C (part 1): Comvicts & crocs

This week we are going to be talking about:

- convicts: historical background (have a look at the TIMELINE), settlement, life conditions, pardons and famous prisoners
- convicts in popular culture: songs, stories, art
- the impact of convict past on Aussie mentality and national pride (concentrate on "social psychology" and "why?" in this article; we'll also touch upon the concept of "mateship")






















(the Fremantle Prison flogging post)


CLICK BELOW to read more about:

Convict Daily Life
Convict Biographies
Convict Escapes
(downloadable PDFs)


and...
- crocodiles











(click on the picture)

*

B: Botany Bay, Beaches and BBQs

In three weeks (letter "E" - European exploration) we'll be talking about French and Dutch expeditions, but today we'll go straight to captain James Cook and his landing in Botany Bay.

To get you in the proper mood first listen to this Irish shantie - The Shores of Botany Bay



(go here to see the lyrics)


Captain James Cook did not "discover" Australia, but his landing in Botany Bay on 29th of April, 1770 symbolicaly marked the beginning of colonisation.

It was just a quick stop for Cook, and Botany Bay remained quiet and peaceful for the next 18 years. The British Empire welcomed the "discovery" of the new land - and a potential colony - but that part of the world was not politically or economically significant enough to claim these lands for the British Crown just yet.
However the situation changed with a rather rapid development of events in America, and year 1788 saw the arrival of First Fleet to Botany Bay.


We already know what it meant for Aboriginal First Australians.

Now let's have a look at these events from the point of view of the English - Redcoats, sailors and convicts. Go here to read about FIRST FLEET and the problems they encountered on their arrival to Australia.

***

All right, to have a short break from history overload let's move now for a moment to present day Botany Bay and its biodiversity.

Have a look at this video:



Try to find answers to following questions:

1. What was Botany Bay called before it received its present name?
2. What is Eastern Blue Grouper, and why is it important?

***

Got a bit tired and hungry doing all the research, eh? ;-) Watch this 1984 commercial featuring Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan. It is a great introduction to two more topics: BBQ and beaches.



See if you know answers to these questions:

1. What is the etymology of the word "barbecue"?
2. What fuels do Aussies use?

Here is a reminder of some social rules concering BBQ ;-)



(click to see bigger version)

And finally click here to see a stunning picture. Read the description. I'll ask you some questions on it.

***

A (part 2): Aboriginal Australia - Stolen Generations and the Sorry Day

Just a little bit of reading/watching for you today.

 

The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998 - one year after the tabling of the report Bringing them Home, May 1997. The report was the result of an inquiry by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission into the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.

Read more about STOLEN GENERATIONS

This time you'll have a few tasks to do in class (including going online to find specific information).

See ya in class!

Aboriginal Australia - aftermath

Read more about kinship terms, moieties and skins HERE.

(click to enlarge)


Skin system (taken from: http://www.dia.wa.gov.au/en/Heritage-and-Culture/Aboriginal-culture/Lifestyles-and-traditions/Aboriginal-kinship/)

(click to enlarge)

Kinship terms (taken from: http://www.ausanthrop.net/research/kinship/kinship2.php)


TRANSLATOR GROUPS ONLY!

And now try to complete your first quiz online. This one is  ungraded (doesn't count against your final score). You have to log on with the username and password I gave you in the class, and then on your student panel you'll see the quiz.

CLICK HERE

You will see: Untaken quizes, Started quizes and Expired quizes. Click on "Untaken". Another page will open and next to a quiz called "Welcome to the course quiz (ungraded)" you will have a take button. Click on it and you can answer the questions.

(click to enlarge)

A (part 1): Aboriginal Australia, Adelaide & Animation

In the class this week we'll be talking about the first inhabitants of the continent. We'll try to understand the special connection they have with the land, the way they understand the world, the complexities of their society, and the special family ties they have.

We'll also discuss the topic of so called Stolen Generations.

Please get yourself ready by reading/watching the materials below.


1. Dreaming.

Dreaming is essential to Aboriginal cultures. It explains the special bond the people have to their land. Below you will find three short clips taken from Australian Screen - an amazing website which archives the best of Aussie TV and film.

