Cahill, M. 2010. Relating Wiradjuri culture to Biochemistry students. Session on Cultural competence & Indigenous education. Bld: S15, Rm 2.05.Abstract:Charles Sturt University (CSU) recognises the
Wiradjuri people as the traditional custodians of the land in which the
University operates, and aims to foster increasing student cultural awareness
of the Wiradjuri through its teaching practises. This posed a daunting problem
to me as a newly appointed lecturer in Biochemistry, who was to give the
introductory lecture to students in BCM210/BCM211 "Foundations in
Biochemistry". My solution was to compare Wiradjuri spirituality and
beliefs to those of Neolithic Eurasian man, and especially to the
mother-goddess and sun-worshipping cults of the Middle East. These understood
the interconversion between sun and plant matter, plants and animals as food
for man, and the decomposition of the bodies of the dead, as manifest
demonstrations of the power of the spirit world to interconvert secret energies
between matter and energy. In that sense, the belief systems of both Wiradjuri
and of Neolithic Eurasians were perhaps more biophysical than the doctrines of
the modern major world religions. Because Biochemistry considers the mechanisms
that dictate those interconversions, this provided a stimulating potential
introduction to the subject while simultaneously aligning with CSU objectives
and provoking students to consider their own cultural roots, and the
spatio-temporal roles of gross societal beliefs.
| Period | 10 Sep 2010 |
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| Event type | Conference |
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| Location | Orange, Australia |
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| Degree of Recognition | Regional |
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