ABSTRACT
This chapter historicises Asia within the context of Australian curriculum from the early twentieth century up until the 1970s. Building on existing histories of Australia and Asia, it traces the development of Asia as an educational and curriculum objective, with an emphasis on the disciplines of Languages and History. The analysis of the policy contexts and socio-historical conditions draws on a range of historical sources and interpretations, including public commentary, government policy, curriculum documents, subject association publications and the voices of historical actors. In addition to providing a chronology of key moments when the modes for knowing Asia are established and contested, this chapter provides an insight into the ethnocentric knowledge traditions that shaped the formation of Asia as an emerging curriculum discourse in the twentieth century—and the legacies of these traditions.
