A National Indigenous Creative Arts Framework to transform humanities disciplines at Australian universities is the aim of a project awarded funding under the ARC Discovery Indigenous Scheme and led by researchers at Flinders University.
The three-year grant ($468,026) will bring together a dynamic team of investigators, all Indigenous women and creative art practitioners, to examine the generational impacts of colonial institutions on Indigenous culture in the first type research of this scale in Australia.
Lead Chief Investigator, Dr Ali Gumillya Baker in the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, says the project will examine the inter-generational impacts of colonial institutions and archives on Indigenous communities and how academic discourse, through Indigenous language, poetry, song, visual arts, and performance, can transform research and teaching at Australian universities.
The project will also incorporate a survey of current and emerging Indigenous literature, a series of creative workshops, annual symposiums at Australian universities, specialist publications in reputable journals and support for Indigenous PhD scholars.
“The ways Indigenous philosophies and methodologies are being utilised in the Humanities across Australia, and how these ideas are translated into what is understood as research and teaching, provide important insights into the cultural movements and capacity of the University sector nationally,” says Dr Baker.
“Australian universities are responding to Indigenous community calls for Indigenous representation within the academy and across the professional sectors trained within universities, both in staff employment, student enrolment and curriculum design, however research suggests there is a long way to go.”
