GEOG 2150 - Indigenous Peoples and the Environment

North Terrace Campus - Winter - 2016

This course will introduce students to the key ideas and events that constitute Indigenous experience today. The course will give students a full understanding of who Indigenous peoples are, their relationship to the environment, and their historical and contemporary involvement in environmental matters. Using case studies, strands within the course include: (i) developing understanding of Indigenous cultural diversity, (ii) the theoretical context of core ideas such as Indigeneity, intellectual property, and social justice (iii) examination of the ways in which Indigenous relations to the environment are constituted, (iv) the impact of colonization, (v) Indigenous involvement in environmental management - both traditional and contemporary. Co-management and community based management will be considered in this context. The course will be supported by a number of Australian case studies. It will also be supported, wherever possible by Indigenous speakers, and a field trip to some Indigenous country.

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Course Details

Course Code	GEOG 2150
Course	Indigenous Peoples and the Environment
Coordinating Unit	Geography, Environment and Population
Term	Winter
Level	Undergraduate
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	Up to 9 hours per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Prerequisites	At least 12 units of level 1 undergraduate study
Incompatible	GEST 2050
Assessment	4500 words of written exercises such as: essay, media review, film critique, tutorial exercises, field trip report, 20 minute verbal presentation.

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Professor Melissa Nursey-Bray

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Course Learning Outcomes

1	Evaluate the importance and relevance of Indigenous connection to place.
2	Assess the impacts of colonisation on Indigenous peoples.
3	Critically reflect upon key concepts such as intellectual property, traditional and contemporary Indigenous environmental management, and Indigeneity.
4	Interpret the multiple dimensions within the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the environment.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Deep discipline knowledge informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1 accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)	1, 2, 3, 4
Critical thinking and problem solving steeped in research methods and rigor based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment	1, 2, 3,4
Teamwork and communication skills developed from, with, and via the SGDE honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning	3, 4,
Career and leadership readiness technology savvy professional and, where relevant, fully accredited forward thinking and well informed tested and validated by work based experiences	3, 4,
Intercultural and ethical competency adept at operating in other cultures comfortable with different nationalities and social contexts able to determine and contribute to desirable social outcomes demonstrated by study abroad or with an understanding of indigenous knowledges	1, 2, 3, 4
Self-awareness and emotional intelligence a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate	1, 2, 3, 4

Learning Resources

Required Resources

Overview
This course will suggest a number of articles and sources for students which will be of use. Students will gain maximum benefit from reading through a suite of articles on the subject, which will be both up to date and give a broad understanding of the issues surrounding ethics and the environment. Most of these articles will provided on MYUNI. However, students are encouraged to access the suggested readings below for a good grounding in ethical issues.

Set texts:

Wessendorf, W. 2008. The Indigenous World 2008. Copenhagen: IWGA.

Set texts but which can be accessed via internet:

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, G.A. Res. 61/295,U.N. Doc. A/RES/47/1 (2007).

Bird Rose. D. 1996. Nourishing Terrains, Australian Aboriginal Views of landscape and Wilderness, Canberra: AGPS. The full text can be found at http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/ahc/publications/commission/books/pubs/nourishing-terrains.pdf

Colchester, M. 2004. Conservation policy and indigenous peoples. 7, Environmental Science and Policy 145-153.

Recommended Resources

Other recommended texts:

Baker, R, Davies, J & E. Young (eds). 2001. Working on Country, Contemporary Indigenous Management of Australia’s Land and Coastal Regions. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Beltran, J & A. Phillips. 2000. Indigenous and Traditional Peoples and Protected Areas, Principles, Guidelines and Case Studies, Best Practice Protected Area Guidelines, Series No 4 IUCN. Wales: WCU and Cardiff University.

Berkes. F 1999. Sacred ecology: traditional ecological knowledge and management systems. London: Taylor & Francis.

Brechin, S.R., Wilhusen, P.R., Fortwangler, C.L. & P.C. West. (eds). 2003. Contested Nature. Promoting International Biodiversity with Social Justice in the Twenty-First Century, State University of New York: SUNY press.

Butler, R. and T. Hinch. 2007. Tourism and Indigenous Peoples, issues and implications.Oxford, UK: Butterworth – Heinnmann (Elsevier).

Howitt, R. 2001. Rethinking Resource Management: Justice, Sustainability and Indigenous Peoples. London: Routledge.

Sillitoe, P, A Bicker & J Pottier. (eds). 2003. Participating in Development: Approaches to Indigenous Knowledge. London: Routledge.

A web site relevant to intellectual property issues:

http://www.alia.org.au/policies/atsi.protocols.html

Useful Journals:

Marine Policy
Geoforum
Society and Natural Resources

Online Learning

This course uses Canvas as its main form of online learning. You wil be expected to access Canvas for the lectures, readings and other activities.

Learning & Teaching Modes

This course will have lectures supported by problem-solving workshops. The course relies on film as one of the main forms of information delivery as it allows Indigenous voices to be heard. Students will also receive guest lectures/sessions with /from Indigenous presenters and will be taken on a few field trips.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

This intensive course is delivered over two weeks with a two week break in between. Within this allocation, 50% of the week will be dedicated to information delivery (lectures and other forms of delivery) and 50% will be workshop sessions.

Students will have a minimum of 36 hours contact. Additional hours will be spent in readings, essay/presentation preparation etc.

Learning Activities Summary

Schedule
Part 1	Setting context Indigenous peoples connection to the environment
Part 2	Indigenous peoples and colonisation (“First Australians”) Indigenouspeoples and contemporaryenvironmental management
Part 3	Contemporary Indigenous involvement in the environment Art and Aboriginality “Ten Canoes”

Specific Course Requirements

Students will be required to attend field trips as part of the course.

Small Group Discovery Experience

This course relies on many small group sessions where students wil be asked to solve problems, interrogate confronting cultural issues and consider the complexities of the relationship Indigenous people have with the environment. Activities will range from mapping Indigenous countries to considering Indigenous artworks in small groups.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

ASSESSMENT	TASK TYPE	WEIGHTING	COURSE LEARNING OUTCOME
Attendance and participation	Formative and summative	10%	1, 3
Essay/narrative	Formative and summative	40%	1, 2, 3, 4
Workshop portfolio	Formative and summative	50%	1, 2, 3, 4

Assessment Related Requirements

Attendance at lectures and workshops is compulsory.

Assessment Detail

Attendance and participation: students will be asked to sign an attendance sheet upon arrival at each session.

Essay/narrative: find/choose a style of Indigenous art or a piece of art that represents a particular art form (while in-class exercises will focus on Australian Indigenous art work, students may choose any form of Indigenous art work/style). Using this artwork/style as a base:
1. describe the style itself, and the stories therein in relation to specific examples you might be using; 2. describe how this art form reflects Indigenous connection to the environment (traditional, contemporary or both);
3. consider what are the aspects displayed and the particular dimensions of Indigeneity that it manifests.

Workshop portfolio: a series of class exercises that students will complete during the course. They will be developed as four discrete tasks spread out (and submitted) throughout the course.

Submission

Students may submit their work in hard copy to the coordinator via the Social Sciences School Office. Students may email their assignment as well but a hard copy needs to be submitted first. Students who do not request an extension will forfeit assessment marks at 10% for every three days it is late.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
Fraud Awareness

Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator