Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100080
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,933.00
Summary
Tasting history: food, culture, and national identity. This project aims to prioritise the role of taste in history by mapping how cultural heritage has driven nation building in Australia through the example of food. Scholarly research on the sense of taste is a significant area of critical historical inquiry. This project will develop a novel approach in a comparative study of the significance of biscuit consumption from colonial expansion to militarism; among other sources, it explores cookbo ....Tasting history: food, culture, and national identity. This project aims to prioritise the role of taste in history by mapping how cultural heritage has driven nation building in Australia through the example of food. Scholarly research on the sense of taste is a significant area of critical historical inquiry. This project will develop a novel approach in a comparative study of the significance of biscuit consumption from colonial expansion to militarism; among other sources, it explores cookbooks and recipe archives as documents that underpin cultural heritage. In addition to historical analysis, this project will yield cultural, health, and environmental benefits in Australia that intersect with international debates about the sociocultural ramifications of food politics and food sovereignty.Read moreRead less
Investigating Innovative Waste Economies: redrawing the circular economy . Australia is facing a waste crisis and government and industry are promoting the Circular Economy as a solution. This project investigates innovative cultural and economic practices in three waste streams: single use plastics, organics and bulky household waste, to understand how they realise or redraw the circle. The project develops empirical evidence to advance thinking about how novel waste economies are organised and ....Investigating Innovative Waste Economies: redrawing the circular economy . Australia is facing a waste crisis and government and industry are promoting the Circular Economy as a solution. This project investigates innovative cultural and economic practices in three waste streams: single use plastics, organics and bulky household waste, to understand how they realise or redraw the circle. The project develops empirical evidence to advance thinking about how novel waste economies are organised and the cultural and social innovations they generate. Outcomes include national and international case studies of innovative waste economies, social learning events with industry stakeholders and academic publications. Key benefits provide evidence of how different waste practices enable more sustainable ways of living. Read moreRead less
The Promise of Justice. Justice is often framed as a human problem. How other species shape just or unjust futures is rarely considered. Biodiversity loss and modernisation programs can result in unequal suffering for Indigenous communities. Health inequalities, produced by microbial diseases, also disproportionately impact marginalsed peoples in developing countries. Collaborative ethnographic research in Indonesia will enable participants to reconceptualise justice and make policy reccomendati ....The Promise of Justice. Justice is often framed as a human problem. How other species shape just or unjust futures is rarely considered. Biodiversity loss and modernisation programs can result in unequal suffering for Indigenous communities. Health inequalities, produced by microbial diseases, also disproportionately impact marginalsed peoples in developing countries. Collaborative ethnographic research in Indonesia will enable participants to reconceptualise justice and make policy reccomendations in three arenas: 1) the environment, 2) human rights, and 3) health. New knowledge in cultural theory and multispecies studies will be generated through collaborations with distinguished international scholars and indigenous intellectuals.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100025
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$436,250.00
Summary
Human-kangaroo relations: Reconciling perceptions, knowledges and practices. This research aims to reveal the diverse perceptions, knowledges and practices shaping human-kangaroo relations in Australia. Using inter-disciplinary and multi-sited methods, the project expects to generate innovative empirical and conceptual insights into the contested status of the kangaroo as native species and pest, food resource and political symbol. Planned outcomes of the project include the development of parti ....Human-kangaroo relations: Reconciling perceptions, knowledges and practices. This research aims to reveal the diverse perceptions, knowledges and practices shaping human-kangaroo relations in Australia. Using inter-disciplinary and multi-sited methods, the project expects to generate innovative empirical and conceptual insights into the contested status of the kangaroo as native species and pest, food resource and political symbol. Planned outcomes of the project include the development of participatory and applied approaches to reconciling environmental conservation with ethical food production and multispecies justice. Anticipated benefits include fast-tracking a multi-stakeholder dialogue to ensure an ecologically viable, ethically just and economically sustainable future for Australian wildlife. Read moreRead less
Extinction stories: Inhabiting landscapes of loss in the Anthropocene. This project aims to explore the cultural, political and ethical dimensions of biodiversity loss in three of the world’s ‘extinction capitals’ in an age of mass extinction. Drawing on ethnographic research, philosophy and the natural sciences, the project asks how the loss of species and efforts to prevent these losses shape the contours of local people’s lives and the landscapes they inhabit. This project will also use a ser ....Extinction stories: Inhabiting landscapes of loss in the Anthropocene. This project aims to explore the cultural, political and ethical dimensions of biodiversity loss in three of the world’s ‘extinction capitals’ in an age of mass extinction. Drawing on ethnographic research, philosophy and the natural sciences, the project asks how the loss of species and efforts to prevent these losses shape the contours of local people’s lives and the landscapes they inhabit. This project will also use a series of creative storytelling interventions that aim to cultivate community understanding of why and how extinctions matter. The project also aims to benefit public environmental humanities through the development of resources.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100233
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,574.00
Summary
