University History Assignment: Article Analysis and Critical Reviews

This assignment presents a student's analysis of two sets of news items and related scholarly readings, focusing on Australian history and cultural issues. The first part analyzes a speech by Abbott and an article by Gammage, both discussing the impact of European settlement on Australia. The student identifies the main arguments, highlighting Abbott's view that Australia was undeveloped before European arrival and Gammage's support for this perspective. The second part examines Morrison's comments on the Australia Day debate and an article by Grehan, addressing the need for respect and recognition of indigenous culture. The student summarizes the arguments, noting Morrison's emphasis on celebrating indigenous culture and Grehan's call for respecting indigenous traditions. The assignment demonstrates the ability to comprehend arguments, identify key viewpoints, and critique opinions using information from scholarly sources, fulfilling the requirements of a critical review assignment in a history module.

Running head: ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Article Analysis
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Week 2
Abbott, T. (2014) Address to the Sydney Institute, 14 November 2014.
Gammage, B. (2011). Fire in 1788: The closest ally. Australian Historical Studies 42(2), 277-
288.
In his speech addressed to the Sydney Institute, Abbott says that before the arrival of
the British, the nation of Australia was “nothing but bush” and the nation owes its
development to the settlers. Gammage (2011) had supported this viewpoint of Abbott by
stating that first interactions between the settlers and the native people of the Aboriginals in
1788 laid the groundwork for the present day condition of the nation of Australia. The major
thesis of Abbott in this speech is the fact that the settlers had contributed in a significant
manner towards the development of the concerned nation and he takes this position by calling
the land of Australia before the arrival of Europeans as “nothing but bush”. Gammage’s main
thesis in the article is that the interaction between the Europeans and the aboriginals
facilitated the development of Australia and he makes his position clear by calling the year
1788 a landmark one in the history of Australia. Abbott and Gammage both of them concur
on the viewpoint that the arrival of the European settlers had greatly helped the nation of
Australia. More importantly, both of them conclude with the idea that the development or
growth attained by Australia would not have been possible without the arrival of the
European settlers.

2ARTICLE ANALYSIS
Week 4
Morrison, S. (2018) On The Australia Day Debate, Sunrise, Channel 7, 24 September 2018.
Grehan, H. (2018) First Nations Politics in a Climate of Refusal, Performance Research,
23:3, pp. 7-12.
The main topic which Morrison (2018) tries to address is that rather than shifting the
National Day of Australia from January 26, the governmental authorities should create a new
indigenous day for the indigenous people of Australia. On the other hand, the main idea that
Grehan (2018) state that the citizens of Australia try to celebrate the culture of the indigenous
people by purchasing the art works created by these people. The major thesis of Morrison
(2018) is the fact that there is lot to celebrate about the indigenous culture and he makes his
position clear by saying “There's a lot to celebrate … and I think we can celebrate the fact
that this is the world's oldest living culture”. The main point of the article written by Grehan
(2018) is the fact that the Australian government in order to form an effective society needs
to respect the indigenous people and their culture and he makes this point clear by saying
“There remains, however, a distinct tension between the willingness of……in 2018, are still
excluded from the Australian Constitution”. It is pertinent to note that both of the authors
argue that the nation of Australia in order to form an effective multicultural society needs to
not only respect the cultural traditions of the indigenous people but also embrace them as
well. Thus, both of the authors conclude their articles by stating that supporting the
indigenous people and also taking their perspectives into effective consideration is likely to
make the nation of Australia a multicultural one in the true sense of the term.