With 2019 designated as the UN's International Year of Indigenous Languages, this public event will explore the destruction, survival, recovery and use of Victorian indigenous languages, and the use of Indigenous language in historical research and production. 

Alice Gaby (Associate Professor in Linguistics at Monash University) will consider the history and future of Indigenous languages around Australia, including an overview of Aboriginal languages prior to colonisation. 

Aunty Lee Healy (Dhagung Wurrung Elder and Education Officer/Linguist at the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages) will reflect on her experience in the recovery and use of a Victorian Indigenous language and her current work on the Tagungwurrung Dictionary and grammar.  (Click HERE to read a recent SMH article about her work.)

Leonie Stevens (Monash Indigenous Studies Centre and author of 'Me Write Myself': The Free Aboriginal Inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land at Wybalenna, 1832-47) will consider the effects of European settlement on indigenous languages and how historians might respond. Her presentation will discuss ethics and obligations for historians, as well as opportunities. 

Update on 16 August: References and further reading, from Dr Gaby and Dr Stevens. 

Professor Alistair Thomson (Monash University, and President of Oral History Australia), will facilitate the discussion.

Bookings for this free event are now open. To reserve your seat, please complete the RSVP details at the foot of this page.

With thanks to the series sponsors, Monash University Publishing and the Monash University History Program:

and to the organising partners:

The seminar is part of an ongoing series, Making Public Histories, that is offered jointly by the Monash University History Program, the History Council of Victoria and the Old Treasury Building. Each seminar aims to explore issues and approaches in making public histories. The seminars are open, free of charge, to anyone interested in the creation and impact of history in contemporary society. Click HERE to learn about other events in the series.