Dr Ernie Blackmore

Education:

Doctor of Philosophy
(School of English Literatures, Philosophy and Languages)

University of Wollongong, 2007.

Master of Creative Arts

Writing for Theatre

University of Wollongong, 2000.

Bachelor of Creative Arts

Creative Writing in Prose,

Theatre and Film

University of Wollongong, 1999.

Contact Details:

Building 30, Room G07J

Tel (02) 4221 5393

Fax (02) 4221 4244

Email: ernie@uow.edu.au

Brief Introduction:

Dr Blackmore has a history in Creative Writing for theatre with a special interest in recording both historical and contemporary Indigenous texts. His first play Buckley’s Hope represented Australia at the 1999 US National Playwrights’ Conference with a full Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cast. The play was directed by 2005 NSW Premier’s Award winner, David Milroy. His later works have formed part of his Doctoral Thesis, Speakin’ out Blak: an Examination of the ‘Urban’ Indigenous ‘Voice’ Through Contemporary Theatre. From 1997 to 2003 while studying and working on his thesis he worked part time as a tutor in multi disciplines including English, Creative Arts and Aboriginal Studies.

Ernie has also worked at building sustainable relationships with the University of British Columbia through their First Nations House of Learning in conjunction with the Director of the First Nations Studies Program, Professor Linc Kessler, and Professor Patricia Shaw in the English Language program with an emphasis on presenting First Nations and other self-representational Indigenous voices in texts

He is currently fully engaged with Woolyungah Indigenous Centre’s programs of building both a full fledged academic unit as well as providing first class student support facilities within the Centre. He currently coordinates INDS150 as an entry-level subject in the Indigenous Studies program at Wollongong University as well as his speciality subject INDS202 Self-Representation in Indigenous Texts. This is a program he has been involved in since its inception, and he has plans to expand this subject into another dealing exclusively with Indigenous films in an international context incorporating Australia’s, New Zealand’s and Canada’s First Nations film makers.

Research Interests:

Ernie is particularly interested in building bridges with the South Coast Aboriginal communities and particularly supporting new Aboriginal graduates and postgraduate students as they work in recording histories of the Illawarra and South Coast Nations that have previously been inaccessible to inappropriate researchers. In this area he is engaged in a project in partnership with the South Coast Writers’ Centre, 2007 David Uniapon winner Elizabeth Hodgson with Wodi Wodi Elder and published poet Aunty Barbara Nicholson in recording the voices of women Aboriginal Elders of the Illawarra region. The long term goal of the project is to publish an anthology of these voices in 2012.

He maintains his concerned about the provision of Education for Indigenous peoples at higher education levels as well as the preservation and possible re-introduction of Indigenous languages in our schools and tertiary institutions.

Ernie is Co-investigator with the University of Ontario’s Professor Wendy Pearson, Renee Elizabeth Mzinegiizhgo-kwe Bedard and Kimberly J Verwaayen, collective recipients of a $CA74,000 grant to publish their co-edited book, First Women and the Politics of Looking: Gender, Indigeneity and representation later in 2010.

Ernie is the University of Wollongong Chief Investigator for the BlackWords subset of the AustLit Database, an annual ARC-LIEF grant recipient.

Professional Information:

2004 – Current - Lecturer in the Indigenous Studies Program at the Woolyungah Indigenous Centre; University of Wollongong.

1997 – 2004 - University of Wollongong: Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Creative Arts. Tutor

2002 - 2004 - Macquarie University: Warawara Aboriginal Education Centre; Tutor.

2001 - 2003 - Indij Readers: Indigenous editorial consultant:

2001 - 2002 - On-Line Campus: Bondi Junction: Text editor.

Publications:

2010, “Speakin’ Out Blak: New and Emergent Aboriginal Theatre Arts Professionals and Filmmakers Finding Their Voices”, in Wendy Pearson and Susan Knabe (eds) Reverse Shot: Indigenous film and Media in an International Context. (To be published late 2010)

2010, First Women and the Politics of Looking: Gender, Indigeneity and Representation. Co-Investigator and co-editor with Wendy Pearson and Susan Knabe (To be published late 2010)

2009, Contemporary Indigenous ‘voices’ raised in a chorus that although nationally based is International in its resonance throughout 4^th World literature in the 21^st Century. Acharya Nagarjuna University, Vijayawada India, (Conference Publication)

2008, “Speakin’ out Blak”: an Examination of the ‘Urban’ Indigenous ‘Voice’ Through Contemporary Theatre, VDM Verlag DR Muller, Saarbrucken GDR.

2008, Waiting for Ships, as performance Austinmer February 17 and 24, 2008

2007, PhD Thesis; “Speakin’ out Blak”: an Examination of the ‘Urban’ Indigenous ‘Voice’ Through Contemporary Theatre

2004, Waiting for Ships as performance May 2004.

2003, “In Conversation with David Milroy”, an interview, in Kunapipi; Vol; XXVI No: 2.

2003, What We Count, Then and Now, Indij Readers Series, Series I, co-author and dramatists.

2003, Having Fun at School, Indij Readers Series, Series I, co-author and dramatists.

2003, In the Bush, Indij Readers Series, Series I, co-author and dramatists.

2002, Excerpt from the play "Positive Expectations" in Southerly; Vol;2, 2002.

1999, Buckley's Hope in Master of Creative Arts Thesis.

Conference Papers:

2009, The Voice That "Dared Not Speak" It’s Truth: Growing up Black and Queer in Sydney’s 1940s and 1950s. Queer Alliance Toronto, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, October, 2009.

2009, Contemporary Indigenous ‘voices’ raised in a chorus that although nationally based is International in its resonance throughout 4^th World literature in the 21^st Century. Understanding and Interrogating 4^th World Literatures Conference, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Vijayawada, India. September, 2009.

2008, The truth of ‘being’ in a complex world of differing identities and values. Let's Talk About Sex: Conference, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, Australia. October, 2008.

2007, “Speakin’ Out Blak”: New and Emergent Aboriginal Theatre Arts Professionals and Filmmakers Finding Their Voices. Indigenous Film and Media in an International Context. Wilfred Laurier University Ontario London, Canada. May, 2007

2005, The re-colonisation of an Indigenous Text: Buckley’s Hope. A Case Study, South Central Modern Language Association Conference, Houston, October, 2005

2005, Who is Speaking out for Whom? Postgraduate Conference School of English Literatures and Philosophy, University of Wollongong, Australia. September, 2005

2005, Who is Speaking out for Whom? Post Graduate Conference School of English, University of British Columbia, Canada. October, 2005.

2004, New Assimilationist Voices in Sheep Clothing, Indigenous Postgraduate Conference Cairns August, 2004.