Discussions about how to talk about race are ubiquitous among academics seeking to balance the re... more Discussions about how to talk about race are ubiquitous among academics seeking to balance the recognition that race is a social construct with the very real effects of racial stratification. Naming race is seen as potentially reifying it, but ignoring it invisiblises its effects. Pathologising, celebratory and critical approaches to talking about mixed race can all be found in how mixedness is talked about in Australia (among the public and in scholarly work), and there are differences depending on whether mixedness is Indigenous or migrant. Using my experience of being challenged for speaking too positively about the experience of being mixed in Australia, and a Facebook discussion about Census categories, this paper explores the ways in which mixed race is talked about (and not talked about) in Australia. It argues that we can’t move ‘beyond race’ before actually acknowledging it, something Australia has been very reticent to do, due to its race-based history of colonisation, imm...
Metaphors are powerful mechanisms by which to rally exclusionary nationalist sentiment without ne... more Metaphors are powerful mechanisms by which to rally exclusionary nationalist sentiment without necessarily appearing racist. However, sometimes those metaphors are challenged, inverting exclusionary functions. In this paper, we track how metaphors in the Australian press over the last 165 years which have generally constructed migration as a threat to the integrity of the nation, are repurposed to counter the claims embedded within them. For example, while invasion, swamping and flooding are generally recruited to negative ends, the same tropes are used to argue that fears of invasion are unjustified, that numbers of migrants are too small to swamp the nation and that the so-called floods of foreigners are overstated. However, this does not necessarily result in a decrease in metaphor use, nor challenge the fundamental implications of the metaphors. We explore how the repurposing occurs, and why it may not be an effective tool for anti-racist action.
Migration from the African continent to Australia has increased in volume and diversity in the la... more Migration from the African continent to Australia has increased in volume and diversity in the last three decades, with the most recent census identifying 2.6 % of the total Australian population as either born in, or having at least one parent born in, Africa. In examining demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and interrogating political, economic, social and cultural transnational practices, using an interdisciplinary approach that combines demography, political science and sociology, this paper seeks to identify in what ways and for what purposes this population might be considered a pan-African diaspora. We argue that there is some evidence of (i) pan-African consciousness underpinning the collective identity of African-Australian community organisations; (ii) governments, NGO s, communities and individuals engaging in activities that contribute meaningfully to Australian society, countries of origin and identity formation; (iii) significant diversity and important clea...
Australia is a country of migrants, with a very small proportion of the population being Indigeno... more Australia is a country of migrants, with a very small proportion of the population being Indigenous. Historically it has been diversity-averse, with policies designed to exclude non-white migrants and to assimilate the Indigenous peoples into a ‘White Australia’. But since the early 1970s, policy settings have oriented towards multiculturalism and a growing Indigenous rights movement, both (to some extent) recognizing and celebrating diversity. Perhaps ironically, this environment has meant that policy makers are wary of collecting race-based statistics. Thus the question of how aspects of globalization, particularly immigration, are affecting the mixed race make-up of Australia’s population is difficult to answer. In this chapter we argue for the value of at least attempting to collect race-based data in the Australian context. Focusing on Census enumeration, after noting that most official documents measure a single racial category (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander), if anyth...
ABSTRACT Dilemmas around how to deal with asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat have bee... more ABSTRACT Dilemmas around how to deal with asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat have been a key driver of political and public discourse for over a decade. In 2012, an ‘Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers’ was established to provide advice to the Australian government about how to deal with the increasingly embarrassing issue of asylum seekers drowning at sea and a parliamentary stalemate on the matter. Using frame analysis to understand how national and post-national identities are being recruited in this debate, this paper analyses submissions to the Panel. We demonstrate how arguments for and against asylum seekers are constructed around nationalism, regionalism and globalism (cosmopolitan). Australia was variously framed as having an alternative national character from that promoted by politicians, as having a key regional role, and hence identity, and as a global citizen (both in reality and in appearance). Contrary to expectations, we found that each frame served as a vehicle through which progressive arguments were articulated, indicating the utility of each in arguing for more humane treatment of ‘Others’.
