• the sociological imagination as conceived by Charles Wright Mills and its connection to the study of culture: 

– the process of engaging the sociological imagination 

– the distinction between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, and their relationship to the sociological imagination 

• public misconceptions about Australian Indigenous culture concerning: 

– past perception that Australia was land that belonged to no-one prior to European arrival 

– the perception that Australian Indigenous people share one culture 

– the perception that Australian Indigenous people mainly live in arid areas of Australia 

• factors that support and/or limit public awareness of Indigenous Australian culture: 

– the historical suppression of Australian Indigenous culture through protection and segregation, and the assimilation policies, and Australian Indigenous responses to this suppression 

– a range of historical and contemporary representations of Australian Indigenous culture that could be interpreted as ethnocentric and/or culturally relativistic representations 

– reconciliation: practical (government actions), symbolic (the Apology) and the Close the Gap campaign 

• the implications of the above factors for shaping the public views of Australian Indigenous culture 

• one issue related to changing awareness of Australian Indigenous culture: 

– the nature of the issue 

– the historical and political context of this issue

– the relationship between this issue and awareness of Australian Indigenous culture 

– significant indigenous and non-indigenous people (individuals and/or groups) involved; their response/s to the issue; and implications of these responses for shaping public views of Australian Indigenous culture.

• the concepts of ethnocentrism, cultural relativism and the ‘other’ 

• the nature of the theory of ethnic hybridity, as informed by Stuart Hall, and its connection to experiences of ethnicity 

• Australia’s current ethnic diversity compared with other developed countries 

• the concept of multiculturalism 

• barriers and enablers to belonging and inclusion in Australia’s multicultural society as shaped by the following: 

– customs and traditions 

– social attitudes 

– media 

– political factors