Exploring the 'Ethical Loneliness' of Indigenous Childhoods in Australia

Presented by Dr Sana Nakata, (University of Melbourne)

Philosopher Jill Stauffer writes that ‘ethical loneliness is the experience of being abandoned by humanity compounded by the experience of not being heard’ in an effort to explore pathways beyond an unforgivable past. This paper considers the possibilities this concept holds for developing a critical account Indigenous Australian childhood.  The key questions to be asked are: Can the abandoned be represented? Can the silent be heard? Is there a pathway beyond the unforgivable past (and present) of Australia?

Biography

Dr Sana Nakata is a Torres Strait Islander who lives and work on Naarm, as Co-Director of the Indigenous-Settler Relations Collaboration and Lecturer in Political Science at The University of Melbourne.