Indonesian labour migration to north Australia, 1880-1972. This study of mobility between Indonesia and Australia provides a historical context for understanding Australia's relations with Indonesia and the complex history of our shared maritime border. Exploration of Indonesian immigration experiences will add to current political debate over temporary labour migration. This project demonstrates the importance of cross-border research as a means of enriching Australian history and enhancing our ....Indonesian labour migration to north Australia, 1880-1972. This study of mobility between Indonesia and Australia provides a historical context for understanding Australia's relations with Indonesia and the complex history of our shared maritime border. Exploration of Indonesian immigration experiences will add to current political debate over temporary labour migration. This project demonstrates the importance of cross-border research as a means of enriching Australian history and enhancing our cultural capital in relation to our northern neighbours. This detailed study of our multi-ethnic northern communities from which came the first Indonesian-Australian citizens makes a significant contribution to our knowledge of Australia's Asian diaspora.Read moreRead less
Confronting Historical Injustice in Indonesia: Memory and Transnational Human Rights Activism. Since the 1990s there has been a boom in memory and in human rights activism relating to historical injustice in Indonesia. Using an innovative framework of the concept of ‘regions of memory’ this project examines how human rights activists located within and outside Indonesia use memory for the purposes of achieving human rights outcomes. Through national and international collaborations this project ....Confronting Historical Injustice in Indonesia: Memory and Transnational Human Rights Activism. Since the 1990s there has been a boom in memory and in human rights activism relating to historical injustice in Indonesia. Using an innovative framework of the concept of ‘regions of memory’ this project examines how human rights activists located within and outside Indonesia use memory for the purposes of achieving human rights outcomes. Through national and international collaborations this project will analyse why transnational activism concerning crimes from the Japanese occupation (1942-45), the independence struggle (1945-1949) and the 1965 mass violence escalated at particular points in time and deepen our understanding of the relationship between memory and human rights.Read moreRead less
A history of Filipino migration and identity, 1906-2010. The purpose of the research is to write a history of Filipino migration over the long twentieth century from the perspective of the migrants themselves. The story that emerges will help us understand migrant activism and explain how migration has had an enormous impact on the host countries including Australia as well as the Philippines.
Re-Writing the Nation: The Politics of Indonesian History since Suharto. In Indonesia's New Order era under President Suharto, history served a direct propaganda role in state ideology. As yet no replacement state ideology has been formulated by the three subsequent governments. In the absence of a clear direction for the state, Islamic, nationalist and other groups jockey for power. By examining the politics of historical debates in Indonesia since 1998, this project analyses processes by which ....Re-Writing the Nation: The Politics of Indonesian History since Suharto. In Indonesia's New Order era under President Suharto, history served a direct propaganda role in state ideology. As yet no replacement state ideology has been formulated by the three subsequent governments. In the absence of a clear direction for the state, Islamic, nationalist and other groups jockey for power. By examining the politics of historical debates in Indonesia since 1998, this project analyses processes by which political legitimacy is being reshaped by the contending groups in Indonesia. The project will advance the understanding both of the public uses of history and of the unstable nature of Indonesian political discourse.Read moreRead less
Fostering Women Leaders Through Educational Exchange, 1930-1980. This project plans to explore what makes it possible for women to exercise leadership. This project is a transnational study of women from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Philippines who participated in educational exchange programs with the United States in the mid-20th century. The project asks how these cross-cultural encounters and international networks facilitated and transformed the practices of leadership in the Unite ....Fostering Women Leaders Through Educational Exchange, 1930-1980. This project plans to explore what makes it possible for women to exercise leadership. This project is a transnational study of women from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Philippines who participated in educational exchange programs with the United States in the mid-20th century. The project asks how these cross-cultural encounters and international networks facilitated and transformed the practices of leadership in the United States, Asia and the Pacific. The project, in partnership with the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, aims to provide a historical perspective on leadership which can inform contemporary debates on the conditions for fostering women as leaders.Read moreRead less
