The Western Nation-State, Cultural Pluralism and the Transnational Circulation of Political Emotions in the Shi'a Lebanese Diaspora. At its most general level, this research aims to expose and explain the importance of emotions in the formation of all cultures. In so doing it opens the way for a more complex understanding of some of the invisible but important forces that shape intercultural relations within culturally plural nations. It will thus open the possibilities for ameliorating and refi ....The Western Nation-State, Cultural Pluralism and the Transnational Circulation of Political Emotions in the Shi'a Lebanese Diaspora. At its most general level, this research aims to expose and explain the importance of emotions in the formation of all cultures. In so doing it opens the way for a more complex understanding of some of the invisible but important forces that shape intercultural relations within culturally plural nations. It will thus open the possibilities for ameliorating and refining government policies concerned with the management of pluralism. At a more particular level, the research hopes to produce critical knowledge about diasporic Arab Muslim cultures that will ameliorate the thorny relations these cultures have today with western governments.Read moreRead less
A study of the Brazilian community in Australia and Australian-Brazilian bilateral exchange. This study provides knowledge of a recent and growing migrant group in Australia of which there is little information beyond the bare demographics. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of class differences in shaping migrant identities, by exploring the way the immense socio-economic gap in Brazilian society is transplanted from homeland to destination country. By investigating the as yet ....A study of the Brazilian community in Australia and Australian-Brazilian bilateral exchange. This study provides knowledge of a recent and growing migrant group in Australia of which there is little information beyond the bare demographics. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of class differences in shaping migrant identities, by exploring the way the immense socio-economic gap in Brazilian society is transplanted from homeland to destination country. By investigating the as yet uncharted 'South-South' cultural pathways between Australia and Brazil, this project offers a critique of theories of power relations and globalisation. It will inform and enhance the growing bilateral relations between Australia and Brazil in the areas of tourism, investment, cultural promotion and educationRead moreRead less
Religious clerics, medical authorities, and sexuality in Islamic interpretations of reproductive health technologies in Egypt. Taking reproductive health in Egypt as a case study, this research investigates how religious and secular authorities interact to shape access to and availability of medical technologies. The resulting ethnography and research articles will broaden international understandings of the relationship between Islam, sexuality, and modernity.
Encounters with Extinction: A multi-sited, multi-species approach to life at the edge of catastrophe in the Asia-Pacific region. This project explores people's relationships with five endangered charismatic animal species in our Asia-Pacific region. We investigate how people's lives - from local communities to activists and biologists - are bound up with these animals, for better and worse, as they slide towards extinction.
Cultural sensorium: An ethnography of the senses. This project aims to develop an ethnography and a public platform for the communication of culture as living heritage. In direct response to the national and global focus on safeguarding intangible Indigenous World Heritage, the project will research largely invisible aspects of knowledge and tradition by combining sensory ethnography with digital culture. Outcomes will advance knowledge of the senses and promote understanding of Australian Indig ....Cultural sensorium: An ethnography of the senses. This project aims to develop an ethnography and a public platform for the communication of culture as living heritage. In direct response to the national and global focus on safeguarding intangible Indigenous World Heritage, the project will research largely invisible aspects of knowledge and tradition by combining sensory ethnography with digital culture. Outcomes will advance knowledge of the senses and promote understanding of Australian Indigenous cultures through a new immersive and interactive public platform.Read moreRead less
Cultural values, birth and parenting: Reproductive health and Lao socialism. This project aims to provide an anthropology of procreation and parenting through ethnography of the Government of Laos’ Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health rollout as well as everyday reproduction in rural and remote Laos. It expects to generate new knowledge of core values in Laos, including those underpinning official treatment of children as human capital, difference as deprivation, and mother-and-chil ....Cultural values, birth and parenting: Reproductive health and Lao socialism. This project aims to provide an anthropology of procreation and parenting through ethnography of the Government of Laos’ Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health rollout as well as everyday reproduction in rural and remote Laos. It expects to generate new knowledge of core values in Laos, including those underpinning official treatment of children as human capital, difference as deprivation, and mother-and-child biomedical care as universal, as well as the (counter-)values lived in rural and remote practices, knowledge and sentiments. Anticipated benefits include advanced understandings of Lao culture and society, socialism as it articulates with international health and economic agendas, and the anthropology of human flourishing.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
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200724
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$167,200.00
Summary
Australian understandings of infectious disease symptoms in the COVID era. This project aims to study how Australians interpret symptoms of acute infectious diseases and how those beliefs shape their health-seeking behaviour. Using mixed social science methods, the project will document how Australians decide when to seek medical treatment at clinics or hospitals and when to stay at home, how they believe disease spreads and how they decide whether to go to work, school, social commitments, shop ....Australian understandings of infectious disease symptoms in the COVID era. This project aims to study how Australians interpret symptoms of acute infectious diseases and how those beliefs shape their health-seeking behaviour. Using mixed social science methods, the project will document how Australians decide when to seek medical treatment at clinics or hospitals and when to stay at home, how they believe disease spreads and how they decide whether to go to work, school, social commitments, shops, or stay home when unwell, and what they think about government health policy regarding infectious disease in the wake of COVID-19. Humans spread diseases through culturally coded patterns of behaviour, and this project will offer critical public health insights in an era of infectious disease epidemics and pandemics.Read moreRead less
State-building from the perspective of local communities. Notions of society and state originating in Christian belief are universal in the Pacific yet remain largely unaccounted for in development work and theories of state-building. Using the Solomon Islands as a case study, this project seeks to address the question of how people living in so-called "failed states" think about the nature of the state, the sources of its shortcomings and the possibilities of alternative state forms. The projec ....State-building from the perspective of local communities. Notions of society and state originating in Christian belief are universal in the Pacific yet remain largely unaccounted for in development work and theories of state-building. Using the Solomon Islands as a case study, this project seeks to address the question of how people living in so-called "failed states" think about the nature of the state, the sources of its shortcomings and the possibilities of alternative state forms. The project is expected to advance theoretical understanding of state-building and provide evidence for the importance of integrating local belief contexts into international development practice.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101214
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$392,622.00
Summary
Midwives, social recovery and the politics of health in Aceh, Indonesia. This project aims to better enable policy makers to reduce health inequalities. It will address the question of how healthcare workers care for their communities during periods of violence and social recovery, by documenting the experiences of midwives in the Indonesian province of Aceh during a period of conflict (1976-2005) and up to the present. The outcomes are expected to support efforts to reduce Aceh’s high rates of ....Midwives, social recovery and the politics of health in Aceh, Indonesia. This project aims to better enable policy makers to reduce health inequalities. It will address the question of how healthcare workers care for their communities during periods of violence and social recovery, by documenting the experiences of midwives in the Indonesian province of Aceh during a period of conflict (1976-2005) and up to the present. The outcomes are expected to support efforts to reduce Aceh’s high rates of infant and maternal mortality, and to identify new ways to understand and address the complex health inequalities that face many contemporary societies.Read moreRead less