The Darwinian Screen: Race in Pacific and Australian Film 1900-1970. This project examines the influence of Darwinism in filmic narratives which deal with race that are set in Australia and the Pacific from 1900-1970. Science Fiction, Travel, South Seas Island Romance, Colonial Adventure and Jungle films made in Australia, New Zealand, America, the UK and France will be considered in order to determine the design and construction of race. The search for primitive man, the construction of 'types' ....The Darwinian Screen: Race in Pacific and Australian Film 1900-1970. This project examines the influence of Darwinism in filmic narratives which deal with race that are set in Australia and the Pacific from 1900-1970. Science Fiction, Travel, South Seas Island Romance, Colonial Adventure and Jungle films made in Australia, New Zealand, America, the UK and France will be considered in order to determine the design and construction of race. The search for primitive man, the construction of 'types', the creation of utopian spaces for white subjects, the representation of evolution and devolution, the making of the Pacific as site for scientific endeavour and the production of narratives of survival are among the areas to be considered.Read moreRead less
Cinema and Civilisation: Science, Progress and Empire in Early Film. This study will explore the role of early film in disseminating the Western ideals of progress, science and technology in the colonial nations of Australia's region. Early films made about Indonesia, Indochina, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Singapore as well as India and North Africa will be studied. The study will reveal Australia's dual roles as a recipient of the civilising mission and later as a propagator of th ....Cinema and Civilisation: Science, Progress and Empire in Early Film. This study will explore the role of early film in disseminating the Western ideals of progress, science and technology in the colonial nations of Australia's region. Early films made about Indonesia, Indochina, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Singapore as well as India and North Africa will be studied. The study will reveal Australia's dual roles as a recipient of the civilising mission and later as a propagator of this knowledge in its own sphere of influence. Such an understanding will lead to a fuller comprehension of the relative meaning of terms such as 'progress', 'science' and 'civilisation' in Australia and its region.Read moreRead less
Mapping the movies: the changing nature of Australia's cinema circuits and their audiences 1956-1984. Support for film production is a high profile component in Australian cultural policy, but the cultural and commercial opportunity represented by cinema exhibition and attendance is less well understood. Focusing on the three decades after the introduction of television in 1956, this project is the first of its kind to use geospatial visualisation to map the social and economic circuits of cinem ....Mapping the movies: the changing nature of Australia's cinema circuits and their audiences 1956-1984. Support for film production is a high profile component in Australian cultural policy, but the cultural and commercial opportunity represented by cinema exhibition and attendance is less well understood. Focusing on the three decades after the introduction of television in 1956, this project is the first of its kind to use geospatial visualisation to map the social and economic circuits of cinema-going, and to identify the variables that explain cinema diversification, survival or closure. It will contribute to policy analysis in terms of local media access modelling, and will consolidate this team's international reputation for innovative Australian research in the representation of historical data.Read moreRead less
The BYSTANDER FIELD: immersive 'feedback' environments for exhibiting and dramatically interacting with semiotic, aesthetic and emotional patterns in archived imagery. The BYSTANDER FIELD investigates dramatic new ways to exhibit, interrogate and interpret archived imagery. Immersing visitors bodily in a 'turbulent' environment of user-activated images, sounds and texts, all cross-referenced and inter-dependent, the project encourages interactive comprehension of cultural collections and the so ....The BYSTANDER FIELD: immersive 'feedback' environments for exhibiting and dramatically interacting with semiotic, aesthetic and emotional patterns in archived imagery. The BYSTANDER FIELD investigates dramatic new ways to exhibit, interrogate and interpret archived imagery. Immersing visitors bodily in a 'turbulent' environment of user-activated images, sounds and texts, all cross-referenced and inter-dependent, the project encourages interactive comprehension of cultural collections and the societies that spawned them.
The research method is iterative and evolutionary: critique of existing literature, designs and technologies; repeated, rapid prototyping leading to test-exhibit; final critique of user-experience; report on knowledge generated.
