30 September 2008

CONFERENCE - "Radicalisation Crossing Borders: New Directions in Islamist and Jihadist Political, Intellectual and Theological Thought and Practice"

On 26-27 November, 2008, the Monash University Global Terrorism Research Centre is hosting an international conference titled "Radicalisation Crossing Borders: New Directions in Islamist and Jihadist Political, Intellectual and Theological Thought and Practice".

The conference will be held in the Legislative Assembly of Parliament House Victoria, and have a broad range of speakers from around Australia and overseas, including Denmark, Somalia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

For more information or to register, please go to the conference website http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/psi/news-and-events/gtrec/index.php

CFP - Bananas-ISSCO conference "Rising Dragon, Soaring Bananas" - 18-19 July 2009 (Auckland, NZ; Deadline: 30 Nov 2008)

2009 BANANAS –ISSCO CONFERENCE
Rising Dragon, Soaring Bananas
18-19 July 2009


Opening Reception – Fale Pasifika, University of Auckland, Friday 17 July 2009

CALL FOR PAPERS

The popular Banana Conference series has been running annually since 2005. It is the signature event of the New Zealand Chinese Association, celebrating the journeys of the local Chinese community, exploring identity issues which Chinese New Zealanders face in the changing socio-economic climate of recent times.

International speakers have been invited to give global viewpoints and to make comparative studies. For some details of past conferences please see http://www.goingbananas.org.nz/

The 2009 Conference will be held jointly with ISSCO, the International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas.

Papers are called on the following themes:
  • Chinese & Indigenous Interactions
  • China Under the International Spotlight and the Chinese Overseas
  • Accidental Oriental – Exploration of Identity
  • Free Trade Agreement – Dancing with the Dragon (the role of Chinese Overseas)
  • Creative Overseas Chinese – the New Cool
  • What Place Chinese Language & Culture
  • China Rising – The Chinese Century and the Chinese Overseas
  • Building Bridges between Old & New Migrants
  • Chinese International Organisations

Please submit an abstract (around 300 words) on one of the above themes, together with a brief biographical statement, and send these via email to Manying Ip, School of Asian Studies, University of Auckland by 10 November 2008. my.ip@auckland.ac.nz

You are strongly encouraged to work with colleagues and fellow researchers to form a panel to present different papers under the same theme, using multi-disciplinary approaches. In particular, we welcome papers with a strong theoretical framework, and papers and panels with comparative viewpoints.

You will be notified of the acceptance of your proposal by the end of November 2008.

FELLOWSHIP - Postdoctoral fellowship, Brown University, USA (Deadline: 10 Dec 2008)

"Markets and Bodies in Transnational Perspective"

Position: Postdoctoral Fellowship
Salary: $50,000 to less than $60,000
Institution: Brown University
Location: Rhode Island

Application deadline: 10 Dec 2008

Post-Doctoral Fellowships
We welcome applications from all scholars who do not hold a tenured position. This is a residential fellowship. Fellows participate weekly in the Pembroke Seminar, teach one undergraduate course, and pursue individual research. Brown University is an EEO/AA employer. The Center strongly encourages underrepresented minority scholars to apply. The term of appointment is September 1, 2009-May 31, 2010. The stipend is $50,000, plus a supplement for health and dental insurance, unless otherwise covered.

Application forms may be obtained at www.pembrokecenter.org. Questions should be directed to Donna_Goodnow@brown.edu.

Please send completed application packages to Box 1958, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 (regular mail);

or Pembroke Center, Pembroke Hall, 172 Meeting Street, Providence, RI 02912 (express mail).

