Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Program in Indigenous Settler Relations
The Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Program in Indigenous Settler Relations is open to graduate researchers in any faculty undertaking graduate research related to the emerging field of Indigenous settler relations in Australia and the world.
The program connects students with researchers across disciplines, fostering an engaged and supportive intellectual community, and creating a strong cohort experience for the duration of their study. The program deepens academic understandings, and enhances interdisciplinary knowledge exchange on research that leads to more just relations between Indigenous and settler peoples. Students are supported to build networks across the University and with relevant external organisations and to develop their research in reference to current real-world challenges.
Activities throughout the year include exclusive masterclasses, a research symposium, writing retreats, and a reading group, as well as access to the suite of public seminars, lectures and film screenings run by the Australian Centre. Opportunities are available to meet regularly throughout each semester to share research progress and to participate in writing sessions, critical reading groups and workshops focused on ethics, research methodology and approaches for communicating research to diverse audiences across and beyond the academy.
The program enriches the graduate research experience by creating a strong cohort and intellectual community that assists students in developing their post-degree pathways.
Eligible students must have commenced a PhD or Masters by Research. Priority will be given to students who have at least one supervisor based at the University of Melbourne. Students from other institutions will need a statement of support from their supervisors for their applications to be considered.
2021 Participant testimonials
This program is an exceptional feat of organization. The handbook was extremely useful, the speakers were exceptional, the communication from program staff was perfect. Thank you so much for providing this incredible resource!
I’ve appreciated the fantastic community, support, and resources provided in this program to date and would heartily recommend it to other graduate students working in this area. Thank you to all those involved in creating and maintaining it.
I’m really enjoying the program! I feel like I can only dip in and out when I have the time, but have attended most masterclasses and workshops. They have been really helpful and expanded my thinking beyond my own research project, and made me think about the connections between my work and contemporary research practices.
The opportunities for learning and support through the program has been excellent. The on-campus opening event for the research program has remained a highlight of my academic year.
As a regional person, being able to participate remotely was absolutely fantastic and made it actually possible. And I really enjoyed the benefits of having people from all over participating – so interesting. I am really grateful for the excellent reading lists, and will keep working through them into the future. But most importantly I’ve really valued being connected in with a group of people who share similar values and a supportive ethos. I haven’t found that anywhere within my faculty really. I seriously hope that these connections can continue into the future – a PhD takes a long time! I’m super grateful for the opportunity and all the work that’s gone into creating the program. I’m excited to think of the work, in all its diversity, that will grow from it. A huge Thank You. I hope I can do some good work in response!!
The program provided a supportive environment in which I could ask for insights, help, and network with like-minded individuals. It facilitated great spaces for discussion and to deepen my knowledge on Indigenous-settler relations, and I always found that I was able to learn something new (even if I thought I already knew a lot about a given topic). The speakers were incredible and it was great that the reading list was comprehensive and appeared to cover a lot of different knowledge bases. Under the circumstances of the pandemic, the program did an amazing job at creating a community. I also enjoyed the fact that there is a wide array of activities available, which meant that you could miss a few and be more selective about those that you wanted to attend. I also enjoyed the complimentary nature of the sessions such as the webinars and masterclasses/workshops.
100% think this is an amazing opportunity and am beyond grateful. I love the idea of this being a place to build a community of practice – where early career researchers and PhD students can learn and improve research practices.
Our graduate research program is designed to enhance the experience of Masters and PhD students by creating an enriching cohort experience, that develops an intellectual community and facilitates opportunities to deepen students’ academic knowledge and skills.
The program is informed by approaches to doctoral pedagogy grounded in student-centred and transformative praxis. Drawing on the work of Michelle Trudgett (2014) and inspiration from the Maori and Indigenous (MAI) (Pihama et al., 2019) and Supporting Aboriginal Graduate Enhancement (SAGE) (Pidgeon et al., 2014) programs, our graduate research program is based on and promotes Indigenous doctoral pedagogy as best practice for all students.
The Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Program is focused around a series of masterclasses delivered by scholars presenting in the Australian Centre's critical public conversation seminar series. The masterclasses are supplemented with a set of research development activities designed to accelerate research careers of students engaged in the program:
- workshops focused on ethics, research methodology, approaches for communicating research to diverse audiences across and beyond the academy.
- research symposium
- writing retreats
In addition to the core program, the Australian Centre facilitates a range of regular, open events and activities that we warmly invite you to join, including the seminar series, our critical reading group, public lectures and film screenings. We also invite students in the program to meet regularly throughout each semester to share research progress and to participate in writing sessions.
February 2021
Welcome Event
Date: Friday 26 February
March 2021
Launch of the Graduate Research Program 2021
On Thursday March 4th join us in celebrating the official launch of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Program.
Date: Thursday 4 March, 12pm - 2pm (AEDT)
Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremony
Wurundjeri Woi wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation
Speakers
Professor Russell Goulbourne, Dean Of Arts
Professor Sarah Maddison and Associate Professor Sana Nakata, ISRC Co-Directors
Musical Performance
Yorta Yorta Dja Dja Wurrung, Sovereign, singer, songwriter, language activist
Research Ethics Workshop
An ethical starting point for relational work is the understanding that ‘the relations between Indigenous peoples, settlers, and the settler state [is] the focal point of inquiry rather than the lives and bodies of Indigenous peoples’ (Nakata & Maddison, 2019, p. 419). Thus we seek to decenter disciplinary authority to know Indigenous peoples, and prioritise the relations between Indigenous peoples and the settler order.
This workshop will explore both the ethical principles for relational research, and critical reflections on navigating ethics approval processes.
Presenters: Dr Julia Hurst, Dr Ligia (Licho) López López, and Dale Wandin
Date: Friday 12 March, 2pm - 4pm (AEDT)
Masterclass
An exclusive session with the presenter of this month’s Critical Public Conversation series, focused on exploring the key themes and questions raised in their presentation.
Presenters: Professor Sarah Maddison and Associate Professor Sana Nakata
Date: Monday 29 March, 11am - 12pm (AEDT)
April 2021
Masterclass
An exclusive session with the presenter of this month’s Critical Public Conversation series, focused on exploring the key themes and questions raised in their presentation.
Presenters: Associate Professor Morgan Brigg and Dr Mary Graham
Date: Tuesday 13 April, 10am - 11am (AEST)
Research Methodology Workshop
The interdisciplinary methodological approach of the RHD program is a framework informed by relational ethics and self-reflexivity. Guided by the understanding that ‘research is not an innocent or distant academic exercise but an activity that has something at stake and that occurs in a set of political and social conditions’ (Smith, 2012, p. 5), the program seeks to encourage critical thought accompanied by research practices that are attentive to issues of accountability, respect, care, renewal and insurgency.
This workshop will focus on methodology: what it is and why it is at the centre of the research process – yet it is rendered almost completely invisible within Western research practices, regardless of methods used.
Presenter: Distinguished Professor Maggie Walter
Date: Thursday 22 April, 1pm - 3pm (AEST)
Critical Reading Group
Join article author Alfred Deakin Professor and Chair in Race Relations Yin Paradies to discuss his recent publication Unsettling truths: modernity, (de-)coloniality and Indigenous futures. Bring your questions, comments, feedback, thoughts, ideas, and feelings.
Presenter: Professor Yin Paradies
Date: Monday 26 April, 12pm - 2pm (AEST)
May 2021
Collaborator workshop
Collaborator workshops are conducted in partnership with a member of the ISRC academic network and provide the opportunity to engage beyond the CPC series and academic development workshops to focus on a key area of Indigenous-settler relations.
Presenter: Professor Adrian Little
Date: Wednesday 12 May, 11am - 1pm (AEST)
Masterclass
An exclusive session with the presenter of this month’s Critical Public Conversation series, focused on exploring the key themes and questions raised in their presentation.
