The letter "P"

1. Perth is my favourite city in Oz so please make sure you watch the two clips below and 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)

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4. poetry

5. political system

























6. Poles in Australia

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New 3D movie stars? ;-)

From DiscoverMagazine blog:

At first glance, biologists slapping motion capture gear onto kangaroos sounds like a scientific foray into the 3-D-movie craze. But James Cameron can rest assured: The scientists are merely performing their day jobs, studying kangaroos—and using a nifty new camera to do it.

Read more:

Researchers Use Avatar Camera Technology to Try to Understand Kangaroo’s Hop


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The letter "O"

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 which are the most important, and have become part of Aussie culture and mentality, are Ned Kelly and Ben Hall.


More reading on these two characters from my most beloved website (click on the pictures)

































Since bushrangers chose OUTBACK as their real home, we'll 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 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.

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The letter "N"

Just a few links on the "reading list" for you tonight. Please come back tomorrow early afternoon for more :-)


1. New South Wales
2. Northern Territory

Watch the first two minutes of the video below. The film was shot on location in Kakadu National Park.



3. national parks

* Kakadu National Park (visitor guide .pdf) - a fantastic, colourful guide to the park. No questions on it, but you may want to scan it for your own enjoyment if you have some free time ;-)

Kakadu National Park - Introduction with Jacob Nayinggul from Parks Australia on Vimeo.

Kakadu National Park – Guluyambi river cruise from Parks Australia on Vimeo.

Kakadu National Park – Culture Camp from Parks Australia on Vimeo.

* Uluru National Park - go on a virtual tour round the monolith by clicking here

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park – Welcome from Anangu from Parks Australia on Vimeo.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park – About Tjukurpa from Parks Australia on Vimeo.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park – Working together from Parks Australia on Vimeo.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park – We do not climb from Parks Australia on Vimeo.

4. Nobel Laureates
5. national holidays


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A very subjective list of contemporary Australian music.

1. Kylie Minogue - Locomotion
2. INXS - Suicide Blonde , These Are The Times
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.

The letter "M"

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Let's begin with a sightseeing round in Melbourne. Watch the clip below, and if you want to learn more follow these two links: slideshow & text





Our second topic is marsupials.



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

For general information go to Australian Wildlife website, and then have a look at this clip:



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 ;-)


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Welcome to the new semester!

A couple of announcements.

1. Our classes are planned for Fridays, 2 - 2:45 pm.

2. I know that some of you would like to have the classes earlier and it is possible to move them to 8 - 8:45 am, same day (providing we find available classroom).

But that would also mean that six of you would have to wait for your next class for 45 minutes.

Please let me know if you want to change the times, or we should be sticking to the original plan.

3. New topics should appear here tomorrow, so please make sure you check this space soon :-)


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