Indigenous Australians and Familial Belonging
“…the ways in which the concept of belonging is represented…”
Thesis
A sense of belonging is felt where there is the perception of acceptance and understanding without compromise, conditions or limitations.
Key Ideas
← Belonging is about how the individual experiences their difference. ← Only in the context of acceptance can a person feel they belong. ← The individual is the only person who can decide whether or not he/or she belongs. ← What promotes belonging is a willingness to be accepting of others. ← People are threatened by what is different – the unknown, the other. ← Differences define boundaries.
Dichotomies at work belonging/not belonging connected/disconnected accepted/not accepted seeking to belong/reluctance to assimilate rejecting difference/accepting difference social barriers to belonging/personal barriers to belonging belonging as a limitation/belonging as an extension or addition
characters
|Nan Dear |Gladys |Dolly |
|Matriarch of the family, in her 60s |Nan’s daughter, Dolly’s mother, in her 40s |Daughter, shielded from the truth by Gladys and Nan until her own trauma |
|Nan’s focus is on accepting her lot and surviving. Her approach to |Gladys reveres the young queen and ideas of royalty. She’s excited at the |throws her into adulthood |
|objects is whether or not they are useful to her in keeping house, |Queen’s visit and wants just to get a look at her. |Proud of her Aboriginality but aware of the differences in society; is |
|feeding her family, surviving…
Thesis
A sense of belonging is felt where there is the perception of acceptance and understanding without compromise, conditions or limitations.
Key Ideas
← Belonging is about how the individual experiences their difference. ← Only in the context of acceptance can a person feel they belong. ← The individual is the only person who can decide whether or not he/or she belongs. ← What promotes belonging is a willingness to be accepting of others. ← People are threatened by what is different – the unknown, the other. ← Differences define boundaries.
Dichotomies at work belonging/not belonging connected/disconnected accepted/not accepted seeking to belong/reluctance to assimilate rejecting difference/accepting difference social barriers to belonging/personal barriers to belonging belonging as a limitation/belonging as an extension or addition
characters
|Nan Dear |Gladys |Dolly |
|Matriarch of the family, in her 60s |Nan’s daughter, Dolly’s mother, in her 40s |Daughter, shielded from the truth by Gladys and Nan until her own trauma |
|Nan’s focus is on accepting her lot and surviving. Her approach to |Gladys reveres the young queen and ideas of royalty. She’s excited at the |throws her into adulthood |
|objects is whether or not they are useful to her in keeping house, |Queen’s visit and wants just to get a look at her. |Proud of her Aboriginality but aware of the differences in society; is |
|feeding her family, surviving…