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IND101 - Introduction to Aboriginal Studies

Year	2025 unit information
Enrolment modes:	Trimester 1: Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online, Community Based Delivery (CBD)* Trimester 2: Burwood (Melbourne), Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Online Trimester 3: Online
Credit point(s):	1
EFTSL value:	0.125
Unit Chair:	Trimester 1: Kim Kinnear Trimester 2: Rebecca Gerrett-Magee Trimester 3: Rebecca Gerrett-Magee
Prerequisite:	Nil
Corequisite:	Nil
Incompatible with:	Nil
Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - on-campus unit enrolment:	1 x 1-hour on-campus lecture per week 1 x 2-hour on-campus seminar per week NIKERI (CBD): 3 x 6-hour on-campus intensive (lectures, seminars and fieldtrips) per trimester 1 x 1-hour online seminars per week for 8-weeks
Educator-facilitated (scheduled) learning activities - online unit enrolment:	1 x 1-hour online lecture per week 1 x 1-hour online seminar per week
Typical study commitment:	Students will on average spend 150-hours over the teaching period undertaking the teaching, learning and assessment activities for this unit. This will include educator guided online learning activities within the unit site.
Note: *Community Based Delivery (CBD) is for National Indigenous Knowledges, Education, Research and Innovation NIKERI Institute students only.

Content

This unit introduces students to Australia's First Nation Peoples in a comprehensive and engaging exploration of both traditional and contemporary experience and expression of Australian Aboriginal culture, Knowledges, histories and identities from an Indigenous standpoint, and through a number of interdisciplinary perspectives. The course will cover three clear movements of investigation from traditional modality and Australian Indigenous Knowledges; colonisation and its impact; and reclamation and reconciliation with a focus on Indigenous cultural forms and representation. Students will learn about the complexities of spirituality, lore and traditional philosophy, to then understand the devastating impact of colonisation and its aftermath. The final portion of the unit will then address contemporary Indigenous culture and expression including language, story, art and creative expression allowing students to consider and explore self-representation as a method of expanding understandings of the diversity of Aboriginalities. This unit presents a thought provoking, dynamic and challenging cultural experience of Indigenous Australian history, culture and worldview and provides a foundation for developing socio-cultural literacy.

Learning outcomes

ULO	These are the Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs) for this unit. At the completion of this unit, successful students can:	Alignment to Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLOs)
ULO1	Understand and analyse key complexities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander society and culture pre-colonisation and be able to apply these to a range of temporal, geographical and social contexts	GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO4: Critical thinking GLO8: Global citizenship
ULO2	Examine and translate the impact of colonial policies and practices on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the disadvantages that have been shaped by these experiences	GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO4: Critical thinking GLO8: Global citizenship
ULO3	Identify and analyse current circumstances and challenges of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and interpret the importance of Aboriginal self-determination and place within a contemporary Australian narrative	GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO4: Critical thinking GLO8: Global citizenship
ULO4	Examine the diversities of Aboriginalities, traditional cultural forms and contemporary expressions and critique these in popular discourses and representations of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples	GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO2: Communication GLO3: Digital literacy GLO4: Critical thinking GLO8: Global citizenship
ULO5	Demonstrate cultural awareness through critical reflection upon cultural locatedness and world views of self and others	GLO1: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities GLO4: Critical thinking GLO7: Teamwork GLO8: Global citizenship

Assessment

Assessment Description	Student output	Grading and weighting (% total mark for unit)	Indicative due week
Assessment 1 - Yarning Circle	1000 words	30%	Ongoing
Assessment 2 - Research Essay	1500 words	35%	Week 8
Assessment 3 - Reflective multimedia task	1500 words or ten minutes or equivalent combination	35%	Week 12

The assessment due weeks provided may change. The Unit Chair will clarify the exact assessment requirements, including the due date, at the start of the teaching period.

Learning resource

There is no prescribed text. Unit materials are provided via the unit site. This includes unit topic readings and references to further information.

Unit Fee Information

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Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

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