Traditional Australian Indigenous Cultures, Societies and Environment

Pre-invasion Indigenous cultures have long been seen as the social, economic and ecological prototype of the hunting and gathering way of life. The aim of this course is to convey a basic anthropological understanding of the customary or ‘traditional’ practices and beliefs as they were at the threshold of colonisation and to critically engage with representations while respecting First Peoples' insights and perspectives. We will focus on relationality, and in particular the multiple ways in which connectivity underpins Indigenous worldviews. Exploring these issues also means exploring the intellectual struggles non-Indigenous people have had and continue to have to come to terms with Indigenous societies and cultures, as well as understanding why and how Indigenous social and cultural practices capture the scholarly imagination.