ATS2019 · Beyond 'Primitive' Art: Understanding meaning and symbolism in Indigenous art

Overview

Indigenous 'art' is a highly visible and recognizable symbol of peoples' engagement with their cultural identity, history and traditions. In this unit, students examine early and recent forms of Indigenous visual traditions (e.g. rock-art, bark paintings, sculpture) to learn about their role and significance in Indigenous societies. Topics to be discussed include art's relationship to landscapes and seascapes, issues of interpretation, and how art reflects interaction with the 'other'. The unit combines anthropological, archaeological, and Indigenous approaches to understanding the production, meaning and symbolism associated with various images and objects created through time.

Areas of study: Archaeology and ancient history Indigenous cultures and histories

Offerings

The Handbook publishes no offerings for this unit.

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. Develop an appreciation and understanding of the cultural heritage value of Indigenous art in a global sense;
2. Demonstrate sound knowledge of the major forms of Indigenous art, their antiquity and their social function;
3. Demonstrate an awareness for how different forms of art act(ed) to construct and/or reinforce Indigenous identity;
4. Compare, contrast, and critically analyse key interpretive frameworks and techniques through which Indigenous art is (and has been) perceived;
5. Discuss and comprehend the changes to Indigenous artistic traditions that occurred through contact with the 'other' (e.g. Europeans, Macassans);
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical development and social context of major Indigenous artistic traditions.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.