AustLit logo

AustLit

Craig Somerville Craig Somerville i(A139198 works by)
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 Martu Storytellers : Aboriginal Narratives Within the Academy Craig Somerville , Kirra Liscia Somerville , Frances Wyld , 2010 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Supplementary issue vol. 39S no. 2010; (p. 96-101)
'The Martu people originate from the Pilbara region in Western Australia. Despite policies of removal, incarceration in prison and the need to leave community for health services, Martu maintain identity and connection to country. Their narratives have been used to inform a wider Australian audience about the history and culture of Aboriginal people. But the stories have also received criticism and been the subject of a Westernised anthropological view. With the emergence of storytelling as method in the academy, a new space is being created for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people to find a more robust foothold within the Social Sciences to story our world. This paper is written by three Martu people who position storytelling as transmission and preservation of cultural knowledge and to privilege a voice to speak back to Western academics. Storytelling also brings an opportunity to engage with an Aboriginal worldview, to use narrative as an inquiry into ontology and one's connection to people and place. This brings benefits to all Australians seeking stories of country, connection and identity.' Source: The authors.
X