Representing Kanaks: Generic Variation, Identity, and the Politics of the Everyday Semiotic. The project hypothesizes that representational struggles over indigenous identity are crucially shaped by the range of genres in which identity is asserted. Through the case of Kanaks in New Caledonia, as represented by several everyday genres hitherto neglected by scholarship, the representational politics of indigeneity are interrogated with the aim of demonstrating that Kanak existence is constituted ....Representing Kanaks: Generic Variation, Identity, and the Politics of the Everyday Semiotic. The project hypothesizes that representational struggles over indigenous identity are crucially shaped by the range of genres in which identity is asserted. Through the case of Kanaks in New Caledonia, as represented by several everyday genres hitherto neglected by scholarship, the representational politics of indigeneity are interrogated with the aim of demonstrating that Kanak existence is constituted in the semiotic detail of everyday generic variation. The project's significance lies in its radical reconception of identity and representational politics: going beyond indigenous versus colonial binaries, it reveals the complexity of day-to-day competition over and consolidation of indigenous identity through representational systems.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0775813
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$70,000.00
Summary
Bringing indigenous knowledge into early childhood settings. This project will produce a negotiated model of Indigenous teaching and learning in early childhood settings by documenting the diversity of Indigenous knowledge from the Northern Territory. This model will be suitable for sharing with Indigenous and non-Indigenous children within the early childhood sector. Through this sharing there can be a greater recognition and acceptance of the knowledge Indigenous children bring to early chil ....Bringing indigenous knowledge into early childhood settings. This project will produce a negotiated model of Indigenous teaching and learning in early childhood settings by documenting the diversity of Indigenous knowledge from the Northern Territory. This model will be suitable for sharing with Indigenous and non-Indigenous children within the early childhood sector. Through this sharing there can be a greater recognition and acceptance of the knowledge Indigenous children bring to early childhood programs, a facilitation of understanding in non-Indigenous children and assist in the maintenance of this knowledge for future generations. Read moreRead less
Australian Cultural Fields: National and Transnational Dynamics. This interdisciplinary project investigates the shaping of Australian art, literary, media, sport, and heritage fields, individually and collectively, by the changing national and transnational environment since the 1994 national cultural policy Creative Nation. Like Creative Nation, its primary focus is on the relation between these fields and the nation, but also pays particular attention to the distinctive forms of cultural capi ....Australian Cultural Fields: National and Transnational Dynamics. This interdisciplinary project investigates the shaping of Australian art, literary, media, sport, and heritage fields, individually and collectively, by the changing national and transnational environment since the 1994 national cultural policy Creative Nation. Like Creative Nation, its primary focus is on the relation between these fields and the nation, but also pays particular attention to the distinctive forms of cultural capital associated within and across these fields, especially ethnic cultural divisions and the distinctive presence of Indigenous culture. This project’s empirical application and assessment of the concept of the ‘cultural field’ will contribute to the international development of cultural theory.Read moreRead less
The skin of commerce: the role of plastic packaging in the construction of food security, waste and consumer activism in Australia. Plastic packaging has been important to ensuring food security in Australia, however it is also a major waste burden. This project will critically assess new approaches to reducing plastic packaging in food markets and waste streams and will produce key insights into how sustainable food systems can be organised with less reliance on plastic.
