CFP - Law and Whiteness - Special issue of ACRAWSA eJournal (Deadline: 18 July 2008)

CFP - Australian Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Association
eJournal

Special Issue: Law and Whiteness

Edited by Trish Luker (ANU) and Jennifer Nielsen (SCU)
Released December 2008

This special issue seeks to publish work which critically interrogates the interface between mainstream laws and legal systems, race and whiteness. Typically within dominant legal discourse, the operation of whiteness remains obscured by claims to neutrality, objectivity and impartiality, and the overwhelming desire to promote formal—rather than substantive—equality. These claims render mainstream law particularly resistant to critique, as they obscure the operation of whiteness as the invisible norm by which an originary and unquestionable legitimacy is claimed.

Groundbreaking work in whiteness studies in both the United States and Australia has highlighted the discursive and social effects of mainstream law and its potential to uphold a racialised system predicated upon white privilege and the illegitimate claim of white sovereignty. Despite these important interventions by key theorists, dominant laws and legal systems remain fertile sites for analysis.

The editors are particularly interested in interdisciplinary approaches which employ critical theory to interrogate the way whiteness functions within law—for example, as ideology, as a signifying practice or as epistemology. We welcome creative work such as poetry and short pieces of fiction. Issues that could be explored include the federal government’s intervention in Indigenous communities, the denial of Indigenous sovereignty, immigration laws, the detention of asylum seekers, security law and policy and the ‘threat’ of terrorism, and racial harassment and racist violence.

Timeline

Submission deadline 18 July
Reviewers’ comments for authors 30 September
Corrections and amendments 31 October

The issue is to be launched at the ACRAWSA conference in Melbourne, 3–5 December 2008.

For information about the e-Journal and a copy of the style guide, see: http://www.ejournal.acrawsa.org.au. All articles will be peer-reviewed and therefore DEST eligible. The journal is open access.

For further information about the issue and submission, contact:

Trish Luker / trish.luker@anu.edu.au
Tel: 02 6125 8515

Jennifer Nielsen / jennifer.nielsen@scu.edu.au
Tel: 02 6620 3081

JOB - Sociology lectureship, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences (Deadline: 8 May 2008)

ANU sociology lectureship

ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
School of Social Sciences
Lecturer in Sociology
Academic Level B
Salary Range: $68,787 - $81,135 pa plus 17% super
Reference: CASS4729

As a Lecturer in Sociology you will be expected to develop and teach
undergraduate courses, including a willingness to teach introductory
sociology as well as participating in the teaching of either
sociological theory or sociological research methods. Preference may be
given to a candidate who specialises in the area of the sociology of
deviance and/or crime, law and social control, although other areas will
be considered.

You must have a PhD in Sociology or a related subject and must have an
ongoing program of research in your area of specialisation. You will be
expected to demonstrate excellence in teaching, scholarly research,
publication and experience with graduate supervision appropriate to your
qualifications and experience.

Selection Criteria: http://info.anu.edu.au/hr/jobs/ or from Professor
Jill Matthews, T: 02 6125 4523,
E: Jill.Matthews@anu.edu.au

Enquiries: If you wish to discuss the position after obtaining the
selection documentation, please contact the Head of School, Professor
Jill Matthews, T: 02 6125 4523 E: Jill.Matthews@anu.edu.au

Closing date: Thursday 8 May 2008

Information for applicants:
http://info.anu.edu.au/hr/Jobs/How_to_Apply/index.asp

Job Application Cover sheet:
http://info.anu.edu.au/Policies/_DHR/Forms/HR86.asp

NEWS - NSW Migration Heritage Centre - 30 April 2008

Find out about the latest updates on the NSW Migration Heritage Centre website!

New material includes:

• Discover the model fishing boat Kie Gang Kg 02979 made by Lai Duc while staying at Pu Lau Bi Dong, an island refugee camp in Malaysia, in the 1980s.
  
  
• NEW INTERVIEW with Sid Varma (from New Delhi) in PACKING TO LEAVE: SARIS, SUITS AND SPICES - migration stories from South Asia to Sydney. View mini-documentaries filmed in the homes of former migrants as they share their personal stories, photos and memorabilia.

CALL FOR ENTRIES - 2008 Best Australian Essays / Stories / Poems (Deadline: 1 Aug 2008)

Submission Guidelines for Best Australian Essays, Stories & Poems 2008

The Best Australian Essays 2008
Edited by David Marr

Please send one essay – recent work only, published or unpublished – to David at the address below. Previously published work must have been published after 1 August 2007.

David Marr
c/- Black Inc.
Level 5, 289 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000

The deadline for submissions is 1 August 2008, but early submission would be appreciated.
Due to the number of submissions we receive, essays cannot be returned and the editor is unable to comment on individual essays.

===================

The Best Australian Stories 2008
Edited by Delia Falconer

Please send one story – recent work only, published or unpublished – to Delia at the address below. Previously published work must have been published after 1 August 2007.

