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
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
Cooperative dual identity: A new approach to promote ethnic harmony between Muslim and non-Muslim Australians. This project makes a significant contribution to strengthening Australia's social fabric by promoting positive cooperation between Muslim and non-Muslim students. Cooperative contact and dual identity strategies will be innovatively integrated into school curricula using web technology to encourage positive intergroup interactions that are currently not commonplace. Researchers, policy- ....Cooperative dual identity: A new approach to promote ethnic harmony between Muslim and non-Muslim Australians. This project makes a significant contribution to strengthening Australia's social fabric by promoting positive cooperation between Muslim and non-Muslim students. Cooperative contact and dual identity strategies will be innovatively integrated into school curricula using web technology to encourage positive intergroup interactions that are currently not commonplace. Researchers, policy-makers, and teachers will have available a significantly effective long-term ethnic harmony strategy, which will be incorporated routinely into their research and practice. We expect this cutting edge research program to yield timely and influential findings, and advance Australia's position as a leader in the field of social and developmental psychology.Read moreRead less
Cross-cultural 'larrikins' in a Neo-liberal world: ideology and myth in postmodern Australia, Mexico and Brazil. This project will help to re-frame the Ozzie 'larrikin' as a cross-cultural mediator, a complex, inclusive figure able to draw together the many strands of multicultural Australia. At the same time it will help Australian business in Latin America by pointing out misleading assumptions about culture in management training, proposing in their stead a more flexible, better-informed and ....Cross-cultural 'larrikins' in a Neo-liberal world: ideology and myth in postmodern Australia, Mexico and Brazil. This project will help to re-frame the Ozzie 'larrikin' as a cross-cultural mediator, a complex, inclusive figure able to draw together the many strands of multicultural Australia. At the same time it will help Australian business in Latin America by pointing out misleading assumptions about culture in management training, proposing in their stead a more flexible, better-informed and thoroughly contemporary approach, through which Australian business people can be more sensitive and effective, economically successful, and ambassadors for their country. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354600
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Sources of Insecurity: Local, National and Global. Globalizing violence and the War on Terror have brought with them an acute sense of insecurity. The present study is intended to map and understand sources of that insecurity, both from ?below? and ?above?. From below, the project analyses the cultural-political and socio-economic conditions of violence on the ground, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. From above, it documents Western representations of recent arenas of violence. The aim of th ....Sources of Insecurity: Local, National and Global. Globalizing violence and the War on Terror have brought with them an acute sense of insecurity. The present study is intended to map and understand sources of that insecurity, both from ?below? and ?above?. From below, the project analyses the cultural-political and socio-economic conditions of violence on the ground, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. From above, it documents Western representations of recent arenas of violence. The aim of the project is to research the commonplace claim that it is reassertions of older forms of traditionalism or cultural and civilizational difference that are the well-spring of contemporary global violence, including terrorism.Read moreRead less
From the inevitability of prejudice to the origins of social change: The emergence of perceived illegitimacy in intergroup relations. This project examines the social psychological processes underpinning the (il)legitimacy of intergroup relations, prejudice, and social stability and change. To date it is accepted that those who do not perceive a social system (community, culture, society) as politically and morally legitimate are more likely to reject the status quo and seek change. What is miss ....From the inevitability of prejudice to the origins of social change: The emergence of perceived illegitimacy in intergroup relations. This project examines the social psychological processes underpinning the (il)legitimacy of intergroup relations, prejudice, and social stability and change. To date it is accepted that those who do not perceive a social system (community, culture, society) as politically and morally legitimate are more likely to reject the status quo and seek change. What is missing is the crucial analysis of how and when perceived legitimacy is transformed into illegitimacy. The project elaborates a novel and comprehensive approach to the illegitimacy question based on social identity and self-categorization theories and tests it through a major program of survey and laboratory-based research.Read moreRead less
Dynamics of identity and expression: a three generational study of a community language in post World War 2 Australia. The project examines the rapidly accelerating decline in the home use of German between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses. It utilises an innovative methodology which will correlate general trends accessible via large-scale statistical data from 1976 with the experiences of subgroups, families, and, ultimately, individuals from the early 1950s. As well as contributing to theoretical mo ....Dynamics of identity and expression: a three generational study of a community language in post World War 2 Australia. The project examines the rapidly accelerating decline in the home use of German between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses. It utilises an innovative methodology which will correlate general trends accessible via large-scale statistical data from 1976 with the experiences of subgroups, families, and, ultimately, individuals from the early 1950s. As well as contributing to theoretical model building in the field at an international level, findings will benefit the German-speaking community in Australia, other community language groups facing similar dilemmas and ultimately the nation, enabling more informed management of one of Australia's major resources: its rich linguistic diversity.Read moreRead less
Translocal Identities in the Malay World: Travel, Commerce, Community Building and Religious Reform in Insular and Peninsular Southeast Asia. First, the project contributes to an understanding of the region. Second, understanding how different governments in the region have and are managing religious and cultural diversity may provide lessons for Australia. Third, a study of migration within the region can make a significant contribution to debates within Australia on immigration from Asia. Four ....Translocal Identities in the Malay World: Travel, Commerce, Community Building and Religious Reform in Insular and Peninsular Southeast Asia. First, the project contributes to an understanding of the region. Second, understanding how different governments in the region have and are managing religious and cultural diversity may provide lessons for Australia. Third, a study of migration within the region can make a significant contribution to debates within Australia on immigration from Asia. Fourth, there are benefits in greater understanding of Islamic networks in Southeast Asia as these are of strategic significance for Australia. Finally, there are benefits in informing an Australian public that Southeast Asia should not be equated solely with negative aspects but also with civility and tolerance.Read moreRead less
A study of the Brazilian community in Australia and Australian-Brazilian bilateral exchange. This study provides knowledge of a recent and growing migrant group in Australia of which there is little information beyond the bare demographics. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of class differences in shaping migrant identities, by exploring the way the immense socio-economic gap in Brazilian society is transplanted from homeland to destination country. By investigating the as yet ....A study of the Brazilian community in Australia and Australian-Brazilian bilateral exchange. This study provides knowledge of a recent and growing migrant group in Australia of which there is little information beyond the bare demographics. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of class differences in shaping migrant identities, by exploring the way the immense socio-economic gap in Brazilian society is transplanted from homeland to destination country. By investigating the as yet uncharted 'South-South' cultural pathways between Australia and Brazil, this project offers a critique of theories of power relations and globalisation. It will inform and enhance the growing bilateral relations between Australia and Brazil in the areas of tourism, investment, cultural promotion and educationRead moreRead less