Autobiography of a People: Aboriginal Writing in Queensland, 1890s-1930s. As the recent "history wars" confirm, Australians today care deeply about the colonial past, because its legacies are "all around us and within" (as Oodgeroo noted). This project advances knowledge and conceptual understanding in the key areas of colonial race relations, Indigenous self-representation, and Indigenous literacy. Aboriginal autobiography is an especially effective tool for stimulating the empathetic imaginati ....Autobiography of a People: Aboriginal Writing in Queensland, 1890s-1930s. As the recent "history wars" confirm, Australians today care deeply about the colonial past, because its legacies are "all around us and within" (as Oodgeroo noted). This project advances knowledge and conceptual understanding in the key areas of colonial race relations, Indigenous self-representation, and Indigenous literacy. Aboriginal autobiography is an especially effective tool for stimulating the empathetic imagination, and bridging social, temporal and geographical distances between people. This research will strengthen the nation's social fabric by promoting inter-racial understanding, and by adding historical depth to present thinking about contemporary Aboriginal attitudes to literacy.Read moreRead less
A cultural history of West Australian popular music, 1945 to 2010. The Valentines, The Triffids, The John Butler Trio all had their origins in the western Australian musical scene. This is the first cultural history of West Australia's popular music industry. It documents the life and times of its musical artists, bands, managers, recording studios, relevant radio programs since 1945.
Goolarabooloo Culture of the Western Kimberley. With the prospect of new industries, starting with a major gas plant, the Indigenous population of Broome finds itself under pressure and internally divided. The group to be studied here, Goolarabooloo, is opposed to mining on their Dreaming. Their struggle has had the effect of reviving forms of culture, that take contemporary shape, but are always strongly linked to the traditional culture. With national and international attention focussed on Go ....Goolarabooloo Culture of the Western Kimberley. With the prospect of new industries, starting with a major gas plant, the Indigenous population of Broome finds itself under pressure and internally divided. The group to be studied here, Goolarabooloo, is opposed to mining on their Dreaming. Their struggle has had the effect of reviving forms of culture, that take contemporary shape, but are always strongly linked to the traditional culture. With national and international attention focussed on Goolarabooloo, this study will analyse the transformation of this confederacy of language groups in the context of industrialisation and tourism. The output will be a first in ethnographic documentation of this culture, first recorded by Daisy Bates in 1901.Read moreRead less
Indigenous Life Narratives and Racial Reconciliation in Australia and South Africa. The project studies the relationship between indigenous storytelling (life narratives, storytelling, testimony)and political campaigns for human rights and racial reconciliation in South Africa and Australia. It analyses the contexts of production, dissemination and consumption of these stories and their effects on indigenous and non-indigenous tellers and listeners within and beyond the respective nations, inclu ....Indigenous Life Narratives and Racial Reconciliation in Australia and South Africa. The project studies the relationship between indigenous storytelling (life narratives, storytelling, testimony)and political campaigns for human rights and racial reconciliation in South Africa and Australia. It analyses the contexts of production, dissemination and consumption of these stories and their effects on indigenous and non-indigenous tellers and listeners within and beyond the respective nations, including the emergence of new national literatures, indigenous identities, discourses on ethics, responsibility and racial reconciliation within and beyond the nations. The study offers a significant theoretical and methodological advance within the emerging field of critical global studies and the changing formations of nationhood.Read moreRead less
Negotiating a space in the nation: the case of Ngarrindjeri. This research project aims to investigate a hopeful site for the development of post-apology Indigenous Affairs in the south east of Australia. One such case, is Ngarrindjeri nation and its negotiations with local, State and Federal Government across a complex agenda, including caring for country, community leadership and governance, economic development, a community education strategy, and inter(national) coalition building. The resea ....Negotiating a space in the nation: the case of Ngarrindjeri. This research project aims to investigate a hopeful site for the development of post-apology Indigenous Affairs in the south east of Australia. One such case, is Ngarrindjeri nation and its negotiations with local, State and Federal Government across a complex agenda, including caring for country, community leadership and governance, economic development, a community education strategy, and inter(national) coalition building. The research will contribute to Australian commitments to reconciliation, cultural diversity, intercultural communication and collaboration with Indigenous communities. Importantly, it will also contribute to better management of scarce water resources in the Murray Darling Basin.Read moreRead less
