2010 News
December
9 December - Media Regulation and the Risk Society
On December 9 ISTR Acting Director Mark McLelland organised a workshop on 'Media Regulation and the Risk Society' at the Sydney Business School. Three panels on censorship, surveillance and copyright looked at how risk discourse was driving the new regulatory environment. Particular topics included:
the government’s plan to filter ‘refused classification’ materials, the impact of ‘child abuse materials’ legislation on online fan communities, attempts to regulate ‘sexting’ among young people, young people, pornography and sexual literacy, online surveillance and data collection and the expansion of intellectual property legislation workshop url: http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/research/istr/workshops/UOW090449.html
2 December - Mash-up! An evening of remix sound and video performance.
November
'Researching the 1960s
ISTR recently co-sponsored a one day interdisciplinary workshop on 'Researching the 1960s', held at the University of Melbourne on 29 October 2010. Papers focused on the art, performance and politics of the 1960s decade in a regional and global context. Vera Mackie presented a paper on 'Reflections on gender, violence and protest in 1960s Japan'. Website: http://www.adsa.edu.au/news/researching-the-1960s-2014-interdisciplinary
October
International Trade and Business Law Review Sponsors Major International Conference in Western Australia
Greg Melleuish spoke at a historic conference sponsored by the International Trade and Business Law Review on the 7th and 8th October 2010 in Perth, Western Australia, which focused on the unique traditions born in the West of individual rights and government under the Rule of Law: ‘The Sun Rises in the West: Foundations of Western Law and Liberty’. Conference website: http://www.law.murdoch.edu.au/news/ITBLR-sponsors-major-international-conference-WA.html
Transpacific, transnational and translational: Australian literature in the age of globalisation
On October 31 Professor Wenche Ommundsen gave a keynote address at a conference organised by the Australian Studies Centre of the Shanghai Institute for Foreign Trade. The conference was entitled ‘Transpacific, transnational and translational: Australian literature in the age of globalisation’and Wenche’s address was on the topic of ‘What is Australian about Asian Australian writing?’
Conference website: http://www.shift.edu.cn/home/siftasc/activity/2010%20Conference.html
September
National History Curriculum
Greg Melleuish has a current involvement in issues related to the National History Curriculum. On 27 July he was a participant in the K-10 CONSULTATION AND REVISION MEETING that reviewed the new National History Curriculum. He also participated in a second meeting on 20 August that looked at what should be fairly close to the final curriculum document. The meetings were organised by ACARA, the AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM, ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING AUTHORITY. Greg has also written a chapter on the curriculum entitled ‘History in the National Curriculum: No Story, No Focus’, to be published by the Institute of Public Affairs in late October. In November Greg will be attending Canada’s History Forum in Ottawa to lead a session and give a keynote address on the development of the National History Curriculum in Australia.
‘Sexual Boundary Crossings and Sexual Contact Zones in East Asia’
Mark McLelland has recently returned from Japan where he was a visiting fellow at Sophia University’s Institute of Comparative Culture. While at Sophia, Mark participated in the ‘Sexual Boundary Crossings and Sexual Contact Zones in East Asia’ workshop. The workshop investigated how ‘boundary crossing’ sexual contact can serve as a catalyst for social change and transformation. Details of the workshop can be found here: http://www.fla.sophia.ac.jp/icc/2010/Sexuality_Workshop_2010.htm
August
David Mercer gave a number of invited presentations in the UK in recent months. These included:
- ‘Science, Legitimacy and Folk Epistemology in Medicine and Law’ at the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) ‘Genomics and Policy Research Forum’ at the University of Edinburgh on the 9th June.
- ‘Collaboration in Context: Proximity vs. Engagement ? Can (should) STS shape the emerging field of Synthetic Biology’ at CESAGEN and Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, on the 16th June.
- ‘Can (should) STS shape the emerging field of Synthetic Biology’ at BIOS (Centre for the Study of Bioscience, Biomedicine, Biotechnology and Society) ‘Visitor Forum’ at the London School of Economics on the 17th June.
- David also presented his work in Sydney and Tokyo in July and August:
- ‘The limits of ‘Human Practices’ in Synthetic Biology’, Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for the History Philosophy and Social Studies of Science, Sydney University, July 10, 2010.
- ‘Professionalization and Globalization of Synthetic Biology: Images Rhetoric and Cross Cultural Challenges’ Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) Annual Meeting , University of Tokyo 27th August 2010.
