Australian studies

This area of scholarship also includes the study of Australia's Indigenous population, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.

[1] The study of Australian history involves the exploration of past events and significant people that define Australia's present.

[3] The exact arrival of Aboriginal Australians has however been a topic of dispute among historians and archaeologists, with the accepted period being between 40,000 and 80,000 years.

An academic study in this field explores Australian society and culture both before and after European settlement and the migration of global miners to the country.

[6] The cultural study of this society involves an analysis of the interactions between the Indigenous people, European settlers and "non-White immigrants".

These interactions ranged from civil to violent, with the diseases brought to Australia by the Europeans taking a significant toll on the Indigenous population and culture.

[9] During the colonial era, English literature, Western art and Judeo-Christian religion dominated settler's cultural outlook.

[9] These were later dismantled by government promotion of multiculturalism, leading to increased migration of European, Asian and Middle Eastern people to Australia.

[15] The scholarship of Indigenous Australian studies involves Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, history and beliefs systems.

[16] Within this field of study, the social and political influence of colonisation and decolonisation on Indigenous Australian groups is analysed.

[17] Indigenous Australian studies also examines contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and society.

[18] Since the 'Close the Gap' campaign was launched in 2007, in response to the Social Justice Report 2005,[19] awareness and recognition of Indigenous civilisation and culture has grown significantly.