home cooked theory

Willunga – week one

So, it is really hot here! I am scared about the weekend – by Sunday it is supposed to be 42c in parts of Adelaide. Shouldn’t be quite as bad here and thankfully I’m on the coast. It is a bit lonely in the cottage on my own! But there is a strong chance that [...]

Willunga

In a few days I’m heading to South Australia to start work on a study for the South Australian Government. Willunga, 45km south of Adelaide, is one of five first release sites for Australia’s National Broadband Network. A baseline study of the town will inform policy for the Science and Information Economy Directorate in SA. [...]

Workers as machines

As a follow up to Clif’s important comments, take a look at this amazing video produced by Jack Qiu. Deconstructing Foxconn from Jack Qiu on Vimeo. Jack presented some of this material in a heartwrenching paper during the Production Cultures spotlight session at Crossroads back in June. The images and stories from factories, dorms and [...]

On the value of work

One of the reasons I mentioned home economics classes in the previous post was because I’m starting to think that Matthew Crawford’s book, Shop Class as Soulcraft, has some hidden lessons for feminism. Make no mistake – it is a blokey book. Plenty of shop scenes and not much discussion of women’s participation in trades. [...]

Holiday postscript

NB: This is a preface to some notes on Matthew Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft, which I’ll now shift to another post. Every time I go home to Tasmania I tend to become very introspective about where I’m at in life. Taking holidays in Hobart and on Bruny Island – where I spent a lot [...]

Reading list

Here is the list! Thanks for the tips, some of which are from last year when I needed help the first time. And just to note that many of these were originally selected by Ruth Barcan, the previous convenor of the course. Please do continue to add suggestions! Week 1 – What is a thesis? [...]

Readings for thesis writers

This semester I convene a course called Arguing the Point: Research in Gender and Cultural Studies. It’s a compulsory unit for all Honours, Masters and PhD students new to our Department, and it also takes some students from other higher degrees in the Arts Faculty. I’ve heard some talk that the unit might become part [...]

Lauren Berlant visit

Holidays are over! Time to start getting ready for another big year… Next month the Sexuality & Space group will be sponsoring a couple of sessions at the Queer Thinking event at the Seymour Centre, including: Lauren Berlant, “Structures of Unfeeling: Mysterious Skin” Downstairs Theatre, Seymour Centre, Sydney February 19, 4pm “Structures of Unfeeling: Mysterious [...]