Cultures of Sustainability, Sustainability of Cultures
Several ISTR members are currently engaged in collaborative research with colleagues from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) on the theme of 'Cultures of Sustainability, Sustainability of Cultures'. UOW researchers Wenche Ommundsen, Michael Jacklin, Vera Mackie and Mark McLelland (in absentia) recently presented papers at a workshop on this theme at UBC. Papers by UOW researchers at the UBC workshop focused on the theme of sustainability through the discussion of multicultural literatures in Australia, human rights advocacy in the Asia-Pacific region and internet regulation in Australia and the region. These themes will be explored further in a planned ISTR workshop at UOW in December 2010 with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
Kissing is a Symbol of Democracy
Mark McLelland recently opened the seminar series on ‘Issues in the History of Sexuality’ at the University of Queensland’s Centre for the History of European Discourse with his paper ‘Kissing is a Symbol of Democracy: Dating, Democracy and Romance in Japan under the Allied Occupation’ http://www.ched.uq.edu.au/index.html?page=138177&pid=40622 . The paper is part of an ongoing book project that looks at the impact of the Occupation upon Japanese notions of romance and heterosexual coupledom.
Siteworks
SITEWORKS is a creative research partnership between the Bundanon Trust, located on 1,100 hectares of pristine bush land overlooking the Shoalhaven River, near Nowra, and the University of Wollongong. It seeks to bring together researchers from diverse disciplines including artists, scientists and members of the community in a three-year investigative project into the layers of history and knowledge, both speculative and empirical, that inform our understanding of the Bundanon Trust’s natural, physical and social environment.
Born out of the enormous interest and potential of the 2008 project Ten Trenches, an environment / art partnership initiated by the Bundanon Trust with the University of Wollongong’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Faculty of Creative Arts, the idea of a broader research program was born. SiteWorks has been established as an umbrella for the wide range of investigations, artistic and scientific, undertaken on the Trust’s properties.
Whilst SiteWorks is planned to take place over three years, this year’s activities, funded by Arts NSW, the Australia Council for the Arts and the University of Wollongong, will use a laboratory model to create a context for exchange and collaborative experimentation that culminates in a weekend forum. This two-day event in September will comprise a colloquium with keynote addresses, presentations of works in progress and working group discussions towards the development of future research partnerships and potential funding applications.
SiteWorks is now seeking to develop diverse arts/environment research teams working on site, and to become a key national forum for such interdisciplinary works. As a consequence, the project is currently inviting researchers and HDR students interested in participating in this interdisciplinary project to attend an Information Session on Monday 16 August in the Faculty of Creative Arts.
For further information please call Sarah Miller on extension 5553 or Fiona Winning on 0421 635 573. http://www.bundanon.com.au/
July
STR researcher helps Australians in search of lost fathers
Julia Martinez recently participated in a workshop in Broome, based on her ARC-funded Discovery Project on Indonesian migration to North Australia for the pearl-shell industry. The audience included Indonesians, including one ex-pearl diver, and the descendants of Indonesians pearl-shell workers and Aboriginal women. Susan Edgar, whose mother is Yawuru and father was Indonesian gave the welcome to country. What started out as a simple lecture turned into a very special evening as Susan and others decided to share their own stories with the audience. ABC Kimberley's Ben Collins includes an interview with Susan following the presentation and the spontaneous community discussion that followed as members of the audience described their memories of their Indonesian fathers.
Below is a link to ABC Kimberley's audio tape of the community presentation in Broome on 6 July 2010 organised by Dr Julia Martinez (Wollongong) and Prof. Adrian Vickers (University of Sydney). The link includes a description of the night and photographs of the audience.
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/07/08/2947883.htm?site=kimberley
June
The New Law of Brands and Reputation in the Asia-Pacific Rim
Professor Christoph Antons recently participated in an interdisciplinary workshop that addressed the expanding protection and regulation of reputation and brands in the Asia-Pacific region. "The New Law of Brands and Reputation in the Asia-Pacific Rim" was held on 25 June 2010 at the National University of Singapore. The symposium was jointly organised by the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia, the Intellectual Property Academy Singapore and the Faculty of Law of the National University of Singapore. Professor Antons’ presentation was entitled "From Magic Charms to Symbols of Wealth: Well-known Trade Marks in Indonesia".
