Contact zones: activism, art and media in Italy, 1994-2006. This project will generate knowledge about recent activism, social change and contemporary art practices in Italy; it will add to Australia's international reputation as a centre of research on contemporary Italy; it will assist in facilitating cultural relations between Australia and Italy as already established in cultural and scientific bilateral agreements.
Representation of gender and sexual diversity in Australian film and television. This project aims to investigate the cultural, health and identity impact of gender/sexually-diverse characters, themes and narratives in Australian film and television from 1990 to present. The project expects to generate new knowledge by providing the first comprehensive account of Australian media production’s contribution to sexual minority representation, in the context of its importance for fostering healthy i ....Representation of gender and sexual diversity in Australian film and television. This project aims to investigate the cultural, health and identity impact of gender/sexually-diverse characters, themes and narratives in Australian film and television from 1990 to present. The project expects to generate new knowledge by providing the first comprehensive account of Australian media production’s contribution to sexual minority representation, in the context of its importance for fostering healthy identities, and acceptance of minorities to mainstream audiences in a digital media era. This knowledge will provide significant benefit to the mental health, wellbeing and social harmony for both minority and mainstream Australians and help showcase an important aspect of Australian media inclusivity and diversity in international scholarship.Read moreRead less
The global self: screening the history of human rights in the 20th century to the present. This project will research the history and theory of human rights as represented in film and new media. It will analyse the origins and development of human rights theory and document the changes in films about human rights in order to understand how we now conceptualise human rights in the twenty-first-century.
Still in my mind: Gurindji experience, location and visuality. This project will develop an innovative historical account of the effects of pictorial representation of Aboriginal identity, using visual, ethnographic and archival sources. It will investigate and critique the impact of ethno-centric codification through which Aboriginal peoples have been framed and refracted throughout the 19th century and into the 21st century, from a specific Gurindji standpoint.
Migration and mobility: the question of childhood in Chinese and European cinema since 1945. This project will produce a comparative account of the migrant and mobile child in postwar film, researched in China and Europe. It will contribute deeper knowledge of how childhood has been valued in key societies since 1945, and will bring new energy to international and domestic debates on the status, image and experience of migrant children.
Still in my mind: Gurindji experience, location and visuality. This project will develop an innovative historical account of the effects of pictorial representation of Aboriginal identity, using visual, ethnographic and archival sources. It will investigate and critique the impact of ethno-centric codification through which Aboriginal peoples have been framed and refracted throughout the 19th century and into the 21st century, from a specific Gurindji standpoint.
Old Atrocities, New Media: Terror Images and the Visual-Military Complex. This research centres on the relations between twenty-first century visual technologies and the age-old practice of the massacre-atrocity. It takes as its major case study the atrocities at the end of the war in Sri Lanka in 2009. The most graphic form of knowledge about these mass deaths and rapes was produced through digitally transmitted visual images. The research asks how new forms of recording and circulating images ....Old Atrocities, New Media: Terror Images and the Visual-Military Complex. This research centres on the relations between twenty-first century visual technologies and the age-old practice of the massacre-atrocity. It takes as its major case study the atrocities at the end of the war in Sri Lanka in 2009. The most graphic form of knowledge about these mass deaths and rapes was produced through digitally transmitted visual images. The research asks how new forms of recording and circulating images of atrocity, whether in the form of trophy photographs or other digital documents, shape the reception of, and responses to, atrocity. These questions are contextualised against a broader examination of the historical and evolving relations between visual media and atrocity images from the Holocaust to Abu Ghraib.Read moreRead less
Branding Cities on the West Pacific Rim: Cinematic Traditions and Tourism Marketing Strategies in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney. This innovative project emphasises brand-building as a part of visual culture, and cinema as a contributory influence to marketing decisions. It will produce a landmark study of media synergies in the contemporary world. It compares cinematic traditions and tourism marketing in cosmopolitan cities in the Australiasian region. The comparison, based on archival analysis ....Branding Cities on the West Pacific Rim: Cinematic Traditions and Tourism Marketing Strategies in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney. This innovative project emphasises brand-building as a part of visual culture, and cinema as a contributory influence to marketing decisions. It will produce a landmark study of media synergies in the contemporary world. It compares cinematic traditions and tourism marketing in cosmopolitan cities in the Australiasian region. The comparison, based on archival analysis and on interviews with producers, policy makers, and consumers, will determine whether images of the city converge or compete in business practice and cultural production. The research complements recent major Australian initiatives to re-evaluate creativity in the media.Read moreRead less
Spectopolis: Theme Park Worlds, their History and Significance for Contemporary Culture. This project will outline the historical development of the theme park, evaluating the significance of the growing interest in theme park cultures in recent years. Parallels that exist between C17th and late C20th/C21st entertainment spectacles will be explored, including the formal connections that exist between theme parks and C17th aristocratic gardens, villas, and theatrical spectacles. In comparing both ....Spectopolis: Theme Park Worlds, their History and Significance for Contemporary Culture. This project will outline the historical development of the theme park, evaluating the significance of the growing interest in theme park cultures in recent years. Parallels that exist between C17th and late C20th/C21st entertainment spectacles will be explored, including the formal connections that exist between theme parks and C17th aristocratic gardens, villas, and theatrical spectacles. In comparing both eras, the project will theoretically evaluate the cultural significance of our current fascination with spectacle environments. In comparing the C17th and late C20th/C21st attraction with such spectacular spaces, it is proposed that we are witnessing a return to a culture of the baroque.Read moreRead less
Experiencing space: sensory encounters from Baroque Rome to neo-baroque Las Vegas. This project focuses on the historical baroque and the neo-baroque and the relationship between them. The aim of the project is to apply a new methodology to the study of baroque and neo-baroque cultures, one grounded in sensory and spatial approaches. The primary case studies will be the cities of Rome and Las Vegas, two cities that are paradigmatic of the baroque and the neo-baroque. Whereas for theorists such a ....Experiencing space: sensory encounters from Baroque Rome to neo-baroque Las Vegas. This project focuses on the historical baroque and the neo-baroque and the relationship between them. The aim of the project is to apply a new methodology to the study of baroque and neo-baroque cultures, one grounded in sensory and spatial approaches. The primary case studies will be the cities of Rome and Las Vegas, two cities that are paradigmatic of the baroque and the neo-baroque. Whereas for theorists such as Jean Baudrillard argue that Las Vegas embodies the postmodern world in excess, this project will instead argue that it is emblematic of the return of a baroque aesthetics that has been nurtured by consumer culture, multi-media conglomeration and digital technology.Read moreRead less