Re-imaging Aboriginal identity on Darug and Gundungurra lands

In this seminar, Julia follows the story of Aunty Carol Cooper. Aunty Carol is a Darug and Gundungurra woman who speaks back to history and the construction of urban Aboriginal identity. The narrative takes place across three Blue Mountains landscapes: Boar’s Head, the Convict’s Sleeping Place and the Gully. Following the idea among community that the ‘story owns us’, Julia analyses the role of place, memories and experience in the construction of urban Aboriginal identity. She questions the dominant theory that Aboriginal identity and belonging is founded on a ‘connection to place’ and in doing so, develops a new methodology that empowered the Storytellers to engage with their Aboriginal past and constructions of their history. This seminar is a snap-shot of Julia’s PhD research. To complete her PhD she worked with Aboriginal Elders, artists and community members who call Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains home.

Julia Hurst has completed a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne majoring in Indigenous and Development Studies and a Masters of Urban Planning also from Melbourne. She has worked as a social and cultural planner and social researcher. Her interests lie in storytelling, social justice and the arts, and she has successfully merged these interests across diverse projects in Melbourne, Geelong and Western Sydney. She was a member of Peter Read and Ann McGrath’s ARC Linkage Project Deepening Histories of Place: Exploring Indigenous Landscapes of National and International Significance where she worked closely with members of the Aboriginal community in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains to produce her doctoral research ‘Re-imagining identity of Aboriginal people living on Darug and Gundungurra lands’. This research was informed by her family’s story. Julia has presented her research in local, national and international forums and is currently working at RMIT University as an Associate Lecturer.

Date & time

Wed 28 Mar 2018, 4.15–5.30pm

Location

McDonald Room, Menzies Library, Fellows Road, ACTON ACT 2601

Speakers

Julia Hurst, PhD candidate, School of History, ANU

School/Centre

School of History

Contacts

Dr Benjamin Jones

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