Middle Classes, New Media and Indie Networks in Post Authoritarian Indonesia. The study shall deepen Australians' appreciation of a little-known but strategically-placed facet of Indonesian society. It shall enhance understanding of the opinions, worldviews and cultural productions of young Indonesians, and of the culturally specific character of their digital engagements. In its focus on urban middle class Indonesians, the project shall produce new and detailed knowledge about the cultures and ....Middle Classes, New Media and Indie Networks in Post Authoritarian Indonesia. The study shall deepen Australians' appreciation of a little-known but strategically-placed facet of Indonesian society. It shall enhance understanding of the opinions, worldviews and cultural productions of young Indonesians, and of the culturally specific character of their digital engagements. In its focus on urban middle class Indonesians, the project shall produce new and detailed knowledge about the cultures and lifestyles of one of Australia's most important higher education markets, and its role in the society. Finally, the project shall deepen the Australian public's understandings of Indonesia as an increasingly complex, disjunctive society.Read moreRead less
Australian television and popular memory: new approaches to the cultural history of the media in the project of nation-building. Despite its importance to our everyday lives since the 1950s, there is no history of television's role in Australian popular culture. This project will develop a series of collaborative histories that focus upon the popular experience of television and in particular its role in forming national culture. The research will not only involve conventional academic sources, ....Australian television and popular memory: new approaches to the cultural history of the media in the project of nation-building. Despite its importance to our everyday lives since the 1950s, there is no history of television's role in Australian popular culture. This project will develop a series of collaborative histories that focus upon the popular experience of television and in particular its role in forming national culture. The research will not only involve conventional academic sources, but also those connected with 'the people': memories, memorabilia, personal collections as well as the full range of popular and ephemeral publications which support the popular engagement with the medium. The project is the first to examine television's historical role in our national life.Read moreRead less
Photography and eugenics: an historical investigation of photography's role in the development and popularisation of the eugenics movement. This project analyses the uses of racial type photographs by the eugenics movement. Photography was used as a scientific tool by eugenicists but this project is primarily concerned with its role in popularising and legitimating a movement that won widespread acceptance between c.1870 and WW2. It will explore the techniques, media forms, aims and effects of B ....Photography and eugenics: an historical investigation of photography's role in the development and popularisation of the eugenics movement. This project analyses the uses of racial type photographs by the eugenics movement. Photography was used as a scientific tool by eugenicists but this project is primarily concerned with its role in popularising and legitimating a movement that won widespread acceptance between c.1870 and WW2. It will explore the techniques, media forms, aims and effects of British, American and German eugenic photography and compare eugenics photography with the use of photography in contemporary liberal anthropology. The project will result in a groundbreaking monograph on a topic which will make a major contribution to our understanding of the history of racism.Read moreRead less
Pop Cultures in Indonesia: a New Asian Politics of Pleasure and Identity. The study addresses one of National Research Priorities (Goal 4 'Safeguarding Australia'), by better 'understanding our region and the world', and boosting Australia's 'soft power'. Recent changes in Indonesia render much of our knowledge about that society outdated. The study will deliver a significant contribution to the urgent revitalisation of Indonesian and cultural studies. It will hopefully elevate the quality of ou ....Pop Cultures in Indonesia: a New Asian Politics of Pleasure and Identity. The study addresses one of National Research Priorities (Goal 4 'Safeguarding Australia'), by better 'understanding our region and the world', and boosting Australia's 'soft power'. Recent changes in Indonesia render much of our knowledge about that society outdated. The study will deliver a significant contribution to the urgent revitalisation of Indonesian and cultural studies. It will hopefully elevate the quality of our public debate about the world's largest Muslim populated country and Australia's neighbour, by paying serious and overdue attention to the brightest sides of contemporary Indonesia that have occupied the minds of one hundred millions or so ordinary people there.Read moreRead less
Isolation, illness and the Internet: Exploring the possibility of a second life for sufferers of ME. Chronic illnesses affect not only the suffering parties but also the general population by draining the workforce and increasing the burden on our social support systems. This study addresses our national priority of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health by analysing the support structures that are available for those who face isolation resulting from chronic illnesses. It will strengthen this fa ....Isolation, illness and the Internet: Exploring the possibility of a second life for sufferers of ME. Chronic illnesses affect not only the suffering parties but also the general population by draining the workforce and increasing the burden on our social support systems. This study addresses our national priority of Promoting and Maintaining Good Health by analysing the support structures that are available for those who face isolation resulting from chronic illnesses. It will strengthen this fabric by creating and piloting a virtual forum which will have direct, meaningful effects beyond the reaches of the study. The transnational nature of the research will enhance Australia's international profile in the area, forging links and improving information sharing regarding the use of the Internet to manage chronic illnesses.Read moreRead less
