From Stranger to Citizen: Migration, Modernisation and Racialisation in the Making of the New Australian. The project addresses an important question: How can Australians continue to reap the benefits of cultural diversity while building a strong sense of national cohesion with which to engage productively with the rest of the world? Refugees from developing countries appear to pose a particular challenge to integration into Australian society. A close examination of the contact zone where newco ....From Stranger to Citizen: Migration, Modernisation and Racialisation in the Making of the New Australian. The project addresses an important question: How can Australians continue to reap the benefits of cultural diversity while building a strong sense of national cohesion with which to engage productively with the rest of the world? Refugees from developing countries appear to pose a particular challenge to integration into Australian society. A close examination of the contact zone where newcomers interact with service providers will result in a better understanding of citizen-making processes and facilitate the improvement of policies and their implementation to facilitate faster and deeper integration of migrants and refugees from developing countries into Australian society.Read moreRead less
Autonomy, Liberalism and the Right to Culture. The question of whether or on what terms cultural diversity may be reconciled with liberal citizenship and national identity is among the most pressing issues confronting liberal democracies today. Australia, long committed to multiculturalism, faces this challenge daily in its law- and policy-making. This project tackles this question by offering a new way of thinking about the place and import of the core liberal value of individual autonomy. Now ....Autonomy, Liberalism and the Right to Culture. The question of whether or on what terms cultural diversity may be reconciled with liberal citizenship and national identity is among the most pressing issues confronting liberal democracies today. Australia, long committed to multiculturalism, faces this challenge daily in its law- and policy-making. This project tackles this question by offering a new way of thinking about the place and import of the core liberal value of individual autonomy. Now under considerable attack in political theory and from some groups for being "too sectarian", the project defends the importance of autonomy to liberal citizenship, while elaborating its moral and political implications for liberals and cultural minorities alike.Read moreRead less
When immigrants and converts are not truly one of us: Examining the social psychology and developmental antecedents of marginalizing racism. Marginalizing Racism, the simultaneous acceptance and rejection of others, is clearly present in Australia. It is not just a matter of thugs on the streets of Cronulla, but of elected politicians expressing Marginalizing Racist views. We believe that examining the social psychology and developmental causes of this insidious form of racism will pave the way ....When immigrants and converts are not truly one of us: Examining the social psychology and developmental antecedents of marginalizing racism. Marginalizing Racism, the simultaneous acceptance and rejection of others, is clearly present in Australia. It is not just a matter of thugs on the streets of Cronulla, but of elected politicians expressing Marginalizing Racist views. We believe that examining the social psychology and developmental causes of this insidious form of racism will pave the way for positive social change. This is not just an academic exercise, but a chance to expose and tackle a form of racism to which the broader public and our own profession appears to turn a blind eye. Moreover, as we expect this research to yield timely and influential discoveries, it will help maintain Australia's position as a world leader in the field of social psychology.Read moreRead less
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
The History of Asian Australian Cinema: Diaspora, Policy and Ethics. This interdisciplinary project will develop a history of the representation of Asians in Australian cinema. Understanding this history promotes an engaged citizenry, facilitates intercultural communication and strengthens Australia's social fabric. It will enhance Australia's capacity to engage in the Asian region. Examining the creative film developments of Asian Australian filmmakers will promote an innovative cultural econom ....The History of Asian Australian Cinema: Diaspora, Policy and Ethics. This interdisciplinary project will develop a history of the representation of Asians in Australian cinema. Understanding this history promotes an engaged citizenry, facilitates intercultural communication and strengthens Australia's social fabric. It will enhance Australia's capacity to engage in the Asian region. Examining the creative film developments of Asian Australian filmmakers will promote an innovative cultural economy. The study on how film agencies and archives have managed Asian Australian cinema is a resource for policy and film makers in the industry. The new diasporic cinema studies framework developed will consolidate Australia's established reputation in cinema studies and advance international film scholarship.Read moreRead less
