Education for a Tolerant and Multicultural Indonesia. The recent shift towards fundamentalist Islam and upsurge in religious and ethnic conflict in Indonesia are matters of great concern for Australia. This project will investigate how education can facilitate peaceful multiculturalism in Indonesia and explore the potential for the co-existence of Islamic and secular educational systems. This research will improve Australia's capacity to understand our region's 'languages, societies, politics an ....Education for a Tolerant and Multicultural Indonesia. The recent shift towards fundamentalist Islam and upsurge in religious and ethnic conflict in Indonesia are matters of great concern for Australia. This project will investigate how education can facilitate peaceful multiculturalism in Indonesia and explore the potential for the co-existence of Islamic and secular educational systems. This research will improve Australia's capacity to understand our region's 'languages, societies, politics and cultures' (National Research Priority 4). Australia has been a world leader in expertise on Indonesia; we need projects like this to train junior scholars and thus sustain Australia's international reputation for excellence in Indonesian Studies into the future. Read moreRead less
Revitalisation Movements in Contemporary Indonesia: Nativist Reworkings of Custom and Religion in Reaction to Decentralisation, Islamisation and Globalisation. Australia needs to understand the ethno-cultural diversity of its neighbour Indonesia to appreciate the wider pluralist context in which political Islam, including the terrorist fringe (e.g. JI), operates. Understanding of emergent social movements among Indonesian minorities highlights the constraints upon political Islam and divergent p ....Revitalisation Movements in Contemporary Indonesia: Nativist Reworkings of Custom and Religion in Reaction to Decentralisation, Islamisation and Globalisation. Australia needs to understand the ethno-cultural diversity of its neighbour Indonesia to appreciate the wider pluralist context in which political Islam, including the terrorist fringe (e.g. JI), operates. Understanding of emergent social movements among Indonesian minorities highlights the constraints upon political Islam and divergent pressures upon Indonesian national integrity, crucial issues for formulating foreign policy. It also provides comparative understanding of Indonesian movements parallel to those harnessing Indigenous and migrant aspirations in Australia, which is central to domestic policies insuring minority rights in a multiculturalist framework.Read moreRead less
Mission texts and the representation of Africa in America 1870-1914. Australia is now firmly linked to America in cultural and political terms. This project helps us to understand how American attitudes to overseas expansion came about in the period when America was expanding its control on its own continent and in the world at large. Explanations of this to date have neglected to examine the role of religious organisations and texts in promoting the ideas of other peoples and cultures which fo ....Mission texts and the representation of Africa in America 1870-1914. Australia is now firmly linked to America in cultural and political terms. This project helps us to understand how American attitudes to overseas expansion came about in the period when America was expanding its control on its own continent and in the world at large. Explanations of this to date have neglected to examine the role of religious organisations and texts in promoting the ideas of other peoples and cultures which formed America's modern attitude to the world beyond its shores. As religion becomes increasingly recognised as a powerful factor in identity politics this project helps us to understand the roots of this connection and apply the knowledge to our current situation.Read moreRead less
State, Class and Islamic Populism: Indonesia in Comparative Perspective. This study will provide a different basis for the assessment of Australian policy responses to Islamic radicalism in Indonesia. It will expose the social foundations of Islamic populism as a particular expression of political Islam and in so doing allow the Australian public and policymakers to understand the complex networks and relationships that generate and sustain Islamic populism, including its radical streams. It wil ....State, Class and Islamic Populism: Indonesia in Comparative Perspective. This study will provide a different basis for the assessment of Australian policy responses to Islamic radicalism in Indonesia. It will expose the social foundations of Islamic populism as a particular expression of political Islam and in so doing allow the Australian public and policymakers to understand the complex networks and relationships that generate and sustain Islamic populism, including its radical streams. It will enable an identification and differentiation of the social forces resisting or advancing democratic governance reforms in Indonesia. With this knowledge, programmes intended to help develop domestic pro-democratic coalitions to stem the rise of radical Islamic groups have a sounder social scientific base.Read moreRead less
Religion at the End of the World: Anglican Communities in Western Australia 1829-c.2000. As the project will study Anglicanism as an internal variety of forms it will benefit minority groups in understanding their 'agency' in shaping religious traditions. The project will also contribute to breaking down stereotypical generalities about religions and religious groups in Australia that result from approaching any religion as a monochrome and uniform phenomenon. The identification of the various f ....Religion at the End of the World: Anglican Communities in Western Australia 1829-c.2000. As the project will study Anglicanism as an internal variety of forms it will benefit minority groups in understanding their 'agency' in shaping religious traditions. The project will also contribute to breaking down stereotypical generalities about religions and religious groups in Australia that result from approaching any religion as a monochrome and uniform phenomenon. The identification of the various forms of Anglicanism in Western Australia and their own particular religious cultures will be of benefit in substantiating the part played by indigenous, rural, and regional communities in the history of Western Australian society through the agency of Anglicanism.Read moreRead less
Recovering the Experience of the Indigenous Evangelist in the Expansion of Christianity during the late Colonial Era. The relationship between religion and society is an issue of outstanding contemporary interest to Australians. The project will provide important comparative illustrations for the national current debate on the role of religion in society. Tolerance of social difference is at the heart of the historical spread of religions and their success in converting people from different cul ....Recovering the Experience of the Indigenous Evangelist in the Expansion of Christianity during the late Colonial Era. The relationship between religion and society is an issue of outstanding contemporary interest to Australians. The project will provide important comparative illustrations for the national current debate on the role of religion in society. Tolerance of social difference is at the heart of the historical spread of religions and their success in converting people from different cultures to share basic beliefs whilst continuing to embrace and celebrate cultural difference.
Australia's already strong international research profile in the field of mission and postcolonial studies will be further enhanced by the resulting publications with leading journals and international publishing houses.
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