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Australian indigenous rights essay
Australian indigenous rights essay
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A social movement can be loosely defined as a group in society united by a common belief or goal, and lacking distinct organisational structure . The broad nature of this definition aligns with the nature of social movements themselves, as a social movement can lend itself to a wide array of issues. Some of these gather momentum and manage to influence the political sphere of the time, and others seemingly do not get off the ground. Australia has indeed seen its fair share of social movements. In this essay, I will be discussing and comparing three social movements; environmentalism, anti war/peace movement and Indigenous rights, and measuring their success, commenting on their relevance to present day society.
One of the most successful social movements Australia has seen in its young history is the environmental movement, which also termed ‘environmentalism’. Despite having a presence as early as the 1800s , environmentalism, along with a host of other post materialist issues, gained significant momentum in the late 60s and early 70s . Since then, environmental activists have fought on a number of fronts, and in this essay I will focus on the ‘green bans’ of the 1970s.
The ‘green bans’ is a name given to the period (1971 – 1975) where workers from the New South Wales Builders Labourers’ Federation removed themselves from environmentally unsound projects . The context of this activism is perhaps what makes it such an important stage in the course of environmentalism in Australia. At the time, Sydney, as well as the other major Australian cities, was going through an era of rapid industrialisation and this posed significant threat to environmental landmarks and the habitat surrounding them. This caused concern amongst resident...
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...g, London, England, 2001, p. 215
J Healey, p. 10
Ibid, p. 15
P Findlay, ‘The Communist Role in The Anti-Vietnam and Anti-Conscription Movement’, Protest Politics and Psychological Warfare, Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, Australia, 1968
‘Moratoriums and Opposition’, Department of Veteran Affairs, Australian Government, 2014, viewed 11 May 2014
< http://vietnam-war.commemoration.gov.au/conscription/moratoriums-and-opposition.php>
’80 Days that changed our lives: Thousands in moratorium campaign to oppose the Vietnam war’, ABC, 2014, viewed 11 May 2014
Department of Veteran Affairs, 2014
Ibid
P Boyle, ‘Why huge protests failed to stop the Iraq war’, Green Left Weekly, 2013, Viewed 14 May 2014
Anderson, D. (2002). The Columbia guide to the Vietnam War. New York: Columbia University Press.
The Vietnam War, which lasted for two decades (1955-1975), was probably the most problematic of all American wars. US involvement in Vietnam occurred within the larger context of the Cold War between the US and the USSR. It was, and remains, morally ambiguous and controversial. The Vietnam War was slated as both a war against Communism and a war aimed at suppressing dangerous nationalist self-determination. Christian G. Appy's book, Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, is a graphic and perceptive portrayal of soldiers' experiences and the lasting effects the Vietnam War has had on the American culture and people. Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, is an analytical work that has three major purposes: 1. to show that those who fought in Vietnam were predominantly from the working class 2. to convey the experiences of the soldiers who served in Vietnam and 3. to offer his own scathing commentary of American actions in Vietnam.
Appy, Christian G. Working-class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina, 1993. Print.
The Grassy Narrows people have a long, deeply rooted history in the environmental justices movement. Rodgers (2009) points to a number of environmental justice struggles such as the fight against the harmful effects of mercury poisoning and the Minamata disease associated with it (para. 1-3), the Ontario Hydro dams that destroyed part of the wild rice harvest and degraded the habitat of fish and fur animals, as well as the displacement of the community (due to relocation into prefabricated houses where electricity and running water were promised) and the culture shock it created (para. 4). He also discusses the successful blockade in 2002, which is the longest-lasting blockade in Canadian history (para. 28)—an example that shows how employing legal methods were critical in the struggle against environmental injustices for this community. There are a number of other issues that will be discussed in the following paragraphs; the above are just a few of the injustices the Grassy Narrows community face.
