So What? Lectures

The relationship between Indigenous people and the nation state isframed by two opposing forces within the assimilationist approach: On the one hand there is an aggressive polemic, often masquerading as scholarship, which portrays traditional culture and the structures that protect and support Aboriginal society as reasons for chronic disadvantage and impediments to closing the gap. And on the other hand there is the reality of contemporary Indigenous nations throughout Australia whose

The mobile phone is no longer just a personal telecommunications device; it is a portal to multiple social spaces that are constantly in flux. Sites such as Facebook, and Twitter are accessed throughout the day by mobile users, as they tune in to with their different networks and share updates and images. What are the social impacts of this sustained engagement and continual presence? What does it mean for friendships and relationships? This talk will share preliminary findings from the

Refugees escape from persecution, conflict, death threats and torture. The majority of refugee women and girls survive rape and sexual abuse in transit and in camps. Boys and girls are taken as child soldiers. Refugee camps are dangerous and services are inadequate to fulfil basic needs. Despite this, refugees fight to maintain their dignity, their families, their communities and their culture. They do this in the face of often insurmountable problems. Refugees bring an enormous and diverse

The two methods most frequently employed to solve our toughest social problems - relying on violence and aggression, or submitting to endless negotiation and compromise - are fundamentally flawed. This is because the seemingly contradictory drives behind these approaches - power, the desire to achieve one’s purpose, and love, the urge to unite with others - are actually complementary. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put it, “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love

Dr Grace Karskens from UNSW's School of History and Philosophy speaks on her recent research relating to The heritage of Aboriginal Sydney: placing lost histories.