The human, human rights and the image. Today, human rights come a poor second to the security of society, with the human now largely defined in terms of its purely biological existence. Through case studies and theoretical innovation, this project seeks to counter this by showing that the human always has a transcendent quality, one highlighted by humanity's relation to the image.
Living With Uncertainty: Creating the Postmodern Self in Contemporary Australia. Life in postmodernity is marked by rapid change and uncertainty. Increasingly, as tradition is worn away, individuals must create new scripts to give life meaning and structure. Through a case study of gays and lesbians, this project will investigate how a group of Australians are creating postmodern selves. Drawing on in-depth interviews, it traces the relationship between discursive and psychological accounts of t ....Living With Uncertainty: Creating the Postmodern Self in Contemporary Australia. Life in postmodernity is marked by rapid change and uncertainty. Increasingly, as tradition is worn away, individuals must create new scripts to give life meaning and structure. Through a case study of gays and lesbians, this project will investigate how a group of Australians are creating postmodern selves. Drawing on in-depth interviews, it traces the relationship between discursive and psychological accounts of the postmodern self and their political effects. With a particular interest in emotional life, this study will provide critical information on how individuals and communities can manage creatively the uncertain conditions of postmodernity.Read moreRead less
New social foundations of money. In global finance, what is used as 'money' is changing. The capacity for close state control is diminishing and with it the state's capacity to guarantee the value of money. This project looks at the evolving money system identifying new material foundations in the household sector and how households are coming under the rubric of global finance.
Knowledge-making in Australian society: sociology and its social impact. This project aims to reveal how Australians, over several generations, have sought to make sense of society in an organised way. The project intends to draw from interviews with key scholars, archival and citation data to ascertain how sociological knowledge has been shaped by a context of post-colonialism, multiculturalism and global capitalism as well as the extent to which these ideas have contributed to, and been influe ....Knowledge-making in Australian society: sociology and its social impact. This project aims to reveal how Australians, over several generations, have sought to make sense of society in an organised way. The project intends to draw from interviews with key scholars, archival and citation data to ascertain how sociological knowledge has been shaped by a context of post-colonialism, multiculturalism and global capitalism as well as the extent to which these ideas have contributed to, and been influenced by, policy, legislation and public debate. Expected outcomes include new evidence about the role of disciplines and contribute to the international research effort in this emerging field.Read moreRead less
Employment Activation and the Changing Economy-Society Relation. Underemployment and joblessness have emerged as serious social problems in an age of global economic uncertainty. This project focuses on how, across advanced liberal societies, these problems are being redefined via transnational policy models and experiments seeking to 'activate' underemployed and unemployed populations. This project posits that these experiments articulate a new dynamic between economy and society and aims to pr ....Employment Activation and the Changing Economy-Society Relation. Underemployment and joblessness have emerged as serious social problems in an age of global economic uncertainty. This project focuses on how, across advanced liberal societies, these problems are being redefined via transnational policy models and experiments seeking to 'activate' underemployed and unemployed populations. This project posits that these experiments articulate a new dynamic between economy and society and aims to provide a better understanding of this dynamic. It aims to deliver a reconceptualisation of under- and unemployment, a new and relevant analysis of policy models, and new empirical insight into the mobilisation of activation policies.Read moreRead less
Social transformation and international migration in the 21st century. Understanding the factors that shape international migration is crucial for Australia, because planned immigration remains a cornerstone of policy, yet traditional assumptions on the predominance of permanent settlement and the geographical controllability of movement are losing their validity. This project will help create the social scientific tools for new approaches to understanding migration and diversity at the global, ....Social transformation and international migration in the 21st century. Understanding the factors that shape international migration is crucial for Australia, because planned immigration remains a cornerstone of policy, yet traditional assumptions on the predominance of permanent settlement and the geographical controllability of movement are losing their validity. This project will help create the social scientific tools for new approaches to understanding migration and diversity at the global, regional and national levels. It will help Australian governments and civil society address new challenges in this field. It will also contribute to developing a highly-trained workforce for fundamental research on migration and social transformation. Read moreRead less
Globalisation and the formation of meaning: the career of a key concept. How did globalisation become the most powerful buzzword of our time? The project will examine texts, contexts and interview the most prominent globalisation experts in the English-speaking world to develop the first comparative history of the concept.
Work and self-development: a philosophical reappraisal. Many Australians are worried about work, perhaps in more complex ways than ever before. Young people entering work lack the orientation once provided by established career paths, mid-life workers are often subject to disorienting shifts in role and difficulties finding the right 'work-life' balance, and many people leaving work find their lives suddenly bereft of meaning. This project will shed light on these anxieties by framing work withi ....Work and self-development: a philosophical reappraisal. Many Australians are worried about work, perhaps in more complex ways than ever before. Young people entering work lack the orientation once provided by established career paths, mid-life workers are often subject to disorienting shifts in role and difficulties finding the right 'work-life' balance, and many people leaving work find their lives suddenly bereft of meaning. This project will shed light on these anxieties by framing work within an image of the human that does justice to the depth and complexity of contemporary work experience. It promises a deeper understanding of work that would help promote good health and strengthen Australia's social and economic fabric.Read moreRead less
Applying the Ethics of Recognition: Work and the Social Bond. Work matters to most Australians. It is not just of instrumental value, worth it just for the money: a good, fulfilling job is integral to a fulfilled life. Our sense of well-being is inseparably bound up with how things are going at work. But how is this well-being sustained? What moral expectations do we bring to work and what happens when they are not met? This project will develop new answers to these questions by focusing on clai ....Applying the Ethics of Recognition: Work and the Social Bond. Work matters to most Australians. It is not just of instrumental value, worth it just for the money: a good, fulfilling job is integral to a fulfilled life. Our sense of well-being is inseparably bound up with how things are going at work. But how is this well-being sustained? What moral expectations do we bring to work and what happens when they are not met? This project will develop new answers to these questions by focusing on claims for recognition arising out of work. Experiences of misrecognition at work, we propose, seriously damage one's capacity to lead a fulfilling life. By identifying ways in which recognition can be given or denied at work, the project will be of great community benefit.Read moreRead less
The role of the internet in building social capital amongst homosexually active men: virtual communities in HIV prevention. Social capital comprises features of social organisation such as civic participation, norms of reciprocity and trust in others that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit, including health and wellbeing. The proposed research focuses on the role of the internet in producing the networks that engender social inclusion and community connectedness. There is scepticism about ....The role of the internet in building social capital amongst homosexually active men: virtual communities in HIV prevention. Social capital comprises features of social organisation such as civic participation, norms of reciprocity and trust in others that facilitate cooperation for mutual benefit, including health and wellbeing. The proposed research focuses on the role of the internet in producing the networks that engender social inclusion and community connectedness. There is scepticism about whether the 'virtual community' of the Internet can build social capital. The study will explore the potential benefits as well as harms to those homosexually active men who use the internet to access health information, meet sexual partners and build friendships that affirm gay identity and community inclusion.Read moreRead less