76707 Indigenous Peoples Race and the Law

The idea of race has played a central defining role in international and domestic colonial relations over the past two hundred years. This course examines discourses of colonial conquest in an attempt to understand the historical and jurisprudential foundations of race relations in current Australian law. Common paradigms used to explain the rise of race thinking are considered. These include the role of exploration and colonisation, theories of enlightenment and democracy, inter-European conflict and the rise of nationalism, and scientific race theories. The translation of these ideas into the Australian Constitution, legislation, and common law doctrinal developments is traced from the mid-19th century to the present. Specific consideration is given to the development of rights discourses and the related development of national and international human rights laws which attempt to accommodate cultural difference.