Exploring the myth of the single solution: an anthropological study of housing maintenance and infrastructure issues in Australia. Indigenous housing is a core challenge for improving Australia's social and economic fabric. Urgent issues of amenity, maintenance and responsibility remain unresolved. By documenting what is involved in taking a difficult yet successful intervention model for targeting small-scale repairs and maintenance to scale in Australia, the research will shed critical light o ....Exploring the myth of the single solution: an anthropological study of housing maintenance and infrastructure issues in Australia. Indigenous housing is a core challenge for improving Australia's social and economic fabric. Urgent issues of amenity, maintenance and responsibility remain unresolved. By documenting what is involved in taking a difficult yet successful intervention model for targeting small-scale repairs and maintenance to scale in Australia, the research will shed critical light on: the complexities of program replication and effect; the social and political context such programs operate within; the characteristics required for sustained reform. It will also add an Australian contribution to a growing international field: namely, the anthropology of policy, aid and development. Read moreRead less
Contraceptive technologies and reproductive choice among immigrant women. New immigrant and refugee women often have poor access to information, advice and support about contraceptive choices. Working with key immigrant and sexual health partner organisations, this project will identify ways to enhance choice and agency to ensure accessible services and optimal outcomes for women and their families.
Farmers of the Future: the Challenges of Feminised Agriculture in India. Neoliberal economic policies are fundamentally transforming the social landscapes of rural India, causing a deep agrarian crisis. The agrarian changes accentuate the unequal consequences for poor women and men in relation to: production (labour, tenure); livelihood and food security; access to and ownership of assets such as land and water and access to agricultural innovations and institutions. This multiscalar project inv ....Farmers of the Future: the Challenges of Feminised Agriculture in India. Neoliberal economic policies are fundamentally transforming the social landscapes of rural India, causing a deep agrarian crisis. The agrarian changes accentuate the unequal consequences for poor women and men in relation to: production (labour, tenure); livelihood and food security; access to and ownership of assets such as land and water and access to agricultural innovations and institutions. This multiscalar project investigates the causes and consequences of feminisation of agriculture in India’s transitioning economy in order to understand how gender roles and relations are being re-shaped in communities and households in diverse socioeconomic and cultural contexts and agro-ecological areas.Read moreRead less
Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science: A comparative analysis. This partnership offers a unique opportunity to bring together anthropologists, educationlists, museum curators and Indigenous communities to research ways of incorporating Indigenous knowledge into school and museum education programs. The project uses the expertise of the partners to analyse the process of inclusion from the perspective of cross-cultural discourse. The research will enable complex conceptual and ethical issues t ....Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science: A comparative analysis. This partnership offers a unique opportunity to bring together anthropologists, educationlists, museum curators and Indigenous communities to research ways of incorporating Indigenous knowledge into school and museum education programs. The project uses the expertise of the partners to analyse the process of inclusion from the perspective of cross-cultural discourse. The research will enable complex conceptual and ethical issues to be addressed that will enable an extended and productive exchange between Indigenous communities and the general educational sector. The outcomes will include refereed publications and works in new media.Read moreRead less
God, Blood, Country: An Ethnographic Study of Christian Institutions and Political Processes in Fiji. This Discovery project addresses the Australian government's commitments to law and justice in the Pacific by seeking to understand Christian institutions' roles in national political processes, focusing specifically on Fiji. Understanding the ways that citizens of the region see links between religious and political authority is a vital first step toward understanding present conflicts and pot ....God, Blood, Country: An Ethnographic Study of Christian Institutions and Political Processes in Fiji. This Discovery project addresses the Australian government's commitments to law and justice in the Pacific by seeking to understand Christian institutions' roles in national political processes, focusing specifically on Fiji. Understanding the ways that citizens of the region see links between religious and political authority is a vital first step toward understanding present conflicts and potential means of securing peace.Read moreRead less
Spaces of Becoming: Spatial Strategies and the Formation of Modern Identities in Urban South Asia. The intensification of urbanisation in South Asia calls for new ways of understanding the politics of identity, and social complexity. This project will explore ways in which urban spaces (such as places of worship, streetscapes, markets, festival grounds, procession routes, and 'neighbourhoods') are used by different groups as a fundamental principle of organising social relations, including trans ....Spaces of Becoming: Spatial Strategies and the Formation of Modern Identities in Urban South Asia. The intensification of urbanisation in South Asia calls for new ways of understanding the politics of identity, and social complexity. This project will explore ways in which urban spaces (such as places of worship, streetscapes, markets, festival grounds, procession routes, and 'neighbourhoods') are used by different groups as a fundamental principle of organising social relations, including transmission of culture and creation of identity.
