Institute for Culture and Society

• 'A Nation of "Good Sports"'? Cultural Citizenship and Sport in Contemporary Australia
• A Young People, Technology and Well-Being Research Facility
• Cool Living Heritage in Southeast Asia: Sustainable Alternatives to Air-conditioned Cities
• Decolonising the Human: Towards a Postcolonial Ecology
• Governing Digital Cities
• Homicide and the Night-Time Economy
• Logistics as Global Governance: Labour, Software and Infrastructure Along the New Silk Road
• Museum, Field, Metropolis, Colony: Practices of Social Governance
• Photos of the Past: The Negotiation of Identity and Belonging at Australian Tourism Sites
• Promoting Young People's Citizenship in a Complex World
• Rethinking Multiculturalism/Reassessing Multicultural Education
• Sydney's Chinatown in the Asian Century: From Ethnic Enclave to Global Hub
• The Role of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Transformation Societies
• Violence and Disengagement from Violence in Young Men's Lives
• World War One Refugees in Austria-Hungary and the International Community, 1914-1923
• Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre

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'A Nation of "Good Sports"'? Cultural Citizenship and Sport in Contemporary Australia

Researcher: Professor David Rowe
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Discovery Project
Period: 2013-2015

Sport is regarded, officially and popularly, as both characterising and uniting Australians. But sport’s relationship to national culture is changing in response to shifts in both sporting participation and embodied/mediated spectatorship, and in the nation itself. This project reconsiders Australia’s oft-remarked sporting ‘obsession’ in this dynamic context and its implications for cultural citizenship in the construction of (trans)national identities and affinities. It will advance conceptual and empirical understanding of the constituents of national sports culture and contribute to academic, policy and public debates surrounding Australia’s sport and media systems, and the uses and meanings of sport among Australia’s diverse citizenry. 

 

A Young People, Technology and Well-Being Research Facility

Researchers: Dr Amanda Third, Dr Philippa Collin, Jane Burns, Lucas Walsh, Rosalyn Black
Funding: Australian Research Council(opens in a new window)
Period: 2010-2013
Website: Inspire website (opens in a new window)

Large numbers of initiatives now mobilise technology to support the well-being of young Australians. However, amongst communities undertaking this work, there is currently significant duplication and insufficient sharing research and best practice models. A Research Facility that consolidates existing research, and guides new research and initiatives will improve service delivery to young Australians by: reducing duplication between organizations working with young people; providing an accessible interface with research that can help address, the community’s concerns about the role of technology in young people’s lives, and inform future policy and programs; and model effective cross-sector knowledge brokering to Australian industry.

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Cool Living Heritage in Southeast Asia: Sustainable Alternatives to Air-conditioned Cities

Researchers: Dr Tim Winter, Professor Donald McNeill, Associate Professor Johannes Widodo, Dr Jiat-Hwee Chang
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Discovery Project
Partner: Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore (opens in a new window)
Period: 2012-2014
Project webpage: Cool Living Heritage in Southeast Asia: Sustainable Alternatives to Air-conditioned Cities

This project focuses on alternatives to electronic air-conditioning to encourage more sustainable urban lifestyles in Southeast Asia. It traces the historical emergence of climate-controlled interiors as spaces through which visions and expectations about national standards of living, comfort, productivity and leisure have coalesced. A wide array of tradition-based, low-carbon thermal comfort alternatives to air-conditioning are examined....Read more.

Decolonising the Human: Towards a Postcolonial Ecology

Researcher: Professor Kay Anderson
Funding: Australian Research Council(opens in a new window), Discovery Project
Period: 2011-2013
Project webpage: Decolonising the Human: Towards a Postcolonial Ecology

Do you think you're human? This project interrogates how the notion of mind has come to shape western attitudes about what it means to be human. Focusing on the notorious head measuring practices of colonial times, it provokes a rethinking of our cherished claim of being privileged among other life forms. ‘The threat of ecological catastrophe has put into question the idea that people enjoy a privileged relationship to their environment,’ says Professor Anderson....Read more.

