Instructor: Assoc. Prof. Iva Polak
ECTS credits: 6
Language: English
Status: elective
Semester: 2 or 4
Enrolment requirements: enrolment in any graduate studies of the English Department
Course description: The course focuses on contemporary Indigenous Australian cultural production and its location within contemporary Australia. Discussions will touch upon myriad issues relevant for contemporary Indigeneities: identity, gender, multiculturalism, contemporary life, urban setting vs the outback. Selected texts (fiction, films, documentaries) range from realist to speculative. The emphasis will be placed on Indigenous humour as the prevailing trait of their cultural production. The course also includes a historical survey of Indigenous presence in Australia and introduction into Indigenous culture.
Objectives: Broadening readers’ expectations and cultural horizons to suit (as much as possible) the needs of the Indigenous literary and cinematic text.
Course requirements: The final grade is based on continuous assessment which includes regular classes attendance (max. 4 unattended classes), preparation for and participation in class discussions, and writing and timely submission of a series of short written assignments (seven assignments, c. 1500-2000 words per assignment). Assignments are written after the end of each topical unit. Students must receive a minimum passing grade for reach written assignment to successfully pass the course.
Week by week schedule:
Week 1
Introduction to Indigenous Australia: pre-colonial and early colonial contact
Babakiueria (1986) dir. Don Featherstone, mockumentary
Week 2
Introduction to Indigenous Australia: Colonial and Post/neo-colonial contact
SBS documentary series First Australians (2008): Episode 5
Week 3
Introduction to Indigenous Australia: Post/neo-colonial contact
SBS documentary series First Australians (2008): Episode 7
Week 4
Introduction to Indigenous Australian Culture
Contact (2009) documentary
Cannibal Story (2013) animated short
Week 5
Retelling the story of Australia’s Terra Nullius as Australia’s “future history”
Claire G. Coleman. Terra Nullius (2017)
Week 6
Assimilation era wrapped in dark humour
Marie Munkara. “Sorry means you don’t do it again” (2011) essay
Marie Munkara. A Most Peculiar Act (2014)
Week 7
Introduction to Indigenous cinema
Indigenous masculinities on screen
Mad Bastards (2010) dir. Brendan Fletcher
Week 8
Mystery Road (2013) dir. Ivan Sen
Week 9
Contemporary topics
Vivienne Cleven. Bitin’ Back (2001)
Week 10
Contemporary situation in the outback
Limbo (2023) dir. Ivan Sen
Week 11
Imagining different futures
Sam Watson. “I Say This to You” (1994) essay
Sam Watson. “Recipe for Metropolis Brisbane” (2002) poem
Sam Watson. The Kadaitcha Sung (1990)
Week 12
Sam Watson. The Kadaitcha Sung (1990)
Week 13
Australian film and David Gulpilil: Indigenous humour and resilience
Charlie’s Country (2014) dir. Rolf de Heer
Week 14
Final discussion
Fiction:
Terra Nullius (2017) Claire G. Coleman
A Most Peculiar Act (2014) Marie Munkara
Bitin’ Back (2001) Vivienne Cleven
The Kadaitcha Sung (1990) Sam Watson
Feature films:
Babakiueria (1986) dir. Don Featherstone, mockumentary
Mad Bastards (2010) dir. Brendan Fletcher
Mystery Road (2013) dir. Ivan Sen
Charlie’s Country (2014) dir. Rolf de Heer
Limbo (2023) dir. Ivan Sen
Documentaries:
SBS documentary series First Australians (2008): Episode 5 and 7
Contact (2009) documentary
Cannibal Story (2013) animated short
Criticism:
– Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin Eds. Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts. London/New York: Routledge, 2002. (selected terms)
– Holt, Lillian. “Aboriginal humour: A conversational corroboree”. Serious Frolic: Essays on Australian Humour. Eds. Fran De Groen and Peter Kirkpatrick, St Lucia, Queensland: UQP, 2009: 81-94.
– Milner Davis, Jessica “‘Aussie’ humour and laughter: Joking as an acculturating ritual”. Serious Frolic: Essays on Australian Humour. Eds. Fran De Groen and Peter Kirkpatrick, St Lucia, Queensland: UQP, 2009: 31-47.
– Munkara, Marie. “Sorry means you don’t do it again”, Overland, Issue 205, 2011: 59-60.
– Nicholls, Christine. “‘Dreamtime’ and ‘The Dreaming’ – an introduction”. A Year in Life of Australia. The Conversation. Ed. The Conversation, Sydney: Future Leaders. 2014: 77-82.
– Nicholls, Christine. “Dreaming and place – Aboriginal monsters and their meanings”. A Year in Life of Australia. The Conversation. Ed. The Conversation, Sydney: Future Leaders, 2014: 82-91.
– Polak, Iva. Futuristic Worlds in Australian Aboriginal Fiction. Peter Lang: Oxford, 2017. Chapter 6
– Watson, Sam. “I Say This to You”, Meanjin, Vol. 53, No. 4, 1994: 589-596.
– Wheeler, Belinda ed. A Companion to Australian Aboriginal Literature, Camden House: Rochester, New York: 2013.
All textual and audio-visual materials are provided in electronic form via cloud service.