Adam Goodes and Bi-Cultural Pride

Besides finally making me marginally interested in AFL, the current Adam Goodes debate has (once again) brought to the surface Anglo-Indigenous tensions in Australia. No matter which side of this argument you are on, it's undeniable that there are some fairly complex issues at play.

Over the last few days I have heard a range of positions on the matter - that Goodes is a bully, that the crowd who booed him are bullies, that 13 year old girls can't be held to account if they tap into the racist undercurrent of Australian society, and that AFL is an interesting sport.

Okay, I'm just kidding about that last one. Nonetheless, wherever you stand, it's a hot topic in our media at the moment and will probably take at least two or three more days to dissipate in favour of more headlines relating to the latest Tony Abbott gaffes or Mick Fanning shark encounters. And whilst Adam Goodes' story might subside with the admirable support that has bubbled up from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians alike - from Stan Grant to Bill Shorten and Ray Martin - the bigger issue will continue to remain sadly unresolved; true Reconciliation is still a long way off in this country.

So really, what's worse? One 13 year old girl getting reprimanded for voicing an offensive view that she has no doubt collected through social reproduction? Or the attempted cultural and physical genocide of an entire race of people, who are still encouraged today by the dominant majority not to voice their pain, anger or distaste at continuing racist ideologies?

To be honest, I see the girl's involvement in this debate as minuscule and irrelevant... It's the chorus of boos that doesn't sit well with me. 

How good would it be to see indigenous footy players doing traditional war dances in matches the way that the Maori celebrate their indigenous culture with the haka? New Zealand certainly isn't perfect but they could teach us a lot about bi-cultural pride. All Australians should celebrate our rich indigenous heritage.

The fact that a crowd can feel comfortable enough to engage in outright vilification of Adam Goodes because he decided to celebrate a goal with an Aboriginal war dance is simply outrageous. This is 2015. Those who support the booing and reject notions of racism worry me a lot. This should be a sobering national debate about indigenous voices in our society and the way Australia still really doesn't tolerate discussion of its troubled past, not an excuse for conservative Indigenous Holocaust deniers to stand up for lowest-common-denominator bogans.

It would be a hugely positive step forward if white Australians could resist the urge to become defensive when our Indigenous brothers and sisters dare to express their opinions and beliefs in the public arena. True Reconciliation would mean a united Australia where everyone is proud of this country's ancient traditions and culture.

HTA State Conference 2015

Last week I attended the History Teachers' Association State Conference at the University of Sydney.

I have never been to one of these conferences before, though I have been to an ETA Conference. Comparing the two seems barely relevant; the HTA Conference had a much higher focus on academia. That's not a bad thing, it's just different. I can quite easily have an appreciation for both approaches!

The highlight was a special appearance from historian-superstar Sir Richard Evans (follow the link to see his website, complete with photograph of Evans in a quintessential historian pose). If it were possible, I would have his babies. His ability to speak history as if it were a language unto itself, whilst simultaneously allowing universal access to difficult historiographical concepts in the informal and clear way that he communicates, makes his lectures into a veritable honey that pours itself the ears and coats the brain.

His keynote speech summed up 50+ years of historiography into the space of about fifty minutes, complete with humour and original insight. I then stuck around to hear him speak about the Weimar Republic period of German history - not because I teach it to Year 12 (I don't, I teach the Russian stuff) but because he's one of the most eminent scholars in the field and it would be sheer unadulterated madness to pass up the opportunity.

I missed out on his Q and A session as it felt wrong to ignore all the other ideas on offer from other scholars and teachers. I kind of wish (hope) that the HTA filmed Sir Richard's lectures and that they will be available somewhere, but the realist in me knows that this probably isn't the case. A shame, as they would be an invaluable resource for teaching HSC Extension History.

Other highlights of the conference include a session on Big History by Jonathan Dallimore, an idea that I only had the most cursory familiarity with, and a keynote address from Human Rights Commissioner Tim Wilson, who seemed perturbed by the idea that his Magna Carta video may have been inherently and (benefit of the doubt here) unintentionally sexist. That said, it's still worth checking out the aforementioned Magna Carta video as it would be a useful resource for teaching the Year 10 Rights and Freedom unit currently being taught as part of the NSW History Syllabus.

While conferencing I also popped my head into the University of Sydney's Nicholson Museum, so here are two photos I took from this little pocket of historical goodness. A Lego Pompeii and a mummified head...