The deadline for receipt of applications is December 10, 2008. Selections will be announced in February.

http://www.pembrokecenter.org/documents/Pembrokeapplication.pdf

Regular mail:
Pembroke Center
Box 1958
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912

Express mail:
Pembroke Center
Pembroke Hall
172 Meeting Street
Providence, RI 02912

22 September 2008

UPCOMING EVENTS - Ivy Alvarez - Sept-Oct 2008

Ivy Alvarez presents a Writers Workshop on applying for grants and residencies at the Booranga Writers' Centre, Charles Sturt University, NSW, Australia on Sunday, 28th September, 2-5pm.
Contact: booranga@csu.edu.au
http://www.csu.edu.au/faculty/arts/humss/booranga/events/index.html

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

Ivy will also be appearing at the Critical Animals symposium
(This Is Not Art) in Newcastle, Australia, participating in two events:

• 'The Wanderer', a collective performance of Christopher Brennan's most well-known sequence of poems, on Thursday, 2 October 2008, 4-5.30pm.
http://www.thisisnotart.org/the-wanderer/

• 'Landscaping Aesthetics: A collective conversation' on Saturday, 4 October 2008, 7-8.30 pm. Wales Arts International sponsored Ivy's travel to TINA.
http://www.thisisnotart.org/landscaping-aesthetics-a-collective-conversation/

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

READINGS - Wagga Wagga, Melbourne, Hobart:

Saturday, September 27
Ivy Alvarez
Wagga City Library
cnr Baylis & Morrow Street,
Wagga Wagga NSW Australia
3pm FREE
Contact: wcl @ wagga.nsw.gov.au

Wednesday, October 8
Ivy Alvarez
The Espy (The Esplanade Hotel),
11 The Esplanade, St Kilda,
Melbourne VIC Australia
7pm FREE
Contact: dale @ roarhouse.org

Tuesday, October 21
Ivy Alvarez and Lyn Reeves
The Lark Distillery,
14 Davey Street,
Hobart TAS Australia
6pm FREE
Contact: admin @ tasmanianwriters.org

UPCOMING CONFERENCES - International Chinese Studies conferences - Date claiming

1. First International Congress on Chinese Studies -Immigration and Cultural Exchanges -Bilbao (SPAIN), 26-29 Nov 2008
http://www.estudioschinos.com/congress.htm

2. The ISSCO 2009 conference will be convened in cooperation with the University of Auckland and the New Zealand Chinese Association. The title of the conference is "Rising Dragon, Soaring Bananas" (17-19 July, 2009). The Call for Papers is being finalised and will be circulated soon.

3. The ISSCO 2010 conference will be held in Singapore (7-9 May, 2010).

19 September 2008

SHOW - LOCA (The Ladies of Colour Agency) Cabaret! - Melbourne Fringe Festival

The Ladies of Colour Agency (LOCA) presents an all-singing, all-dancing anti-racist extravanganza: the explosion of rage and glory that is the Ladies of Colour Cabaret!

Spoken word! Burlesque! Dance! Drag! Rap! Comedy! Theatre! Kick-arse politics!

LOCA is a posse of 5-foot Asian women who explore the themes of racism and identity in their explosive, enlightening and highly entertaining cabaret performances in which they subvert stereotypes, rage against racism, mess with your minds and mess with your pants. With only 5 shows, bookings are essential.

Get tickets from the Melbourne Fringe Festival website: http://www.melbournefringe.com.au/season/2008/show/156/

WHEN: 7pm
Sept: Fri 26, Sat 27
Oct: Fri 3, Sat 4, Fri 10

COST: Preview: $15. Concession: $16. Full fare: $18.

Me love you long time!

CREATIVE ARTS FELLOWSHIP - 2009 H.C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship - ANU, Canberra (Deadline: 31 Oct)

Call for Nominations - 2009 H.C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship

ANU Schools and Centres from relevant areas are invited to nominate a Visual Artist for the 2009 H.C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship.

In 2009 a Creative Arts Fellowship will be offered in the area of Visual Arts (including visual arts, new media film & video)

For each year the Fellowship will rotate in the following manner:
  • 2009 Visual Arts (including visual arts, new media film & video)
  • 2010 Performance (including theatre, music, dance)
  • 2011 Writing (including literature, prose, poetry, script writing)
Nominated persons should have an established reputation as an artist with a minimum of five years of professional practice. The purpose of the Fellowship is to allow the recipient to: -
  • engage in a period of uninterrupted creative work in residence at the Australian National University, to conduct research and develop new ideas.
  • contribute to the fostering of the creative arts within the University.
  • interact with the University academic community, staff, students and visitors.

