Great South Land: Introducing Australian history (FutureLearn)

Great South Land: Introducing Australian history (FutureLearn)

Get an introduction to Australian history starting with Aboriginal deep time. Explore convictism, colonialism and more. Travel back in time to discover Australian history. On this course you will take a journey through Australian history. You will examine a range of periods and topics including Aboriginal deep time history, transportation and convictism and colonialism.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see FutureLearn's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This course will also introduce you to the skills and approaches used in the academic study of history – especially the study of Australian history – and help you to understand issues in contemporary Australia in context.
This course is part of the program The Australian Experience, which is one of the building blocks that leads to a degree in Bachelor of Arts.

What topics will you cover?

  • Traditional Aboriginal society
  • Background to the British colonisation of Australia
  • Convictism
  • Relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Apply a developing understanding of core historical concepts.
  • Demonstrate basic knowledge of key themes, events, and people in the history of Australia’s First Nations and the early decades of European occupation of the continent.
  • Interpret the Australian past within a local and global context.
  • Explain the contested nature of Australia’s early European history.
  • Identify foundational scholarly sources (primary and secondary, oral and written) relating to Australia’s early history.
Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

The Living Picture Craze: An Introduction to Victorian Film (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
The British Film Institute - BFI

The Living Picture Craze: An Introduction to Victorian Film (FutureLearn)

Film takes a starring role in this course exploring the emergence of a new medium that was set to capture the world's imagination. Explore the birth of film and the end of Queen Victoria’s epic reign. Roll up! Roll up! Take your seats for the ‘Living Picture’ craze! In this course we journey back to the end of the Victorian era; a time of intense modernisation and unprecedented change.

Self Paced
3 Weeks
Indigeneity as a Global Concept (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
The University of Newcastle, Australia

Indigeneity as a Global Concept (FutureLearn)

Learn about the contemporary social, cultural, economic and political situations of indigenous peoples. Explore the global economic and political situations of indigenous peoples. This fascinating three-week course will explore the contemporary social, cultural, economic and political situations of indigenous peoples all across the globe.

Jul 19th 2021
3 Weeks
Understanding the Australian economy: An introduction to macroeconomic and financial policies (Coursera) Coursera
The University of Sydney

Understanding the Australian economy: An introduction to macroeconomic and financial policies (Coursera)

This four-week, four-module course explores selective aspects of the Australian economy, with emphasis on macroeconomic and financial policies. The course introduces participants to several key attributes of the Australian economy and discusses how they are influenced by both domestic and international forces. We will examine some of the key issues and dilemmas facing the Australian economy and how policymakers can deal with them using monetary and fiscal policies.

Sep 28th 2026
4 Weeks
African development – from the past to the present (Coursera) Coursera
Lund University

African development – from the past to the present (Coursera)

African development – from the past to the present -- offers a unique economic history perspective on Africa's development. Over a period of five weeks, the course covers a logical account of historical events and decisions that have shaped the current political-economical landscape of Sub-Saharan Africa - from the pre-colonial and the colonial era, to the era of liberalisation, modern day Africa and the future prospects of the continent.

Sep 21st 2026
5-12 Weeks
Charles Darwin, Evolution and Tropical Australia (CDU) Open Education
Charles Darwin University

Charles Darwin, Evolution and Tropical Australia (CDU)

This free, open course is offered by Charles Darwin University to provide an introduction to Charles Darwin, the theory of evolution, Alfred Russel Wallace, and an overview of adaptation of tropical organisms in the Northern Territory of Australia. You will experience highly engaging interactives, videos and innovative media. This course won Blackboard's 2014 Exemplary Course Award and Director's Choice for Courses with Distinction.

Self-Paced
Self-Paced
Casing the Joint: Introducing Histories of Australian Crime (edX) EdX
The University of Newcastle, Australia,NewcastleX

Casing the Joint: Introducing Histories of Australian Crime (edX)

Learn about approaches to the study of the history of crime and punishment, especially in Australia. Crime holds a special place in Australian history, having facilitated colonisation, provided its most celebrated anti-hero in Ned Kelly and been used to sell millions of newspapers, books and movie tickets. Drawing upon a rich array of digital history resources, this course offers you a guided tour of the origins of Australian underworlds and of the study of the history of crime and punishment.

No sessions available
3 Weeks
Chinese Culture: Interaction (edX) EdX
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,HKPolyUx

Chinese Culture: Interaction (edX)

This compact course introduces 5 interesting aspects of Chinese cultural exchange and interaction with other countries in history. They are (a) China and the West, (b) China and Central Asia (c) China and Vietnam, (d) Colonialism, Anti-Colonialism and Pan-Asianism, and (e) Chinese Food and Cuisine. This dynamic course forms part of the HKPolyUx series on Chinese culture.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
First Peoples to the Early Republic: Born in Colonialism (Canvas.net) Canvas Network
Seattle Central Community College

First Peoples to the Early Republic: Born in Colonialism (Canvas.net)

This course will explore Native American cultures and the impacts of colonial and U.S. government policies on them; European colonization with particular focus on the British in North America; the War for Independence against Britain and the framing of the U.S. Constitution; as well as the formation of political parties in the early republic.

No sessions available
No Information
Safer Healthcare for Australia's First Peoples (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
Griffith University

Safer Healthcare for Australia's First Peoples (FutureLearn)

Learn how to work in a culturally safe way when caring for Australia's First Peoples to deliver safer healthcare. Understand the need for cultural safety in caring for Australia's First Peoples. In this course, you’ll learn to provide safer healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by developing your cultural capability. You’ll explore 5 cultural capabilities - Respect, Communication, Safety and Quality, Reflection and Advocacy.

No sessions available
2 Weeks
Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
The Open University

Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World (FutureLearn)

Use literary and archaeological evidence to see how ancient Greeks and Romans approached health, well-being and societal issues. What did being healthy in ancient Rome or Greece look like? How can we tell what well-being meant in ancient times? This online course will help you investigate these questions, using both literary and archaeological evidence, to uncover details of real life in ancient societies.

Self Paced
5-12 Weeks
Islamic Calligraphy: an Introduction to the Art of Handwriting (FutureLearn) FutureLearn
University of Malaya

Islamic Calligraphy: an Introduction to the Art of Handwriting (FutureLearn)

Understand the basics of Islamic and Arabic calligraphy and develop your calligraphy skills. Islamic calligraphy has long been admired for its beautiful form and line work. As an art form it actually includes various other types of calligraphy including Arabic, Persian and Ottoman.

Self Paced
3 Weeks