Type Description Group
Assessment
Weighting (%) Course learning outcomes
Assignments Written Case Study No 15 1,2,3
Assignments Oral Presentation (ind, grp, mltmd) No 25 1,2,3
Assignments Written Essay No 30 1,2,5
Examinations Non-invigilated Time limited online examinatn No 30 1,2,3,4
Date printed 9 February 2024