Putting complicity to work for accountability

an Australian case study

Fiona Probyn-Rapsey

pp. 154-166

in: Begüm Özden Fırat, Sarah De Mul, Sonja van Wichelen (eds), Commitment and complicity in cultural theory and practice, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009

Abstract

The twin concepts of commitment and complicity resonate strongly with a current project that I am currently working on: a project that aims to produce a cultural history of the white fathers of Aboriginal children removed as part of the Stolen Generations. Here I unpack how complicity can operate both as a methodological and navigational tool in relation to this particular project. Complicity is used here in both senses of the word, that is, in the sense of being "an accomplice to" and also in the sense of "complex involvement". I hope to show that the recognition of the complicity of whites and "whiteness' in the history of the Stolen Generations is important for understanding responsibility for past and present injustice. In the first part of this chapter I provide some historical background on the Stolen Generations issue in Australia, then proceed to discuss aspects of my research so far. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how contemporary accounts of complicity are utilized within the project.