The nominee should be an Australian citizen or have formal residency status and have a strong arts connection to demonstrate that the benefits of the Fellowship will contribute to the development of Australia’s contemporary culture. The Fellowship amount of $33,000 includes percentages for stipend, accommodation, travel and material costs.
The Fellow is normally expected to be in residence at the University for a maximum of five months, at least half of which should be during the teaching periods.


The H. C. Coombs Creative Arts Fellowship is administered by the Research School of Humanities (RSH) and an Advisory Committee. This Committee is chaired by the Director of RSH with representatives from the University Humanities and Creative Arts disciplines. Two independent arts specialists are also invited each year, with specific expertise to the discipline being considered.

Nominations must be supported by an academic unit of the University and the proposal must include:

  • the curriculum vitae of the nominee.
  • the contact person who agrees to undertake the organisational responsibilities in hosting the Fellowship with the RSH.
  • a description of the facilities available and the academic colleagues who may be involved with the Fellow.
  • outline of the proposed creative arts program and its duration.
  • an outline of the extent of interaction with the University community and any other connections expected to be made whilst in residence.
  • outline of the budget proposed.
  • an indication of the likely outcome of the residency.

Written nominations should be submitted by that academic unit of the University on behalf of the nominated person.

Fellowship proposals will be assessed in terms of:

  • the quality of the proposal.
  • its likely contribution to the life of the University
  • the capacity of the proposed Fellow to execute their proposal.
  • the artistic standing of the proposed Fellow.

Other considerations may include:

  • the demonstrated and active support and infrastructure available from the University academic area hosting the Fellow.
  • the potential for visibility and engagement of the proposed creative work program with the University community.
  • the potential for contact and collaboration with other parts of the University and the community.
  • the feasibility of the program.

Closing date for submissions: 31 October 2008.

Outcome notified mid November 2008. For further details visit http://rsh.anu.edu.au/fellowships/coombs/index.php or email Suzanne.Knight@anu.edu.au

18 September 2008

NEW FILM - Maximum Choppage II


MEDIA RELEASE September 2008
TAKING IT BACK TO THE OLD SCHOOL!
MAXIMUM CHOPPAGE: ROUND 2
A suburban Kung Fu film direct from the mean streets of Fairfield!

Maximum Choppage: Round 2 is Australia’s first locally made suburban Kung Fu film due to be launched this September.

Made by an artist collective called Rumble Pictures based in Cabramatta in Sydney’s West – Maximum Choppage: Round 2 is their offering to the recent explosion in popularity for Kung Fu Films.

Not since the cult 1975 film The Man From Hong Kong has Australia produced its own Kung Fu film. Tired of the solid foreign diet Rumble Pictures decided to produce their own tribute to the martial arts films of the 70’s and 80’s using the local Fairfield streets as their back drop.

Offering a reinvention of the Kung Fu genre but taking direct inspiration from the classic 70 and 80s narratives of Jackie Chan, Rumble Pictures are proud to present Australia’s first “no-budget, but epic ambition” action Kung Fu film.

Maximum Choppage: Round 2 is a 70 minute urban action adventure exploring the great story telling corner stones of love and pride. Two arch rivals fight with swords over a girl in down town Fairfield! Within a story line dedicated to accommodate as many kick ass kung fu show downs as possible, the result is fast, furious and funny.

The producers, Rumble Pictures, have ensured that the fundamental essence of Kung-Fu action is not lost nor compromised in their ploy to pay such homage. What results is a preservation of the slapstick fun and comedic notions of the earlier work of Jackie Chan highlighted with the animated cues of Steven Chow’s Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle.

Writer and Director Craig Anderson from the ABC’s Double the Fist noted the film’s presence as an innovative montage of action and comedy. “Here’s a truly funny film that acknowledges its roots. An old school Kung Fu film in its purity!” he says.