Members of a marginal Australian political party recently sparked controversy by claiming China w... more Members of a marginal Australian political party recently sparked controversy by claiming China wants to ‘take over’ Australia. While apparently the opinion of a minority fringe, little is known about how Australians actually feel about Asia. This article explores the ways in which Asia is constructed in the Australian imagination, arguing it is both ‘invisible’, yet also a source of deep anxiety. Data from 26 focus groups conducted across Australia offer evidence of this invisibility, with Australians preferring to discuss domestic issues over international ones. But Asia is simultaneously a source of anxiety, in that when Australians do talk about Asia, it is in relation to a perceived threat from Asia’s economic power, its large population, its polluting practices, its military might, and its pursuit of mineral and agricultural resources. Such concerns mask fears of a cultural threat. Discursive analysis reveals how the threat from Asia is articulated, and implications for nation...
This article reports the results of research into the recent popular phenomenon of flying Austral... more This article reports the results of research into the recent popular phenomenon of flying Australian flags on one’s car for Australia Day. A survey was undertaken in Western Australia in 2011 to ascertain who flies the flag and why. Results indicate the phenomenon was widespread, with a quarter of those surveyed displaying car-flags. A clear relationship between car-flag-flying and exclusionary nationalism is demonstrated. Car-flag-flyers rate more highly on measures of patriotism and nationalism, and feel more negative towards Muslims and asylum seekers, and more positive about the White Australia Policy. They are also significantly more likely to feel their culture and values are in danger, and have a nativist vision of Australian identity. While both groups are positive about Australia’s diversity, car-flag-flyers are more likely to feel that migrants should assimilate. The results support other literature that suggests that in some contexts the Australian flag has come to be ass...
Discussions about how to talk about race are ubiquitous among academics seeking to balance the re... more Discussions about how to talk about race are ubiquitous among academics seeking to balance the recognition that race is a social construct with the very real effects of racial stratification. Naming race is seen as potentially reifying it, but ignoring it invisiblises its effects. Pathologising, celebratory and critical approaches to talking about mixed race can all be found in how mixedness is talked about in Australia (among the public and in scholarly work), and there are differences depending on whether mixedness is Indigenous or migrant. Using my experience of being challenged for speaking too positively about the experience of being mixed in Australia, and a Facebook discussion about Census categories, this paper explores the ways in which mixed race is talked about (and not talked about) in Australia. It argues that we can’t move ‘beyond race’ before actually acknowledging it, something Australia has been very reticent to do, due to its race-based history of colonisation, imm...
Metaphors are powerful mechanisms by which to rally exclusionary nationalist sentiment without ne... more Metaphors are powerful mechanisms by which to rally exclusionary nationalist sentiment without necessarily appearing racist. However, sometimes those metaphors are challenged, inverting exclusionary functions. In this paper, we track how metaphors in the Australian press over the last 165 years which have generally constructed migration as a threat to the integrity of the nation, are repurposed to counter the claims embedded within them. For example, while invasion, swamping and flooding are generally recruited to negative ends, the same tropes are used to argue that fears of invasion are unjustified, that numbers of migrants are too small to swamp the nation and that the so-called floods of foreigners are overstated. However, this does not necessarily result in a decrease in metaphor use, nor challenge the fundamental implications of the metaphors. We explore how the repurposing occurs, and why it may not be an effective tool for anti-racist action.
Migration from the African continent to Australia has increased in volume and diversity in the la... more Migration from the African continent to Australia has increased in volume and diversity in the last three decades, with the most recent census identifying 2.6 % of the total Australian population as either born in, or having at least one parent born in, Africa. In examining demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and interrogating political, economic, social and cultural transnational practices, using an interdisciplinary approach that combines demography, political science and sociology, this paper seeks to identify in what ways and for what purposes this population might be considered a pan-African diaspora. We argue that there is some evidence of (i) pan-African consciousness underpinning the collective identity of African-Australian community organisations; (ii) governments, NGO s, communities and individuals engaging in activities that contribute meaningfully to Australian society, countries of origin and identity formation; (iii) significant diversity and important clea...
Australia is a country of migrants, with a very small proportion of the population being Indigeno... more Australia is a country of migrants, with a very small proportion of the population being Indigenous. Historically it has been diversity-averse, with policies designed to exclude non-white migrants and to assimilate the Indigenous peoples into a ‘White Australia’. But since the early 1970s, policy settings have oriented towards multiculturalism and a growing Indigenous rights movement, both (to some extent) recognizing and celebrating diversity. Perhaps ironically, this environment has meant that policy makers are wary of collecting race-based statistics. Thus the question of how aspects of globalization, particularly immigration, are affecting the mixed race make-up of Australia’s population is difficult to answer. In this chapter we argue for the value of at least attempting to collect race-based data in the Australian context. Focusing on Census enumeration, after noting that most official documents measure a single racial category (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander), if anyth...
