This plan is only available to students commencing from 2009 onwards

Australian Studies occupies a unique position in the Australian tertiary curriculum as it offers both Australian and international students the opportunity to examine Australian culture and society from the perspectives of a variety of complementary disciplines and other area studies: English, History, Politics, Sociology, Social Policy, Indigenous Studies, Environmental Studies, Film Studies, Music and Art History.

Aims of the Minor
The subject-specific aims of the Australian Studies Minor aims are:
• to develop informed understanding of Australian society, culture and experience
• to discern relationships between the various disciplinary methods employed to understand Australia in its transnational context.
• to foster critical and creative engagement with Australia in its relationships with the world through reasoned and open-minded debate
• to consider the value of Australian ethical and aesthetic responses
• to internationalise Australian experiences and so foster understanding of other cultures.

A student who wishes to gain a Minor in Australian Studies must complete 36 units of credit including 6 uoc at Level 1, at least 12 uoc at Level 2 and at least 12 uoc at Level 3.

It is envisaged that the Level 2 Australian Studies subjects will build on the broad introduction to Australian Studies provided by the Gateway course to cover areas within the fields of Australian literature, Aboriginal Australia, Australian Aboriginal music, Australian Cinema, Australian Art, Australian politics. In addition to survey Australian history courses there will be a course on the history of protest and resistance and on the history of sport and popular culture.

It is envisaged that the Level 3 Australian Studies subjects will offer more focused courses within the fields mentioned above. These may include areas such as Indigenous Identity, Australian Environmental history, Cultural Heritage Management, Transnational Images of Australia, Australian urban and public history and Australian welfare history.