Maximum Choppage: Round 2 is an independent film four years in the making. It makes no apologies for its ‘rough around-the-edges’ approach to cinematography that pushes the boundaries of guerilla-style filmmaking – action sequences at its most organic. In the project’s initial stages when resources were limited, camera dollies were replaced by skate boards and home mattresses dragged into the street to use as crash pads as people dove off council bins!

The cast and crew of the film comprise mainly of young Asian Australians from diverse backgrounds of Western Sydney. More significantly, these contemporary groups of filmmakers are either martial arts experts or have had a fondness towards the genre of films. All fights and stunts are performed by the cast themselves.

“Every week a group of us would meet up on a Friday night to watch old school kung fu films and develop ideas to somehow bring back the elements of what is now missing in contemporary Kung Fu films,” Director Timothy Ly says.

Western Sydney has a lot of artistic potential. I hope if anything, Rumble Pictures can inspire some residents to pick up their own cameras and do it better than us. We get sick of all the negative profile that Cabramatta gets so we wanted to create an action film that used our local area as our set – we don’t hide from the urbanism of our surroundings we wanted to focus on it and high light it, we like the idea of two guys fighting over a girl with swords in suburban Fairfield!”

One of the main focuses of the film is to portray the 2nd generation migrant experience in Australia. The film’s fun and positive format does not emphasise its oriental roots as much but more its expression of cultural identity and diversity on home soil.

The film will be launching over 4 nights at the Fairfield School of Arts, 19 Harris St Fairfield NSW from the 25-28 Sept, 08. Screenings begin at 7pm.To RSVP, contact ICE on (02) 9897 5744.

WHEN: 7pm, 25-28 September, 2008

WHERE: Fairfield School of Arts, 16 Harris St, Fairfield, 2165.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES, PHOTOS AND INTERVIEWS: Contact Sarah Goodes on 0411 878 250 or email sarahgoodes@bigpond.com

MC2 TRAILER: http://www.mc2movie.com/

Official website: http://www.rumblepictures.com.au/

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

Thursday 23 October 2008, 6.30-8.30pm
Elisabeth Murdoch Theatre, Elisabeth Murdoch Building, Swanston Street, University of Melbourne


With the Asia Institute, AASRN is co-sponsoring the Melbourne launch of Rumble Pictures' Maximum Choppage: Round 2 and a panel featuring producer Maria Tran and writer/director Timothy Ly.

For the full listing of Asia Week events, visit http://www.asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au/

EVENT - Asia Week 2008 at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne (20-23 Oct 2008)

ASIA WEEK 2008 at the ASIA INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE 20-23 October

Through four days of concerts, workshops, seminars, and lectures, Asia Week 2008 showcases the diversity of intellectual, artistic, and cultural activities of the Asia Institute and its partnering institutions, focusing primarily on the languages and cultures of China, Japan, Indonesia, and the Islamic world.

Artists, scholars, and dignitaries presenting, appearing, or performing during Asia Week include: Melbourne Lord Mayor John So; Mr. Susumu Hasegawa, Consul General of Japan; Stanley Adi Prasetyo, commissioner of the National Commission on Human Rights; Najwa Shihab, journalist/tv presenter; Wakako Asano, choreographer and dancer in the Australian Ballet; Mayu Kanamori, artist; Maria Tran, film producer, and Ben Hills, Walkley Award-winning freelance journalist and author.

For complete schedule and event details as they become available, visit: www.asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au

=====

Thursday 23 October 2008, 6.30-8.30pm
Elisabeth Murdoch Theatre, Elisabeth Murdoch Building, Swanston Street, University of Melbourne

With the Asia Institute, AASRN is co-sponsoring the Melbourne launch of Rumble Pictures' Maximum Choppage: Round 2 and a panel featuring producer Maria Tran and writer/director Timothy Ly.

