The World Archaeological Congress Monday, 3Rd September 2007 the Hon Julie Bishop MP Minister for Education, Science and Trainin
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The World Archaeological Congress Please reply to: Dr Claire Smith Department of Archaeology Flinders University GPO Box 2100 Adelaide. SA. 5001 AUSTRALIA Monday, 3rd September 2007 The Hon Julie Bishop MP Minister for Education, Science and Training Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Minister, Archaeology and Australia's National History Curriculum Working collaboratively with the Australian Archaeological Association, the World Archaeological Congress is pleased to tender the submission ‘A Past for all Australians: Archaeology and Australia's National History Curriculum’. This proposal is written to encourage the Australian government to develop the new national curriculum so that it includes archaeological knowledge and methods for understanding the past. Integrating archaeology into a National History Curriculum provides an unprecedented opportunity to move Australia from a position where we are lagging behind developments in other nations, to one where we are amongst the world leaders on this issue. History curricula require students to become familiar with the methods of history, and archaeology is undoubtedly one of these. Archaeology is also the only historical research tool that extends its methodology across the entire continuum of Australian history. Archaeology does not rely only on the written word, but draws on a range of tangible objects and their context within a physical setting. Through archaeology, students will learn a scientific means for understanding the past, and develop deeper knowledge of the global firsts in human evolution and the unique accomplishments achieved by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians who did not leave a written record. This submission consists of an overview document, and a number of cascading documents. The documents included in this submission are: • Cover letter from the President of the World Archaeological Congress. • Cover letter from the President of the Australian Archaeological Association. • Overview document: ‘A Past for all Australians: Archaeology and Australia's National History Curriculum’. • Cascading document: Archaeological Periods in Australian History. • Cascading document: Teaching Archaeology in Schools: International Developments. • Cascading document: Teaching Archaeology in Schools: Internet Examples. • Cascading document: Ten Principles for Teaching Archaeology in Australian Schools. • Cascading document: Research Team. • Cascading document: Course profile: Interdisciplinary Studies (Ireland). The development of a National History Curriculum provides a wonderful opportunity for us to enhance the teaching and learning of Australian history. This opportunity will be enriched substantively through the inclusion of archaeology in the curriculum. Thank you for your consideration of this request. Yours sincerely, Claire Smith, President [email protected] www.worldarchaeologicalcongress.org Ph: 0424388925. Background information The World Archaeological Congress, with members in more than 90 countries, is the only fully international and representative organisation of practicing archaeologists. WAC’s mission is to (1) promote professional training for disadvantaged nations and communities; (2) broaden public education, involving national and international communities in archaeological research; (3) develop archaeological practice so that it empowers Indigenous and minority; (4) contribute to the conservation of archaeological sites threatened by looting, urban growth, tourism, development or war; and (5) re-dress global inequities amongst archaeologists. AUSTRALIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED ABN 13 110 628 970 A u s t r a l i a n Archaeological A s s o c i a t i o n Australian Archaeological Association Inc. PO Box 177, South Fremantle WA 6162 AUSTRALIA [email protected] www.australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au Monday, 3rd September 2007 The Hon Julie Bishop MP Minister for Education, Science and Training Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 Dear Minister, Archaeology and Australia's National History Curriculum Working collaboratively with the World Archaeological Congress, the Australian Archaeological Association is pleased to tender the submission A Past for all Australians: Archaeology and Australia's National History Curriculum. Archaeology has very specific disciplinary tools that allow us to learn about the past, and it is important that we draw on these tools in any substantive study of the past. This proposal is written to encourage the Australian government to integrate archaeology into the new National History Curriculum. The Australian Archaeological Association is one of the largest archaeological organisations in Australia, representing a diverse membership of professionals, students and others with an interest in archaeology. It aims to promote the advancement of archaeology as a discipline; to provide an organisation for the discussion and dissemination of archaeological information and ideas; to promote the study and conservation of archaeological sites and collections; and, to publicise the work of the Association. We count amongst our members some of the foremost cultural heritage and archaeological experts in the world and we can draw on their expertise to offer assistance to help ensure that cultural heritage is managed in line with world's best practice. We believe that archaeology has a huge potential to enhance the historical understanding of Australians and we hope that this initiative finds favour with your office. Yours sincerely Dr. Alistair Paterson President Australian Archaeological Association Inc A Past for All Australians: Archaeology, Australia's Long-Term History, and the National History Curriculum Submitted by Associate Professor Claire Smith President, World Archaeological Congress Department of Archaeology, Flinders University [email protected] Dr Alistair Patterson President, Australian Archaeological Association School of Social and Cultural Studies University of Western Australia [email protected] A Past for All Australians: Archaeology, Australia's Long-Term History, and the National History Curriculum Claire Smith, Heather Burke and Iain Davidson Background The Australian government has a vision for a national Australian history curriculum articulated by the Federal Minister for Education, Ms Julie Bishop, at this year’s Australian History Summit. As reported by Nick Ewbank, President of the History Teachers Association of Australia, the aim was ‘to strengthen the teaching of Australian history in schools and to sketch the essential narrative for a model Australian history curriculum’. The Australian History Summit has successfully created the basis for a framework for this curriculum and highlighted the importance of strengthening the teaching of Australian history in schools. It is now time to establish a ‘body of historical knowledge which should be taught to all Australian students’. This proposal is written to encourage the Australian government to integrate an archaeological approach to the study of the past into the National History Curriculum. History curricula throughout Australia require students to become familiar with the methods of history, and archaeology is undoubtedly one of these. Through archaeology, students will learn scientific analytical skills that can be applied to a wide range of evidence about the past, develop literacy and numeracy skills, and explore the common elements in what it means to be human. Bridging the sciences and the humanities, and the distant and the recent past, archaeology is the ideal vehicle to explore our heritage, and understand the past of all Australians. For many thousands of years, Indigenous Australians were in the vanguard of scientific and technological developments of humankind. Despite a number of books written on this subject for a general audience (e.g. Blainey 1978; Flood 1989, 2006; Mulvaney and Kamminga 1999), the current teaching of Australian history has produced little public understanding of these key events in our long-term Smith, Burke, Davidson 2 Joint submission by WAC & AAA history. Moreover, an emphasis on the analysis of historical documents means that there is even less understanding of the ways that the past can be accessed through the scientific methods used by archaeologists. Archaeology is currently strongly associated with the ancient history syllabus and involves overseas examples of popular classical sites, such as Pompeii, leading many people to assume that Australia has no long term past. Moreover, these examples are often delivered in traditional classroom settings by teachers with limited knowledge of archaeology or access to suitable archaeological resources. The development of an Australian National History Curriculum provides a unique opportunity for us to redress these deficiencies. Archaeology is also the only historical research tool that extends its methodology across the entire continuum of Australian history. Archaeology does not rely only on the written word, but draws on a range of tangible objects and their context within a physical setting. Therefore, archaeology has the potential to provide students with an appreciation that the past involves far more than the written word and that more lateral approaches to research can significantly assist in an appreciation of where we as a nation have come from and how the cultural diversity