Outcomes are theoretical and practical: reports delivering new knowledge; audience-tested systems of display and interpretation which are scaleable to several museological and architectural scenarios.Read moreRead less
Regional Markets and Local Audiences: Case Studies in Australian Cinema Consumption, 1928-1980. The argument that Australian cinema maintains Australian identity is mirrored by the perception that imported cinema threatens national cultural integrity. We examine the historical basis for this discourse in order to propose alternative conceptual frameworks which view cultural exchange in less alarmist terms. In analysing the role of cinema in the creation of community identity, our research posit ....Regional Markets and Local Audiences: Case Studies in Australian Cinema Consumption, 1928-1980. The argument that Australian cinema maintains Australian identity is mirrored by the perception that imported cinema threatens national cultural integrity. We examine the historical basis for this discourse in order to propose alternative conceptual frameworks which view cultural exchange in less alarmist terms. In analysing the role of cinema in the creation of community identity, our research positions the social experience of Australian cinema-going as central to emerging international research, and provides a basis from which policy researchers can sustain a more complex account of national cultural maintenance, given the demographic circumstances which unavoidably position Australia as a net importer of cinema product.Read moreRead less
Domestic Subversions: maternalism and cross-cultural histories. This project will assist in the processes of reconciliation, by fostering a sense of a shared history, and increasing public awareness of the complexity of race relations histories in Australia. It will redress a significant gap in Australian knowledge and literature. Very little is known about the history of Aboriginal domestic workers and their relationships with their white employers in Australia, despite growing awareness of the ....Domestic Subversions: maternalism and cross-cultural histories. This project will assist in the processes of reconciliation, by fostering a sense of a shared history, and increasing public awareness of the complexity of race relations histories in Australia. It will redress a significant gap in Australian knowledge and literature. Very little is known about the history of Aboriginal domestic workers and their relationships with their white employers in Australia, despite growing awareness of the significance of domestic service in Aboriginal child removal policies. The project will also assist in establishing Australian historical scholarship at the forefront of leading international research initiatives in gender, race and colonialism studies. Read moreRead less
Aboriginal Femininity and Modern Identity: Gender and Race in the Late Colonial Visual Scene. The project is the first sustained cultural history of Aboriginal femininity in Australian from 1870-1967. It will draw on diverse forms of modern visual culture: painting, black and white drawing, mass commodity spectacle, film and photography, to investigate six modes of production of Aboriginal feminine visibility: the 'primitive' woman in Western exhibiting practices such as colonial museums: the pe ....Aboriginal Femininity and Modern Identity: Gender and Race in the Late Colonial Visual Scene. The project is the first sustained cultural history of Aboriginal femininity in Australian from 1870-1967. It will draw on diverse forms of modern visual culture: painting, black and white drawing, mass commodity spectacle, film and photography, to investigate six modes of production of Aboriginal feminine visibility: the 'primitive' woman in Western exhibiting practices such as colonial museums: the perceived failure of 'Mission Mary' to appear modern; the relation of Aboriginal femininity to imported forms of exoticism; the fetishism of Indigenous women; girl piccaninny kitsch in domestic and tourist ornaments; and the entrance of public Aboriginal women and celebrities into modernity.
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Anthropological perspectives on ethnographic collecting by Australian colonial administrators in Papua and New Guinea and their contribution to museum collections. Australian colonial administrators in PNG built up large ethnographic collections. This study will examine the contexts in which 'ethnographic' objects were acquired from Indigenous peoples in PNG with particular emphasis on the role of Sir Hubert Murray. This will be the first study to examine the historical and cultural context of ....Anthropological perspectives on ethnographic collecting by Australian colonial administrators in Papua and New Guinea and their contribution to museum collections. Australian colonial administrators in PNG built up large ethnographic collections. This study will examine the contexts in which 'ethnographic' objects were acquired from Indigenous peoples in PNG with particular emphasis on the role of Sir Hubert Murray. This will be the first study to examine the historical and cultural context of the large PNG collections now held by the National Museum of Australia. It will provide a new perspective on Australia's role as a colonial power in the Pacific using ethnographic objects to explore the relationship between key figures in the Administration and Indigenous people.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0347624
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,022.00
Summary
Dreaming Tracks and Trading Paths - a study of Aboriginal trading routes through Queensland. Aboriginal song lines and trade routes became the foundation for stock routes, coach ways and bitumen highways because successful European exploration used the expediency of Aboriginal guides who travelled along the routes already familiar to them. These routes are documented in instruments of land management such as churingas, toas or shields, and in the mnemotic memory of songs and stories. By reading ....Dreaming Tracks and Trading Paths - a study of Aboriginal trading routes through Queensland. Aboriginal song lines and trade routes became the foundation for stock routes, coach ways and bitumen highways because successful European exploration used the expediency of Aboriginal guides who travelled along the routes already familiar to them. These routes are documented in instruments of land management such as churingas, toas or shields, and in the mnemotic memory of songs and stories. By reading together these two types of knowledge - of European exploration and of Aboriginal authorship of country - popular ways of 'knowing Aborigines' become fundamentally reinscribed and much popular knowledge about Aboriginal societies is deeply challenged.Read moreRead less
Shaping the National Outlook: International News in the Australian Press 1901-1950. This project will benefit the nation by demonstrating the critical importance of the Australian media and its reporting of international news in our foreign relations and, more broadly, in shaping our understanding of, and engagement with, the rest of the world. It will contribute to the research priority of strengthening our understanding of Australia's place in the region and the world. The book, articles and p ....Shaping the National Outlook: International News in the Australian Press 1901-1950. This project will benefit the nation by demonstrating the critical importance of the Australian media and its reporting of international news in our foreign relations and, more broadly, in shaping our understanding of, and engagement with, the rest of the world. It will contribute to the research priority of strengthening our understanding of Australia's place in the region and the world. The book, articles and presentations arising from the research will greatly benefit the development of the field of media history in Australia and internationally, and improve the knowledge base of educational programs in the area.Read moreRead less