The Residential Segregation/Desegregation Behaviour of Immigrant Minority Groups in Sydney, Australia's Largest Ethnicity. There is in western nations a developing crisis with multiculturalism as the continual build up of ethnic groups in segregated areas to levels not originally contemplated occurs, exacerbated by the continued decline in birth rates in the host communities. This has been compounded by their relatively disadvantaged situation within growing segregated areas. As a result governm ....The Residential Segregation/Desegregation Behaviour of Immigrant Minority Groups in Sydney, Australia's Largest Ethnicity. There is in western nations a developing crisis with multiculturalism as the continual build up of ethnic groups in segregated areas to levels not originally contemplated occurs, exacerbated by the continued decline in birth rates in the host communities. This has been compounded by their relatively disadvantaged situation within growing segregated areas. As a result governments are struggling to develop new integration policies. Our goal is to portray and assess the Australian situation relative to that in comparative countries and in doing so to place this crisis and proposed responses into context within the Australian scene.Read moreRead less
Bolstering commitment to positive social change through group-based interaction. Building on an impressive series of preliminary results, this research uses small group interaction to bolster commitment to work towards long-term goals. The methods explored in the proposal have the potential to boost commitment in the public, private, and community sectors by identifying the key factors responsible for sustaining long-term change. The research is relevant for efforts to combat racism, and to incr ....Bolstering commitment to positive social change through group-based interaction. Building on an impressive series of preliminary results, this research uses small group interaction to bolster commitment to work towards long-term goals. The methods explored in the proposal have the potential to boost commitment in the public, private, and community sectors by identifying the key factors responsible for sustaining long-term change. The research is relevant for efforts to combat racism, and to increase community support for international development and environmental sustainability. Benefits are expected both in terms of the promotion of positive attitudes in society and in overcoming apathy within organisations.Read moreRead less
Religious authority and linguistic change in late antique Egypt: non-elite perspectives on the rise of monasticism in contemporary documents. This will enhance Australia's hard-earned profile in the fields which contribute to its approach, promoting internationally the quality of local research. It poses questions which multilingual societies drawn from different migratory strands and strong indigenous traditions must face. Its answers will contribute to the debates Australia continues to have o ....Religious authority and linguistic change in late antique Egypt: non-elite perspectives on the rise of monasticism in contemporary documents. This will enhance Australia's hard-earned profile in the fields which contribute to its approach, promoting internationally the quality of local research. It poses questions which multilingual societies drawn from different migratory strands and strong indigenous traditions must face. Its answers will contribute to the debates Australia continues to have on these issues. It directly contributes to the preservation of the culture of Australia's own Coptic community, facilitating access to its own traditions, and providing a research focus to complement Macquarie's new commitment to the teaching of the Coptic language and history. The resulting monograph will transform international scholarship on a key development of world civilisation.Read moreRead less
Rushdie Annotated: Definitive explanations of all obscure references in the Salman Rushdie corpus and extended critical commentaries on the author. In an Australia where the literary work of art now attends to issues which are multicultural, this reference text on Rushdie would show how crucial the creative use of language is in the formation of cultural identity. As a key spokesperson for liberal values, Rushdie and his works are informed by those communal values which have a direct bearing on ....Rushdie Annotated: Definitive explanations of all obscure references in the Salman Rushdie corpus and extended critical commentaries on the author. In an Australia where the literary work of art now attends to issues which are multicultural, this reference text on Rushdie would show how crucial the creative use of language is in the formation of cultural identity. As a key spokesperson for liberal values, Rushdie and his works are informed by those communal values which have a direct bearing on definitions of the Australian nation state. Ongoing debates in Australia about citizenship in a globalized world, about the relative autonomy of the literary work of art, about the links between culture and religion find valuable expression in Rushdie's works.Read moreRead less
Impaired jury decision-making: The impact of stereotypes in the Australian court room. There have been calls for reforms and overhauls of the jury system in Australia because of concerns about the ability of jurors to reach objective verdicts and concerns about the costs associated with the jury system; however the consequences of these proposed changes for jury functioning are not well understood. This research will provide a better understanding those factors that contribute to impaired jury d ....Impaired jury decision-making: The impact of stereotypes in the Australian court room. There have been calls for reforms and overhauls of the jury system in Australia because of concerns about the ability of jurors to reach objective verdicts and concerns about the costs associated with the jury system; however the consequences of these proposed changes for jury functioning are not well understood. This research will provide a better understanding those factors that contribute to impaired jury decision-making, helping to avoid the very real risk of any changes to the jury system resulting in profound and unpredictable changes to the functioning of the legal system. By doing so, the concerns of people calling for drastic reforms can be addressed without socially and economically expensive overhauls of the jury system.Read moreRead less