LESSON 19.3 How has Australia’s identity been shaped?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to explain factors that have shaped debates about Australian identity.
Tune in To help you think about this lesson, consider the history of your family, caregiver or someone else important to you in Australia. You can quietly reflect on the following questions or discuss them with a partner if you feel comfortable. 1. How did your family, caregiver or someone else close to you come to Australia, and what was their journey like? 2. What kinds of challenges might people who move to Australia face, either now or in the past, as they settle in and adjust to life here?
FIGURE1 Immigration arrivals
19.3.1
Diversity as identity
Because ours is a pluralist society, it is difficult to define Australian identity. The identity of a pluralist society will, by definition, be as diverse as the backgrounds of its citizens. Our history has featured several waves of immigration that have brought new cultures, traditions and beliefs to our shores. Each wave has contributed to the diverse cultural identity that we see in Australia today. We see evidence of these changes in different aspects of daily life including food, music and fashion. In this lesson, we will consider how waves of immigration have contributed to the evolution of Australian identity. 19.3.2
FIGURE2 Shaped by waves of immigration, Australia’s diverse cultural identity continues to develop.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities One significant misunderstanding by early European settlers was the assumption that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples lacked an identifiable civilisation and culture. The settlers failed to understand the rich cultural practices and social structures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, which led to the incorrect belief that their cultures did not exist. This misconception played a key role in the British claim of terra nullius (the idea that the land was unoccupied). In reality, Australia was home to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples for tens of thousands of years before European settlement. These groups had complex social, cultural and spiritual systems.
570 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 8 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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