Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0347845
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Cultural continuity and change at Shark Bay, Western Australia: an anthopological and historical study of the Malagana Aboriginal people. This project considers issues of cultural change, continuity and identity as they arise from the historical foundations of Shark Bay's present day community in Western Australia. It examines the ways in which Indigenous customary practices continue among the Malgana people, and how connection to sea and country remains an important facet of life. Drawing upon ....Cultural continuity and change at Shark Bay, Western Australia: an anthopological and historical study of the Malagana Aboriginal people. This project considers issues of cultural change, continuity and identity as they arise from the historical foundations of Shark Bay's present day community in Western Australia. It examines the ways in which Indigenous customary practices continue among the Malgana people, and how connection to sea and country remains an important facet of life. Drawing upon archaeological, historical and ethnographic materials, this project will produce an original account of changing patterns of identification with Aboriginal cultural heritage in an Indigenous community. The study will encompass relations between Malgana people and others who have historically come to live in the area.Read moreRead less
A study of writers and regional identity in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. There is currently heightened community concern about supra-national loyalties that transcend and seem to threaten national boundaries. This project will help to inform discussion about the role of transnational belonging and the complexities of regional identities, so that it can be seen that multiple loyalties are common and often enriching. It will increase the audience for some neglected lif ....A study of writers and regional identity in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. There is currently heightened community concern about supra-national loyalties that transcend and seem to threaten national boundaries. This project will help to inform discussion about the role of transnational belonging and the complexities of regional identities, so that it can be seen that multiple loyalties are common and often enriching. It will increase the audience for some neglected life writing in the Pacific area, particularly from Indigenous writers.Read moreRead less
Learning to Drink:a socio-cultural history of the introduction of alcohol to Indigenous Australians and a critique of existing explanations. The wide distribution of alcohol-related problems among Indigenous people is undoubtedly related to the ongoing legacy of Australia's colonisation. This study examines forces and factors that have shaped distinctive present-day Indigenous alcohol-related behavioural patterns, by analysing the history of interactions between Aborigines and colonisers around ....Learning to Drink:a socio-cultural history of the introduction of alcohol to Indigenous Australians and a critique of existing explanations. The wide distribution of alcohol-related problems among Indigenous people is undoubtedly related to the ongoing legacy of Australia's colonisation. This study examines forces and factors that have shaped distinctive present-day Indigenous alcohol-related behavioural patterns, by analysing the history of interactions between Aborigines and colonisers around alcoholic beverages. In this endeavour, the historical and cultural continuities in the style of drinking are the focus, rather than the number of consumers. Current understandings of problem drinking, emphasising distress and biology, impede progress and will be challenged. In contrast, a social learning model is conducive to optimism about implementing new treatment approaches.Read moreRead less
Paths Not Taken: The False Spring of Political Pluralism in Postwar Singapore. The project aims to recast Singapore's postwar history to challenge the hegemonic paradigm by studying civil and political movements that have operated outside the parameters of imagination created by the ruling party. Using a combination of archival, interview, and anthropological/artistic research techniques, we will study Singapore's postwar period of political pluralism, which was finally smothered in the late 197 ....Paths Not Taken: The False Spring of Political Pluralism in Postwar Singapore. The project aims to recast Singapore's postwar history to challenge the hegemonic paradigm by studying civil and political movements that have operated outside the parameters of imagination created by the ruling party. Using a combination of archival, interview, and anthropological/artistic research techniques, we will study Singapore's postwar period of political pluralism, which was finally smothered in the late 1970s. It will culminate in an international conference and an edited book. We intend to use the project to build international partnerships and it should place Australia in an unprecedented strategic position as a major partner of researchers in Singapore.Read moreRead less