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News archive 2007

 

Staff changes at HRISS

Prof Alan Mayne resigned as Director of HRISS in November 2007. He has taken up a new position within HRISS as a ResearchSA Chair in Social History and Public Policy. Alan also convenes a university-wide research and innovation cluster on sustainable cities. We wish him well in this more research-focused stage of his career.

Prof Barbara Comber is Acting Director of HRISS until mid 2008.

Congratulations to Prof Pal Ahluwalia, who is the new Pro Vice Chancellor: Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences.

We also welcome Vikki Booth, our Institute Manager. She joined us in November 2007 after many years working in state government, mainly in the Crime Prevention Unit. She has experience in project management and policy development (mainly in social justice areas) and business development.

Awards and recognition for HRISS members

Prof Barbara Comber was awarded life membership of the Primary English Teaching Association on 19 October 2007 for her outstanding services to education in Australia. Prof Comber was also appointed as a member of the Australian Research Council (ARC) College of Experts for 2008–2011.

Prof Barbara Pocock was named one of the ten most significant Australians in the 'society' category in The Bulletin's Smartest Published 100 on 19 June 2007.

ARC successes

Congratulations to HRISS key researchers Deirdre Tedmanson and Rhonda Sharp who have been awarded ARC Discovery Grants to begin in 2008.

Barbara Spears is part of this successful ARC Linkage grant based at QUT:

These ARC Linkage grants were announced in 2007:

Inaugural professorial lecture: 'Afterlives of post-colonialism: reflections on theory post-9/11'

Prof Pal Ahluwalia delivered his inaugural professorial lecture on 1 August in Bradley Forum, Hawke Building, City West. A large audience, including staff from all of South Australia's universities, were treated to a lively introduction by Vice Chancellor Peter Høj, a witty conclusion from PVC Michael Rowan and a passionate argument from Pal.

Pal argued that we 'modern' populations are shadowed by 'monsters' (reflected in our public knowledge systems by crude stereotypes of Others, for example the Islamic terrorist, or the dysfunctional Aboriginal community, or the Mumbai slum dweller) which confine and compromise our western culture. We have not moved on as far as we think from the world of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, which was replete with monsters and satyrs, and many of our monster figures have reappeared since the events of 9/11. It is possible, though, Pal argued, to develop a post-colonial ethical stance in order to produce non-coercive knowledge systems.

Visiting Indian research fellows

Dr Rabindranath Bhattacharyya was an Australia-India Council Australian Studies Senior Visiting Fellow at HRISS for the period 10 October – 10 November 2007. Dr. Bhattacharyya is currently Reader in Political Science at the University of Burdwan, West Bengal, India.  He lectures in postgraduate political science, specialising in public administration.  His areas of interest include trust, social capital and democratic governance. Dr Bhattacharyya co-edited the book Essays on international terrorism (Kolkata, Levant Books, 2006), and has a number of published papers (both national and international) to his credit. Dr Bhattacharyya’s AIC project is ‘Australian federalism in a multicultural society: a model of good governance?’

Dr Battacharyya's presentation to students in the Masters of Mediation and Conflict Resolution Program, entitled 'Gandhian notion of non-violence and conflict resolution' (PowerPoint 646 kb)

Mr Sagar Dan, a Junior AIC Visiting Fellow, also joined HRISS in 15–24 October 2007. Mr Dan is a PhD scholar in the Department of English at the University of Burdwan, whose research interests include Indigenous literature. His AIC project is ‘Contestations and negotiations: identity and self-creation of Aboriginal youth in Mudrooroo’s novels’.

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Roger Klinth, visiting scholar from Linköping University, Sweden

Roger Klinth is a historian from Linköping University, Sweden who was based at HRISS from July 2006 to July 2007. He completed his PhD in 2002 on the topic Making daddy pregnant: Swedish papa politics 1960–1995. He is now leading the research project ‘The new father: myth or reality. A research program on fatherhood, paternal leave and new masculinities’. During his year at HRISS he collected Australian material on fatherhood politics and cultural images of fatherhood. He made comparisons between Sweden and Australia, two democratic welfare states with quite similar cultural traditions but quite different political approaches to social and family policy.

