The Kim Scott Colloquium 2012

Guest Post from Ruby Lowe, Co-Coordinator, The Kim Scott Colloquium

Australian Indigenous literature has played a major role in my literary education at The University of Melbourne.  I am currently completing my honours thesis on the political dimensions of John Milton’s early poetry, while taking course work subjects in English Literature and Australian Indigenous Studies. I am also co-convening the first national conference on an Australian Indigenous author with Philip Morrissey. 

The idea for the Kim Scott Colloquium 2012 began as a series of informal discussions by a dedicated group of Kim Scott’s readers. Interest within the university, combined with Kim Scott’s recent accumulation of literary accolades, made Philip and I realise that there should be a formal academic recognition and analysis of Kim Scott’s work.

Two major events will be held at The University of Melbourne to celebrate and discuss Kim Scott’s writing.  Kim Scott has agreed to give a public lecture at The University of Melbourne on 25 July. This will be followed by a colloquium on Kim Scott’s writings on 3-4 August this year.

The colloquium will survey Scott’s fiction and focus on True Country (1993), Benang (1999) and That Deadman Dance (2011). Emerging and established scholars from Australian Indigenous Studies, English Literary Studies, Creative Writing and Contemporary Art will engage with Scott’s representation of Australian history, politics and identity.

 

To register an expression of interest email Kate Rendell, rendellk@unimelb.edu.au.

 

That Chilling Moment

That chilling moment in the modern university when you realise that for a powerful class of people corporate speak/political correctness is the new ethics: the management of facades and surfaces with concomitant institutional rewards and group validation. On these social occasions I’ve wondered, ‘How could a real human being ever appear in this setting?’

In contrast I was at a recent event where toughness or the appearance of toughness was clearly a necessary component of male and female capital – most men were heavily tattooed (three had facial tattoos).  I was sitting beside an ex-biker who had suffered an incapacitating breakdown of health and now lived on an invalid pension. After we discussed the anti-oxidant effects of blueberries, and he informed me that frozen blueberries were a lot cheaper than fresh, he spoke of one of his sons visiting the Sioux Indians, and of his great love for Native American spirituality but then as if to emphasise that he wasn’t another disconnected New Ager, and to acknowledge me, he said, “It’s funny, I’ve never been interested in Koori spirituality."

24 Hours in Alice

A quick trip on Thursday to Alice Springs to do a presentation on our proposed Master of Indigenous Policy and Development at the Indigenous Forces at Work Conference being held there. The conference title sums up the practical and resolute tone of the conference.  It’s almost impossible to communicate the richness of such a conference to non-Indigenous outsiders – issues based politics and personalities provide more accessible and simpler ways of engaging with Aboriginal communities.

The response to the presentation was moving. I had particularly wanted to stress for the delegates the matter of validation as an aspect of our proposed Master of Indigenous Policy and Development. In the first instance, a validation of the skills and knowledges accrued by practitioners in the course their work; and following from this, a personal validation for them as individuals whose contribution and skills are usually not affirmed in any concrete and meaningful way.

While I thought it would be a case of airport - conference venue - hotel - airport, Alice still works its magic and strangeness. Where else but Alice Springs casino would you hear the murmur of Aboriginal languages mingled with the electronic chatter of poker machines?  (Provokes interesting reflections on gambling.) Finally the magic: 7.00 am by the hotel pool before flying out:

Master of Indigenous Policy and Development

 Where have we been? Pretty much submerged in the development of proposal for a Master of Indigenous Policy and Development targeted in the first instance at potential mature age students, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, employed in the multifarious branches of Indigenous affairs, community support, and development. If we manage to get the proposal through the various stages of evaluation we'll have a course that will enhance the capacity of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to develop, manage and enact effective Indigenous policy in Australia. A Graduate Certificate will be built into it as well as flexible entry requirements. The vision thing revolves around the prospect of a dozen Indigenous students graduating with a Masters qualification from a sandstone university – an outcome that would really have an impact on the social and policy landscape.

Until now its been driven by will and exhausting work but we’ve picked up supporters and collaborators on the journey – to the point that we are quietly confident we can do it.

(Yes, the lettering is a different colour – the design of the blog will change, leaving the moody greys,  greens and blues behind. The older you get the less inclined you are to fake it.)

RAP. The University of Melbourne had its first Reconciliation Action Plan celebration the other day. Congrats. to everyone mentioned in despatches:

http://musse.unimelb.edu.au/march-12-82/celebrating-our-indigenous-community

Another Year and Some Photographs

Rushing to finish off various chores before Christmas but our end of year party was a chance to step back and relax with friends and supporters.

A Happy and Safe Christmas. See you in the Celtic New Year.

Aboriginal Women and Coloniality

Aboriginal Women and Coloniality. Surprised but pleased to learn that our second year subject Aboriginal Women and Coloniality has been selected as the subject that best aligns with the aims of the Association of Women on Campus at the University of Melbourne for 2011. One of our students will be awarded a prize as a result.

The Hunter. Daniel Nettheim's The Hunter has been nominated for fourteen Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. (Formerly the AFI Awards.) The killing of the Tasmanian tiger at the end of the film is the most incredible act of hubris I've ever seen. I found it hard to believe that a filmmaker could even imagine a character doing such a thing, let alone present it in a film as a noble deed. (Otherwise it's an extravagantly beautiful film and worth seeing.)

Racism in Australian universities. The National Indigenous Unit of the National Tertiary Education Union has released a report detailing Indigenous academic and professional staff experiences of racism, and lateral violence (from other Indigenous employees), in Australian universities. Most of the testimony is grievance-based and I can imagine some universities responding by developing 'strategies' and offering 'cultural sensitivity' training provided by soi-disant experts. On a deeper level, if you want to address racism in universities, you need to be patient; in it for the long haul; be prepared to engage with senior people; and be alert for the instance when implicit racisms and racist discourses become objectified in the behaviour of an individual or individuals; then, if you've got the nerve, go for it.

https://www.nteu.org.au/anu/article/New-survey-reveals-racial-discrimination-is-alive-and-well-in-universities-12139

Sade. The first bi-racial superstar visited Australia for the first time in a quarter of a century. She still sets the bar impossibly high. YouTube footage from her Melbourne concert:

Where We've Been

Wrapping up. Teaching has finished and marks are being finalised. Some of our best students are off to join the Teach for Australia program. For me, the highlight of the university teaching year, was when six students spoke on their experience of Indigenous studies, life and communities in the final lecture of our first year course. Diversity, intellectual confidence, commitment - quite inspiring.

Aboriginal Time. The stereotype is that Aboriginal time meanders; meetings start whenever; people turn up whenever; outcomes take forever. The reality is that Aboriginal time is always constrained. Windows of opportunity are limited for Aboriginal individuals, communities or programs. We produced a poster display for a University of Melbourne colloquium, that summarised what we’ve done over the last few years. (Check out the link at the bottom of this post.) Getting there we've had to crash through a few barriers but sometimes you don't have any choice. (Read the late Hyllus Maris' 'The Concrete Box' as an example of an enduring parable of this structural reality.)

The AIS Poster