Delia Falconer
c/- Black Inc.
Level 5, 289 Flinders Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000

The deadline for submissions is 1 August 2008, but early submission would be appreciated.
Due to the number of submissions we receive, stories cannot be returned and the editor is unable to comment on individual stories.

===================

The Best Australian Poems 2008
Edited by Peter Rose

At the editor’s request, unsolicited submissions will not be accepted for this year’s collection.

BOOK LAUNCHES - Growing Up Asian in Australia (Edited by Alice Pung, Black Inc)

Growing Up Asian in Australia
Edited By Alice Pung

Published by Black Inc

==> Released 2 June 2008

The book will be launched in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth! See below for each city's launch details.

Launch at the SYDNEY Writers' Festival

Join us and hear Alice Pung speak about this diverse, entertaining collection and enjoy readings by contributors Kylie Kwong, Ivy Tseng and Tanveer Ahmed.

Alice Pung is a writer and lawyer. Her best-selling memoir Unpolished Gem won the 2007 Newcomer of the Year award and was shortlisted for a number of awards including the NSW Premier's Literary Award and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award.

Kylie Kwong is a chef, restaurateur, television presenter and author.

Ivy Tseng lives in western Sydney and is currently studying for the HSC.

Tanveer Ahmed is a psychiatry registrar, writer, comedian and former television journalist.

Date: Saturday 24 May 2008
Time: 5.30 pm
Venue: Bangarra Mezzanine, Pier 4/5, Hickson Rd, Walsh Bay
Bookings: Rsvp by Tuesday 20 May 2008. Please phone: (03) 9654 2000, or email: admin@blackincbooks.com

This event is open to the public as part of the Sydney Writers’ Festival – please arrive early.

==============

MELBOURNE Event

Join editor, Alice Pung and local contributors Tom Cho, Tony Ayres and Shalini Akhil as they discuss this irreverent collection with Triple J's John Safran.

Alice Pung is a writer and lawyer. Her best-selling memoir Unpolished Gem won the 2007 Newcomer of the Year award and was shortlisted for a number of awards including the NSW Premier's Literary Award and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award.

Tom Cho is a writer whose work has been published widely, most recently in HEAT and the Best Australian Stories series.

Tony Ayres wrote and directed the feature film The Home Song Stories (2007) and directed Walking on Water (2002).

Shalini Akhil is a writer who has dabbled in stand-up comedy. She has had work published in Meanjin, Girls Night In 4, the Sleepers Almanac and the Age. Her first novel is The Bollywood Beauty.

Date: Tuesday 3 June
Time: 6.30 pm
Venue: Sidney Myer Asia Centre, University of Melbourne, Swanston St, Parkville
Bookings: Free event. Bookings through Asialink on Ph: 03 8344 8474 or email: events@asialink.unimelb.edu.au

==============

BRISBANE Launch

Join editor Alice Pung and local contributors Benjamin Law, Michelle Law and Mei Yen Chua for the Brisbane launch of this irreverent collection.

Alice Pung is a writer and lawyer. Her best-selling memoir Unpolished Gem won the 2007 Newcomer of the Year award and was shortlisted for a number of awards including the NSW Premier's Literary Award and the Victorian Premier's Literary Award.

Benjamin Law is a senior contributor for frankie magazine.

Michelle Law is currently studying for a Bachelor of Creative Writing in Brisbane.

May Yen Chua is a freelance writer and book indexer and is compiling a cheap food guide to Brisbane for publication in late 2008.

Date: Thursday 12 June
Time: 6.00pm for 6.30pm start
Venue: Avid Reader, 193 Boundary St, West End, QLD
Bookings: Free event. Bookings through Avid Reader - Ph: (07) 3846 3422 or books@avidreader.com.au

==============

PERTH Event

Alice Pung will be discussing the Growing Up Asian in Australia collection

Date: Tuesday 17 June
Time: 6:00pm
Venue: Social Sciences Lecture Theatre, The University of Western Australia, WA
Bookings: All lectures are free and open to the public.
No RSVP required.

AWARDS - Endeavour Research Awards

The Endeavour Awards is an internationally competitive, merit-based program providing opportunities for citizens of the Asia-Pacific region to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia. Awards are also available for Australians to do the same abroad. A smaller number of awards are available for participants from Europe and the Americas.

>> For more information about Endeavour Awards for Australian applicants, visit THIS PAGE. The Endeavour Awards homepage is HERE.

LITERARY AWARD - WA Premier's Australia-Asia Literary Award (Deadline: 30 May 2008)

The richest literary award in Australia and Asia has been launched by Premier Alan Carpenter.

Mr Carpenter said the inaugural Western Australian Premier’s Australia-Asia Literary Award, worth $110,000, had the power to excite and expand the State’s cultural horizons.

Recognising the increasing predominance of electronic media and to emphasise the Award’s focus on literary merit, no matter what the format; the Award is open to any book-length work of literary fiction published either electronically or in print.