A study of recent social movements in the Philippines. This project seeks to understand the nature and development of social movements in the Philippines since the 1970s. The Philippines is an important Australian neighbour; a point endorsed by the 2005 agreement of cooperation between the Australian Federal Police and the Philippine government. And yet, it is far too little studied in this country where there are very few specialists. Australia needs to understand the Philippines better as it w ....A study of recent social movements in the Philippines. This project seeks to understand the nature and development of social movements in the Philippines since the 1970s. The Philippines is an important Australian neighbour; a point endorsed by the 2005 agreement of cooperation between the Australian Federal Police and the Philippine government. And yet, it is far too little studied in this country where there are very few specialists. Australia needs to understand the Philippines better as it will continue to be an important ally. How the tenets of an activist group in Southeast Asia are transmitted to other potential members is necessary to Australian understandings of regional social movements, and this in turn is vital to political interactions, to NGO work, and to multicultural interactions.Read moreRead less
Post-war repatriation to Japan: citizenship, identity and integration, 1945-1956. This research project contributes to our knowledge of the region by exploring the early post-war history (in which Australian troops participated as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces) of one of Australia's most important and oldest trading partners. However, the project also has broader and more contemporary significance: on the one hand, it contributes to our knowledge of the increasingly importan ....Post-war repatriation to Japan: citizenship, identity and integration, 1945-1956. This research project contributes to our knowledge of the region by exploring the early post-war history (in which Australian troops participated as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces) of one of Australia's most important and oldest trading partners. However, the project also has broader and more contemporary significance: on the one hand, it contributes to our knowledge of the increasingly important 20th century phenomenon of mass migration, and of the development of strict state controls over population movements across national borders. On the other hand, it explores the complex integration of minority groups into national populations; this is a process which clearly has relevance beyond Japan and beyond the 1950s.Read moreRead less
Imagining India in white Australia: Inter-colonial relations and the empire, 1901-1950. This project will take a historical perspective on the Australia-India relationship within the broader context of the British Empire, focussing on important developments during a period, 1901-1950, that often falls outside the purview of International Relations studies, delivering a deeper understanding of past intercolonial relations.
The Politics of Transition in China, 1972-1982. The project provides a new interpretation of the elite politics behind one of the most remarkable transformations within a continuing political system in the late 20th century?the crucial period of transition between the radical late Mao era and the reform program of the 1980s. It thus examines several of the least researched, in any sustained in-depth sense, and, as a consequence, poorly understood periods of elite politics in the People's Republi ....The Politics of Transition in China, 1972-1982. The project provides a new interpretation of the elite politics behind one of the most remarkable transformations within a continuing political system in the late 20th century?the crucial period of transition between the radical late Mao era and the reform program of the 1980s. It thus examines several of the least researched, in any sustained in-depth sense, and, as a consequence, poorly understood periods of elite politics in the People's Republic of China.Read moreRead less
The Post-Mao Transition in China: From the Ashes of Revolution toward Reform, 1976-1978. The project contributes to national benefit by deepening understanding of a regional powerhouse, the People's Republic of China. While the study is historical, it has relevance for Australia's contemporary dealings with China since key aspects of Chinese leadership politics such as the tension between formal and informal authority derive from the period under examination. As such it furthers the national res ....The Post-Mao Transition in China: From the Ashes of Revolution toward Reform, 1976-1978. The project contributes to national benefit by deepening understanding of a regional powerhouse, the People's Republic of China. While the study is historical, it has relevance for Australia's contemporary dealings with China since key aspects of Chinese leadership politics such as the tension between formal and informal authority derive from the period under examination. As such it furthers the national research priority of 'Understanding our region and the world'. In addition, the study will further enhance the reputation of Australian scholarship on China, thus sustaining its world standing as second only to that of the United States. Read moreRead less