From the Tap to the Bottle: an international study of the social and material life of bottled water. Water is a critical resource in Australia yet little is known about water in bottles. This project will be the first comparative study of bottled water marketing, consumption and disposal. It will make a significant contribution to national and international understandings of changing practices in the consumption of drinking water. The research will produce an analysis of the rise of the bottle i ....From the Tap to the Bottle: an international study of the social and material life of bottled water. Water is a critical resource in Australia yet little is known about water in bottles. This project will be the first comparative study of bottled water marketing, consumption and disposal. It will make a significant contribution to national and international understandings of changing practices in the consumption of drinking water. The research will produce an analysis of the rise of the bottle in relation to the tap. Specifically, how various anxieties associated with drinking tap water, in Australia and elsewhere, impact on bottled water consumption. The knowledge produced about bottled water collection, circulation and regulation will contribute to wider debates about sustainable water provision and access to safe water for all.Read moreRead less
A study of the public understanding of the Great Barrier Reef and its sustainable use. As a national icon, the survival of the Great Barrier Reef is of consequence to all Australians. As pressures on the Reef increase, it is imperative that the cultural heritage and social value of the Reef be recognised, understood, and mobilised to facilitate efforts to preserve the Reef for future generations. Reaching and informing broad and varied audiences in a range of communities, this project encourages ....A study of the public understanding of the Great Barrier Reef and its sustainable use. As a national icon, the survival of the Great Barrier Reef is of consequence to all Australians. As pressures on the Reef increase, it is imperative that the cultural heritage and social value of the Reef be recognised, understood, and mobilised to facilitate efforts to preserve the Reef for future generations. Reaching and informing broad and varied audiences in a range of communities, this project encourages a much wider appreciation of the value and importance of the Reef to Australian culture, and thus provides an important capacity-building step in realising the long-term social goal of sustainable use of the Reef's unique biodiversityRead moreRead less
Local Culture/Global Space: Japanese Minority Sexualities and the Internet. After English (43%), Japanese (9%)is the most used language on the Internet. No study has addressed the specific ways in which Japanese language use affects Internet communication or how the Internet is being used by minoritised groups and individuals. The project will examine Internet use by minority sexualities in Japan in order to ascertain how individuals and communities who fall outside the 'mainstream' of society i ....Local Culture/Global Space: Japanese Minority Sexualities and the Internet. After English (43%), Japanese (9%)is the most used language on the Internet. No study has addressed the specific ways in which Japanese language use affects Internet communication or how the Internet is being used by minoritised groups and individuals. The project will examine Internet use by minority sexualities in Japan in order to ascertain how individuals and communities who fall outside the 'mainstream' of society interact with this new technology. The project will contribute to our understanding of how the Internet, a supposedly global medium, also facilitates the emergence of very local subcultures. The project will result in a series of conference presentations, journal papers and a book.Read moreRead less
The Atacama and Australian mining companies: identity, intercultural communication and negotiation in northern Chile. The involvement by state administrations and global corporations in planning for social responsibility in mining and the resulting negotiations with citizens - especially groups identified as indigenous - brings a range of people into dialogue. However, these contexts are under-researched. The proposed project will contribute an independent study of relationships between Chilean ....The Atacama and Australian mining companies: identity, intercultural communication and negotiation in northern Chile. The involvement by state administrations and global corporations in planning for social responsibility in mining and the resulting negotiations with citizens - especially groups identified as indigenous - brings a range of people into dialogue. However, these contexts are under-researched. The proposed project will contribute an independent study of relationships between Chilean citizens, Australian mining companies and the state in northern Chile. It seeks to provide theoretical insights and offer practical information in academic and plain language for local negotiators, global business and state administration: a timely analysis given recently (2008) signed Free Trade Agreement with Chile.Read moreRead less
The Making of the Australian Middlebrow: Nationalism, Modernity and Middlebrow Culture in Australia. This project aims to investigate the history of middlebrow cultural values and institutions in 20th-century Australia. It will be the first such study, and will build on recent major international work on the middlebrow. Reading Australian cultural history through the concept of the middlebrow will revise familar assumptions about literature, nationalism and modernity in Australia. The study will ....The Making of the Australian Middlebrow: Nationalism, Modernity and Middlebrow Culture in Australia. This project aims to investigate the history of middlebrow cultural values and institutions in 20th-century Australia. It will be the first such study, and will build on recent major international work on the middlebrow. Reading Australian cultural history through the concept of the middlebrow will revise familar assumptions about literature, nationalism and modernity in Australia. The study will examine the rich archive of Australian magazines, newspaper review pages, writer and reader associations and publishing records. It will engage theoretically with contemporary theories of popular culture and modernity. The outcome will be a monograph on middlebrow culture in Australia.Read moreRead less
A Critical Genealogy of Normality. The rather divergent ideas about normality that emerged in nineteenth-century medical thought continue to have a widespread cultural influence today. Cultural assumptions about what constitutes a normal body inform a wide range of medical practices and underpin the use of standardised testing to determine health or disability. They are also in play when doctors decide when to undertake preventative health measures and when to intervene surgically. A detailed un ....A Critical Genealogy of Normality. The rather divergent ideas about normality that emerged in nineteenth-century medical thought continue to have a widespread cultural influence today. Cultural assumptions about what constitutes a normal body inform a wide range of medical practices and underpin the use of standardised testing to determine health or disability. They are also in play when doctors decide when to undertake preventative health measures and when to intervene surgically. A detailed understanding of how bodily norms come to be established has an important role to play in both shaping medical ethics and in helping people make more informed choices about elective surgical procedures.Read moreRead less