All works submitted must be nominated by publishers and written in the English language. If the winning entry is a work translated into English, the author will receive AUD $88,000 and the translator AUD $22,000.

Entries for the award are now open and will close 30 May, 2008. Forms can be downloaded from the Western Australian Department of Culture and the Arts’ website HERE.

The Premier’s Australia-Asia Literary Award forms part of the Carpenter Government’s Ignite program. Ignite is a dynamic AUD $73 million package of initiatives designed to transform dance, theatre, music and visual arts, as well as change the shape of Western Australia’s cultural landscape. Visit the Dept of Culture and the Arts, WA website.

If you need further information please email literaryawards@dca.wa.gov.au

CFP - 35th AULLA conference - "The Human and Humanities in Literature, Language and Culture" (U of Sydney, 4-6 Feb 2009) Deadline: 31 Oct 2008

The Human and Humanities in Literature, Language and Culture
A landmark international conference hosted by The University of Sydney
4-6 February 2009

The 35th Congress of the Australasian Universities Language and Literature Association (AULLA) will be a landmark event. As the first decade of the twenty-first century draws to a close, it is time for a major reassessment of the human and humanities in literature, language and culture. Scholars in these fields are invited to submit proposals for papers and panels relating to this theme throughout history and into the future. The conference has a dual aim of promoting: (1) detailed research into the human (and inhuman) in literature, languages and culture; and (2) broad-scale exploration of the past, present and future definitions of and directions for the humanities. There will be opportunities for delegates to have their papers considered for refereed publication. Plenary speakers will be announced soon.

Presenters are invited to consider the following issues:

• How are the human and inhuman represented, constituted and reconfigured in literature, languages, film and culture?
• What do the human and inhuman signify to authors, directors, translators, compilers, readers, spectators and thinkers?
• What are the filmic, literary and cultural theories of the human and inhuman that resonate with and illuminate our texts?
• What are the ethics, politics and aesthetics of the human and humanities?
• What are the human and humanities in the twenty-first century and what have they been in the past?
• What are limits of and possibilities for our current disciplines within the humanities?
• What are the specifically Australasian contexts for the human and humanities?

Abstracts (200 words) for papers and suggestions for themed panels will be requested by October 31, 2008.

Full details will be announced soon. http://www.aulla.com.au/

General enquiries to:

Colin Anderson (AULLA President) (c.g.anderson@massey.ac.nz)

Liam Semler (AULLA Secretary) (liam.semler@usyd.edu.au).

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora (Deadline: 19 Dec 2008)

Southeast Asian Women in the Diaspora: Troubling Borders in Literature and Art

The literature of Southeast Asian women within the diaspora is marginalized in mainstream cultures. When visible, our writings are often misunderstood as stereotypical representations of purity, pathos, folklore, or matrilineal caricature. As activists, writers, and scholars, we are committed to bringing together a truly unique collection of voices by Southeast Asian women who trace their ancestry to Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Burma/Myanmar, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei or East Timor, and whose stories have yet to be told or visualized.

We would also like to hear from women of minority groups, like the ethnic Chinese and Indians throughout Southeast Asia, and the Mien, Hmong, and Cham, who are located in many regions of the world. As the book’s subtitle suggests, we hope the collection will question the concept of national borders and the boundaries of literature and art. Because we envision this anthology will feature importantly in classroom curricula, we are looking for pieces that speak to broad themes and concerns relating but not limited to questions of youth, generational difference, nationality, identity, gender, sexuality, and class.

We are soliciting submissions of various genres: short stories, poems, personal essays, and artwork.


The deadline for submissions is December 19, 2008.

Contacts:
Mariam Beevi Lam (mariam.lam@ucr.edu)
Isabelle Thuy Pelaud (ipelaud@sfsu.edu)

NEW BOOK - Voices under the Sun: English-language Writings by Australian and other Authors with Chinese Ancestry (by Christing Sun)

Taiwan.com.au Portal is pleased to announce the release of Voices under the Sun: English-Langauge Writings by Australian and Other Authors with Chinese Ancestry in April 2008. Written by Dr Christine Sun, Voices under the Sun examines the construction and representation of "Chineseness" and different types of "Chinese" cultural identity by authors with Chinese ancestry in Australia and other parts of the world. These writings are either directly produced in English, or originally written in Chinese but later translated into English.

Australia's authors with Chinese ancestry occupy an unusual position within both Australian and Chinese literary arenas. On the one hand, there is a visible difference between these authors and their counterparts with European ancestry, in terms of their representations of "Chineseness" and different types of "Chinese" cultural identity in writing. On the other hand, although writings produced by these Australia-based authors with Chinese ancestry share many commonalities with those produced by their counterparts in other parts of the world, it is in the sense that these
authors speak of Australian issues that their works may be considered as a part of Australian literature. Because cultural identity is flexible and ever-changing in nature, constructed on the needs of individuals to react to the demands of their political, economic, societal and cultural circumstances, we need to ask an important question: Can we safely identify these Australia-based authors as "Chinese" writers because of their Chinese ethnic background? Can a
theoretical framework be proposed accordingly, in which the "Chineseness" represented in their writings may be analyzed adequately?

