P (part 2): politics and poetry (and a bit of letter Q ;) )

We still have a couple "P" topics to finish, so be prepared to talk about POLITICAL SYSTEM, please.

1. poetry (I'll cover this one myself, no worries)

2. political system






















Our new topics will include:

3. The Queen of England (so as you see we are still staying in the realm of governing the country and the division of power)

***And a little tongue-in-cheek reason why Australians still love "their" Royal: Queen volunteered for James Bond skit at Olympics

*** PREFERENTIAL VOTING SYSTEM explained

and

4. Queensland
Have a look at this video. This is just the first random result I got from YouTube, I wasn't searching for it intentionally. And still it just makes you want to pack your things right away and head there ;-)



Queensland is sometimes referred to as the most beautiful state in Australia. And yet they feel the need to address advertisements to prospective tourists. In 2009 they launched the "Best Job in the World" action. Find out what it was all about.

We will also spend some time talking about Gold Coast and Surfers Paradise.

Get some ideas from this video :-)

DNI KULTURY JĘZYKA

Just a heads-up.

Traditionally Australia class students have two rooms to utilise - last year we had presentations on Deadly Animals and Aboriginal/Native Indian education (+Dot Painting workshop).

What would you like to do this year?
- convicts?
- dangerous animals (again)?
- New Zealand & Maori culture?
- beach/surf culture (with a bbq)?
- Australian sports?
- gold rush/pearling industry?
- Aboriginal art & music?
- food corner?
- ???


I will need two teams and some volunteers for the Food Corner (if we want to have one).

Bartek Figiel will be helping me this year again, so you can contact him or me about who would like to do what.

For those of you who use FB here is a group you can join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1430929770481691/

P: Perth, Pearls, Painting and Poles

1. Perth is my favourite city in Oz so please make sure you are prepared for some pretty tricky questions ;-)



2. painters





















Focus mostly on the body of work of Sidney Nolan.
(hint: think of one of the topics we covered in our last class)


3 pearling industry (Broome, WA)


















(click the picture to learn more about the ugly face of this industry in the past)


4. Poles in Australia

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O: Outlaws, Outback & Oscars

*

Tomorrow we'll deal with some really heavy topics.



The bulk of our time will have to be devoted to famous OUTLAWS. Australia sports names of many brave men who chose to stand against their opressors, but the two who are the most important, and have become part of Aussie culture and mentality, are Ned Kelly and Ben Hall.

Ned Kelly (a Sydney Nolan's painting)


















Ben Hall

And now something for film buffs among you (you are all encouraged to read/watch these materials, but there will be no questions on this part).

Since bushrangers chose OUTBACK as their real home, we'll also have a closer look at just how it is portrayed in modern culture.

I have already introduced you to the acclaimed documentary Not Quite Hollywood. Among films which are discussed there, are such golden nuggets of Aussie cinema as Razorback (Polish discussion board)/ Razorback (English review) and The Long Weekend. While they are in no means of any (or almost any) artistic merit, they offer a surprisingly insightful description of "the red centre."



































If we have time, we'll celebrate Australian OSCAR winners and nominees.

***

ERASMUS STUDENTS

Here is your next Fun Facts QUIZ. As usual, please take it and post your score below.

*

M (part 2) - Music

***

We will need some time to catch up on a few things left over from last class. Should take us 10-15 minutes.

***

Now, the second big topic is MUSIC. Australians are a strange mob when it comes to it. As you remember on the one hand their tastes are very... well... "unsophisticated", on the other they have a much larger knowledge of opera and classical music than an average European.

Below you'll find a list of songs which are sometimes considered "iconic" (and at the very least most Australians would mention them if you asked for something "really" Aussie).

1. Kylie Minogue - Locomotion
2. INXS - Suicide Blonde
3. Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over
4. Men At Work - Down Under
5. Powderfinger - These Days
6. MGF - Unsent Letter (documentary 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
7. Nick Cave - Weeping Song , Into My Arms
8. Midnight Juggernauts - Into the Galaxy
9. AC/DC - Back in Black, Thunderstruck
10. (Recent revelation) Gotye - Somebody That I Used To Know

And of course this:

***

Now, we will watch some more clips in the class and have a discussion about their connection to Aussie culture.

HOMEWORK for Erasmus students:

1. Find the name of at least one more band/artist from Australia who is (or was) popular in Europe.
2. Find the title of at least one film that featured Australian music (pop, rock or Aboriginal)
3. Which of the following European bands gained cult following in Australia?
  A. Modern Talking
  B. ABBA
  C. U2
  D. Queen

As usual, please post your answers in the comment below.

Erasmus students

A little announcement everybody :)

This semester we'll have 6 Erasmus students from Spain and Turkey taking our class online. Please use the comments below to say hello :)

Now guys, your first assignment is HERE.

Please watch the video and answer the 10 questions below. Then post in the comments sections how many points you got, ok?

Have fun.

Of course all "regular" studens are welcome to take this quiz too :)

M (part 1): Melbourne, Marsupials and Mateship.

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1. Let's begin with a sightseeing tour of Melbourne. Watch the clip below:





2. Our second topic is marsupials.



(more marsupial humour here - Mark Parisi site :) )

For general information go HERE, and then have a look at this clip:



3. The last topic that you may expect some questions on is mateship and larrikinism. Once again we'll be trying to define "Aussie soul". I'm more interested in general attitude* than dates and names ;)


*If the page doesn't open straight away, please follow the link displayed on Pandora archive.