IRES Seminar Series
Time: 12:30pm to 1:30pm (every Thursday)
Location: AERL Theatre (room 120), 2202 Main Mall
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Dancing for Country (towards Reconciliation?) – A non-Indigenous Australian perspective
On December 1, 2019, for the first time in history, Indigenous communities from across Australia danced in unison at the same time, dancing for Country, for ancestors and for healing. For the first time in over 150 years, Corroboree took place on Gundungurra Country (in south-eastern New South Wales). In this presentation I want to juxtapose this moment with the recent history of moves to achieve Reconciliation in Australia that began with the establishment of a Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation in 1991 and was followed by the attempts to comprehend Australia’s history of forced removal of Aboriginal children from the 1900s through to the 1970s (dubbed the Stolen Generations). This presentation will consider this historical context and the question of whether Reconciliation is possible in a settler-colonial society such as Australia and what lessons (if any) might be drawn for non-Indigenous peoples seeking to achieve Reconciliation.
Mark Harris
Associate Professor, Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice
Bio:
Dr. Mark Harris is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice where he teaches courses on Globalization and Social Justice and Gender, Race, Law and Social Justice. His research focuses primarily on social justice issues with an emphasis on Indigenous rights in relation to cultural heritage, land claims, the stolen generations, intellectual property and criminal justice issues in both Australia and globally. He has worked as a lawyer giving advice on native title (land) claims for Indigenous communities in South-Eastern Australia.