In an attempt to answer this question, Voices under the Sun situates and examines the English-language writings produced by Australia's authors with Chinese ancestry not only within the larger body of Australian literature, but also within that of international diasporic Chinese literature. Writings of a wide range of Australian writers with Chinese ancestry -- including Brian Castro, Beth Yahp, Hsu-Ming Teo, Lillian Ng, Ang Chin Geok, Arlene J. Chai, Jane Hutcheon, Fang Xiangshu, Ding Xiaoqi, Sang Ye, Ouyang Yu and Julie T. Hsia -- are compared to those of their counterparts based in other multicultural societies, such as Ting-Xing Ye, Xinran, Adeline Yen Mah, Jan Wong, Iris Chang and Denise Chong. Important academic and other studies of Australian and diasporic Chinese literatures are also investigated and critiqued.

Voices under the Sun is among the first academic works that explore the nature and significance of English-language writings produced by Australia's authors with Chinese ancestry. Its conceptualization of "Chineseness" as a subjective construction of meaning, one way to reflect on individual desires to meet the demands of their daily survival, is refreshing. Different types of "Chinese" cultural identity are therefore in need of being viewed as flexible points of reference that challenge conventional approaches to identifying Australian and other authors with Chinese ancestry.

For more details about this book, please go to Taiwan.com.au Portal and follow the links:

http://www.taiwan.com.au

CFP - Interrogating Trauma: Arts and Media Responses to Collective Suffering (Perth, WA; 2-4 Dec 2008) Deadline: 15 May 2008

CFP - Interrogating Trauma: Arts & Media Responses to Collective Suffering
International Conference

Perth, Western Australia
2-4 December 2008

in association with Murdoch University and Curtin University

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

• Felicity Collins, Humanities & Social Sciences, La Trobe University
• Susannah Radstone, Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies, University of East London
• Suvendrini Perera, Media, Society and Culture, Curtin University
• Janet Walker, Film and Media Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

Since the late 1980s notions of trauma have become increasingly relevant to scholars in the humanities interested in the social and cultural dimensions of human suffering caused by catastrophic events. Trauma studies emerged as a vast, dynamic and productive interdisciplinary field concerned with experiences and responses to such life-shattering events as incest, war, genocide, torture, and terror. But has trauma studies exhausted its own methodological possibilities? Or, is it the case that psycho-medico trauma theories in isolation may limit the understanding of processes that also involve socio-cultural structures and forces? The critical debate surrounding the ‘orthodoxies’ of trauma theory and its application and appropriation within the humanities now requires considered reflection. This is especially relevant to the fields of creative arts, cultural and media studies, which have frequently engaged with the literary, visual and performative representation of human suffering and resilience. Interrogating Trauma will provide a space for such a reflection.

Keynote speakers, panels and presenters, as well the accompanying exhibition and performance of art and media works, will consider these methodologies and orthodoxies in order to articulate strategies for moving ‘beyond’ or ‘post’ trauma.

Panel and Individual Paper proposals are invited with an abstract of no more than 250 words, plus a one-paragraph biography of the author/s. Selected conference papers will be peer-reviewed for publication in a special journal issue or scholarly press anthology. Scholarly, ficto-critical and literary writing will be considered.

Accompanying the conference will be an Exhibition of creative works that engage with the themes of the conference (student works are welcome). Exhibition and performance proposals should contain a brief artist statement and description of the work, including its format and duration or size, of no more than 250 words, plus a one-paragraph biography of the artist.

Please send proposals no later than 15 May to: Mick Broderick (m.broderick@murdoch.edu.au) or Antonio Traverso (a.traverso@curtin.edu.au).

Conference website: http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/nass/nass_conf_fest_trauma.htm

FELLOWSHIP - 2009 Peter Blazey Fellowship (life writing, biography, autobiography) Deadline: 7 July 2008

PETER BLAZEY FELLOWSHIP

Applications are invited for the 2009 Peter Blazey Fellowship. This prestigious national award is presented annually to further a work in progress in the non-fiction fields of life writing, biography and autobiography.

The recipient will be supported in their work by a cash prize of $15,000, and a one-month residency at the Australian Centre at the University of Melbourne.

Past winners include:

2008 Prize shared between Andrew Lindsay, for his work in progress The God of Morphine, and Dmetri Kakmi, for his work in progress Motherland.

2007 Judith Pugh, for her work towards Unstill Life: Art, Politics and Living with Clifton Pugh, Chrysalis Publishing, 2008.

2006 Robert Kenny, for his work towards The Lamb Enters the Dreaming: Nathanael Pepper & the Ruptured World, Scribe Publications, 2007.