Curator’s notes

by Romaine Moreton

Dog Dreaming is a documentary about the journey of two ancestral dogs across the land that became a Dreaming story. In the land that belongs to the people who speak Mengerrdji, two dogs – the male dog called Adjumalar and the female Womarr – named sites as they crossed the land. Jacob Nayinggu follows their path, telling us what happened to Adjumalar and Womarr as they crossed the country, and how Womarr eventually became a dreaming place at the point where she sank into the ground.
Dog Dreaming is an interesting documentary that invites us into Indigenous cultural beliefs about the land being created by ancestral beings. As Jacob Nayinggu follows the dogs’ journey, he informs us what happened to them and the significance of the sites as a result of the dogs’ passage. Here, we gain an insight into how story is a way of mapping territory, and Jacob Nayinggu can tell us what landmark – a waterhole for example – was created and the name the dogs gave it. But it is the story of Dog Dreaming that Jacob follows as he moves through the land.

- Dog Dreaming part 1
- Dog Dreaming part 2
- Dog Dreaming part 3


2. Aboriginal Flag

The Australian Aboriginal flag represents the indigenous people of Australia. It was designed in 1971 by the Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas. Australian government officially recognized it as a flag of Australia on the 14th of July, 1995.



It consists of three colors (red, yellow, and black).

The black is said to represent the Aboriginal people of Australia, the red is said to represent the red ochre of the outback, and the yellow of the sun. Other interpretations of the colors used in the flag say that the red symbolizes the blood spilled when Europeans first came to Australia.

The designer of the flag Harold Thomas was quoted as saying "I wanted to make it unsettling. In normal circumstances you'd have the darker color at the bottom and the lighter color on top and that would be visibly appropriate for anybody looking at it. It wouldn't unsettle you. To give a shock to the viewer to have it on top had a dual purpose, was to unsettle.. The other factor why I had it on top was the Aboriginal people walk on top of the land. It's an obvious fact as well. So it had.. that was the reason why the black was on top was visibly unsettling and because of how I was trained at art school, not to make things too obvious but to have a bit of a shock but also to say that the people walk on the land."

Official Australian buildings often display the Australian Flag and the Aboriginal Flag side by side. The colors of the Aboriginal flag have also become powerful symbols of pride and strength for the indigenous people of Australia.

(from: IndexOz)

3. Adelaide

And a short clip from my favourite traveller/YT poster Overlander



4. Animation in Australia and New Zealand

See if you can see the connection? What do the following have in common?
- The Lord of the Rings
- King Kong
- District 9
- The Hobbit
- Avatar

WETA Digital is one of the leading CG/FX houses in the world, along George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic. Follow the links to visit their website and be sure to watch their commercials (especially "Snowball" ;-) ) and reels.


Australian animated feature films and shorts have won many awards. Here are just two examples.

- Oscar winning short: Harvie Krumpet



The odd biography of a man who has Tourette's Syndrome, chronic bad luck, menial jobs, nudist tendencies, and a book of "fakts" hung around his neck.
- some clips from Happy Feet (click the picture below)

G'day!

Hello everyone!


So you have successfully made it here. Well done! ;-)

Please check this space regularly - I will be adding tons of materials, clips, links and pictures related to the topics of our classes.

Also please feel free to comment and add your own recommendations. They are most welcome!

Happy exploring!


So, how does it work exactly?

Well, I DO hope you listened carefully in the class, but if someone is still a little confused here is the general idea again:

1. In each class we will be talking about an array of Australia-related topics, all of which will begin with a given letter of the alphabet.

2. You will know these topics in advance, so you'll be able to find out some information beforehand.

3. In class, first I'll give a short presentation with audio/video materials, and then will be asking you some very tricky questions.

Our class is a FLIPPED CLASSROOM. This means that instead of delivering a lecture on a given topic in class, and then giving you homework, I'll ask you to learn on your own at home FIRST and then when you come to the classroom we'll use the information you have obtained to do something practical with it.

(picture source: http://ctl.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/flippedgraphic%28web1100px%29_0.png )

(picture source: http://www.slu.edu/Images/cttl/flipped%20graphic_reinertcenter.jpg)

Hope it all makes sense now :)