For the full listing of Asia Week events, visit www.asiainstitute.unimelb.edu.au

NEW POSITION - Chair in Australian Literature, University of Western Australia (Deadline: 3 Oct 2008)

Chair in Australian Literature

The University of Western Australia invites applications for the tenurable position of Professor of Australian Literature, newly endowed by the Commonwealth Government and UWA. This Chair in Australian Literature has been established with the goal of benefiting and promoting Australian Literature nationally and internationally. The appointee will therefore be an academic leader in the broadest sense: a productive and original researcher, with a commitment to high-quality teaching, a passion for Australian Literature and the ability to communicate its value and vitality to the public. The Chair will join the Westerly Centre within the Discipline of English and Cultural Studies, which has an outstanding record of publication and study in Australian Literature.

For further information regarding the position, applicants are encouraged to direct enquiries to the Chair of English and Cultural Studies, Dr Kieran Dolin on +61 8 6488 2072 or kdolin@cyllene.uwa.edu.au, or Professor Dennis Haskell on +61 8 6488 2071 or dhaskell@cyllene.uwa.edu.au.An attractive remuneration package will be negotiated including generous superannuation, leave provisions and fares to Perth (if applicable) for the appointee and dependants along with a relocation allowance.

Closing date: Friday, 3 October 2008

The Information for Candidates brochure which includes details to assist with your application may be found at
www.his.admin.uwa.edu.au/Advertising/2486CandidateInformation.pdf or via a link at jobs.uwa.edu.au/ or by contacting Ms Toni Pilgrim, email toni.pilgrim@uwa.edu.au. Written applications should be sent to Ms Toni Pilgrim, Human Resources, M350, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009. To lodge an application electronically please refer to the Information for Candidates brochure for details.

>> Visit this link - PDF - to see more information about the Chair of Australian Literature position at UWA.

CFP - Postcolonial Popular Cultures: A Symposium (U of Otago, NZ; deadline: 1 Oct 2008)

Postcolonial Popular Cultures: A Symposium
Organised by the Postcolonial Studies Research Network, University of Otago
December 14-16, 2008, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

Keynote Speakers

  • Grant Farred, Professor of Africana Studies and English, Cornell University. "For Our Time? Thinking the Popularity of the Postcolonial”: exploring the relevance of postcoloniality, and its historically difficult relationship to the popular, in our moment.

  • Kalpana Ram, Anthropology, Macquarie University. To be confirmed

  • Jo Smith, Media Studies Programme, Victoria University of Wellington. “Postcolonial Maori TV?”

Call for Papers

The field of postcolonial studies has recently been called on to redress its lack of sustained attention to, and engagement with, popular cultural practices and forms. A survey of the anthologies and major collections informing the field suggest the point is a legitimate one. While scholars such as Arjun Appadurai, Paul Gilroy, and Kobena Mercer engage with popular cultural practices of diasporic and migrant communities, the postcolonial field has shown less attention to popular cultural forms as productive sites for exploring the kinds of questions that animate it.

Taking on this challenge, we invite submissions from across disciplines to engage with the theme of postcolonial popular cultures. Theoretical and disciplinary inquiries may include the constitution of postcolonial popular cultures, the function, role of the postcolonial in postcolonial popular culture, and the critical perspective offered by postcolonial studies. What can postcolonial studies contribute to the study and understanding of popular culture that has not been addressed by cultural studies? How would an examination of contemporary popular cultural practices influence significant areas of postcolonial theorizing: hybridity, resistance, the politics of representation? How would it affect the field’s focus on a certain literary and theoretical canon, and its arguably textual orientation? What economies of value shape the relative exclusion of popular culture in postcolonial studies?

Beyond this, we are concerned to ask whether an emphasis on postcolonial popular culture challenges specific structures of power, or whether popular cultural forms and practices are complicit with the institutions and operations postcolonial studies seek to challenge? In a period of rapid commodification and intense consumerism, what is at stake when we speak of postcolonial popular cultures? What impact is made on postcolonial cultural expressions by the ‘global popular’?

These questions are by no means exhaustive; they are offered as a point of entry for further discussion on the theme of postcolonial popular culture. Postcolonial popular culture is defined in a broad and inclusive way to incorporate lived and textual cultures, the mass media, ways of life, and discursive modes of representation. Central to the formation of postcolonial popular cultures are articulations of the economic, social and political spheres and the conference welcomes contributions that will highlight these issues.