2005 Jennifer Compton, for her work towards Who Doesn’t Want Me to Dance?

2004 Sara Hardy, for her work towards The Unusual Life of Edna Walling,
Allen & Unwin, 2005.

For further information and application forms, please visit
http://www.australian.unimelb.edu.au/public/awards/blazey.html

Please direct enquiries to James Waghorne,
tel: +61 3 8344 4154; email jwag@unimelb.edu.au

Applications close: Monday 7 July 2008.

CFP - 'Flogging a Dead Horse: Are National Literatures Finished?' (Vicotria U of Wellington, NZ; 11-12 Dec 2008)

‘Flogging a Dead Horse: Are National Literatures Finished?’

Victoria University of Wellington
11 and 12 December, 2008

The Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies and SEFTMS are organising a
conference to be held on 11 and 12 December, 2008, at Victoria University of
Wellington.

Cultural nationalism has been at the centre of literary history in New Zealand, as in
other literatures. In New Zealand the intense period of literary activity of the 1930s
and 40s produced a body of work that sharply influenced thinking about national
identity. The 1890s shaped thinking about the defining characteristics of an
assertively nationalistic Australian literature, while Canada after World War II sought
a cultural identity separate from the overpowering proximity of US nationalism.
These nationalist moments still influence critical discussion and cultural formations
but are now being challenged by alternative nationalisms, the outward gaze of
contemporary writers, the growth of fantasy and other genres, and, above all,
globalism. Questions about the relevance of nationalism in literature are relevant
everywhere.

The keynote speaker will be Professor Leela Gandhi, Department of English,
University of Chicago, who will address the conference title. Professor Gandhi is the
author of Affective Communities: Anticolonial Thought, Fin de Siecle Radicalism, and
the Politics of Friendship (Duke University Press, 2006) and Postcolonial Theory: A
Critical Introduction (Columbia University Press, 1998). Other speakers will be
announced.

Papers are invited a range of topics, including:

• The nation in literature
• The ‘canon’
• Globalism and literature
• Book markets and readerships
• Alternative literary nationalisms
• Contemporary postcolonial and critical theory on the nation
• Culture and literature
• Dispossessed nationalisms
• Fantasy and the nation
• Minority literatures
• Diasporic literatures and nations

Speakers are not restricted to New Zealand topics. Comparative papers are welcome

250 word abstracts should be submitted to Lydia.Wevers@vuw.ac.nz by 1 August, 2008.

CALL FOR PERFORMERS - Pinoy TV

Performers Needed for TV

Bands, Musicians, Singers, Dancers and Dance Groups Wanted

Pinoy TV Australia is seeking performers to showcase their talent on TV in 2008. Pinoy TV Australia is expanding its format to include more local Filipino-Australian talent and is looking for amateur or professional performers from any age group or style.

The performances will be filmed during special events organised around Australia throughout 2008 and shown on community television in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Register your interest by sending an email to info @ pinoytv.com or writing to Pinoy TV, P.O. Box 444, East Melbourne, VIC, 8002 and we will provide you details of how to send in your audition tapes/cds/dvds.

BOOK LAUNCH and PANEL - Growing Up Asian in Australia (Sydney Writers Festival; 24 May 2008)

LAUNCH: Growing Up Asian in Australia (Ed. Alice Pung)

WHEN: Saturday, May 24 2008, 17:30 - 19:00
WHERE: Bangarra Mezzanine, Pier 4/5, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay

Join Alice Pung and Black Inc. for the launch of Growing Up Asian in Australia. Contributors to this irreverent collection include Dr Cindy Pan, Kylie Kwong, Jenny Kee, Jason Yat-Sen Li, Caroline Tran, Quan Yeomans, Shaun Tan, Annette Shun Wah, Christopher Cyril, Simone Lazaroo, Anh and Kho Do, Vanessa Woods, Tom Cho, Hoa Pham, Sunil Badami, Shalini Akhil, plus many more.

===================

PANEL - Growing Up Asian in Australia

Asian-Australians are known to each other and the outside world by many labels: Quiet Achiever. FOB. Gangster Chigger. Mainlander. Banana. Yet are these labels based on some degree of truth, or only fiction? What is it like to grow up Asian in Australia? Alice Pung discusses Growing Up Asian in Australia with contributors Annette Shun Wah, Sunil Badami and Oliver Phommavanh.

Participants
Annette Shun Wah, Sunil Badami, Oliver Phommavanh, Alice Pung (facilitator)

When
Sunday, May 25 2008, 11:00 - 12:00

Where
Sydney Dance Company, Studio 2/3, Pier 4/5, Hickson Road, Walsh Bay

Cost: FREE

WORKSHOPS - Make your own media projects - Melbourne

Melbourne Media Makers Workshops

Ever wanted to make your own media project? These workshops will show you how.

INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING
> Saturday 3rd May, 9am-5pm
> Presented by Lisa Pham
Learn the difference between zines and blogs, how to make them both and where to distribute. Participants will make a zine on the day. Meet other zinesters and bloggers, share your passions and become part of the independent publishing community.

