Professor Clint Bracknell

Honorary Professor

School of Languages and Cultures
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Overview

As a music-maker and language revivalist from the south coast Noongar region of Western Australia, I am interested in the connections between song, language, and landscapes. My work intersects with applied linguistics, ecomusicology, Australian studies, and Indigenous studies.

I am lead Chief Investigator for ARC DI project 'Restoring on-Country Performance' and a Chief Investigator for ARC LIEF project 'Nyingarn: A platform for primary sources in Australian Indigenous languages', ARC DI project 'The role of First Nations’ music as a determinant of health', and ARC Linkage project 'Life After Digitisation: Future-Proofing WA's Vulnerable Cultural Heritage'.

After working as an ESL and music teacher, I helped establish the major in Indigenous Knowledge at the University of Western Australia, where I completed a PhD in Noongar song. At the University of Sydney I co-developed the major in contemporary music for Sydney Conservatorium of Music, before returning to Western Australia at Edith Cowan University to bolster humanities research in my home state. Recent arts-language projects I have collaborated on include a mainstage production of Shakespeare's Macbeth in Noongar (Hecate 2020), a Bruce Lee film dubbed in Noongar (Fist of Fury Noongar Daa 2021), and the multi-sensory ‘Noongar Wonderland’ performance installation in Perth Festival 2022.

I serve as Deputy Chair of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and received the 2020 Barrett Award for Australian Studies.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy of Musicology and Ethnomusicology, University of Western Australia
  • Graduate Diploma in Education, Edith Cowan University
  • Bachelor of Media Studies, Murdoch University

Publications

View all Publications

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Bracknell, Clint and Bracknell, Kylie (2023). Hecate : Adaptation, Education and Cultural Activism. Reimagining Shakespeare Education. (pp. 145-158) Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108778510.016

  • Bracknell, Clint (2023). Old dogs and ice ages in Noongar country. Everywhen: Australia and the language of deep history. (pp. 75-92) edited by Ann McGrath, Laura Rademaker and Jakelin Troy. Lincoln, NE United States ; Sydney, NSW, Australia: University of Nebraska Press ; UNSW Press (NewSouth Publishing).

  • Bracknell, Clint (2023). Rock band: a third, brave space for Indigenous language. Musical collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia: exchanges in the third space. (pp. 23-42) edited by Katelyn Barney. New York, NY, United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003288572-3

  • Bracknell, Clint (2022). Reanimating 1830s Nyungar songs of Miago. Music, dance and the archive. (pp. 93-116) edited by Amanda Harris, Linda Barwick and Jakelin Troy. Sydney, NSW, Australia: University of Sydney Press. doi: 10.30722/sup.9781743328675.06

  • Webb, Michael and Bracknell, Clint (2021). Educative power and the respectful curricular inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music. The politics of diversity in music education. (pp. 71-86) edited by Alexis Anja Kallio, Heidi Westerlund, Sidsel Karlsen, Kathryn Marsh and Eva Sæther. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-65617-1_6

  • Bracknell, Clint and Scott, Kim (2019). Ever-widening circles: consolidating and enhancing Wirlomin Noongar archival material in the community. Archival Returns: Central Australia and Beyond. (pp. 325-338) edited by Linda Barwick, Jennifer Green and Petronella Vaarson-Morel. Honolulu, HI, United States: University of Hawai'i Press.

  • Bracknell, Clint (2019). Identity, language and collaboration in Indigenous music. The difference identity makes: Indigenous cultural capital in Australian cultural fields. (pp. 99-123) edited by Lawrence Bamblett, Fred Myers and Tim Rowse. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Aboriginal Studies Press.

  • Collard, Leonard, Hartley, John, Scott, Kim, Bracknell, Clint and Lucy, Niall (2017). Could a 'Noongarpedia' form the basis for an emerging form of citizenship in the age of new media?. Media and citizenship: between marginalisation and participation. (pp. 159-180) edited by Anthea Garman and Herman Wasserman. Cape Town, South Africa: HSRC Press.

  • Bracknell, Clint (2017). Maaya Waabiny (playing with sound): Nyungar song language and spoken language. Recirculating songs: revitalising the singing practices of Indigenous Australia. (pp. 43-55) edited by Jim Wafer and Myfany Turpin. Hamilton, NSW: Hunter Press.

  • Bracknell, Clint (2016). Bobby Roberts: intermediary and outlaw of Western Australia's south coast. Brokers and boundaries: colonial exploration in Indigenous territory. (pp. 119-139) edited by Tiffany Shellam, Maria Nugent, Shino Konishi and Allison Cadzow. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian National University. doi: 10.22459/BB.04.2016.06

Journal Article