Year 11 Literature

Voices of Country – Yr 11 Literature unit celebrating First Nations Storytelling 

In the final week of term two, the Year 11 Literature classes were very fortunate to visit the Koorie Heritage Trust and NGV exhibits on First Nations art as part of their area of study ‘Voices of Country’. In this unit, we hope to broaden our perspectives on the long, diverse and continuous culture of First Nations peoples, particularly through the lens of storytelling.  

Throughout our walking tour of the Koorie Heritage Trust, we learned about traditional First Nations hunting tools, the importance of the Yarra River or Birrarung and ways of communication between the different dialect groups of the East Kulin Nations. It was great to be told more about the emphasis placed on the reciprocal relationship between First Nations peoples and Country, most evident in the practice of respecting the land and wildlife and never allowing for overconsumption.  

As well as the walking tour, we were treated to time spent engaging with a variety of different First Nations art in the National Gallery of Victoria. Most notably, some artworks revealed and critiqued the “anthropological” approach to portraying and understanding First Nations culture, while endorsing the continuous creation of First Nations art in the face of ongoing colonisation. An overarching theme to the artworks was also evident in the use of rare-earth pigments in particular paintings, which helped the art to feel vibrant and also deeply connected to the Country that the materials came from.  

The year 11 Literature classes finished the day feeling like a lot of valuable lessons had been learned, and we are all excited to get started with the deeper thinking required of this unit. Thank you to Ms Bossio and Ms Carrig for organising the trip. 

-Tatjana Gregory, Yr 11 

All VCE Literature students attended a workshop with Wiradjuri poet, author and academic Dr Jeanine Leane in the library in the first week of Term Three. In her workshop she spoke about Blak Poetry, shared about her own connection to Country and read from ‘Gawimarra Gathering’ her collection of contemporary poetry that is one of the set texts for Year 11. She also shared about the Year 12 text ‘Throat’ by Ellen van Neerven.  

She emailed after her visit to share her appreciation:

“Please pass on my thanks to all those who attended for the enthusiastic engagement with my work. I hope they will find the resources I left useful and that they will be a springboard for them to engage with the works of more First Nations authors. Wishing those leaving at the end of this year all the very best for the future and looking forward to speaking with the Yr 11s again next year.” Jeanine Leane 

-Anna Carrig, Head of English and VCE Literature Teacher