Anthropological perspectives on ethnographic collecting by Australian colonial administrators in Papua and New Guinea and their contribution to museum collections. Australian colonial administrators in PNG built up large ethnographic collections. This study will examine the contexts in which 'ethnographic' objects were acquired from Indigenous peoples in PNG with particular emphasis on the role of Sir Hubert Murray. This will be the first study to examine the historical and cultural context of ....Anthropological perspectives on ethnographic collecting by Australian colonial administrators in Papua and New Guinea and their contribution to museum collections. Australian colonial administrators in PNG built up large ethnographic collections. This study will examine the contexts in which 'ethnographic' objects were acquired from Indigenous peoples in PNG with particular emphasis on the role of Sir Hubert Murray. This will be the first study to examine the historical and cultural context of the large PNG collections now held by the National Museum of Australia. It will provide a new perspective on Australia's role as a colonial power in the Pacific using ethnographic objects to explore the relationship between key figures in the Administration and Indigenous people.Read moreRead less
Diaspora, Hybridity and the Nation: Asian-Australian Perspectives in Literature and Theatre. Australia's engagement with Asia remains central to our national security and economic development. Better understanding about Asians in Australia will enhance Australia's capacity to interpret itself to the Asian region. This research also addresses major concerns that are of significance to the wellbeing and cohesiveness of the nation: race relations, reconciliation, nationhood, and globalisation. By f ....Diaspora, Hybridity and the Nation: Asian-Australian Perspectives in Literature and Theatre. Australia's engagement with Asia remains central to our national security and economic development. Better understanding about Asians in Australia will enhance Australia's capacity to interpret itself to the Asian region. This research also addresses major concerns that are of significance to the wellbeing and cohesiveness of the nation: race relations, reconciliation, nationhood, and globalisation. By foregrounding the contribution of Asian-Australians in the cultural life of the nation, the research serves to enrich public life and foster stronger community relations.Read moreRead less
Being Asian in Australia and the United States: Analysing Ethnic Representations in Visual Arts, Popular Culture, Academia and Community Festivals. Australia's engagement with Asia and North America remains central to our national security and economic development. This research offers a unique window into the experiences and sensibilities of a constituency within the Australian population which has been relatively unacknowledged in the official domain. A better understanding about Asians in Aus ....Being Asian in Australia and the United States: Analysing Ethnic Representations in Visual Arts, Popular Culture, Academia and Community Festivals. Australia's engagement with Asia and North America remains central to our national security and economic development. This research offers a unique window into the experiences and sensibilities of a constituency within the Australian population which has been relatively unacknowledged in the official domain. A better understanding about Asians in Australia and the US will enhance Australia's capacity to interpret itself to Asia and North America. Information about transnational Asian communities is an important means of improving our ability to respond to changing conditions within Australia and the region at large.Read moreRead less
Ten years is enough: the life and afterlife of Rick Farley. This project documents, for the first time, Rick Farley's contribution to our understanding of the urgent questions of Australia's economic, cultural and environmental sustainability. By analysing Farley's advocacy and action at all levels of government and society, and across the political spectrum, it provides a broadly accessible study of the shaping of agendas on these matters. Farley's insistence that community alliances were vit ....Ten years is enough: the life and afterlife of Rick Farley. This project documents, for the first time, Rick Farley's contribution to our understanding of the urgent questions of Australia's economic, cultural and environmental sustainability. By analysing Farley's advocacy and action at all levels of government and society, and across the political spectrum, it provides a broadly accessible study of the shaping of agendas on these matters. Farley's insistence that community alliances were vital to meeting global challenges, magnified by Australia's degraded landscapes and the alienation of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous custodians of those lands, remains as relevant now as it was when he brokered initiatives such as Landcare. Read moreRead less
Borders and Empires: A Historical Atlas of Northeast Asia, 1636 - 2006. This historical atlas brings insights into the continuing tensions in Northeast Asia, both in the Korean Peninsula, and between China and Russia, where old antagonisms have repeatedly led to armed conflict and where border friction today is exacerbated by economic disparities, population movements and rival nationalist rhetorics. Our research deepens the understanding of decision-makers and of the Australian public concernin ....Borders and Empires: A Historical Atlas of Northeast Asia, 1636 - 2006. This historical atlas brings insights into the continuing tensions in Northeast Asia, both in the Korean Peninsula, and between China and Russia, where old antagonisms have repeatedly led to armed conflict and where border friction today is exacerbated by economic disparities, population movements and rival nationalist rhetorics. Our research deepens the understanding of decision-makers and of the Australian public concerning these issues. The project contributes important insights into the flexibility of borders at a time when they under new challenge. Our study of settler politics in Northeast Asia and the settler relations with indigenous political forces is also relevant to Australia's history and present. Read moreRead less
Intercommunal and Translocal Space in Fairfield: Tracking Indochinese Australian Lives. While providing important socio-cultural information about Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese communities in western Sydney, this project takes an innovative approach to the study of 'minority' communities in multicultural societies. By locating itself at the points of contact between communities, the proposed research recognises that subjects are often members of multiple social groups, and that they shift back a ....Intercommunal and Translocal Space in Fairfield: Tracking Indochinese Australian Lives. While providing important socio-cultural information about Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese communities in western Sydney, this project takes an innovative approach to the study of 'minority' communities in multicultural societies. By locating itself at the points of contact between communities, the proposed research recognises that subjects are often members of multiple social groups, and that they shift back and forth across their boundaries. Such a perspective enables one to avoid the fallacy of locating 'the multicultural' in minority subjects/cultures, and thus 'multicultural problems' within particular 'problem communities'. Rather, it situates the multicultural in the interstices between 'mainstream' and 'minority' AustraliaRead moreRead less
The Empire of New Idealism?: Civilisation and Australian New Idealism, 1850-1950. Philosophies, like people and commodities, travel the globe. This project traces the movement of British 'New Idealist' philosophy to Australia in the mid-nineteenth century, its transformation into 'Australian New idealism', and return to Britain. It shows how the hopes of these first Australian philosophers for a global community overlapped with politicians and policy makers, and uncovers their shaping role in th ....The Empire of New Idealism?: Civilisation and Australian New Idealism, 1850-1950. Philosophies, like people and commodities, travel the globe. This project traces the movement of British 'New Idealist' philosophy to Australia in the mid-nineteenth century, its transformation into 'Australian New idealism', and return to Britain. It shows how the hopes of these first Australian philosophers for a global community overlapped with politicians and policy makers, and uncovers their shaping role in the formulation of many social policies that remain with us today. It places Australian history and research at the heart of a new global vision of New Idealist studies and offers scholars, policy makers and educators the necessary background to more fully articulate Australian understandings of citizenship and civilisation.Read moreRead less