Angulimala walks - from understanding violence in Cambodia to building cultural competence in Australian international development. The purpose of this project is to make sure that people affected by violence in formerly war-torn countries like Cambodia (including those who migrated to Australia) are helped in culturally appropriate ways. The project will lead to a framework for 'cultural competence' to be used by Australia's international development and health sectors.
Rescuing Carl Strehlow's Indigenous cultural heritage legacy: the neglected German tradition of Arandic ethnography. In collaboration with Arrernte and Luritja speakers, this project will result in the translation of Carl Strehlow’s 10,000 word German dictionary and other major, unavailable cultural heritage materials and at the same time incorporate the work of the neglected tradition of German humanistic anthropology into scholarship on Central Australia.
Indigenous participation in the Australian colonial economy: an anthropological and historical investigation. The main benefits of the research to the Nation and community lie in the new information generated by the project, and the enhancement of our understanding of past relations between Indigenous people and the wider community. The proposal has the potential to mediate the extreme positions in the 'history wars' by investigating the various types of accommodation and mutuality of interests ....Indigenous participation in the Australian colonial economy: an anthropological and historical investigation. The main benefits of the research to the Nation and community lie in the new information generated by the project, and the enhancement of our understanding of past relations between Indigenous people and the wider community. The proposal has the potential to mediate the extreme positions in the 'history wars' by investigating the various types of accommodation and mutuality of interests which informed many early encounters on and beyond the frontier. It will also widen the focus of settler-Indigenous relationships from those between Indigenous people and Anglo-Celtic Australians to include relations with other ethnicities including Afghani settlers.Read moreRead less
Italians in Western Australia: A cultural history and archive of migrants and migration. This project brings together the interdisciplinary skills and international reputations of experts on Italian migration, peak State Government institutions and international and local Italian communities and institutions to redress a significant absence in the study of Western Australian Italian migration. An accessible history and archive of the Italian presence in WA urban, rural and transnational contexts ....Italians in Western Australia: A cultural history and archive of migrants and migration. This project brings together the interdisciplinary skills and international reputations of experts on Italian migration, peak State Government institutions and international and local Italian communities and institutions to redress a significant absence in the study of Western Australian Italian migration. An accessible history and archive of the Italian presence in WA urban, rural and transnational contexts will be produced. An exhibition will display this heritage to audiences across the State. Fine-grained historical research will provide valuable ethnographic evidence to inform pressing intellectual debates regarding migration, racism, multiculturalism, nationalism and transnationalism.Read moreRead less
The art of Albert Namatjira: cultural legacy and artistic mediation. This project is an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural study that will assess the impact of Aboriginal artist, Albert Namatjira. The project will use the expertise of the partners to interrogate interconnections between the aesthetics of the natural world and its representation by Namatjira. It will examine the nexus between art and life and their ideological constructions in specific cross-cultural encounters. The basis for the ....The art of Albert Namatjira: cultural legacy and artistic mediation. This project is an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural study that will assess the impact of Aboriginal artist, Albert Namatjira. The project will use the expertise of the partners to interrogate interconnections between the aesthetics of the natural world and its representation by Namatjira. It will examine the nexus between art and life and their ideological constructions in specific cross-cultural encounters. The basis for the project's success will be a productive exchange between the Indigenous communities, represented by the Industry Partner, and researchers. The outcomes will include a doctoral dissertation, publications, exhibitions and a digital archive.Read moreRead less
Beyond Allied Histories: Dayak Memories of World War II in Borneo. Western histories of wars focus overwhelmingly on the experiences of European participants. This project explores World War II in Borneo, a highly significant but little-known Australian wartime site, by focusing on the marginalised memories of the island’s indigenous Dayak peoples. By juxtaposing Dayak memories of the war with those of Australian soldiers and prisoners-of-war, the project aims to both advance scholarly understan ....Beyond Allied Histories: Dayak Memories of World War II in Borneo. Western histories of wars focus overwhelmingly on the experiences of European participants. This project explores World War II in Borneo, a highly significant but little-known Australian wartime site, by focusing on the marginalised memories of the island’s indigenous Dayak peoples. By juxtaposing Dayak memories of the war with those of Australian soldiers and prisoners-of-war, the project aims to both advance scholarly understanding of Dayak codes of otherness and relatedness, and cast new light on the war itself.Read moreRead less
An ethnographic study of obesity risk in a disadvantaged community. This project will investigate how families who are seen as ‘at risk’ of developing obesity respond to Australia's largest obesity intervention, and if messages about healthy eating and increased physical activity are acted upon. Information gathered will provide an important context for what works (and doesn’t work) in obesity intervention.
Anthropological and Aboriginal perspectives on the Donald Thomson Collection: material culture, collecting and identity. This partnership offers a unique opportunity to combine anthropological research, museum practice and Indigenous community participation to explore the Donald Thomson Arnhem Land Ethnographic Collection. This is the most comprehensive collection of material culture made from any group in Australia while people were still living independently in the bush. This Collection is no ....Anthropological and Aboriginal perspectives on the Donald Thomson Collection: material culture, collecting and identity. This partnership offers a unique opportunity to combine anthropological research, museum practice and Indigenous community participation to explore the Donald Thomson Arnhem Land Ethnographic Collection. This is the most comprehensive collection of material culture made from any group in Australia while people were still living independently in the bush. This Collection is now of major cultural significance for non-Indigenous and Indigenous Australians and can yield important insights into past socio-cultural life, Yolngu ethnotechnological skills and knowledge and the nature of collecting. The project will benefit many sectors including the museum-going public and the Yolngu.Read moreRead less
The development and testing of a theory of the processes that shape material culture diversity using a New Guinea dataset. Australian museums hold approximately 150,000 artefacts from the Pacific. Estimates of overseas holdings suggest another 500,000. From these collections, objects are selected for research or exhibition based on restricted themes. No attempt has yet been made to utilise these collections in a comprehensive way to maximise their research potential. This has now been done for t ....The development and testing of a theory of the processes that shape material culture diversity using a New Guinea dataset. Australian museums hold approximately 150,000 artefacts from the Pacific. Estimates of overseas holdings suggest another 500,000. From these collections, objects are selected for research or exhibition based on restricted themes. No attempt has yet been made to utilise these collections in a comprehensive way to maximise their research potential. This has now been done for the north-central region of New Guinea and the available information provides the opportunity to develop a theory of the processes that bring about diversity of material culture. Such a theory would be of international significance for ethnologists and archaeologists and add value to publicly-funded collections.Read moreRead less
Exploring Relationships between Material Culture and Language, Propinquity, Population, Subsistence and Environment in the Upper Sepik-Central New Guinea Regions. This project will explore relationships between material culture, language, geographical proximity, population size and density, subsistence systems, and environmental characteristics in two adjacent regions - the upper Sepik and the highlands of central New Guinea. The role of trade, inter-marriage, migration, ritual and warfare in af ....Exploring Relationships between Material Culture and Language, Propinquity, Population, Subsistence and Environment in the Upper Sepik-Central New Guinea Regions. This project will explore relationships between material culture, language, geographical proximity, population size and density, subsistence systems, and environmental characteristics in two adjacent regions - the upper Sepik and the highlands of central New Guinea. The role of trade, inter-marriage, migration, ritual and warfare in affecting relationships among the variables will be assessed. This is the first project to examine so many objects (8000+) in such detail for two contrasting regions in the Pacific. It will clarify the role of language vis-a-vis other variables in determining the identifiability of objects produced in those regions and has practical cultural heritage outcomes.Read moreRead less