Centre for Cultural Research

As communities across Australia will attest, convincing people to use less water is a big challenge. And in their arsenal of weapons to beat the great dry, governments and water authorities have used pricing, rationing, campaigns, infrastructure and other means to try to stem the flow.

But a University of Western Sydney researcher is challenging traditional approaches to problems of water management. The problem, she says, is too complex to be solved by scientific and technical experts or by simply trying to change people’s attitudes and behaviour.

Dr Zoe Sofoulis, a senior researcher in the Centre for Cultural Research, says a multi-disciplinary approach that unpacks the cultural norms and practices embedded in people’s daily lives is more effective.  That might mean understanding their relationship with authorities, how often they wash and clean, understanding their hopes and fears, memories and experiences – the social side of sustainability.

“Most people that save water do so out of altruistic reasons rather than price,” Dr Sofoulis says of studies she did for Sydney Water. Her work with the water authority led to a project supported by the National Water Commission. That project will seek to link urban water managers with humanities, arts and social sciences researchers to promote socially sustainable resource management.

Tackling complex issues from a cultural perspective is a hallmark of the groundbreaking research being conducted through the Centre for Cultural Research. Recognised as a leader in its the field, the centre works across the boundaries of sociology, geography, anthropology, history, media, literature and other disciplines to understand the meanings and values that drive people, communities and organisations in a complex global world.

An underlying principle of the research is that solutions to contemporary cultural and social problems will only be generated by confronting issues in their full complexity.

The diversity of research conducted in the centre is reflected in projects such as the governance of night-time cultures and spaces in cities; how economic and cultural processes interact to change Australia’s position in Asia; exploring contemporary arts and business collaboration; how television sport builds the power of global media organisations; and the cultural politics of staying young.