Development, Disease and Desire: AIDS and women's understandings of maternity and health among the Gogodala of PNG. This project explores articulations and experiences of health and illness among women in rural PNG, in light of the spread of HIV/AIDS in these communities. It examines the incorporation of new diseases, like HIV/AIDS, into Gogodala women's conceptualisations of sickness and health, arguing that in-depth analyses of cross-cultural notions of disease are vital for the provision of e ....Development, Disease and Desire: AIDS and women's understandings of maternity and health among the Gogodala of PNG. This project explores articulations and experiences of health and illness among women in rural PNG, in light of the spread of HIV/AIDS in these communities. It examines the incorporation of new diseases, like HIV/AIDS, into Gogodala women's conceptualisations of sickness and health, arguing that in-depth analyses of cross-cultural notions of disease are vital for the provision of effective health care. Given HIV's rapid spread into rural communities, and its devastating effects on women and children in PNG, the project seeks to provide ethnographically-informed material that contributes to the development of regional health care policies and programs.Read moreRead less
Violence, Religion and Well-being in Contemporary Burma (Myanmar): A Medical Anthropological Study of Everyday Life Under Dictatorship. For 40 years, Burma has been controlled by a military dictatorship with human rights abuses occurring daily. Terror and political violence are used as tools of repression. An in-depth ethnographic study will be conducted into the relationship between emotional/psychological distress and the violence and fear that pervades everyday Burmese life. The project will ....Violence, Religion and Well-being in Contemporary Burma (Myanmar): A Medical Anthropological Study of Everyday Life Under Dictatorship. For 40 years, Burma has been controlled by a military dictatorship with human rights abuses occurring daily. Terror and political violence are used as tools of repression. An in-depth ethnographic study will be conducted into the relationship between emotional/psychological distress and the violence and fear that pervades everyday Burmese life. The project will test the hypothesis that religion plays an important role in mediating responses to fear. No other study has been conducted of everday life under this dictatorship, or of survival strategies created to alleviate fear. Outcomes will include refereed articles, a major monograph on the subject and the development of a new methodology appropriate for aiding victims of terror and torture.Read moreRead less
Understanding Burma's Health Crisis and its Challenge to Regional Security: New Pathways to Peacebuilding. Researching ways in which war-torn societies can build the human capital necessary for long-term implementation of peacebuilding initiatives will contribute to making peace interventions more successful. The unique focus upon the right to health and its linkages with human rights within conflict economies will provide significant information and new policy directions for improving human sec ....Understanding Burma's Health Crisis and its Challenge to Regional Security: New Pathways to Peacebuilding. Researching ways in which war-torn societies can build the human capital necessary for long-term implementation of peacebuilding initiatives will contribute to making peace interventions more successful. The unique focus upon the right to health and its linkages with human rights within conflict economies will provide significant information and new policy directions for improving human security and stability among Australia's neighbours in the Asian region.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100824
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Intimate relationships and the politics of personhood in the Philippines. Through the lens of young women's intimate relationships on Siquijor Island, Philippines, this project seeks to understand better changing norms of sociality in a globalising world. This project focuses on transgressive relationships which, as instances of rule-breaking, highlight implicit social expectations of inter-personal connection and obligation.
Recycling modernity: an anthropological study of India's mobile phone repair and recycling economies. This project helps us understand the implications that consumer capitalism and e-waste has on emerging economies. It will be the first anthropological study to examine the repair and recycling economies of India, seeking a new theoretical framework for understanding the paradox of India's consumer culture.