Papers from across disciplines are invited to address aspects of Postcolonial Popular Culture, including:

  • Popular culture and resistance
  • Everyday popular cultural practices
  • Sport
  • Music
  • Dance
  • Body cultures
  • Fashion/clothing
  • Food
  • Television and other broadcast media
  • Online games, computer and other technologies
  • Street and community theatre
  • Shopping
To maintain the integrity of discussions, we ask that submissions address the question of popular culture in relation to some aspect of the field of postcolonial studies. We invite abstracts of 250-300 words and a short bio of 100 words to be sent to Dr Brendan Hokowhitu (Brendan.hokowhitu@stonebow.otago.ac.nz) by 1 October, 2008.

FELLOWSHIPS - Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (Deadline: 1 Nov 2008)

Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore is inviting applications for (Senior) Research Fellowships, One-Year Visiting (Senior) Research Fellowships and Postdoctoral Fellowships for commencement between May 2009 and September 2009.

Open to outstanding active researchers to work on an important piece of research in the social sciences and humanities. Interdisciplinary interests are encouraged. A majority of the positions will be allocated to the more specific areas listed on our website. Some will be reserved for outstanding projects in any area. Applications linking two specific fields are also welcome. Applicants should mention which category they are applying to or if none, write open category. Applicants should possess a minimum of a PhD.

Closing date for applications is 1 November 2008.

For more on the positions and application procedure, see http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg or email joinari@nus.edu.sg for more information.

NEW BOOK - Ouyang Yu - The Kingsbury Tales: A Novel (Brandl and Schlesinger)


The Kingsbury Tales: a Novel A collection of poetry by Ouyang Yu 80 pages pb - $24.95 – ISBN 978-1-876040-82-6

In this book of poetry, Kingsbury is where the poet has been based since he came from the People’s Republic of China in 1991, the first time he came into extensive contact, and conflict with a very different culture and multi-culture.

Covering a period of about 160 years from the First Opium War (1840) to the beginnings of the 21st century, THE KINGSBURY TALES serves up a poetic plate of multi-taste choice foods with choice tales, each tale represented by a poem, not longer than one A-4 page, told by people from all walks of life, including wives, concubines, lawyers, diplomats, students, professors, factory workers, mental patients and visitors, from a colonial and postcolonial point of view.

The book explores and depicts poetic characters in a similar way that Geoffrey Chaucer did many hundreds years ago in The Canterbury Tales. The stories in THE KINGSBURY TALES are also arranged in sections, such as ‘Historical Tales’, ‘Women’s Tales’, ‘Men’s Tales’, ‘Professors’ Tales’, and ‘The Empire Tales’. Some of the poems have already been published in literary journals such as Eureka Street, Griffith Review, Cordite, Westerly, Island, Antipodes and Southerly.

“Ouyang Yu’s poetry—acerbic, funny, wickedly political—is unremittingly concerned with the strangeness, multiplicity and horror of the real. The Kingsbury Tales is a major new work that shows Yu’s brilliance and range. The tales make up a rich and sprawling account of the complex interactions between China and Australia, between selves and the world. Filled with stories from history, memory and everyday conversation, The Kingsbury Tales is both a profoundly shocking and deeply entertaining work of poetry.” David McCooey
Ouyang Yu graduated from La Trobe University with a doctoral degree in Australian literature and has had 43 Chinese and English books published in the field of fiction poetry, literary translation and literary criticism since his arrival in Australia in 1991. His first novel in English, The Eastern Slope Chronicle (Brandl & Schlesinger, Sydney 2002) was shortlisted for the 2003 NSW Premier’s Awards and won the SA Festival Award for Innovation in Writing in 2004. His fifth book of English poetry, Foreign Matter (Otherland Publishing, Melbourne, 2003) won the 2003 Fast Books Prize for Best Poetry in the self-published category in NSW.

His other published translations (18 of them) in Chinese include The Female Eunuch (1991; 2001) and The Whole Woman (2002) by Germaine Greer, The Shock of the New by Robert Hughes (2002) and Capricornia by Xavier Herbert (2004).

