Dr Jenni Caruso

• Biography/ Background

  Dr Jenni Caruso is an Eastern Arrente woman whose personal experience is that of being a member of the Stolen Generations. The principles which underly her teaching are that all Australians should have access to information and the sharing of knowledge on Aboriginal history in this nation. Her practice is to  share that knowledge  in a culturally safe environment where students are able to engage with the topics without fear of being seen as "asking the wrong thing" or being "politically incorrect in order to ensure a positive learning experience for students.

  Jenni's academic career has followed its own pattern with her gaining her undergraduate and honours levels as a mature age student while lecturing in Indigenous Cultures and History, and Indigenous Histories of the Twentieth Century. Jenni has recently graduated in Doctoral studies with her PhD thesis titled "Dream Phantasy of a Utopia" which investigates and brings to light the political interactions between church, state and academia in the setting up of the Methodist Overseas Half-Caste Children's Mission of Croker Island.

  Jenni's teaching focuses on introducing students to an Aboriginal perspective of Australian history looking at the impacts of anthropology on public policy, the effects of child removal policies on Aboriginal Australians and the relationship of those impacts on the status of Aboriginal people in contemporary society, political activism by both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians in bringing about shifts in policy and the importance of self-determination in 'closing the gap' in inequities faced by Aboriginal people.

   Jenni's work is expanding into working with staff on the ways in which  colonisation continues to inform academic approaches to writing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and in particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students who are often not only 'first in family' to study at the higher education level, but who are also impacted by the levels of socio-economic and political disadvantage faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Her efforts are directed towards ensuring a culturally and intellectually safe learning and teaching space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, which will also inform pedagogical approaches to content to ensure that students can complete their studies.

  Jenni's commitment to Indigenous Education in the University was recognised through the inaugural Vice Chancellor's award for an Aboriginal staff member in the University.

   

• Qualifications

  2018                                                 Graduated: Doctoral Degree of Philosophy (History) Thesis Title “Dream Phantasy of A Utopia. The Making of the Methodist Overseas Half-Caste Mission of Croker Island: A Personal History.”

  2007 - Current                                 PhD Candidature –History (University of Adelaide)

  2005                                                Honours (2^nd Class) History (University of Adelaide)

  2001                                                Bachelor of Arts – Cultural Studies (University of Adelaide)

  1998                                                Diploma of Arts – Aboriginal Education (UniSA) (Academic Merit Award)

  1989                                                SACE Certificate – Ingle Farm High School

• Awards & Achievements

  2019 SA Premier's NAIDOC Award - finalist. A direct outcome of Jenni's work on the Stolen Generations was that the eligibity criteria for the SA Reparations Scheme was amended, which led to 28 people who were removed from the Northern Territory with SA goverment intervention were then deemed eligible for those Reparations. This was recognised by the Premier, and Jenni was one of only 4 finalists for the Award. 

  2018 In recognition for her research on the Stolen Generations and being the only thesis on this subject by an Aboriginal person Jenni was awarded the 2018 SA NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award reflecting her dedication to ensuring that Aboriginal voices and experiences are included in national narratives on the history of this nation.

  2017 Gladys Elphick Awards - Recipient of the Quiet Achiever Award which recognises an Aboriginal woman who contributes to the community through leading by example, displays dignity, pride and self-determination, respect for culture and respect for others.

   

• Research Interests

  Jenni's research interests focus on the Stolen Generations and the ways in which policies around the removal of half-caste children were informed and scaffolded by the notions of the power of 'being white' and the deficits of 'being Aboriginal'. A growing focus is to exand the body of work around the Jenni is also engaging in cross-disciplinary conversations around the ingrained eugenicist underpinnings of those policies, expanding her research into the interwar transferrence of eugenicist ideologies from Europe to Australian policies of half-caste child removal.

  While grounded in the discipline of history, due to the characteristics of intersectionality which are anchored in every single aspect of the lives of Aboriginal people, Jenni's work is broadening into other discipline areas.

• Publications

  Counter Narrative: Aboriginal Women's Suffrage. 2019 saw state wide celebrations of Women's Suffrage - in recognising that the path to suffrage and equality of franchise was/is not the same as for non-Aboriginal women utilising the photographs of Colleen Raven (Nharla Photography) Jenni curated the exhibition "Aboriginal Women's Suffrage" which was a display of images of strong Aboriginal women who continue to fight for equality and equity for Aboriginal Australia. The exhibition was launched at the University's launch of the Dornwell Framework for Gender Equity, and is currently on display in the Barr Smith Library.

• Community Engagement

  Creative Works.

   

  Counter Narrative: Aboriginal Women's Suffrage. 2019 saw state wide celebrations of Women's Suffrage - in recognising that the path to suffrage and equality of franchise was/is not the same as for non-Aboriginal women utilising the photographs of Colleen Raven (Nharla Photography) Jenni curated the exhibition "Aboriginal Women's Suffrage" which was a display of images of strong Aboriginal women who continue to fight for equality and equity for Aboriginal Australia. The exhibition was launched at the University's launch of the Dornwell Framework for Gender Equity, and is currently on display in the Barr Smith Library.

Entry last updated: Monday, 16 Dec 2019