Cultures are constantly transforming, never fixed. In particular, we will focus on culture and its intersections with nation in Australia. Due to colonialism and white settlement, and various waves of migration, Australian food and sport have undergone changes and are being transformed by state policies and the cultures of migrant Others.  Yet, even if laksa has become a standard ‘Australian' dish in restaurants, others have claimed that "a taste for diversity of food does not always accompany a taste for tolerance" (Probyn 2000: 101).  In Australian sport too, Peter Kell (2000) has stated that the ‘fair go' is a myth. What are we to make of these debates? Are we what we eat? Do anti-racist rules in sport make a difference in fostering a multicultural society?

We will begin with some foundational readings on colonial discourse which figure in race and racism, and gender and nationalism. We will then turn our intersected analyses to food and sport as a way of discussing multiculturalism in Australia, as critical cultural forms of the operations of these terms. For example, does an ethnically mixed soccer team say something about Australian mateship as symbolic of a very masculinised nationalism, one that is ethnically inclusive while simultaneously gender exclusive?

This course focuses on making connections between concepts of race, gender and nation as mediated through everyday cultural practices such as film, food and sport. It situates a historically and geographically specific understanding of the intersectionalities of race and gender in Australia.

 By the end of the course, students should have a strong grasp about the complexities of race, gender and nation and how they operate in the Australian constext with regard to cultures such as food and sport.

4 Short journal entries (250 each = 1,000 words) (25%); Final paper 2,000 words (40%); Midterm 1,000 words (25%); Tutorial participation (10%)

13 2-hour weekly lectures and 12 1-hour tutorials

GEND1001 or GEND1002 or with the permission of the Coordinator

Booth, Douglas & Colin Tatz. One-Eyed: A View of Australian Sport. St. Leonards NWS: Allen & Unwin, 2000.

Extra:

Journal of Sport and social issues

Sport in Society

International journal of the History of Sport

Journal of Sociology

Cultural Anthropology

Communal/Plural

Excellent journal entries will (1) refer to the relevant course readings or lecture materials, (2) present a concise and clear argument and (3) offer original insights or move beyond a summary of course materials.

Paper topics for midterm and final papers will be handed out a few weeks before papers are due. Alternatively, you may select your own topic but in consultation with the course convenor. 

Participation grade is based on students attending lectures and tutorials and coming to class prepared to discuss the readings.