Graduate explores Indigenous identity
Kristyn Comino
14 April 2014: Comparing ideas from settlers during colonisation with current attitudes from society today, University of Canberra graduate Wendy Somerville’s honours research aimed to find out who defines the identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.
“My question was, ‘who defines Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity? Is the answer the same as the old?’ and the answer was yes, it is the same,” Ms Somerville said.
“During early colonisation European-dominant ideas were the prevalent lines of thought, like the great chain of being and orientalism, and in turn this defined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as ‘other’. It’s still the same today – there is an idea that we need to fit Indigenous people somewhere, to label them.”
For her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) research Ms Somerville, a Jerrinja woman who grew up in Cobar, NSW, looked at first-hand accounts from settlers during early colonisation and analysed an episode of the TV program Insight on SBS that looked at Indigenous identity.
“The ideas experienced in early times of colonisation were the same as those given by people in the program,” she said.
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Wendy Somerville graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and is continuing her studies through a PhD. Photo: Michelle McAulay |
Along with now tutoring at the University and working as a research assistant, Ms Somerville is continuing her studies through a PhD. She plans to explore similar themes as her honours research but through a more comparative approach, potentially comparing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with Maori people from New Zealand.
She said it “felt great to be graduating” with honours but that she wanted to go on to further study at the University because she is “always interested in learning.”
“Studying is a challenge and I want to see how far I can go with it. You can’t go much further than a PhD - I guess maybe two PhDs!” she joked.
Ms Somerville highlighted that her teachers played a large role in giving her the confidence to keep studying, including Tracey Ireland and Elizabeth Bonshek. She added that she has also benefited from utilising the Ngunnawal Centre, the University’s support service for Indigenous students.
“The Ngunnawal Centre has been very supportive of me. It’s a place where I feel comfortable and I now aim to make new students feel welcome there as well.”
Ms Somerville’s husband attended her graduation ceremony, along with her friend and fellow graduate Tess Ryan, with the pair looking forward to continuing their journey together as PhD students.
Read more University of Canberra graduation stories:
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