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Governing Digital Cities

Researcher: Professor Donald McNeill
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Future Fellowship Grant
Period: 2012-2016
Project webpage: Governing Digital Cities

As with all major infrastructural developments, broadband internet is having a significant impact on the governance, economy, and built environment of cities. It is now increasingly accepted that the world economy has entered into a second phase of digital economic development, dominated by innovation in social media (Facebook and others), the growing penetration of mobile platforms (such as smartphones and tablets), a reshaped corporate landscape (the rapid transformation of start-ups such as Google and Facebook into global media players), and new modes of data storage and management (cloud computing and big data).....Read more.

 

Homicide and the Night-Time Economy

Researchers: Professor Stephen Tomsen, Jason Payne
Funding: Criminology Research Council (opens in a new window)
Period: 2011-2013
Project webpage: Homicide and the Night-Time Economy

This project is examining the prevalence, locations and trends in homicide linked to commercial night-time leisure, problematic drinking and drug use. Recent research has focused on levels of violence and crime and its links with public socialising at night. Assaults peak on weekend nights and follow the rhythms of night socialising, in the direct confines of the night-time economy or by indirect relation to it. These crimes include serious confrontational violence in and around licensed premises, and those with a ‘spill’ on to other after dark locations that include public transport, street and domestic settings....Read more.

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Logistics as Global Governance: Labour, Software and Infrastructure Along the New Silk Road

Researchers: Professor Brett Neilson and Professor Ned Rossiter from the Institute for Culture and Society with Professor Ursula Huws, Professor William Walters, Professor Ranabir Samaddar, Associate Professor Sandro Mezzadra, Dr Eleni Kambouri and Dr Hernan Cuevas
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Discovery Project
Period: 2013-2015

China is building a New Silk Road. It is set to revolutionise relations of trade and production, linking Asia to Europe and Latin America. This project investigates the cultural and social transformations introduced by this emerging economic network. Focusing on three key infrastructural hubs (the ports of Piraeus, Valparaíso and Kolkata), the project will advance understandings of how logistical processes manage labour forces and contribute to global governance. Digital methods will be used to: 1) build innovative platforms for broadening debates and research practices concerning software, labour and globalisation, and 2) provide a 'serious game' to illustrate changing scenarios of work and culture along the New Silk Road.

 

Museum, Field, Metropolis, Colony: Practices of Social Governance

Researchers: Professor Tony Bennett, Dr Fiona Cameron, Professor Nélia Dias (opens in a new window), Ben Dibley, Dr Ira Jacknis, Dr Rodney Harrison (opens in a new window), Dr Conal McCarthy (opens in a new window)
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Discovery Project
Period: 2011-2014
Project webpage: Museum, Field, Metropolis, Colony: Practices of Social Governance
» Fact sheet (opens in a new window)(PDF, 203KB)

This project studies early twentieth-century museums in Australia, Europe, North America and New Zealand. It investigates the new relationships between museums, anthropological fieldwork and social governance that emerged over this period. What roles did anthropology museum collections play in metropolitan public spheres? What roles did they play in relation to the governance of colonised populations? How did these roles vary across different colonial contexts? In addressing these questions the project explores their relevance to contemporary debates and practices focused on the relations between museums and Indigenous peoples....Read more.

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Photos of the Past: The negotiation of identity and belonging at Australian tourism sites

Researcher: Dr Emma Waterton
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
Period: 2012-2015
Website: Photos of the Past: The negotiation of identity and belonging at Australian tourism sites (opens in a new window)
» Fact sheet (opens in a new window)(PDF, 84KB)

This project aims to provide a comparative analysis of the way Australia’s past is constructed and remembered at heritage tourism sites. Over the course of three years, the project will examine how messages presented at six different heritage tourism sites are used to underpin present day constructions of national belonging. For this, the researcher, Dr Emma Waterton, will focus upon understanding how such messages affect memory and notions of identity by focussing upon visitor responses to atmosphere, mood and meaning. Methodologically, the project will involve the ubiquitous touristic practice of photography, which will allow the research to move beyond notions of representation and consider how processes of ‘taking photos’ can be used to access sensory experiences, recover memories and imbue touristic sites with meaning.

