ATS3280 The ethnographic endeavour: Capturing the Indigenous past to understand the Indigenous present

This is a capstone unit that will give students the opportunity to explore ethnographic texts which represent Indigenous Australians and other Indigenous peoples around the world. Students will come to understand and examine key works of early historical, anthropological and ethnographic texts that represent Indigenous people and culture in order to learn more about the historical portrayal of people and communities. Through these texts students will be exposed to traditions of research in three main discipline areas: anthropology, archaeology and history, and consider the relationship between academic disciplines and colonialism.

Indigenous peoples worldwide are increasingly looking to past historical, anthropological, and ethnographic descriptions of their ancestors' past lifeways in an effort to learn more about matters concerning kinship and language (among other things). Instead of seeing these texts of little value due to the nature of their writing and colonial stances, students will consider why and how these texts are still of value to contemporary Indigenous peoples while also examining the moral and ethical dilemmas posed through their contemporary use.