A key intervention in the growing critical literature on race, this volume examines the social construction of race in contemporary Australia through the lenses of Indigenous sovereignty, nationhood, and whiteness. Informed by insights from white Australians in rural contexts, Koerner and Pillay attempt to answer how race shapes those who identify as white Australian; how those who self-identify thusly relate to the nation, multiculturalism, and Indigenous Sovereignties; and how white Australians understand and experience their own racialized position and its privilege. This insider perspective on the continuing construction of whiteness in Australia is analyzed and challenged through Indigenous Sovereign theoretical standpoints and voices. Ultimately, this investigation of the social construction of race not only extends conceptualizations of multiculturalism, but also informs governance policy in the light of changing national identity.

Catherine Koerner is Academic Lecturer in Development Studies, Community and Human Services at Federation University, Australia. Her research includes colonialism/post-colonialism, hate-speech, identity, and Indigenous relations.

Soma Pillay is Senior Lecturer in Management at Federation University, Australia. Her research interests bridge cross-cultural studies, ethics, and public sector governance.

1. Introduction.- 2. Debating the nation: dealing with difference and incommensurability.- 3. The (white) elephant in the room: cultural identities and Indigenous Sovereignty in Australia.- 4. Methodological insights.- 5. Conceptualising cultural identity: the great divide.- 6. "We're multicultural mate!" Understanding Multiculturalism in Australia.- 7. Policy, Practice and Legislative Matters.- 8. Concluding Remarks.-