Presenter: Professor J. Kēhaulani Kauanui
Date: Friday 21 May, 10am - 12pm (AEST)
June 2021
Masterclass
An exclusive session with the presenter of this month’s Critical Public Conversation series, focused on exploring the key themes and questions raised in their presentation.
Presenter: Associate Professor Sheryl Lightfoot
Date: Wednesday 30 June, 11am - 12pm (AEST)
July 2021
Winter Writing Retreat
The ISRC Writing Retreats provide participants with structure, time, and encouragement to make progress on their writing in the company of other scholars. They are designed to provide you with the physical and mental space to write as part of a community of productive student researchers.
The program will include structured writing time, facilitated workshops, and informal discussions, debriefing sessions and the celebration of progress made.
Dates: Tuesday 22 July - Thursday 24 July
August 2021
Publishing workshop
The publishing workshop is focused on exploring opportunities for disseminating research and building a publication profile in the field of Indigenous-settler relations. Core topics include:
- developing a publication plan
- identifying suitable journals
- understanding the difference between writing for the thesis and writing for journals
- develop an ethical politics of citation in the field of Indigenous-settler relations
Presenter: Dr Ashley Barnwell
Date: Monday 2 August, 10am - 11:30am (AEST)
September 2021
Collaborator workshop
Collaborator workshops are conducted in partnership with a member of the ISRC academic network and provide the opportunity to engage beyond the CPC series and academic development workshops to focus on a key area of Indigenous-settler relations.
Presenter: Professor Karen Farquharson
Date: Tuesday 7 September, 10am - 12pm (AEST)
October 2021
Masterclass
An exclusive session with the presenter of this month’s Critical Public Conversation series, focused on exploring the key themes and questions raised in their presentation.
Presenter: Associate Professor Lorenzo Veracini
Date: Wednesday 28th October, 12pm - 1pm (AEDT)
December 2021
Masterclass
An exclusive session with the presenter of November’s Critical Public Conversation series, focused on exploring the key themes and questions raised in their presentation.
Presenter: Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Date: Thursday 2 December, 11am - 12pm (AEDT)
Summer Writing Retreat
The ISRC Writing Retreats provide participants with structure, time, and encouragement to make progress on their writing in the company of other scholars. They are designed to provide you with the physical and mental space to write as part of a community of productive student researchers.
The program will include structured writing time, facilitated workshops, and informal discussions, debriefing sessions and the celebration of progress made.
Dates: Friday 3 December - Wednesday 8 December
Research Symposium
The ISRC Research Symposium invites participants to showcase and share their excellent and innovative work in the field of Indigenous-settler relations. We invite attendees to share their questions and critiques, experience and knowledge. We seek to create a space to have difficult conversations, which are essential for justice and our collective futures. We will focus on developing learning communities and creating conversations that will generate collaboration amongst scholars in the university setting.
The main aims of the symposium are:
- to bring together graduates working in different disciplines, within the Indigenous-settler relations field
- to allow students to profile their topics and receive support/feedback from panels and peers
- to present successful pathways for organising and producing a thesis in the field
- to identify strategic issues in undertaking higher education in the field
The symposium’s purpose is to foster the exchange of information, help HDR scholars to progress their research themes, provide/receive feedback, and create an engaging space for Indigenous-settler relations research.