Technology facilitates the internationalisation of research

Professor Rhonda Sharp found using the videoconferencing facilities of the new Hawke Building at City West was an effective way to participate in a high-level international discussion. It also had the advantage of saving time and avoiding the affects of long distance travel. Rhonda gave a presentation to a session of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women of the Canadian Parliament on 5 December 2007. The videoconference also involved a wide-ranging discussion with committee members and other presenters for nearly two hours on integrating a gender perspective into public finances. More information. Transcript of Rhonda's presentation.

Preventing the abuse of older South Australians

Assoc Prof Dale Bagshaw and Dr Lana Zannettino from HRISS, with Dr Sarah Wendt from the Research Centre for Gender Studies, and with Mr David Cripps, Ms Elly Kirk and Ms Elizabeth Morgan, researched and wrote Our actions to prevent the abuse of older South Australians for the Office for Ageing. It was launched by the Minister for Ageing, The Hon Jay Weatherill, at the Australasian Association of Gerontology 40th Annual Conference in Adelaide. Extensive consultation and research was undertaken for this state plan which takes a whole-of-government approach.

Launch of Fresh water

The edited book Fresh water: new perspectives on water in Australia, edited by current and past members of HRISS, was launched on 31 August in the Bradley Forum, Hawke Building by Prof Caroline McMillen, PVC Research and Innovation. Fresh water, an interdisciplinary collection, had its genesis in an ARC network seeding grant based at HRISS. It was later developed in a two-day workshop funded jointly by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Academy of the Humanities. The book's editors are Emily Potter (former HRISS postgraduate fellow, now at the University of Melbourne), Alison Mackinnon (founding director of HRISS and now adjunct professor), Stephen McKenzie (former research associate) and Jennifer McKay (HRISS key researcher). The book suggests that we need a radical rethink of our relationship with water. Contributors from a range of fields, from anthropology to visual arts, discuss the various ways in which we are caught up with water, and challenge us to take up the cultural transformations that underpin a sustainable ecological future.

Purchase the whole book or individual downloadable chapters through Melbourne University Press.

UNESCO women's studies network

Assoc Prof Suzanne Franzway has become a founding member of the UNESCO Women’s Studies and Gender Research Network, which was launched from the Human Rights and Gender Equality Section, Social and Human Sciences Sector at a meeting held at Miriam College, Manilla, 25–26 July 2007. The network’s objectives are to advance WS/GR by research and advocacy for women’s rights, encourage capacity building for students, researchers and WS programs and research centres, and encourage collaborations between UNESCO and inter-university partnerships. In 2008–2009, the network will support 3 projects, 'Women and the judiciary' (focus on the Middle East), 'Radical democratisation of daily life', and 'Social rights and women’s trade union leadership'. Suzanne has been working on the development of the third project over the last 18 months together with Prof Valentine Moghadam (Purdue University) and Prof Mary Margaret Fonow (Arizona State University). The Network will be based at Miriam College for 2 years and limited to 26 participants in order to produce a clear organisational and policy framework.

Covert bullying project

Dr Barbara Spears and Associate Professor Bruce Johnson, School of Education, together with researchers from Flinders University and in partnership with the Coalition to Decrease Bullying, Harassment and Violence in SA Schools, have received funding for an important UniSA research project into covert bullying in schools. The Minister for Education, Science and Training announced the funding on 24 May 2007 at the launch of National Safe Schools Week. ‘Insights into the Human Dimension of Covert Bullying’ is an innovative technology project to record ‘spoken stories’ from students, parents and teachers, showing the very human face of bullying – real people, real stories and practical solutions. More information.

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