Handbook : Unit informationEdith Cowan University

School: Kurongkurl Katitjin

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

• Unit Title

  Political Economy of Indigenous Australia

• Unit Code

  IAS3303

• Year

  2026

• Enrolment Period

  1

• Version

  1

• Credit Points

  15

• Full Year Unit

  N

• Mode of Delivery

  On Campus
  Online

• Unit Coordinator

  Mr Richard Daniel MELLICK

Description

Beginning with traditional Indigenous societies, this unit examines the history of dispossession, adaptation and renewal in the political economy of Indigenous Australians. It traces the alienation of land and resources, the co-option of Indigenous people into semi-feudal agricultural and domestic economies, and the construction of relations of dependence. A major focus of the unit is the 1967 Referendum, which largely destroyed the existing Indigenous political economy and led to increased dependence on government security on one hand and to the genesis of an Indigenous entrepreneurial ethic on the other. The unit explores the political and economic consequences of statutory and common law land rights and the potential for increased Indigenous participation in pastoralism, tourism, mining and a range of resource-based enterprises. A key theme in this unit is the tension between the potential for a unique Indigenous political economy and the continuing impact of social security dependence.

Equivalent Rule

Unit was previously coded IAS4103

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

1. Analyse current debates concerning Indigenous social security.
2. Demonstrate understanding of theprocess of co-option of Indigenous people into resource-based industries and domestic service and describe their contribution to Australian economic development.
3. Describe historically the pre-1967 economic and political status of Indigenous workers.
4. Describe the extent of dispossession that followed European invasion, particularly how loss of access to resources generated relations of dependence.
5. Describe the genesis of Indigenous enterprise in art and culture.
6. Discuss the impact of the successful 1967 Referendum on Indigenous employment and dependence.
7. Identify the potential for a uniquely Indigenous political economy.
8. Outline the key features of traditional Indigenous Australian political economy.
9. Trace the increasing economic and political participation of Indigenous people attendant upon statutory and common law land rights.

Unit Content

1. Analysis of contemporary debates about social security dependence.
2. Analysis of the potential for a unique Indigenous political economy.
3. Description of the genesis and development of Indigenous enterprise, beginning with art and culture and encompassing a range of resource-based activities.
4. Dispossession and the formation of initial relations of Indigenous dependence.
5. New forms of Indigenous dependence following the 1967 Referendum.
6. Pre-contact Indigenous political economy.
7. Statutory and common law land rights and the potential for Indigenous enterprise and wealth creation.
8. The 1967 Referendum and its impact on Indigenous political rights and economic circumstances.
9. The co-option in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries of Indigenous workers and their political and economic status.

Additional Learning Experience Information

Lectures Tutorials Workshops Visits to Indigenous enterprises

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.