Dates: Thursday 9 December - Friday 10 December
Program of regular events
- 1st Friday of every month: Reading sprints
- 2nd Friday of every month: Shut up and write
- 3rd Friday of every month: Study circle
- 4th Friday of every month: Shut up and write
ISRC Research Room
Room E672 in John Medley East (Building 191) is available to graduate program students during working hours. The room includes computers, desks, lockable cabinets, telephones and a meeting area with a large display screen. There is also access to a shared kitchenette with a fridge and microwave available on level 6.
| Name | Title | Institution |
|---|---|---|
Daphne Arapakis | Postcolonial denial, ‘white-but-not-white-enough’ privilege, and reconciliatory responsibility with First Nations | School of Social and Political Sciences, the University of Melbourne |
Jocelyn Bardot | Mapping Dja Dja Wurrung Obejcts Through Global Museum Networks: Historiographies, inventories and provenances | School of Culture and Communication, the University of Melbourne |
Alex Bowen | Communication about criminal law and justice with NT Aboriginal defendants | School of Languages and Linguistics, the University of Melbourne |
Nina Cass | Inside Australian universities: The participation of Indigenous peoples in higher education | The Faculty of Education, the University of Cambridge |
Jessica Clark | Who’s Afraid of Aboriginal Art? | School of Fine Arts and Music, the University of Melbourne |
Emily Cox | Decolonising contemporary design practice: Understanding the power dynamics in relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Settler Australians in the built environment | School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, the University of Melbourne |
Emily Dawson | Aboriginal Advocacy, Resistance and Resilience in Australian Education Systems | Melbourne Graduate School of Education, the University of Melbourne |
Anna Dunn | Navigating rock relations in protected area management | Department of Gender and Cultural Studies, the University of Sydney |
Simon Farley | ‘Alien Hordes’: A cultural history of biological invasions in Australia | School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, the University of Melbourne |
Catherine Gay | All life and usefulness: Girls in nineteenth-century Victoria | School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, the University of Melbourne |
Anastasia Gramatakos | School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, the University of Melbourne | |
Philippa Henderson | Whiteness in education and schools: learning from lived experiences of young Aboriginal students and their families to understand manifestations of whiteness in primary schools | Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity, Flinders University |
Natalie Ironfield | The (im)possibilities of criminal legal system reform: An Indigenous critique of the Australian colonial carceral state | School of Social and Political Sciences, the University of Melbourne |
Vicki Kerrigan | Frontier healthcare: developing culturally safe communication at Royal Darwin Hospital | Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University |
Priya Kunjan | School of Social and Political Sciences, the University of Melbourne | |
Shane Lestideau | Developing Historically Informed Performance Practices of Scottish-Australian Music Manuscripts | School of Fine Arts and Music, the University of Melbourne |
Shelly McGrath | How do systemic criminalisation processes deployed by settler-colonial states impact on the socio-political delegitimisation of First Nations peoples, and how are Indigenous resurgences countering these praxes? | Wollotuka Institute of Indigenous Education and Research, the University of Newcastle |
Katy McKeown | Cleamnhas; The Affinity Project | School of Fine Arts and Music, the University of Melbourne |
Martin McKowen | Community Development Principles and Indigenous Self-Determination | Justice & Society, the University of South Australia |
Sumaiya Muyeen | from stigmatic bodies to poetic flesh: Muslim-fem experiments in desire | School of Social and Political Sciences, the University of Melbourne |
Matt Novacevski | Looking Through Layers - Towards Post-colonial Placemaking Evaluation in Australia | School of Architecture, Building and Planning, the University of Melbourne |
Catalina Labra Odde | Mapping Jaara Women’s Knowledge with Historical and Archaeological Data – Narratives of Australian Aboriginal Food and Fire | Department of Archaeology and History and Department of Social Inquiry, La Trobe University |
Stefanie Oliver | From Isolation to Inclusion: Embracing local perspectives in examining the treatment model of care for Aboriginal persons affected by tuberculosis or leprosy in the Kimberley region, North Western Australia | School of Medicine, the University of Notre Dame Australia |
Jason O’Neil | Wiradjuri mayiny on centring First Nations: Redefining self-determination in Australian public policy | Nura Gili Centre for Indigenous Programs, the University of New South Wales |
Michelle O’Toole | Engaging with alterity: non-Māori learners of te reo Māori in Whakatāne, Aotearoa New Zealand | Department of Social Inquiry, La Trobe University |
