This project aims to deepen our understanding of the role that ‘country’ plays in the context of life, healing and connection. By prioritising active listening and learning, we aim to cultivate a greater appreciation of the culture and knowledge of First Nations.
Reading Country is an engagement project that explores Indigenous culture through literature. The initiative is organised by allies at Melbourne Connect who are dedicated to enhancing reconciliation through reading and community engagement.
Reading Country provides a unique opportunity for University staff, students and members of our community – both allies and First Nations people alike – to come together and participate in a book group that explores and celebrates works written by Indigenous Australian authors.
The first iteration of Reading Country was held during Reconciliation Week 2023 and explored Tony Birch’s The White Girl, while the second iteration of Reading Country featured books celebrating and exploring the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The third installation of Reading Country featured Tyson Yunkaporta’s Right Story, Wrong Story: Adventures in Indigenous Thinking, and the next edition will look at Dhoombak Goobgoowana: A History of Indigenous Australia and the University of Melbourne - Volume 1: Truth (authored by Ross L Jones, James Waghorne and Marcia Langton).
Dhoombak Goobgoowana is published by Melbourne University Press and “acknowledges and publicly addresses the long, complex and troubled relationship between the Indigenous people of Australia and the University of Melbourne. It is a book about race and how it has been constructed by academics in the University. It is also about power and how academics have wielded it and justified its use against Indigenous populations, and about knowledge, especially the Indigenous knowledge that silently contributed to many early research projects and collection endeavours.”
Melbourne University Press has kindly offered participants in Reading Country a 40% discount on online orders. The code is: READINGCOUNTRY40, and this can be applied once customers have entered their details and are up to the payment stage of processing an order.
Key Dates
Whether you are interested in leading a book group or joining an existing one, Melbourne Connect will assist with all the administrative tasks so you can focus on reading and connecting with others. We welcome readers, facilitators, and organisers from all backgrounds who share our passion for Indigenous Australian literature. To learn more, sign up and we will be in touch with you shortly.
The purpose of Reading Country is to:
Reading Country values:
This project has been organised on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Boon Wurrung people, and with respect to their elders, and to all Aboriginal elders past and present.
Reading Country acknowledges that for reconciliation to occur, non-Indigenous Australians need to take responsibility for learning about Aboriginal culture and perspectives.
This project has received input from Indigenous colleagues at the University, as well as non-Indigenous staff and allies, to ensure that this project operates in an inclusive and respectful manner. We welcome your feedback to support the growth of this initiative.
We also acknowledge that this land was never ceded and that it has always been, and always will be, Aboriginal land.
More Information
Please email Steve Grimwade at Melbourne Connect.
