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The relationship between mining companies and mine-affected communities in developing countries. Conflicts with local communities have been a major source of social risk for mining companies operating in Indonesia and other parts of the Asia Pacific region, and this research will contribute to Australian national security by dealing directly with this issue. It will contribute to the formation of better policies and practices for empowering women and empowering communities in the Indonesian mini ....The relationship between mining companies and mine-affected communities in developing countries. Conflicts with local communities have been a major source of social risk for mining companies operating in Indonesia and other parts of the Asia Pacific region, and this research will contribute to Australian national security by dealing directly with this issue. It will contribute to the formation of better policies and practices for empowering women and empowering communities in the Indonesian mining sector. At a regional and global scale, the lessons learnt about the construction of effective strategies for 'engendering' the development process will be applicable in other locations where Australian capital, technology and expertise are invested in large-scale industrial development, both inside and outside of the mining sector.Read moreRead less
Time and timelessness in Aboriginal societies as exemplified in Ngarinyin body-imagery. My project is an investigation of northern Kimberley trading practices, arguing against some pervasive views in the Aboriginalist literature which cast Aboriginal people and cultures as emphasising timelessness and de-emphasising human creativity. Kimberley trading/sharing practices, I suggest, show that exchanges (at various levels of formality) between groups and individuals are locally experienced as an ac ....Time and timelessness in Aboriginal societies as exemplified in Ngarinyin body-imagery. My project is an investigation of northern Kimberley trading practices, arguing against some pervasive views in the Aboriginalist literature which cast Aboriginal people and cultures as emphasising timelessness and de-emphasising human creativity. Kimberley trading/sharing practices, I suggest, show that exchanges (at various levels of formality) between groups and individuals are locally experienced as an active and ongoing participation in the creation of the bodies of kin and of the country itself. This is done in a way which actively participates in, rather than merely reproduces, the creative travels of the first ancestral beings. Phenomenology and psychoanalysis theoretically inform my approach.Read moreRead less
Chieftainship and social change in the Trobriand islands: A new theory of leadership and sub-state political dynamics for the Pacific. Australia's closest neighbours to the north and east are Pacific nation-states where in many instances 'chieftainship' has been a dominant locus of social organisation and change from pre-colonial times to the present. While these systems in their modern forms have appeared to outsiders as 'weak', 'unstable' or 'failing', the real problem is that they have been p ....Chieftainship and social change in the Trobriand islands: A new theory of leadership and sub-state political dynamics for the Pacific. Australia's closest neighbours to the north and east are Pacific nation-states where in many instances 'chieftainship' has been a dominant locus of social organisation and change from pre-colonial times to the present. While these systems in their modern forms have appeared to outsiders as 'weak', 'unstable' or 'failing', the real problem is that they have been poorly understood by social scientists, policy-makers and others. This research will develop a more accurate theory of the dynamics of Pacific chieftainship that will enhance Australia's understanding of its neighbours and the effectiveness of our policies and approach to the region. Read moreRead less
Indigenous Diaspora: a new direction in the ethnographic study of the migration of Australian Aboriginal people from remote areas. This project relates directly to current policy debates about the future of Aboriginal populations in remote Australia and proposals for encouraging mobility between homeland centres and distant jobs and education. It seeks to understand the process and the social and cultural implications of the urbanisation of remote Aboriginal people. As such, it addresses the pri ....Indigenous Diaspora: a new direction in the ethnographic study of the migration of Australian Aboriginal people from remote areas. This project relates directly to current policy debates about the future of Aboriginal populations in remote Australia and proposals for encouraging mobility between homeland centres and distant jobs and education. It seeks to understand the process and the social and cultural implications of the urbanisation of remote Aboriginal people. As such, it addresses the priority goal of understanding and strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric to help families and individuals lead healthy, productive and fulfilling lives (Research Priority 2). It will also provide a model for the extension of existing anthropological research on remote Aboriginal communities.Read moreRead less
Locating the Commonweal: Community, Environment and Local Governance Regimes in Reform Era Indonesia. The Indonesian government is currently implementing decentralisation legislation to address increasing regional discontent. In the context of political and economic crisis, these institutional reforms are intended to bring about greater popular participation in the political process and in resource management. This research will study several intersecting dimensions of reform in the local domai ....Locating the Commonweal: Community, Environment and Local Governance Regimes in Reform Era Indonesia. The Indonesian government is currently implementing decentralisation legislation to address increasing regional discontent. In the context of political and economic crisis, these institutional reforms are intended to bring about greater popular participation in the political process and in resource management. This research will study several intersecting dimensions of reform in the local domain: popular participation in decentralised governance; resource access and management by local communities; and the implications of reform for local sustainability and equity. The research will produce a comparative analysis of emerging governance patterns in the Reform Era based on locally grounded case studies spanning the Indonesian archipelago.Read moreRead less
