Monash Arts

If the Tudulgal could thrive on a small sandy island and become a leading control centre in Australia's Torres Straits, how can these insights help build more resilient and sustainable communities around the world? Compared to other countries, Australia has next to no research about its sandy cay islands that formed 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, but that is about to change with a new break-through ARC Discovery project by Monash Indigenous Studies Centre Professor Ian McNiven in collaboration with the Tudulgal and local communities in the north of Australia. As part of Monash Arts Researchers podcast series, Professor Ian McNiven shares the incredible discoveries made so far about Tudu island – that was the epicentre of the Torres Straits, one of the greatest maritime societies the world has ever seen. And, we hear about the project’s future plans and opportunities for students and researchers. The project will offer for the first time longitudinal evidence on how major societies could thrive on sandy cays in Australia, shedding important insights for communities around the world searching for ways to build more resilient communities against climate change and major challenges ahead. --- Interested in doing a PhD (Arts)? Details at arts.monash.edu/graduate-research

This podcast continues on from Part I of our interview with Professor JaneMaree Maher on Monash's Gender and Family Violence research. Why does international evidence show 80% of adolescent violence is committed by sons against their mothers? Why is more than one woman per week killed by their current or ex intimate partner in Australia? What do we need to do to make sure people with disability who may face violence are recognised and supported? What other challenges and barriers need to be overcome for all our different communities including migrants, LGBTIQ and male victims? What are the gaps in preventing further non-fatal and fatal family violence and how effective are the intervention programs and respite services? As part of Monash Arts Researchers podcast series, Professor JaneMaree Maher shares her research examining these questions and possible solutions. These investigative projects, their findings and policy recommendations are driven by Professor Maher and Monash’s Gender, Family & Violence research team, with many funded by the Victorian government and peak bodies in the family violence sector in Australia. The projects are playing a key role in the implementation of the recommendations from the world-first Royal Commission into Family Violence as tabled in Victorian parliament in 2016. For more information on Monash's Gender and Family Violence research team, visit arts.monash.edu/gender-and-family-violence For more information on doing a higher degree by research, visit https://arts.monash.edu/graduate-research

Why does international evidence show 80% of adolescent violence is committed by sons against their mothers? Why is more than one woman per week killed by their current or ex intimate partner in Australia? What do we need to do to make sure people with disability who may face violence are recognised and supported? What other challenges and barriers need to be overcome for all our different communities including migrants, LGBTIQ and male victims? What are the gaps in preventing further non-fatal and fatal family violence and how effective are the intervention programs and respite services? As part of Monash Arts Researchers podcast series, Professor JaneMaree Maher shares her research examining these questions and possible solutions. These investigative projects, their findings and policy recommendations are driven by Professor Maher and Monash’s Gender, Family & Violence research team, with many funded by the Victorian government and peak bodies in the family violence sector in Australia. The projects are playing a key role in the implementation of the recommendations from the world-first Royal Commission into Family Violence as tabled in Victorian parliament in 2016. Hear about Monash GFV's other investigative projects and recommendations in Part II. For more information on Monash's Gender and Family Violence research team, visit arts.monash.edu/gender-and-family-violence For more information on doing a higher degree by research, visit https://arts.monash.edu/graduate-research

Dr Xin Gu of our School of Media, Film & Journalism, is leading an ARC Discovery international research project: Urban Cultural Policy and the Changing Dynamics of Cultural Production. The research explores the dynamics of the “cultural economy” and how changing industry relationships, urban development and policy dynamics affect cultural production. The research is focused on uncovering these dynamics across the inner Northern suburbs in Melbourne and Marrickville, Sydney, with international case studies in Berlin, Los Angeles, New York and Shenzhen. It aims to discover new insights into crucial urban manufacturing relationships to inform policy and innovation potential in Australia. What creative industry strategies does Australia have to consider for its resilience? How does urban cultural policy play into this? What industry links need to be fostered? In seeking answers to these questions, the research is already revealing much potential for Australia towards the development of knowledge, skills and practices to create new products, processes and work opportunities. And, through the international case studies, it shares lessons on what policies other countries are developing and how they are responding to the changing dynamics in the creative industries. We spoke with Dr Gu on specific issues to each city and some of the ideas already arising to solve these spanning policy protection, industry code re-categorisation, “maker/manufacturer” branding, the role of university innovation labs, investment in local manufacturers and potential for global trade. Dr Gu highlights, “as a country, it’s very dangerous if you only have the cultural consumption end of things because of the reliance of global networks and other countries; resilience requires us to be less reliant on other suppliers and this is where the creative industries can excel”. For more information on doing a higher degree by research, visit https://arts.monash.edu/graduate-research

During the course of the twentieth century global migration flows have grown exponentially. Massive socio-political changes in the late 1980s and early 1990s, notably the fall of the Berlin wall and collapse of the Soviet block, and later the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, all contributed to the increased international movement of people. And with major political events come epistemological consequences – how do we think about citizenship and belonging today? What role does language play when entering a new place and how does this impact employment, governance and social cohesion? Professor Rita Wilson, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Associate Dean of Graduate Research at Monash University, carries an extensive research background in literary and cultural studies, with a focus on exploring translation processes that are core to the shaping of literary history, communication and society. Professor Wilson’s research investigates the forces behind the movement of literary texts and people, from aesthetic, linguistic and stylistic elements to social, political and economic drivers. Her research brings to light the effects of today’s interaction between mobility, migration and translation. As part of our Arts Researchers podcast series, we spoke with Professor Wilson on a number of her research projects and the impact they have on informing better policies, settlement services, international governance and social cohesion. We also covered the global research networks, industry partnerships and opportunities for research students in this area at Monash – the only university in Australia that offers a practice-based PhD in Interpreting and Translation Studies. For more information on doing a higher degree by research, visit https://arts.monash.edu/graduate-research