[csaa-forum] Can Australia's Engagement with Asia be Smart? Seminar with Ien Ang, November 30, University of Melbourne

Timothy Laurie timothy.laurie at unimelb.edu.au
Fri Nov 27 10:16:07 ACST 2015


CAN AUSTRALIA'S ENGAGEMENT WITH ASIA BE SMART?
Seminar with Distinguish Professor Ien Ang

Date: Monday, 30 November 2015, 2.30pm
 
Venue: Evan Williams Theatre (G03), Richard Berry Building, The University of Melbourne

Presented by the Minor Culture conference and the Research Unit in Public Cultures at the University of Melbourne
 
Seminar Abstract

Australia's relationship with Asia has long been recognised as an important policy issue, but it has acquired renewed urgency as the so-called 'rise of Asia' gains momentum. Distinguished Professor Ien Ang from the Institute for Culture and Society (Western Sydney University) has recently completed a significant research project (with Yasmin Tambiah & Phillip Mar) entitled Smart Engagement with Asia: Leveraging Language, Research and Culture (2015). The report, commissioned by the Australian Council for Learned Academies (ACOLA) as part of its 'Securing Australia's Future' program, focuses on three areas of engagement: the facilitative role of multilingualism in the context of English language dominance, the significance of research collaboration in building stronger transnational links across the region, and the crucial importance of deepening cultural relations to overcome the long history of culturally distant relationships between Australia and its neighbouring countries. The report argues that smart engagement with Asia requires going beyond short-termism, opportunism and focus on economic benefit, and working towards nurturing wide-ranging, long-term, and mutually beneficial relations, based on the principle of reciprocity. It also highlights the important role played by diasporas (Asians in Australia, as well as Australians in Asia) in strengthening Australia-Asia relations. 

This workshop will give an overview of the key findings of the report, and give insight into the research process, guided by the following questions: what does interdisciplinarity mean in this context? And how can one make some meaningful statements within the limitations of the genre of 'evidence-based research to support policy development'?

 
Speaker Biography: Distinguished Professor Ien Ang is a Professor of Cultural Studies and the founding Director of ICS. She is one of the leaders in cultural studies worldwide, with interdisciplinary work spanning many areas of the humanities and social sciences. Her most recent book, co-edited with E Lally and K Anderson, is The Art of Engagement: Culture, Collaboration, Innovation (University of Western Australia Press, 2011).
 
 



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