Sisters and Sojourners: Stories of Rural Women in Urban China. A large increase in unofficial rural to urban migration has been one of the most significant aspects of social change in China in the last two decades. This project aims to advance our understanding of this phenomenon through a study of rural Chinese women's experiences of migration to the city, and in particular, the effects of migration upon their sense of identity, worldview and relationships with others. The project will involv ....Sisters and Sojourners: Stories of Rural Women in Urban China. A large increase in unofficial rural to urban migration has been one of the most significant aspects of social change in China in the last two decades. This project aims to advance our understanding of this phenomenon through a study of rural Chinese women's experiences of migration to the city, and in particular, the effects of migration upon their sense of identity, worldview and relationships with others. The project will involve ethnographic fieldwork, centring on the collection and analysis of rural migrant women's life stories. It will result in the publication of a book and three scholarly articles.Read moreRead less
Sentiments of the City: An Ethnography of Transformations in Urban Life and Intimate Relations in India. Australian scholarship has a long and illustrious history of intellectual engagements with India. Through exploring two specific sites of the momentous changes taking place in Indian cultural and social life, viz. those in the spheres of intimacies and urban life, this project will reinvigorate this history. It will also add to our understanding of the effects of globalization upon a major -- ....Sentiments of the City: An Ethnography of Transformations in Urban Life and Intimate Relations in India. Australian scholarship has a long and illustrious history of intellectual engagements with India. Through exploring two specific sites of the momentous changes taking place in Indian cultural and social life, viz. those in the spheres of intimacies and urban life, this project will reinvigorate this history. It will also add to our understanding of the effects of globalization upon a major -- and increasingly important -- Asian country. The findings will be of interest to anthropologists, historians, urban studies scholars, and scholars interested in changing ideas of gender and power in the current era.Read moreRead less
Land, Community and Governance in Rural China. Although China is becoming Australia's largest trading partner, we know too little about the control of land in rural China and the implications for the agricultural economy. Geo-politically, the stability of China is crucial to the region, and many commentators see rural unrest as the greatest threat to the regime. Since disputes over the use and ownership of land are the main source of this instability, providing much-needed information about Chin ....Land, Community and Governance in Rural China. Although China is becoming Australia's largest trading partner, we know too little about the control of land in rural China and the implications for the agricultural economy. Geo-politically, the stability of China is crucial to the region, and many commentators see rural unrest as the greatest threat to the regime. Since disputes over the use and ownership of land are the main source of this instability, providing much-needed information about China's agricultural economy and the potential for political unrest in rural China is directly in Australia's interest.Read moreRead less
Changing approaches to gender and development in rural China. Harmonious and cooperative relations with China are crucial to Australia's economic and cultural development and to security in the region. By contributing to Australian understanding of Chinese society, this project will enhance such relations. Knowledge gained through this project will also enhance Australian development projects in China, and more generally, contribute to development projects focusing on gender and development in A ....Changing approaches to gender and development in rural China. Harmonious and cooperative relations with China are crucial to Australia's economic and cultural development and to security in the region. By contributing to Australian understanding of Chinese society, this project will enhance such relations. Knowledge gained through this project will also enhance Australian development projects in China, and more generally, contribute to development projects focusing on gender and development in Asia and elsewhere. In addition, the contributions of the project to research and postgraduate training in Chinese studies, gender studies and development studies will benefit Australia by raising the international profile of Australian institutions within these disciplines.Read moreRead less
Visual Research in Social Aesthetics. Despite a few pioneering efforts beginning in the 1930s, visual anthropology (like anthropology itself) has largely confined its interest in aesthetics to studies of indigenous art. It has focused instead on technology, religion, economics, social structure, politics and ideology as the dominant forces in society. I believe this has limited the potential of visual anthropology, which is in fact ideally suited to studying the broader role of aesthetics in h ....Visual Research in Social Aesthetics. Despite a few pioneering efforts beginning in the 1930s, visual anthropology (like anthropology itself) has largely confined its interest in aesthetics to studies of indigenous art. It has focused instead on technology, religion, economics, social structure, politics and ideology as the dominant forces in society. I believe this has limited the potential of visual anthropology, which is in fact ideally suited to studying the broader role of aesthetics in human societies. The aim of this research is to examine how a reconsideration of the aesthetics of everyday life might form the basis for a revitalised visual anthropology.
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