Ouyang Yu has been invited to a number of literary festivals, including the Melbourne Writers’ Festival, Sydney Writers Festival, Hong Kong International Writers’ Festival, the International Chinese Poetry Festival in Denmark and the Singapore Writers’ Festival.

For an autographed copy, please contact Ouyang Yu at P. O. Box 200, Kingsbury 3083, VIC, Australia or email: youyang2@bigpond.com

$24.95/copy plus $3.00 postage/handling for Victoria and $3.50 for interstate and $5.50 for overseas.

NEW ISSUE - Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies Vol. 2

Volume 2 of Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies is now available on-line.

The volume focuses on Chinese diaspora in Australasia and the SW Pacific, and is dedicated to the memory of the late Henry Chan, an important figure in this field.

The volume contains contributions by a number of eminent scholars in their fields (professors and emeritus professors) as well as by some newer researchers.

It can be accessed HERE (http://csds.anu.edu.au/volume_2_2008).

This volume includes researchers Barry McGowan, Mei-Fen Kuo, Benjamin Penny, Graeme Hugo, James Chin, Lucille Ngan, and Sophie Couchman.

EOI - Future Fellowships at ANU

Future Fellowships is an exciting new grants scheme created by the Australian Government, to be administered by the Australian Research Council (ARC). The purpose of this scheme is to promote research in areas of critical national importance. Further information on the scheme is available at the following website: http://www.arc.gov.au/ncgp/futurefel/future_default.htm

  • Future Fellows, with salaries up to $140,000 pa, will help build the future of Australia's top research university.
  • Fellowships are open to Australian and International mid-career researchers who promote excellence in their field.
  • The current round of Fellowships begins in 2009 and runs for 4 years.

The Australian National University (ANU) is calling for Expressions of Interest for this scheme.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THIS LINK.

CONFERENCE - Popular culture in Indonesia and Malaysia (U of Pittsburgh, USA; 10-12 Oct 2008)

ISLAM AND POPULAR CULTURE IN INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA
An interdisciplinary conference

10-12 Oct 2008
U of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Home to approximately one-fifth of the world¹s Muslim population, Indonesia and Malaysia are often overlooked or misrepresented in media discourses about Islam. Ideas, sounds, images, gestures, and meanings about Islam abound in contemporary popular cultural forms including film, music, television, radio, comics, fashion, magazines, and cyberculture. By focusing on popular culture, we will emphasize the dynamic, contested, and performative nature of Islam in contemporary Indonesia and Malaysia.

>> Conference website: http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/asc/conference/

EXHIBITION - Van Rudd - 'One week in September' (McCulloch Gallery, Melbourne)


== ONLY A FEW DAYS LEFT ==

September 15th till September 20th

VAN RUDD at McCulloch Gallery
http://www.mccullochgallery.com.au/


Text from McCulloch Gallery website:

"Sensitivity to the plight of the oppressed peoples in situations of exploitation and war interested Rudd from the outset of his artistic career. Many of his early paintings and drawings show an inner, psychological questioning of the effects of displacement caused by war and the alienating effects of living in large cities. This has led the artist to enthusiastically explore the pictorial effects of paint within the rich context of popular culture – an ongoing inspiration of his to this day.

By the turn of the 21st Century, Rudd’s political persuasions became much more clearly discernible in his music and visual art. In his visual art in particular, he became much more dedicated to exposing the contradictions and injustices within the current, global system of neo-liberalism. This has led to a growing multi-disciplinary approach to his art including the development of The Carriers Project. His simple objective was to expose his paintings to very large audiences by carrying them on foot through busy city streets, shopping malls, major art museums and fairs to inspire debate about art and politics. As expected by the artist, there have been many confrontations with authorities.

Rudd currently continues to enthusiastically explore the potential of painting’s role in society while planning many other projects involving public installations, interventions and experimental videos in Latin America and South-East Asia . He truly believes that art is a weapon and that in today’s current global climate, should not only be relegated to the matching of somebody’s couch."