ATS3180 · Pacific Indigenous politics

Overview

In this unit, you will examine the interaction between international law, regional governance, and Indigenous sovereignty across Australasia and the Pacific. You will analyse how Indigenous peoples engage with international legal frameworks, including human rights regimes, environmental law, maritime law, and regional diplomacy, to assert political authority and claims to self-determination. The unit foregrounds the experiences and perspectives of First Nations Peoples in Australia, Māori Peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand, and Indigenous Peoples across the Pacific Islands region. You will critically examine settler-colonial legal systems, debates over constitutional reform, the implications of climate-induced displacement, and emerging Pacific Indigenous diplomacy.

Areas of study: Politics International Relations

Offerings

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. analyse the application of international law to Indigenous Peoples in Australasia and the Pacific;
2. critically assess the limits of state sovereignty in settler colonial contexts;
3. evaluate Indigenous engagement with regional and international institutions;
4. apply legal principles to contemporary political debates;
5. produce advanced research grounded in primary legal sources.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours 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.