Today, I started a new Coursera MOOC titled CULTURAL COMPETENCE - ABORIGINAL SYDNEY. The course description reads as follows:
This course explores some of the key themes and capabilities of cultural competence by exploring Aboriginal experiences and narratives of Sydney.
Australia was ‘claimed’ for the British Crown in 1770, by Captain James Cook, but the invasion began in earnest when the First Fleet of British arrived in 1788 and established a penal colony in Sydney.
As a consequence Sydney is a city rich in diverse pre-colonial, colonial and contemporary sites of significance to Aboriginal peoples. Too often though our perceptions about Aboriginal peoples consign them to an ancient past or perpetuates stereotypical imaginations that Aboriginal peoples live in remote communities (Hinkson, 2010).
At the heart of this MOOC is the theme that Sovereignty was never ceded and Sydney always was and always will be Aboriginal Land. Despite this the Aboriginal presence in the city is often invisible to non-Aboriginal eyes. This course aims to bring to light marginalised narratives of Aboriginal presence in this space.
To understand hidden and marginalised narratives and experiences it is necessary to develop cultural competence capabilities. Key elements of practicing cultural competence include being able to understand and interrogate context, which in the case of Sydney includes not only learning about the peoples, places and histories of Aboriginal Sydney but to also understand issues about how knowledge is created and how dominant narratives can exclude diverse knowledges and experiences.
Course learning outcomes
1. Develop knowledge about cultural competence capabilities.
2. Develop a deeper and multi-layered knowledge and understanding about Aboriginal peoples, cultures and places in Sydney.
3. Develop a greater understanding of how history, cultures and places are represented, contested and interpreted and how that relates to their own context.
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge that this course was developed on the land of the Gadigal Peoples of the Eora nation. We pay our respect to the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge that the land that the University of Sydney was built on has been a place of learning for many thousands of years.
Learning Objectives
Understand the importance of a Welcome to Country
This blog will contain notes and my responses to the course’s written reflections.
Section 2: Introduction to the MOOC
2.4. Additional Resources
Section 3: Activity
What do you hope to get out of doing this Course?
I’m Steven Hanju Lee, and I currently live in Metro Vancouver, in British Columbia, Canada. Specifically, I live on the the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), QayQayt First Nation, Kwantlen, q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen First Nations, kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), and Stó:lō Nation. I was born and raised in Williams Lake - a small town nestled in the interior of British Columbia.
I’ve always had an interest in and desire to fight for the rights of minorities in society. For a time I volunteered thousands of hours in a few short years with two different community policing offices - when they were actually proactively working with the community to tackle issues it was facing. Probably my proudest accomplishment there was helping to create a pilot program for one of North America’s first anti-bullying programs.
At my university I helped my council create and fill positions in the student union which represented students who traditionally faced obstacles in accessing post secondary education. These included seven positions as follows: First Nations, Persons of Colour, Women’s, International, LGBTQ+, Mature, and Disabled students representatives. I also helped fellow students advocate for the creation of a number of new bursaries, including one for single parents. We also held many events, and I led the organization of a large sex education and relationships fair with guest speakers and even a one man show that explored the issues through comedy.
More recently I went back to university to work on a BFA, and through that I’ve met students from a variety of backgrounds, including some from local First Nations, one of whom has become a close friend who I’ve been fortunate enough to exhibit with on several occasions. Her work is focused on memory, and on the complex issues facing her community such as the impacts of the residential school system.
I’m taking this course as I believe Indigenous studies are important. At my own university, Kwantlen Polytechnic University (who gets its name with permission from the Kwantlen First Nation), Introduction to Indigenous Studies is now a requirement for many degrees including in the school of business and the school of journalism (it’s not in fine arts though, although we have an art history course on indigenous art in Canada, although it’s currently taught by a Caucasian woman which I find problematic, and we learned a lot about appropriation. My having taken courses alongside emerging artists from Indigenous cultures was also very informative). In the spring I started a course on the oral tradition of storytelling and a large part of our readings explored Indigenous storytelling. In 2010, I was fortunate to visit New Zealand and Australia at the time and we did a lot to take in Indigenous culture, taking tours led by local guides from Indigenous backgrounds. When we visited Uluru we were able to take a short workshop where we learned a little bit about the history and meaning behind dot painting, and even were able to create our own small paintings using the techniques shown. It saddens me how Indigenous cultures were devastated by European colonial settlers. Canada has such a dark history as does Australia and New Zealand. There’s so much we can all learn on the path to some kind of reconciliation, and reverence.