Rosie Gascoigne, is an artist who has aspired an appreciation for undiserable remnants and utilised with them in purpose to produce an assemblage of work that sees into a reflection of the past and present landscape of Australian society. Her growing motivation has taken further interest and development as the founding layers of her work through her deliberate perception, subject to the preservation of the environment and surrounding landscape. Gascoigne’s work offers an insight into deep country outback life of an Australian individual and introduces conceptualities that mirror a focus situated about ‘re-using’, ‘ recycling’ and understanding the insightful meaning present within everyday remnants. Her work is a collective gathering of selected materials to form a composition or an
The Vietnam War has become a focal point of the Sixties. Known as the first televised war, American citizens quickly became consumed with every aspect of the war. In a sense, they could not simply “turn off” the war. A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo is a firsthand account of this horrific war that tore our nation apart. Throughout this autobiography, there were several sections that grabbed my attention. I found Caputo’s use of stark comparisons and vivid imagery, particularly captivating in that, those scenes forced me to reflect on my own feelings about the war. These scenes also caused me to look at the Vietnam War from the perspective of a soldier, which is not a perspective I had previously considered. In particular, Caputo’s account of
The 1960’s was a time society fantasized of a better world. However, the horrors of the Vietnam War soon became evident; the mass amounts of death occurring because of the war became a reality. It created a “movement”, especially in American colleges, in order to stand up for what they believed to be “right”. By 1970, many Americans believed sending troops to Vietnam was a mistake, however there were also various individuals becoming increasingly critical of the student antiwar movement
‘In a Dry Season’ by Henry Lawson paints an image of the typical harsh and unforgiving Australian outback as well as it’s monotony. He attempts to illustrates its true nature and not romanticise about the sparse landscape or the difficulty of growing crops. He demonstrates the integrity of the bush characters which is heightened compared to lesser individuals. “The least horrible spot in the bush, in a dry season is where the bush isn't - where it has been cleared away and a green crop is trying to grow.” The word “horrible” reinforces that fact that the bush isn’t a hospitable place. The visual imagery through the descriptive language paints an image of crops starting to grow in the shade and suburban areas. The harsh, unforgiving and dangerous Australian environment is illustrated through Henry Lawson’s short story ‘In a Dry Season’ through descriptive language and visual
James A. Baldwin once said, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose” (BrainyQuote.com). In the 1960s, “the man” was youth across the country. The Vietnam war was in full force, and students across the country were in an outrage. Society needed an excuse to rebel against the boring and safe way of life they were used to; Vietnam gave them the excuse they needed. Teenagers from different universities came together and formed various organizations that protested the Vietnam war for many reasons. These reasons included protesting weapons and different tactics used in the war, and the reason the U.S. entered the war in the first place. These get-togethers had such a monumental impact on their way of life that it was famously named the Anti-War Movement. When the Vietnam War ended, The United States did not have a real concrete reason why; there were a bunch of theories about why the war ended. Through negative media attention and rebellious youth culture, the Anti-War Movement made a monumental impact in the ending of the Vietnam War.
Hopkins, Alexander E. "Protest and Rock n' Roll During the Vietnam War." Student Pulse 4.11 (2012). http://www.studentpulse.com/a?id=713
Of the 8 successful, the 1967 referendum which proposed the removal of the words in section 51 (xxvi) ‘… other than the aboriginal people in any State’ (National Archives of Australia ND), and the deletion of section 127, both, which were discriminative in their nature toward the Aboriginal race, recorded a 90.77% nationwide vote in favour of change (National Archives of Australia, 2014). As a result, the Constitution was altered; highlighting what was believed to be significant positive political change within Indigenous affairs at the time (National Archives of Australia, 2014). Approaching 50 years on, discussion has resurfa...
(Turner and Killian 1987) cited in (Diani 1992, p. 4) define social movements as a “collectivity acting with some continuity to promote or resist a change in the society or organisation of which it is part. As a collectivity a movement is a group with indefinite and shifting membership and with leadership whose position is determined more by informal response of adherents than by formal procedures for legitimizing authority”. Turner and Killian regard a social movement as a peculiar kind of collective behavior that is contrasted to regularity and institutional behavior. Additionally, Turner believes that social movements do not necessarily coincide with movement organisations, although these organisations can carry out a large part of the movement tasks and it is often help to control and speak for movements (Diani 1992).
...atures that make Australia what it is today. He uses the words “sunlit plain”, “vision splendid” and “wondrous glory” to provide the reader with an image that represents Australia’s reminiscent landscape. This is done to capture the reader’s thoughts in an attempt to persuade them. Paterson silences the negative aspects of rural life and the positive aspects of city life.
It is a melancholy object to those who travel through this great country to see isolated corners of this fair realm still devoted to protecting the environment. The wretched advocators of these ideals are frequently seen doling out petitions and begging at their neighbours’ doors to feed their obsession, which keeps them in the contemptible poverty that they so richly deserve.
Researchers classify social movements according to the type of change they seek (Aberle, 1966, Cameron, 1966, Blumer, 1969, as cited in Macionis, 2007). According to John Macionis, a social movement is when people commonly band together to create an organized activity that encourages or discourages social change (Macionis, 2008). In the case of this radical society, Hippies were typically ...