DESIGN
> Saturday 10th May, 9am-5pm
> Presented by Jason Lingard
Covering the theory of composition, colour and typography, get hands-on experience designing a magazine masthead, cover and page layout. Participants will be taught basic image manipulation and page layout using industry standard software.

FREELANCE WRITING
> Saturday 17th May, 9am-5pm
> Presented by Lisa Dempster
Get the skills required to be professionally published. Learn how to craft an article pitch and where to send it, hone your interviewing techniques and find out how to self-edit your writing before submission.

VIDEO PRODUCTION
> Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th May, 9am-1pm both days
> Presented by Malgorzata Swierczak
Tell a story from script to screen. Learn how to write dialogue, develop characters and create atmosphere. Participants will be introduced to camera equipment and get practical experience shooting, then editing, a short scene.

PODCASTING
> Saturday 31st May, 9am-5pm
> Presented by Miyuki Jokiranta
Discover the art of podcasting and make your own. Participants will be taught recording techniques for ambience, voice and music, basic audio editing skills as well as information about where to publish work online.

All workshops are $20 each, payment can be made by cheque or direct deposit.

Spaces are limited, bookings are essential - contact lisaATvibewireDOTnet to register.

This is a Vibewire project supported by the City Of Melbourne, the Foundation for Young Australians, Express Media, SYN FM and Open Channel. Contact lisaATvibewireDOTnet for more information.

CFP - New Voices, New Visions: Challenging Australian Identities and Legacies (26-28 Nov 2008; Brisbane, QLD) Deadline: 10 Aug 2008

CALL FOR PAPERS

'New Voices, New Visions: Challenging Australian identities and legacies.'
Wednesday 26 November - Friday 28 November 2008
To be held at QUT’s Gardens Point Campus (near the River & Botanical Gardens in the CBD of Brisbane).

This conference invites interdisciplinary explorations of the ways in which ideas, representations, narratives of Australia, Australians and Australian experiences have been challenged in the new millennium.

This can include:
* Popular cultures: Australia in literature, film, television, art and music
* Attitudes to the environment
* Changing political cultures
* Reconsiderations of citizenship and identity
* Australia in the region
* Making and remaking borders
* Constructions and challenges to the national past
* Myths and memories
* Racial power and privilege
* Indigenous sovereignties
* Social Exclusion and Human Rights
* Materialism and consumerism
* Globalization and diaspora
* National, regional local perspectives of Australia
* Cultures of everyday life
* Bodies, space and place: outback, country towns, cities.
* Culture and technology

We are especially interested in including the work of emerging scholars, and work that is being undertaken in new fields of contemporary interest.

Abstract deadline is 10 August 2008.

Conference Convenor
Dr Keith Moore
Humanities Program, QUT – Carseldine Campus Beams Road, CARSELDINE Queensland. k.moore@qut.edu.au
Ph +617 3511 6561 (07 3511 6561)

CFP - BASA - "Changing Australia" (London, UK; 1-5 Sept 2008)

CALL FOR PAPERS

British Australian Studies Biennial Conference
Royal Holloway, London
1-5 September 2008

CHANGING AUSTRALIA

Australia is ever changing - culturally, politically, economically, artistically, historically, and geographically - and this conference seeks to investigate, and interrogate, some of those changes. How and why has Australia, and Australian culture, changed? What changes are in process now? And what changes are anticipated in the future? How has the international image of Australia changed, as well as the clichés and stereotypes? How have the lives of Australians changed, and how do they continue to change. How is the definition of what it is to be ‘an Australian’ changing?

This call for papers invites responses to the broad conference theme in relation to a wide range of disciplines subject areas across the humanities and social sciences. These might include: history, fine arts, ecology, politics, mythology, literature, film, media and performance studies, music, geography, anthropology, architecture, law, popular culture, political science, sociology, archaeology, biography, cultural studies, migration and settlement studies, gender and women's studies, war studies, sports studies, religion, education.

It is expected that a selection of the papers will be published in a Conference issue of the BASA journal, Australian Studies.

Conference organiser:
Professor Elizabeth Schafer, Drama Department, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey, TW20 OEX, UK Tel: (+44) (0)1784 443922 E.Schafer@rhul.ac.uk

CONFERENCE - Multicultural Australia: Its Literature and Representation (30 May 2008)

Multicultural Australia: Its Literature and Representation, Hillside Forum, Tokyo, 30 May 2008

This one-day symposium on multiculturalism in Australian literature will include the launch of an anthology of Australian short stories in translation entitled, Diamond Dog: An Anthology of Contemporary Australia Short Stories which Reflect Multicultural Society (Gendai Kikakushitsu Publishers). Co-edited by Professor Kate Darian-Smith (University of Melbourne) and Professor Yasue Arimitsu (Doshisha University) the collection will be the first of its kind released in Japan, and hopes to introduce Japanese readers to the diversity of Australian literature.

