Five More Books Every PPE Student Should Read
Book 1: Everything you need to know about the Uluru Statement From the Heart
In July 2020, after a gruelling, lockdown-ridden first semester of my Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy, and Economics (PPE), I read a Statecraft article by then fourth year PPE student Louis Altena, titled Five Books Every PPE Student Should Read. I would encourage everyone to check out Louis’ piece, as he provides an excellently curated catalogue of books to fill in the gaps of a PPE degree and satiate anybody’s thirst for the written word. For me, a first year keen to put in far more effort at university than I ever had at school, this article proved to be the impetus necessary to begin my own extra-curricular PPE reading journey.
Now, almost three years and over 100 books later, I finally feel well positioned to write a follow up to Louis’ article. However, where the previous listing sought to recommend books that would supplement content learnt in the classroom, my suggestions are books which challenge many of the concepts and ideas that even students of a degree as nuanced and critical as PPE often take for granted. These books have had large impacts on my thinking and marked turning points in my intellectual journey thus far, which is why I think they are five more books that every PPE student should read.
Book 1: Everything you need to know about the Uluru Statement From The Heart
by Megan Davis and George Williams
Whether it is reading texts from Indigenous voices like Bobby Sykes and Eileen Moreton-Robinson, examining ethical problems through an Indigenous conception of Place, or analysing Indigenous amelioration as a wicked policy problem, the issue of systemic racism in Australia looms large within the PPE degree. However, if like me you didn’t take a course dedicated specifically to Indigenous politics you may have thought that direct, legal racial discrimination, as opposed to systemic racism, is no longer an issue in Australia. The first book on this list challenges that notion, demonstrating how racism is still legally baked into the Australian Constitution and continues to be a focal point for political debate surrounding the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
Written by constitutional law expert George Williams and Professor of Law and Indigenous community leader Megan Davis, Everything you need to know about the Uluru Statement From The Heart chronicles the past, present, and potential future of Indigenous legislation and policy in Australia. Davis and Williams outline the long, racially exclusionary legal history of Australia, leading up to the 1967 Constitutional Referendum which finally enabled the Federal Government to make laws pertaining to Indigenous Australians and have them count when determining seats in parliament. Along the way they challenge and disprove some widely believed myths like “Aboriginal people were considered native fauna before 1967” and “the Referendum was about removing race from the constitution”, highlighting that Australia is the only country in the world with a constitution that empowers the government to legally discriminate against people based on only their race.
The authors then go through the subsequent eras of Indigenous legislation from an Indigenous perspective: the potential of Gough Whitlam’s land reforms and Racial Discrimination Act, the disappointing silence of Malcolm Fraser’s government, the promise of the Mabo judgement and the Native Title Act, the tragedy of John Howard’s Northern Territory Interventions, and the emotion of Kevin Rudd’s apology. Finally, this journey culminates in the shared hope and collective power embodied in the landmark Uluru Statement From the Heart and the importance of the forthcoming Voice to Parliament referendum.
Williams and Davis, the latter of whom played a crucial role in the creation and presenting of the Statement, detail the innovative and empowering process of First Nations Regional Dialogues which enabled Indigenous people to decide for themselves how they wished to be represented and recognised. They provide an invaluable showcase of the strengths of the cutting-edge policy decision-making process of co-design, and emphasise the necessary social and political conditions for a successful national referendum. With the final Voice to Parliament referendum slated to occur in the next six months and the Yes campaign well underway, this book is a must read for not only every PPE student, but every Australian.
Buy your own copy of Everything you need to know about the Uluru Statement from the Heart from UNSW Press, or borrow it from UQ Library.
This is the first in a five-part series. Read the second installment here.
Joseph Christensen is a fourth-year PPE student at UQ, and has read far too many books. This is his first article for Statecraft.
Thanks to Tom Watson and Daniel Quill for reviewing this article.