Péta Phelan | Aboriginal LGBTIQSB+ Social and Emotional Wellbeing: Re-making engagement with us at the centre | School of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, the University of Melbourne |
Caitlyn Pryse | Learners Use YouTube Comments to Disrupt the Universality of Australian School Mathematics | Melbourne Graduate School of Education, the University of Melbourne |
Carol Que | Anticolonial boycott: Infrastructures of refusal, connectivity, and continuity | School of Social and Political Sciences, the University of Melbourne |
Isaac Roberts | Parallel Journeys: Indigenous and Jewish Relationships from 1788 | Department of Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University |
Catherine Ryan | Making it up as we go: Improvisational theatre practices and child/adult relationships | Melbourne Graduate School of Education, the University of Melbourne |
Susan Ryan | Deconstructing the colonial view of Wadawurrung Country: knowledge drawn from John Wedge’s Field Books of 1835-1836 | School of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University |
Tasnim Sammak | Tracing 9/11 Muslim political subjectivities and imaginaries in settler colonial Australia | The Faculty of Education, Monash University |
Danish Sheikh | A Jurisprudence of Repair | Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne |
William Sheldon | After the Empire - Governance, Planning and Sustainable Indigenous Development in Australia | School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, the University of Melbourne |
Priyanka Shivadas | On Reading the Fourth World: A Trans-Indigenous Study of Indigenous Literatures of Australia and India | School of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy |
Jarrod Sim | An Ethnography of the Paridrayan Soundscape | School of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Australian National University |
Amy Thomas | Envisioning self-determination: contesting the future in remote Aboriginal bilingual schools | School of International Studies and Education and the Australian Centre for Public History, the University of Technology Sydney |
Austin Tseng | Chinese-Australians and Anti-Blackness: Settler Media Discourses Since Federation | Faculty of Arts and the Asia Institute, the University of Melbourne |
Vanessa Whittington | Moved to care for Country? Visitors, landscape, affect and the role of heritage interpretation | Institute of Culture and Society, Western Sydney University |
Janelle Young | Representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australian social work discourse | School of Social and Political Sciences, the University of Melbourne |
The Program is offered by the Australian Centre and students remain enrolled in their current departments. Eligible students must be undertaking graduate research on a relevant topic. Priority will be given to students who have at least one supervisor based at the University of Melbourne.
Timely completion of the thesis remains the priority, with the Program intended to enhance the experience of advanced research training and aid graduation pathways.
Applications to join the program are called for once per year, closing in early February. To discuss joining the program after this date, please get in touch.
Students can join the program at any time during their candidature and remain part of the program until the completion of their studies.
If you are not a current student at the University of Melbourne and would like information about how to apply to become a graduate research candidate at the University, please visit the Information for graduate researchers web page.
2022 applications
Applications for mid-year entry into the 2022 Program will open Wednesday 1 June.
Please note: Priority will be given to students who have at least one supervisor based at the University of Melbourne. Students from other institutions will need a statement of support from their supervisors for their applications to be considered. Eligible students must have commenced a PhD or Masters by Research.
Application process
Applicants are asked to provide the following information via an online form. We strongly recommend that you prepare your answers offline (in Microsoft Word or similar) and save a copy for your own records.
- Name, enrolment and contact information
- Start and expected completion dates
- Current Supervisor/s
- Thesis title (or proposed title)
- A brief description of their topic (up to 100 words)
- An outline of what they are most interested in gaining from the program (up to 100 words)
Please email the Australian Centre if you have any problems with or queries about completing this form.
The Graduate Program in Indigenous Settler Relations is open to students enrolled in a graduate research degree.
If you would like information about how to apply to become a graduate research candidate at the University, please visit the Information for graduate researchers web page.
If you are a current student or have already applied to study at the University of Melbourne and have questions about the Graduate Research Program please contact:
Claire Akhbari
Email: aust-centre@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 8344 1276
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