The symposium will feature a keynote address by Professor Darian-Smith, as well as presentations by Professor David Carter (University of Queensland), the current Visiting Professor in Australian Studies, Centre for Pacific and American Studies, University of Tokyo, and Professor Shuzo Koyama. There will also be discussion from several of the translators and authors involved in the anthology project, including Australian author Matthew Condon.

The event, to be held at the Hillside Forum, will feature simultaneous translation to ensure the full participation of all attendees.

The event is being sponsored by the Australian and New Zealand Literary Society of Japan and Gendai Kikakushitsu Publishers, with support from the Australian Embassy in Japan and the Centre for Pacific and American Studies, Tokyo University. The event will also receive assistance from the Australia-Japan Foundation and The Australia Council.

For further information, or to register your attendance please contact Professor Kate Darian-Smith (k.darian-smith@unimelb.edu.au) and Professor Yasue Arimitsu (yarimitu@mail.doshisha.ac.jp)

SCHOLARSHIP - PhD Scholarship in Australian Literature (U of Wollongong) Deadline: 30 April 2008

PhD Scholarship in Australian Literature

Award: $ 25,118 p. a. for three years.

A PhD scholarship with the Faculty of Arts (UOW) is offered for contribution to the ARC-funded project 'Globalising Australian Literature: Asian-Australian writing, Asian perspectives on Australian literature.' The student will join a research team consisting of Alison Broinowski, Wenche Ommundsen, Paul Sharrad, Ouyang Yu and another PhD student in the investigation of multiple facets of Australian literary interaction with Asia:

• A comprehensive mapping and analysis of Asian-Australian writing
• A study of the circulation and reception of Australian literature across the Asian region

We welcome applications from qualified students who can demonstrate an understanding of the general field of study and have a developed research proposal in a particular area with relevance to it, such as:

• South East Asian-Australian writers
• The reception and study of Australian literature in India (or other major Asian country)
• Theoretical perspectives on Asian-Australian literary production

Application should include a full cv, including transcripts of previous studies, a research proposal and a statement about your understanding of, and interest in, this area of study.

For more information please contact Prof. Wenche Ommundsen on (02) 4221 5445 (wenche@uow.edu.au).

Deadline for applications: Wednesday 30 April 2008.

PRESS RELEASE - Youth Week Shortcut’s Film Festival Winner (Fairfield Powerhouse, NSW)

On the 3^rd of April, Fairfield resident Maria Tran took away the Fairfield Powerhouse Youth Theatre Shortcut’s Film Festival’s top awards of Best Film and Achievement in Directing for her short film “Happy Dent”.

Happy Dent is documentary about the daily struggle of a 6 year Vietnamese Orphan boy who lives by selling Happy Dent branded chewing gum.

Tran last year, spent one month in Vietnam working with a group of orphan boys; running free workshops in English, drawing and in film.

In previous years as a tourist she began to recognize the poverty that plagued the dark corners of her homeland.

“My last visit in 2006 changed my perceptions for my own people. I decided I wanted to make a strong contribution. The difficult question was always how. But soon after realizing the impact that films can produce I knew I had to use it as a tool to draw awareness”.

Having received her Bachelor in Psychology, Maria Tran has spent less than a year as a filmmaker.

“I never thought I would be able to achieve what I have. Filmmaking is financially risky and emotionally draining. You quickly find what brings together the camera, the actors, your crew; is your ability to foster relationships between them and yourself. ”

She started her filmmaking ambitions by joining the award-winning local community youth film production house Rumble Pictures in 2005, where she worked as an actor and eventually become their Public Relation coordinator. Supplementing her thirst for film, she later attended film workshops at the ICE (Information Cultural Exchange).

Although success has trailed her hard work in such short period, Tran remains focused on what really matters.

“When I think about it, anything is achievable as long as you link the passion to the people. You’ll always come out a winner no matter what. Whether you get an award or not.”

Maria Tran’s next project is now producing the Epic Western Sydney Martial Film, “Maximum Choppage 2” and is searching for potential sponsors.

If you are interested in being involved in the next project please contact at:-

info@mc2movie.com

Biography

Maria Tran, a 23-year-old Australian- Vietnamese, is the Supporting Director of Rumble Pictures. Tran’s background is in Psychology and is an emerging female film maker from Sydney’s west. She is an active community young person representative with pursuits in social change. Tran has been involved extensively in Rumble Pictures in initiating community projects such as “Clean Up Australia Day 2007” and “Cabramatta Moon Festival”. Her first works include the short film “The Elevator” and the “A Little Dream” which was funded by Metro Screen. She has made her acting debut as “Tanya”, a martial arts fighter in the upcoming “Maximum Choppage: Round 2”. At the moment she is due to implement her first international documentary, “Dust of Life”, that was filmed in Vietnam.