This interdisciplinary project argues that historicism - an exclusive temporal emphasis - can not capture the fundamental relationship between spaces and social processes that shapes contemporary cultural and social complexity in South Asia.
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Chanted tales from Highland New Guinea: a comparative study of oral performance traditions and their role in contemporary land politics. In parts of Highland PNG there are flourishing traditions of epic-like chanted tales. Often dealing with relationships between people and land, these are a highly valued cultural resource. From the perspective of comparative poetics they are one of the clearest known examples of measured verse that has developed independently of alphabetic or syllabic writing. ....Chanted tales from Highland New Guinea: a comparative study of oral performance traditions and their role in contemporary land politics. In parts of Highland PNG there are flourishing traditions of epic-like chanted tales. Often dealing with relationships between people and land, these are a highly valued cultural resource. From the perspective of comparative poetics they are one of the clearest known examples of measured verse that has developed independently of alphabetic or syllabic writing. This project brings together an interdisciplinary team of investigators to analyse the wide range of styles in which these narratives are performed, and further the understanding of their implications for cross-cultural study of verbal art and the politics of land ownership in present-day Papua New Guinea.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100503
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Desire and the political field: decision-making and political moralities from 'culture village' to Vientiane, Laos. This project critically assesses the 'culture village' model of development currently adopted by the Government of Laos. The project seeks to understand the logic of this development model, assess its impacts on the ethnic Katu village residents, and use these insights to develop an analysis of culture and development in modern state and decision making.
Immigration and parenting among Cambodian and Iraqi women in Australia. Immigration will continue to contribute to Australia's social, cultural and economic fabric. By provide immigrant women with the opportunity to articulate their lived experiences as immigrants and mothers, this study will contribute to our understanding of ways to enhance their social inclusion and resilience. By identifying ways to support newly settled women and their families, the study will contribute to policies and pro ....Immigration and parenting among Cambodian and Iraqi women in Australia. Immigration will continue to contribute to Australia's social, cultural and economic fabric. By provide immigrant women with the opportunity to articulate their lived experiences as immigrants and mothers, this study will contribute to our understanding of ways to enhance their social inclusion and resilience. By identifying ways to support newly settled women and their families, the study will contribute to policies and programs, ensuring a healthy start to life for their children and promoting and maintaining their health, with economic and social benefits to Australia as a whole.Read moreRead less
Oil Palm and Agrarian Transition on the Indonesian and Malaysian Frontiers. Challenges to peace and security in Southeast Asia emerge from uneven economic development and agricultural and environmental changes that marginalize vulnerable communities, exacerbate tensions and lead to endemic local level conflicts. This project will explore the linkages between agrarian and environmental change, governance systems and conflict by studying how policy and economic developments are affecting rural co ....Oil Palm and Agrarian Transition on the Indonesian and Malaysian Frontiers. Challenges to peace and security in Southeast Asia emerge from uneven economic development and agricultural and environmental changes that marginalize vulnerable communities, exacerbate tensions and lead to endemic local level conflicts. This project will explore the linkages between agrarian and environmental change, governance systems and conflict by studying how policy and economic developments are affecting rural communities. It will produce a comparative study that will be relevant to policy discussions and scholarship and of interest to donor agencies and practitioners as well as educational institutions and the wider international research community.Read moreRead less