From: "Rashmi K" <rarara-AT-graffiti.net>
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 02:04:31 +0800
Subject: Postcolonial analyses of Aboriginality and policing


Hi all,

I am an undergraduate student at the University of Sydney, studying Economic and Social Sciences and majoring in Political Economy and Sociology. Although I'm not specifically focussing on postcolonial issues, I did develop a keen interest in the area after taking a course in postcolonial literatures in first year. I have a personal as well as an academic interest in the field, as I am a first-generation migrant from India.

I'm working on a Sociology assignment about the recent conflict in Redfern (in Sydney, Australia) between police and predominantly indigenous "rioters" after the death of a young man, allegedly through police recklessness. My group and I are looking into issues of the racialisation of crime and social problems such as drug abuse in the area. Ae are conducting statistical surveys of various areas in Sydney to compare rates of crime and determine whether policing has made significant impact upon the buildup of resentment and fear in the Redfern area which led to the conflict of February 2004.

I am looking for some postcolonial theoretical perspectives on blackness and the ascription of certain characteristics, especially moral degeneracy, to indigenous peoples.
I have little idea of where to begin, although a class I took in postcolonial literature did feature some theoretical analyses of the white gaze as a form of moral surveillance, which is useful in examining policing in Redfern because many accounts from indigenous people living in the area indicate that such a gaze is embodied in routine policing practices.

Could anyone give me an indication of where to begin reading for a more detailed theoretical perspective on the issue?

Many thanks,
-Rashmi
rarara-AT-graffiti.net
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