UOW English students celebrate the diversity of Australia

Oct 27, 2005

How do you define Australia? What does the term national identity mean to you?

A group of UOW students studying 'ENGL113: Contemporary Australian Writing' recently pondered these questions at an event titled 'The Heart of Each Reflection' where they participated in readings, exhibitions and anthologies.

The project was supported by a Vice-Chancellor's Challenge Grant for innovation in teaching and was organised by Head of the School of English Literatures, Philosophy and Languages in the Faculty of Arts, Associate Professor Gerry Turcotte. The project reflected a sample of the 150 responses he received from students about the notion of belonging and identity.

“What the readings, exhibitions and anthologies reflected was the diversity of voices, backgrounds, views and understandings in Australia,” said Professor Turcotte.

“The project reflected minority and majority views; it spoke of Muslim, Christian, Jewish and other religions and it told of Korean-Australian, Croatian-Australian, Irish-Australian, Aboriginal-Australian and many other hyphenated identities. It reflected views from international students and those who had never travelled beyond Australian shores.”

Professor Turcotte said the readings celebrated the students' love for Australia, while also questioning the country's equality, fairness and diversity.