Australian history can be seen as the story of European, especially British, cultures meeting, confronting, and interacting with indigenous societies in a large island continent located in the Asia-Pacific region. In this course we explore the broad outlines of this history, beginning with the forces in British society leading to the establishment of colonies on the other side of the world and moving onto the complex, protracted, and still continuing processes whereby these colonies were transformed into an independent nation. We consider the ways in which the creation of an Australian nation involved and continues to involve extensive debates on national identity, our political institutions, and relationships with Britain, the United States, and Asia. Within this broad framework, themes of particular interest include: relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous people, especially in connection with land; divergent experiences of migration and settlement; Australian experiences of war and their place in collective memory; class and gender relationships; and changes in popular culture in newspapers, novels, radio, theatre, film, music, and television.

This course also aims to help students to think historically, by introducing issues such as historical interpretation, narrative, and memory.

Tutorial participation, short assignments, an essay of 2,500 words, and an examination.

Two one-hour lectures and one hour-long tutorial per week. Lectures will be taped.

HIST1001 Australian History.

Macintyre, S, A Concise History of Australia, CUP, 1999.