Rumble Pictures

Rumble Pictures is an emerging award winning youth film production house based in South West Sydney, Australia. Rumble Pictures seeks in delivering artistic expression from all forms of genres and media such as short films, graphic design, web design, photography, documentaries, music videos, etc….

Aspiring to be always inspired, the team at Rumble reach to exemplify in their productions, style, substance, innovation and community integration.

For more information, please check out: -

www.rumblepictures.com.au

GRANTS - Toyota Foundation - Asian Neighbours Network Program (Deadline: 10 May 2008)

Asian Neighbors Network Program Grants

The Toyota Foundation Asian Neighbors Network Program, the key theme of which is “ties between people will unlock Asia's potential,” solicits projects that aim to resolve these urgent issues within the Asian region through the formation of networks.

The Toyota Foundation suggests that projects address issues mainly in the following fields (The fields are listed in no particular order). It is not a problem if a project does not belong to one of the fields listed, provided it has a convincing connection to the aims of the program as described above.

1. Movements of people (refugees, migrants, human trafficking)
2. Peace building (includes confidence building)
3. International medical cooperation in such areas as infectious disease
4. Resources management
5. Creation and recreation of culture

After filling in the required sections of the project proposal forms (available online), please send it to the Toyota Foundation by registered mail postmarked no later than May 10.

>> Full information, including downloadable forms and applicant guidelines, can be found HERE.

NEW BOOK - Being Maori Chinese: Mixed Identities (by Manying Ip)

Manying Ip’s new book Being Maori–Chinese: Mixed Identities (Auckland University Press, 2008) uses extensive interviews with seven different families to explore both historical and contemporary relations between Maori and Chinese, a subject which has not been given serious extended study before.

A full chapter is given to each family which is explored in depth, often in the voices of the protagonists themselves. This detailed and personal approach shows how in the 19th and early 20th century Maori and Chinese, both relegated to the fringes of society, often had warm and congenial bonds, with intermarriage and large Maori–Chinese families. However, in recent times the relationship between these two rapidly growing groups has shown tension as Maori have gained confidence in their identity and as increased Asian immigration has become a political issue.

>> Download Being Maori Chinese flyer HERE (includes ordering details).

BOOK LAUNCH - Melbourne - Deeper Leads: New Approaches in Victorian Gold Fields History (18 April 2008)

The Melbourne launch of Deeper Leads: New Approaches in Victorian Gold Fields History will be on Friday 18 April at the Upstairs Seminar Room, Australia Centre, University of Melbourne 149 Barry St, Carlton.

About Deeper Leads: New Approaches in Victorian Gold Fields History:

The book encompasses new and important directions in goldfields history, reflecting not only the editors’ strong interest in heritage as well as gender, ethnic, museum, labour and other important historical directions in the ongoing discussions surrounding this crucial time and place in the foundation of the Australian nation.

>> Download launch invitation flyer HERE (MS-Word doc, 163 Kb).

HERITAGE FESTIVAL EVENTS - Chinese Australian Historical Society (Sydney, NSW; 12 and 16 April 2008)

The Chinese Australian Historical Society (CAHS) is holding two events during the 2008 National Trust Festival in Sydney.

1. Saturday 12 April 2008, 10am-5pm - "Locating and Visiting Chinese-Australian Heritage Places in Guangdong, China"

2. Wednesday 16 April 2008, 10.15 for 10.30am start - "The King Fong Chinatown Walking Tour"

>> For full information, visit the CAHS site events page HERE.

TALK - Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds in conversation with Dennis Altman on Racial Equality (Readings, Melbourne; 7 April)

Marilyn Lake & Henry Reynolds
in conversation with Dennis Altman
on Racial Equality

Monday 7 April, 6.30 pm
READINGS CARLTON

Professors Lake and Reynolds will be discussing their latest book Drawing the Global Colour Line: White Men’s Countries and the International Challenge of Racial Equality.

>> Download PDF of event HERE (approx. 80 Kb).

NEW BOOK - Report on Australia by Ouyang Yu (poetry written in Chinese)

Report on Australia: a collection of poetry written in Chinese
by Ouyang Yu

(just out in China on 21/3/08, a special issue of Otherland, No. 11, 2008)

Limited to two-hundred copies only, this collection of Chinese poetry written by Ouyang Yu is just released by Otherland Publishing in Wuhan, P. R. China. It is 239 pages in length, containing 147 poems written in Chinese by Ouyang Yu while living in Australia. These are poems that take such issues head-on as nostalgia or non-nostalgia, mental problems, violence, love-making, foreigners living in a foreign country that keep them eternal foreigners. One poem has caused such a controversy that a nationally funded project was scrapped in China.

This book is now available.

To order an autographed copy from Ouyang Yu, please send a money order or cheque in Australian dollars to him at the following address:

Ouyang Yu
English Department, Wuhan University
Wuhan, People's Republic of China

Please address your queries to: ouyangyu@hotmail.com

($49.95, plus postage and GST for Australia and $59.95 for institutions plus GST/postage)