Events

Join the Research Unit for Indigenous Language (RUIL) for a compelling public lecture titled Bina: First Nations Languages Old and New, presented by Gari Tudor-Smith and Felicity Meakins. This lecture will explore the remarkable resilience, recovery, and ongoing revitalisation of Australia’s First Nations languages.

Australia’s language diversity is truly breathtaking. This continent lays claim to the world’s longest continuous collection of cultures, including over 440 unique languages and many more dialects. Sadly, European invasion has had severe consequences for the vitality of these languages. Amid devastating loss, there has also been the birth of new languages such as Kriol and Yumplatok, both English-based Creoles. Aboriginal English dialects are spoken widely, and recently there has been an inspiring renaissance of First Nations languages, as communities reclaim and renew them. Bina: First Nations Languages Old and New tells this story, from the earliest exchange of words between colonists and First Nations people to today’s reclamations. It is a creative and exciting introduction to a vital and dynamic world of language.

In this lecture Gari Tudor-Smith and Felicity Meakins will discuss the making of the book, why we should care about First Nations languages and the renaissance of languages in schools, the visual and performing arts, and on-Country programs such as ranger groups.

The public lecture will be followed by light refreshments and the opportunity to purchase a hard copy of Bina: First Nations Languages Old and New.

Meet the presenters:

Gari Tudor-Smith is a Barada, Yiman, Gangulu and Gureng Gureng linguist. Gari’s focus is on connecting academia with language communities in a self-determined and culturally sensitive manner. They are currently working on the development of a Gangulu Learner’s Guide and Dictionary and reclaiming Mari song practice through RUIL. They have also contributed to the development of the UQ Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Language Revitalisation and are currently enrolled in an MPhil at the University of Queensland researching Gangulu language for revitalisation.

Felicity Meakins is a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Queensland. She has worked for over two decades with Indigenous communities documenting their languages. This work extends beyond the traditional boundaries of linguistic research, such as dictionaries and grammars, to projects grounded in the artistic, cultural and land-based practices of these communities.

If you have any questions, please reach out to ruil-contact@unimelb.edu.au

It’s funny. It’s moving. It’s tragi-comic theatre that stays true while toppling the throne to get somewhere new.

Eight performers with Down syndrome joyously deconstruct Hamlet in this adaptation from Peruvian theatre company Teatro La Plaza. They share their frustrations. They reveal their desires. They deliver the big soliloquy all at once—in rap form.

It’s a dazzling mash-up that melds film with live performance and turns the age-old question of Hamlet’s madness back in on itself. The actors are each on the prince’s quest for self but they’re also together, as they face shared obstacles to their expressions of uniqueness. In the process, they dare to ask whether “to be or not to be,” is really the question. Or is it the yardstick of normality–in a conformist, productivity-obsessed society–that could really use a closer look?

In a world that often pushes many people aside, this Hamlet focuses on the importance of community rather than the story of one depressed Danish prince. Along the way, it uncorks the essence of the story and lets it fizz.