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Indigenous knowledge, history and heritage will take a starring role in arts, law, science and business studies from next year.

Indigenous Knowledge History and Heritage is a new major to be offered in New Courses 2012 , the first major from the School of Indigenous Studies. And, according to its co-coordinator, Assistant Professor Clint Bracknell, Indigenous knowledge is "set to explode."

"This course is about opening students up to new ways of looking at the world," he said. "Universities are places of sharing knowledge and innovation and we want Indigenous voices to be heard in the university context, not just at UWA, but all over Australia. In this shared learning space students will explore new ways of interacting and collaborating with Indigenous people."

Even though the course sits within the Bachelor of Arts, A/Professor Bracknell said the Indigenous Knowledge, History and Heritage major was still available and highly applicable to students enrolled in other degrees. Indeed the School is particularly interested in students who might be combining arts with studies in other faculties. (Parts of the course will also be offered as broadening units.)

"It's a multi-disciplinary course with, for example, a collaborative unit with the Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management (based in Albany). This unit would appeal to science students. Similarly units that look at representation, intellectual property, appropriation, industry protocols and ethics would be relevant and of interest to law and business students."

He said that, traditionally, Aboriginal studies had been located within other disciplines such as history or anthropology. "But that's not how we are. We are locating Aboriginal knowledge within our own space, and teaching in a way that reflects the dynamic and ongoing nature of our community and culture and as part of today's society."

A/Professor Bracknell is primarily employed to prepare the eight units for the course but the work is being done collaboratively in the School with lecturer Tracie Pushman and A/Professor Blaze Kwaymullina. "That's how we are, that's the way we work," he said.

A former high school teacher in Australia and Japan, A/Professor Bracknell is also a musician. He plays bass, guitar, sings and writes songs for his rhythm and blues band, Boom! Bap! Pow!

"But I've always wanted to work in this area," he said. "It's really exciting, preparing to help students to discover new ways of thinking.

"Language is a passion of mine; not teaching it, but the philosophy of language and how it can uncover different ideas. The beauty of the Noongar language is that it is born of this place, while English is new to the area. Learning something about the Noongar language will help to conceptualise this place in which we live."

The language will be part of a unit tentatively called Looking South which will bring in a range of Noongar voices. "To give an area like this respect, you have to realise that there are many different stories and perspectives involved." We hope to engender some understanding of this complexity," he said.

"We are looking forward to bringing in a diverse cohort of students who bring with them a range of perspectives, then offering them all another range of perspectives."

Published in UWA News , 30 May 2011