Investigating the impacts and future of land rights and land restitution. This project aims to develop new understandings of the effects of land rights on Aboriginal communities and the nation. The era of gaining rights has, for many, transitioned into a time of restitution and seeking economic and cultural futures for younger generations. It remains to be seen what these futures will be, how they will align with or challenge national interests, and what hopes younger Aboriginal people have for ....Investigating the impacts and future of land rights and land restitution. This project aims to develop new understandings of the effects of land rights on Aboriginal communities and the nation. The era of gaining rights has, for many, transitioned into a time of restitution and seeking economic and cultural futures for younger generations. It remains to be seen what these futures will be, how they will align with or challenge national interests, and what hopes younger Aboriginal people have for country. This project aims to uncover future aspirations, engaging with Yanyuwa claimants, the first group to lodge a land claim under the Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act 1976, and land rights professionals. The project aims to reveal intercultural understandings of land rights and the future for Australian lands and waters.Read moreRead less
Hydrosocial Adapatations to Water Risk in Australian Agriculture. This project aims to understand how Australian farmers adapt to water resource limitations and governance constraints. We will address this significant challenge by identifying how social and cultural perceptions of water risk inspire farmers to create resilient management solutions in line with policy guidelines. Through ethnographic fieldwork and the analysis of historical patterns of water use, the research seeks identify the h ....Hydrosocial Adapatations to Water Risk in Australian Agriculture. This project aims to understand how Australian farmers adapt to water resource limitations and governance constraints. We will address this significant challenge by identifying how social and cultural perceptions of water risk inspire farmers to create resilient management solutions in line with policy guidelines. Through ethnographic fieldwork and the analysis of historical patterns of water use, the research seeks identify the hydrosocial adaptations that enable farmers to effectively respond to change. The new knowledge will foster water risk management via the culturally appropriate tailoring of interventions. Outcomes will support the long-term viability of Australian agriculture, with relevant lessons for managing drought globally. Read moreRead less
Connecting Indigenous Community Photographies: a transnational case study. The project aims to conduct the first transnational comparison of Indigenous community-controlled photography, exploring Indigenous peoples’ ways of seeing and documenting their worlds. The project seeks to significantly advance Australian and global understanding of Indigenous vernacular photography through investigating formerly unexplored private collections of images created by Indigenous photographers during the mid ....Connecting Indigenous Community Photographies: a transnational case study. The project aims to conduct the first transnational comparison of Indigenous community-controlled photography, exploring Indigenous peoples’ ways of seeing and documenting their worlds. The project seeks to significantly advance Australian and global understanding of Indigenous vernacular photography through investigating formerly unexplored private collections of images created by Indigenous photographers during the mid 20th Century in four communities across three countries. One of the outcomes of the project is a nuanced visual history that cannot be excavated from other sources. The benefits of this project include public exhibitions, a book, symposiums, and a scholarly anthology that encourages the public’s connection with the past.Read moreRead less
The Social Production of Science in Antarctica: A Study of Davis Station. Antarctica is a unique scientific laboratory. It is the only continent historically uninhabited by humans; access to its vast land and ice-scapes, and its surrounding oceans, is today almost exclusively reserved for scientists. Although these 'Antarcticans' represent multiple disciplines, and pursue a wide variety of research agendas, their shared experiences of working on the continent, and their shared professional netwo ....The Social Production of Science in Antarctica: A Study of Davis Station. Antarctica is a unique scientific laboratory. It is the only continent historically uninhabited by humans; access to its vast land and ice-scapes, and its surrounding oceans, is today almost exclusively reserved for scientists. Although these 'Antarcticans' represent multiple disciplines, and pursue a wide variety of research agendas, their shared experiences of working on the continent, and their shared professional networks, mean that they constitute a distinct community of practice. However, this community has yet to be subjected to detailed ethnographic enquiry. This project aims to examine Antarctic scientists' research practices, and their cultures of knowledge production, through an ethnographic study of Australia's Davis Station.Read moreRead less
Shared and Separate Histories: Landscapes of Memory in the Barunga Region, Australia. This research integrates archaeological, documentary and oral evidence to investigate the dynamic relationships between Indigenous people and place over time in the Barunga region, Australia. By mapping the active construction of social landscapes by different groups in the same place, this project illuminates the webs of attachment between people, place and identity during periods of upheaval and change. It ....Shared and Separate Histories: Landscapes of Memory in the Barunga Region, Australia. This research integrates archaeological, documentary and oral evidence to investigate the dynamic relationships between Indigenous people and place over time in the Barunga region, Australia. By mapping the active construction of social landscapes by different groups in the same place, this project illuminates the webs of attachment between people, place and identity during periods of upheaval and change. It records Indigenous histories being lost on a regular basis, contributes to national reconciliation through enhancing understandings of shared histories and advances international debates about the nature of social significance and how best to assess this for Indigenous places.Read moreRead less