Pyrosecurity: understanding and managing bushfires in a changing climate. This project aims to examine cultural and political factors that have shaped bushfire management in Australasia during the past two decades and identify how practices might better adapt to a changing world. Bushfires are a serious natural hazard with major social, economic, and environmental impacts. Social and climatic changes are altering the intensity, frequency, and consequences of bushfires, creating significant uncer ....Pyrosecurity: understanding and managing bushfires in a changing climate. This project aims to examine cultural and political factors that have shaped bushfire management in Australasia during the past two decades and identify how practices might better adapt to a changing world. Bushfires are a serious natural hazard with major social, economic, and environmental impacts. Social and climatic changes are altering the intensity, frequency, and consequences of bushfires, creating significant uncertainties in how we anticipate them. This project will examine how bushfire management practitioners and institutions manage diverse uncertainties, leading to new theoretical insights and strategic policy advice. Expected benefits include better prediction and management of bushfire impacts and improved education and training of bushfire practitioners.Read moreRead less
Australia a space-faring nation: imaginaries and practices of space futures. This project investigates the challenges, opportunities and implications of outer space as a site of economic, political, environmental and cultural interest for Australia. Combining ethnography and creative practice, the project analyses how a range of imaginaries of outer space are produced through a study of the development of Australia’s National Space Agency, the role of new venture capital firms in Australia, and ....Australia a space-faring nation: imaginaries and practices of space futures. This project investigates the challenges, opportunities and implications of outer space as a site of economic, political, environmental and cultural interest for Australia. Combining ethnography and creative practice, the project analyses how a range of imaginaries of outer space are produced through a study of the development of Australia’s National Space Agency, the role of new venture capital firms in Australia, and scientific research on alien life in terrestrial analogue sites in Australia, the U.S and Chile. Research outputs will contribute to national research capacity in social studies of science, foster opportunities for international interdisciplinary collaborations, and inspire Australian public engagement with space research. Read moreRead less
Digital photography: mediation, memory and visual communication. This project aims to address the social impact of major shifts in the production, distribution, viewing and storage of photographic images which have profoundly altered their everyday use. By adopting an interdisciplinary, user-centred approach to digitally networked photography, the project will provide a more holistic understanding of how photographs mediate communication, sociality and memory in the present. Expected outcomes i ....Digital photography: mediation, memory and visual communication. This project aims to address the social impact of major shifts in the production, distribution, viewing and storage of photographic images which have profoundly altered their everyday use. By adopting an interdisciplinary, user-centred approach to digitally networked photography, the project will provide a more holistic understanding of how photographs mediate communication, sociality and memory in the present. Expected outcomes include generating original empirical data, building international collaboration, and creating a new conceptual framework for assessing contemporary photographic practices. The research will provide community benefit by enabling insight into the social and ethical tensions affecting photography in the present.
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Beyond Extinction: Reconstructing the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) Archive. This project aims to tell a global story about extinction as a human problem, by reconstructing the individual biographies of a selection of thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) specimens. Through transforming these specimens into grieveable lives the project expects to facilitate scholarly and public engagement with the cultural history of extinction, advancing the foundation for a sustainable and informed response that may help ....Beyond Extinction: Reconstructing the Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) Archive. This project aims to tell a global story about extinction as a human problem, by reconstructing the individual biographies of a selection of thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) specimens. Through transforming these specimens into grieveable lives the project expects to facilitate scholarly and public engagement with the cultural history of extinction, advancing the foundation for a sustainable and informed response that may help prevent further extinctions. In bringing together the zoo and the museum as key sites for the development of public environmental sentiment, this project has the potential to generate new and globally-relevant resources for engaging with conservation and extinction, through these institutions and beyond.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200604
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$125,000.00
Summary
Extremism and the Australian National Imaginary. The project will use innovative temporal methods to assess the influence of extreme nationalist discourses on mainstream political discussion in Australia. It will develop computational tools to unpick the relationship between digital media, speed and increasing polarisation in political discourse. Expected outcomes include a dataset describing extreme discourses in Australia, an empirical evaluation of the influence of extremism within mainstream ....Extremism and the Australian National Imaginary. The project will use innovative temporal methods to assess the influence of extreme nationalist discourses on mainstream political discussion in Australia. It will develop computational tools to unpick the relationship between digital media, speed and increasing polarisation in political discourse. Expected outcomes include a dataset describing extreme discourses in Australia, an empirical evaluation of the influence of extremism within mainstream publics, and the development of software, methods and a collaborative framework to support research excellence. Expected outcomes include training governmental and non-governmental advocates and policy makers seeking to address extremism for a socially cohesive Australia. Read moreRead less