HIS3AAH Aboriginal Australian History

In this analysis, you are expected to find and write about one primary source (ie. something created by a witness of or participant in a past event or period). You should find one that relates to the suburb you currently live in, a park, street, monument, lake or river you visit, or the city, town or place where you grew up or have some other connection to. For the purposes of this assignment, the primary source might be a traditional non-Indigenous historical source, such as a newspaper article, a letter, diary, government document, oral history interview, manuscript, or photograph (see for example the primary sources from weeks 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9) or it might be an Indigenous-authored artwork, such as an autobiography, poem, story, painting, song, or dance (such as the primary sources from week 1, 7, 10 and 11). You should answer the questions IN ESSAY FORM, not as a numbered list of questions:

1. Where was the source produced, and which place(s) does it relate to? Who are the traditional owners of that place? Does the source itself relate to a particular language group or nation?
2. Who produced the source and thus what kind of cultural, political, governmental or social interests did/does this source serve?
3. What does the source tell you about the past?
4. You should also reflect on your own subject position and how it impacts on your reading of the

You should use AT LEAST three quality, peer-reviewed secondary sources to help you contextualise your source.

You will be assessed on your:

1. Analysis of primary source

You will be assessed on your identification of an appropriate primary source and your analysis of it. This means you should think carefully about what the four questions above and if possible also discuss how the source relates to the themes and material covered by the subject so far.

2. Use of secondary sources

You should use a minimum should be three secondary sources (in addition to your primary source). These need to be of a sound, scholarly quality, such as from a peer-reviewed journal, or an academic book, and referenced according to the Oxford (footnoting) referencing style (see the Library’s referencing tool). If in doubt, check with your tutor.

3. Appropriate use of terminology

You should specifically name the nation/language group related to your primary source (such as Wiradjuri, Yorta Yorta, Pintupi etc). This is not always possible, but if not you should discuss why rather than ignoring this part of the assignment. If you need to generalise, remember to always capitalise the words Indigenous or Aboriginal, as you would Australian, Italian, English etc.

Potentially offensive words or outdated terms should be avoided, unless directly quoting from a primary source. Your essay should begin with a warning if such terms are used. See the ‘Guidelines for Terminology LMS tile’ for further information.

What is meant by “subject position”?

Your subject position relates to your position, as a learner in this subject. In reflecting on your subject position, you are invited to think about how where you come from, your background and/or experiences, affect the way you understand and learn in this subject. For example;

• a computer science major is going to have a very different experience of this subject to someone who has only studied in humanities/liberal arts
• An international student is going to have different insights into Australian culture, and its status as a settler colonial society, to a domestic student.
• Someone who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, or has Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ancestors, will have a different experience of the course to someone from a non-Indigenous

That said, you should not feel under obligation to share anything that you’re not comfortable with. The main thing here is to reflect on how who you are impacts on how you respond to the walking tour or event that you attended and to HIS3AAH.