ABSTRACT Dilemmas around how to deal with asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat have bee... more ABSTRACT Dilemmas around how to deal with asylum seekers who arrive in Australia by boat have been a key driver of political and public discourse for over a decade. In 2012, an ‘Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers’ was established to provide advice to the Australian government about how to deal with the increasingly embarrassing issue of asylum seekers drowning at sea and a parliamentary stalemate on the matter. Using frame analysis to understand how national and post-national identities are being recruited in this debate, this paper analyses submissions to the Panel. We demonstrate how arguments for and against asylum seekers are constructed around nationalism, regionalism and globalism (cosmopolitan). Australia was variously framed as having an alternative national character from that promoted by politicians, as having a key regional role, and hence identity, and as a global citizen (both in reality and in appearance). Contrary to expectations, we found that each frame served as a vehicle through which progressive arguments were articulated, indicating the utility of each in arguing for more humane treatment of ‘Others’.
Members of a marginal Australian political party recently sparked controversy by claiming China w... more Members of a marginal Australian political party recently sparked controversy by claiming China wants to ‘take over’ Australia. While apparently the opinion of a minority fringe, little is known about how Australians actually feel about Asia. This article explores the ways in which Asia is constructed in the Australian imagination, arguing it is both ‘invisible’, yet also a source of deep anxiety. Data from 26 focus groups conducted across Australia offer evidence of this invisibility, with Australians preferring to discuss domestic issues over international ones. But Asia is simultaneously a source of anxiety, in that when Australians do talk about Asia, it is in relation to a perceived threat from Asia’s economic power, its large population, its polluting practices, its military might, and its pursuit of mineral and agricultural resources. Such concerns mask fears of a cultural threat. Discursive analysis reveals how the threat from Asia is articulated, and implications for nation...
This article reports the results of research into the recent popular phenomenon of flying Austral... more This article reports the results of research into the recent popular phenomenon of flying Australian flags on one’s car for Australia Day. A survey was undertaken in Western Australia in 2011 to ascertain who flies the flag and why. Results indicate the phenomenon was widespread, with a quarter of those surveyed displaying car-flags. A clear relationship between car-flag-flying and exclusionary nationalism is demonstrated. Car-flag-flyers rate more highly on measures of patriotism and nationalism, and feel more negative towards Muslims and asylum seekers, and more positive about the White Australia Policy. They are also significantly more likely to feel their culture and values are in danger, and have a nativist vision of Australian identity. While both groups are positive about Australia’s diversity, car-flag-flyers are more likely to feel that migrants should assimilate. The results support other literature that suggests that in some contexts the Australian flag has come to be ass...
This report provides a profile of the characterisitics and needs of people from culturally and li... more This report provides a profile of the characterisitics and needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds living in the City of Swan Local Government Area (LGA), especially those from the new and emerging communities. The term „new and emerging communities‟ („new migrant communities‟ henceforth) refers to specific migrant groups who have distinctive settlement needs. They generally consist of humanitarian entrants.
The primary focus of this study is to provide a profile of the residents from new migrant communities in the City of Swan LGA, identifying their current population numbers and to predict population trends for the next five years. A secondary focus is to provide a similar profile for other CaLD communities. Such base-line data will assist the City to be proactive in planning for this sector of the community. An assessment of the availability and utilisation of services is also undertaken to ascertain their effectiveness in meeting new migrant needs. MMRC has contracted independent social researchers to undertake this research.
Stubborn transnational problems-especially global warming-pose a particular challenge for Western... more Stubborn transnational problems-especially global warming-pose a particular challenge for Western democracies. It is no coincidence that the downfall of recent political leaders has been directly or indirectly connected to climate change.
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Papers by Farida Fozdar
The primary focus of this study is to provide a profile of the residents from new migrant communities in the City of Swan LGA, identifying their current population numbers and to predict population trends for the next five years. A secondary focus is to provide a similar profile for other CaLD communities. Such base-line data will assist the City to be proactive in planning for this sector of the community. An assessment of the availability and utilisation of services is also undertaken to ascertain their effectiveness in meeting new migrant needs. MMRC has contracted independent social researchers to undertake this research.