Large screens and the transnational public sphere. With over 8 million annual visitors, Federation Square, Melbourne, is emblematic of the new public sphere emerging at the junction of physical space and media networks. Fed Square's large screen is integral to 70 large-scale cultural events hosted at the site each year attracting an average of 30,000 people. This project will establish a partnership between Fed Square, the Australia Council and Art Center Nabi in Seoul, pioneering the exchange o ....Large screens and the transnational public sphere. With over 8 million annual visitors, Federation Square, Melbourne, is emblematic of the new public sphere emerging at the junction of physical space and media networks. Fed Square's large screen is integral to 70 large-scale cultural events hosted at the site each year attracting an average of 30,000 people. This project will establish a partnership between Fed Square, the Australia Council and Art Center Nabi in Seoul, pioneering the exchange of technology and cultural content. The empirical research will generate fresh insights into public interactions with large screens, providing a prototype for future cross-cultural events and offering new theoretical perspectives on the use of public space.Read moreRead less
Education for a Tolerant and Multicultural Indonesia. The recent shift towards fundamentalist Islam and upsurge in religious and ethnic conflict in Indonesia are matters of great concern for Australia. This project will investigate how education can facilitate peaceful multiculturalism in Indonesia and explore the potential for the co-existence of Islamic and secular educational systems. This research will improve Australia's capacity to understand our region's 'languages, societies, politics an ....Education for a Tolerant and Multicultural Indonesia. The recent shift towards fundamentalist Islam and upsurge in religious and ethnic conflict in Indonesia are matters of great concern for Australia. This project will investigate how education can facilitate peaceful multiculturalism in Indonesia and explore the potential for the co-existence of Islamic and secular educational systems. This research will improve Australia's capacity to understand our region's 'languages, societies, politics and cultures' (National Research Priority 4). Australia has been a world leader in expertise on Indonesia; we need projects like this to train junior scholars and thus sustain Australia's international reputation for excellence in Indonesian Studies into the future. Read moreRead less
The limited promise of 'equality biographies': Young Australians negotiate modern gendered identities, family and citizenship engagements in a divided society. Apart from its contribution to the international sociological debate concerning the individualization thesis, the project will contribute to pressing policy issues, ie. declining fertility, accessibility of abortion, appropriate childcare, humane immigration policies in a world with millions of refugees and reconciliation. Based on an em ....The limited promise of 'equality biographies': Young Australians negotiate modern gendered identities, family and citizenship engagements in a divided society. Apart from its contribution to the international sociological debate concerning the individualization thesis, the project will contribute to pressing policy issues, ie. declining fertility, accessibility of abortion, appropriate childcare, humane immigration policies in a world with millions of refugees and reconciliation. Based on an empirically grounded analysis in a rich qualitative data set revealing how young Australians see themselves negotiating family, work and citizenship, the project will construct the vocabularies by which young people locate themselves in the community. The results will make contributions to policy debates by suggesting changes that are responsive to the needs and aspirations of the citizens of the future.Read moreRead less
Communities Across Borders: The Transnational Dynamics of Emerging and Stateless Refugee Groups in Australia. Dealing with the pressing issue of the refugee experience, this project investigates the transnational dynamics of four emerging and relatively 'invisible' refugee groups in Australia who are stateless minorities in their homelands. Through ethnographic fieldwork among the Assyrians, Kurds, Southern Sudanese and Oromo in Sydney and Melbourne, the project will present a comprehensive pict ....Communities Across Borders: The Transnational Dynamics of Emerging and Stateless Refugee Groups in Australia. Dealing with the pressing issue of the refugee experience, this project investigates the transnational dynamics of four emerging and relatively 'invisible' refugee groups in Australia who are stateless minorities in their homelands. Through ethnographic fieldwork among the Assyrians, Kurds, Southern Sudanese and Oromo in Sydney and Melbourne, the project will present a comprehensive picture of the impact of transnationalism upon the settlement and citizenship of stateless refugees in multicultural Australia. The project will broaden the debate on the transnational cultural processes which operate across borders and challenge the ability of democratic nation-states to sustain the belonging and participation of citizens.Read moreRead less
Rethinking Reconciliation and Pedagogy in Unsettling Times. In the context of ?unsettling times', reconciliation processes have the potential to strengthen the fragile network of relationships that holds Australian society together. Unfortunately, the pedagogical potential of reconciliation processes has yet to be adequately elaborated. We need more accounts of reconciliation in action. This project will provide cross-cultural comparative accounts of reconciliation processes in Australia, South ....Rethinking Reconciliation and Pedagogy in Unsettling Times. In the context of ?unsettling times', reconciliation processes have the potential to strengthen the fragile network of relationships that holds Australian society together. Unfortunately, the pedagogical potential of reconciliation processes has yet to be adequately elaborated. We need more accounts of reconciliation in action. This project will provide cross-cultural comparative accounts of reconciliation processes in Australia, South Africa and Israel. The project will also develop case study accounts of how reconciliation is represented and pursued in media culture particularly on the world-wide web. The analysis of these accounts will culminate in the development of a theory of pedagogies for reconciliation.Read moreRead less