Only at the movies: mapping the contemporary Australian cinema market. Only at the movies? is a three-year project that asks: What is the enduring appeal of cinemagoing and how is it changing? It will provide detailed analyses of formal film exhibition and distribution in Australia by combining economic, cultural and geospatial research with industry expertise.
Artisanal making and the future of small-scale local production. Small-scale local production is essential to Australia’s post-COVID social and economic recovery. Employing a mixed methods approach, this project aims to identify the consumer identities, decision-making and sustainable artisanal production models underpinning contemporary demand for locally made goods. Moving innovatively beyond binaries of production/consumption and individual production sectors, the project expects to generate ....Artisanal making and the future of small-scale local production. Small-scale local production is essential to Australia’s post-COVID social and economic recovery. Employing a mixed methods approach, this project aims to identify the consumer identities, decision-making and sustainable artisanal production models underpinning contemporary demand for locally made goods. Moving innovatively beyond binaries of production/consumption and individual production sectors, the project expects to generate vital new knowledge about how markets for small-scale Australian production can be expanded. Expected outcomes of this project include the generation of robust data to inform strategies that will benefit operators in remaining competitive and support the development of new and emerging artisanal businesses.Read moreRead less
The Wealth Effect: A cultural analysis of prosperity, financialisation and everyday life in contemporary Australia. Financial and real estate markets are now central to Australian family life. But current government policies to individualise responsibility for saving and borrowing decisions often exceed the individual capacity to manage complex financial choices and unknown market risks. Growing levels of home and property ownership bring new benefits but they also increase exposure to economic ....The Wealth Effect: A cultural analysis of prosperity, financialisation and everyday life in contemporary Australia. Financial and real estate markets are now central to Australian family life. But current government policies to individualise responsibility for saving and borrowing decisions often exceed the individual capacity to manage complex financial choices and unknown market risks. Growing levels of home and property ownership bring new benefits but they also increase exposure to economic downturn. For many households the Great Australian Dream of home ownership and prosperity has now turned into a nightmare. This project responds to the pressing need for greater understanding of these developments, and will advance our understanding of this new socio-economic terrain.Read moreRead less
Anti-Consumerism in the Contemporary West. This project will investigate contemporary critiques of Western consumption emanating from within Western societies themselves. Divided into three interconnecting research themes, the project will offer a selective review of recent media and intellectual commentary on the consequences of consumption, a brief documentation of recent ?anti-consumption? activism in Europe, North America and Australasia, and an Australian-based ethnographic exploration of h ....Anti-Consumerism in the Contemporary West. This project will investigate contemporary critiques of Western consumption emanating from within Western societies themselves. Divided into three interconnecting research themes, the project will offer a selective review of recent media and intellectual commentary on the consequences of consumption, a brief documentation of recent ?anti-consumption? activism in Europe, North America and Australasia, and an Australian-based ethnographic exploration of how people limit consumption activities within contemporary everyday life. The project will culminate in a book-length study, representing one of the first attempts to fully document how a ?Western consumerism? is currently being challenged by intellectuals, social movement activists and ?consumers? themselves.Read moreRead less
Shop Talk: Department Stores, Shoppers and Consumer Capitalism, 1945-2025. This project aims to provide a deeper understanding of shopping and its significance in everyday Australian life by using oral history interviews with shoppers, workers and managers who have engaged with department stores since 1945. This project expects to produce the first history of the country’s post-war department stores. Expected outcomes include new, more nuanced perspectives of shopping and the challenges affectin ....Shop Talk: Department Stores, Shoppers and Consumer Capitalism, 1945-2025. This project aims to provide a deeper understanding of shopping and its significance in everyday Australian life by using oral history interviews with shoppers, workers and managers who have engaged with department stores since 1945. This project expects to produce the first history of the country’s post-war department stores. Expected outcomes include new, more nuanced perspectives of shopping and the challenges affecting the retail sector via a range of publications, international collaborations, and an archive of oral history recordings. This should provide significant benefits to researchers examining the retail sector, to Australians working in retail, and to ordinary Australians, whose stories will be placed on the historical record.Read moreRead less