Popular music and cultural memory: Localised popular music histories and their significance for national music industries. This project provides a public space for audience members in local communities in Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, UK and USA to share their memories of local popular music heritage. By privileging these voices, the project has the potential to develop and strengthen community cohesion and also raise questions of how these voices might be incorporated into the production ....Popular music and cultural memory: Localised popular music histories and their significance for national music industries. This project provides a public space for audience members in local communities in Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, UK and USA to share their memories of local popular music heritage. By privileging these voices, the project has the potential to develop and strengthen community cohesion and also raise questions of how these voices might be incorporated into the production and distribution practices of Australia's music industry. Our findings will feed into current debates about the importance of local histories in a national context and point to possible economic benefits through cultural tourism and leisure outlets, for example, community-based exhibitions and guided tours focusing on local popular music history and heritage.Read moreRead less
Hiroshima and Here: A Cultural History of Australian Responses to Nuclear War and Weaponry. This project comes at an historical moment when Australia is more enmeshed in nuclearism than ever. As the nation considers the political, economic and moral implications of being a major world supplier of uranium during a period of extreme regional and global instability, and as it contemplates its own possible nuclear-powered future, this is exceptionally timely research. In providing a ground-breaking ....Hiroshima and Here: A Cultural History of Australian Responses to Nuclear War and Weaponry. This project comes at an historical moment when Australia is more enmeshed in nuclearism than ever. As the nation considers the political, economic and moral implications of being a major world supplier of uranium during a period of extreme regional and global instability, and as it contemplates its own possible nuclear-powered future, this is exceptionally timely research. In providing a ground-breaking model of national cultural response to one of the great international issues of our age, it will help foster academic activity and public interest in a developing field whose importance can only increase. Read moreRead less
Demanding the Impossible: Utopianism in Philosophy, Literature and Science Fiction. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our re ....Demanding the Impossible: Utopianism in Philosophy, Literature and Science Fiction. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our reseach will be the relationship between culture, ecology and utopia or dystopia. Much of our work will be quite deliberately oriented towards the future possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society.Read moreRead less
Cultural Research for the 21st Century: Building Cultural Intelligence for a Complex World. This project will advance our knowledge of the complex cultural challenges facing 21st century Australia, and how these challenges can be addressed through engaged cultural research. It will promote cultural innovation by enabling public institutions to develop effective responses to the increasing complexity of their operating environments, especially in light of society's proliferating cultural diversit ....Cultural Research for the 21st Century: Building Cultural Intelligence for a Complex World. This project will advance our knowledge of the complex cultural challenges facing 21st century Australia, and how these challenges can be addressed through engaged cultural research. It will promote cultural innovation by enabling public institutions to develop effective responses to the increasing complexity of their operating environments, especially in light of society's proliferating cultural diversity. The project will expand the national innovation system by building the capacity of cultural researchers (and humanities and social science researchers more generally) to conduct collaborative and interdisciplinary research that contributes to the solution of important social and cultural problems. Read moreRead less
Creative culture: The development of innovative research practices in science, technology and art. The proposed research will contribute to our understanding of the factors and conditions conducive to scientific, technological and artistic innovations. Australian governments and industries devote hundreds of millions of dollars annually to support scientific research and artistic projects. An understanding of how creativity can be fostered and maintained is therefore important for the appropria ....Creative culture: The development of innovative research practices in science, technology and art. The proposed research will contribute to our understanding of the factors and conditions conducive to scientific, technological and artistic innovations. Australian governments and industries devote hundreds of millions of dollars annually to support scientific research and artistic projects. An understanding of how creativity can be fostered and maintained is therefore important for the appropriate use of such resources. The project will contribute directly to the goal of "promoting an innovation culture and economy" under the National Research Priority framework, as it focuses on the organisational processes and socialisation techniques that favour a culture of creativity among researchers in science, technology and art.Read moreRead less