Antimicrobial resistance, inequality and development in India. This project aims to provide an analysis of the cultural and social drivers behind the threat of antimicrobial resistance in India. As the highest consumer of antibiotics globally, India is central to the global challenge of addressing antimicrobial resistance. This project will focus on antimicrobial resistance as a distinctly social problem. The intended outcomes include a deep understanding of how the crisis is unfolding in India ....Antimicrobial resistance, inequality and development in India. This project aims to provide an analysis of the cultural and social drivers behind the threat of antimicrobial resistance in India. As the highest consumer of antibiotics globally, India is central to the global challenge of addressing antimicrobial resistance. This project will focus on antimicrobial resistance as a distinctly social problem. The intended outcomes include a deep understanding of how the crisis is unfolding in India at the nexus of poverty, weak governance and embedded cultural practices. Anticipated findings will generate policy-relevant outputs to optimise antimicrobial use, position Australia as a leading voice in addressing a global threat, and prepare Australia against the specific issue of microbial resistance.Read moreRead less
The Commercialization of Ritual and Transformation of Kinship in Urban China. This project analyses transformations in the practice of kinship in urban China by examining the commercial enterprises that conduct funerals and weddings. Through a focus on the imagination of kinship performed in these rituals, it will address major scholarly debates on three topics: the relationship between urbanisation and practices of kinship; the wider social ramifications of the commercialisation of ritual; and ....The Commercialization of Ritual and Transformation of Kinship in Urban China. This project analyses transformations in the practice of kinship in urban China by examining the commercial enterprises that conduct funerals and weddings. Through a focus on the imagination of kinship performed in these rituals, it will address major scholarly debates on three topics: the relationship between urbanisation and practices of kinship; the wider social ramifications of the commercialisation of ritual; and how to theorise Chinese modernity. In addition to contributing to theoretical debates, the project will make a major empirical contribution to China studies by providing the first systematic depiction of contemporary urban funerals.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101073
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,015.00
Summary
Donkey Politics: How China’s Belt & Road shapes everyday life in Pakistan. This project will develop a socio-cultural understanding of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), through an ethnographic examination of the donkey trade with China. The research will produce fine-grained data on the impacts of the massive export of donkeys on the work, livelihoods, and health-seeking behaviour of marginalised populations in Pakistan. Expecte ....Donkey Politics: How China’s Belt & Road shapes everyday life in Pakistan. This project will develop a socio-cultural understanding of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), through an ethnographic examination of the donkey trade with China. The research will produce fine-grained data on the impacts of the massive export of donkeys on the work, livelihoods, and health-seeking behaviour of marginalised populations in Pakistan. Expected outcomes include enhanced understanding of Chinese mega projects on host countries. It will benefit Australian and international policymakers seeking to develop a grounded understanding of BRI and its broader implications for the Indo-Pacific region, including the risk of zoonotic diseases associated with animal trade.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100496
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$446,291.00
Summary
Standardising Halal: interpreting the tension between global and local. This project aims to advance understanding of how halal standardisation has been reimagined in the context of global Muslim cultural diversity. It investigates the halal cultural economy—finance, food, travel, fashion, media, and cosmetics—in Malaysia and Indonesia. Using innovative interdisciplinary approaches, in particular anthropology and Islamic textual analysis, this project expects to generate a new level of understan ....Standardising Halal: interpreting the tension between global and local. This project aims to advance understanding of how halal standardisation has been reimagined in the context of global Muslim cultural diversity. It investigates the halal cultural economy—finance, food, travel, fashion, media, and cosmetics—in Malaysia and Indonesia. Using innovative interdisciplinary approaches, in particular anthropology and Islamic textual analysis, this project expects to generate a new level of understanding of halal industries. Expected outcomes include identifying major players and unpacking local cultural responses to the global move to homogenise halal practices. Australia is the world’s second-largest halal food exporter: this research should benefit its businesses’ expansion into contemporary halal industries.Read moreRead less
What is safe about “safe migration”? Migration management in the Mekong. The project seeks to examine the claims that new policy models make about assuring the safety of labour migrants. What is safe about safe migration? Regulation of labour migrants is a central policy concern in Asia, Australia and elsewhere. In an attempt to address anti-trafficking, several donors, United Nations agencies, nongovernment organisations and Governments have launched ‘safe migration’ programs which, rather than ....What is safe about “safe migration”? Migration management in the Mekong. The project seeks to examine the claims that new policy models make about assuring the safety of labour migrants. What is safe about safe migration? Regulation of labour migrants is a central policy concern in Asia, Australia and elsewhere. In an attempt to address anti-trafficking, several donors, United Nations agencies, nongovernment organisations and Governments have launched ‘safe migration’ programs which, rather than focusing solely on the legal status of migrants, seek to develop mechanisms (eg hotline numbers) to assure their safety. This research examines the claims of safety that this shift from anti-trafficking to safe migration has engendered, and whether and in what terms labour migrants might be consequently safer’. Project results may inform aid programs and government policies.Read moreRead less