Promoting Young People's Citizenship in a Complex World

Researchers: Dr James Arvanitakis, Professor Bob Hodge
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Discovery Project
Period: 2012-2014
Project webpage: Promoting Young People's Citizenship in a Complex World

This project aims to promote empowerment and agency to young Australians by developing the concept and practice of 'active citizenship'. This is done by confronting the emerging sense of disempowerment and alienation that many young people feel by developing ongoing work with a cross section of groups that are an important part of the civic landscape. ‘Many young Australians are feeling an emerging sense of disempowerment and alienation’, says Professor Arvanitakis....Read more.

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Rethinking Multiculturalism/Reassessing Multicultural Education 

Researchers: Dr Megan Watkins, Associate Professor Greg Noble, Kevin Dunn, Nell Lynes, Amanda Bourke, Robyn Mamouney
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Linkage Project
Period: 2011-2013
Website: Rethinking Multiculturalism/Reassessing Multicultural Education (opens in a new window)
» Fact sheet (opens in a new window)(PDF, 94KB)

This project aims to shed light on the challenges posed by increasing cultural complexity in schools and their communities. It is examining approaches to multiculturalism in NSW government schools in urban and rural areas and how these link to the role of education in promoting social inclusion. The project explores the relation between perceptions of difference that shape teaching practice and the rationales of multicultural programs through an analysis of policy discourse, a statewide survey of teachers and focus groups with teachers, parents and students. These will then inform professional learning for teachers and action research projects in schools developing innovative approaches to meeting the needs of culturally diverse communities and improving teacher knowledge.

 

Sydney's Chinatown in the Asian Century: From Ethnic Enclave to Global Hub

Researchers: Professor Ien Ang, Professor Donald McNeill, Professor Kay Anderson, Steven Hillier
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Linkage Project
Partner: City of Sydney Council (opens in a new window)
Period: 2012-2015
Project webpage: Sydney's Chinatown in the Asian Century: From Ethnic Enclave to Global Hub

The project examines the role of Sydney’s Chinatown as a bridge in supporting economic and cultural links between Australia and Asia, and the activities undertaken by the City of Sydney to enhance those links in the era of rapid globalisation and rising Chinese power. ‘Chinatowns are a legacy of the early 20th century, when they were typically conceived as alien enclaves of the East in the West,’ says Professor Ang....Read more.

Photograph by John Marmaras. Source: City of Sydney.

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The Role of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Transformation Societies

Researcher: Dr Tim Winter
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Discovery Project
Period: 2010-2013
Project webpage: The Role of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Transformation Societies

Since the Cold War, there have been a rising number of conflicts around the world. War and conflict almost always involve destruction and devastation on a human and social scale. With much attention focused on the political and economic aspects of reconstruction, the cultural damage can often be neglected. Moreover, given that it is not only politics that impact how a society rebuilds itself, this research brings into focus the often neglected cultural challenges and the role of cultural heritage in the rebuilding process....Read more.

Violence and Disengagement from Violence in Young Men's Lives

Researchers: Professor Stephen Tomsen, Professor David Gadd
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Discovery Project
Period: 2012-2014
Project webpage: Violence and Disengagement from Violence in Young Men's Lives

This project will study the significance of victimisation, perpetration and the watching of violence and images of violence, among young Australian men. It will explore the underlying links with masculine identity and have practical applications for developing an understanding of the unknown aspects of disengagement from involvements in violence. ‘Extensive male violence is a problematic but still poorly understood social and cultural phenomenon’, explains Professor Tomsen....Read more.

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World War One Refugees in Austria-Hungary and the International Community, 1914-1923

Researcher: Dr Julie Thorpe
Funding: Australian Research Council (opens in a new window), Discovery Project
Period: 2011-2013
Project webpage: World War One Refugees in Austria-Hungary and the International Community, 1914-1923

This project will examine how WWI refugee movements have contributed to the displacement of national communities and European states. The research is divided into two main parts: examining the situation in Austria-Hungary during WWI; and exploring how the League of Nations High Commission for Refugees assisted refugees with their resettlement after the war....Read more.

Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre

Researchers: Dr Amanda Third, Dr Philippa Collin, Professor Bob Hodge
Funding: Commonwealth Department of Industry, Innovation and Science
Period: 2011-2016
Project webpage: Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre