Our Human Experience

Lived experience researchers draw on their own experiences, such as disability and mental illness, as assets in the research process. This approach to research may be one way to challenge traditional dichotomies between the ‘researcher’ and the ‘research subject’. Here, Kate Davies, Lauren Hislop and Shaylie Pryer talk about the value of lived experience research and what it has meant for them to work together using autoethnography as a method for reclaiming power over their own stories. They explore the importance of care of self and each other in this type of highly personal research. They celebrate the joy and safety they’ve experienced through an authentically collaborative research process.

Dr Julia Coffey discusses her new book, Everyday Embodiment: Rethinking Youth Body Image. The book develops a new feminist sociological approach to understanding young people’s relationships with the body and self. It draws on interview and visual methods to explore the everyday circumstances of young people’s lives which impact how they feel about their bodies, and their health and wellbeing more broadly. The gendered norms informing body concerns and embodiment are at the centre of this analysis. The book locates the dynamics of femininity, masculinity, and nonbinary embodiments, and searches for moments where broader options for more positive experiences of the body can emerge.

Dr Kate Ariotti is investigating an invisible aspect of our military past- what happened to the bodies of Australian military personnel when they died on active service. Her research, funded through the Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) scheme, is providing an Australian perspective on global conversations about the history of the corpse in war. In this episode we talk to Kate about her research, which aims to provide the first-ever account of changing policies, practices and attitudes that shaped how the physical remains of Australian war dead were dealt with between the First World War and the wars in the Middle East between 1915 and 2015. We find out what her research is uncovering about this little-known, but important, part of Australian history.

Organised religion as we know it is undergoing significant change in late modernity from a number of sources. Young people are far less religious than post war generations although very open to spiritual ideas and multi-faithism. Religious institutions have also been under the hammer over the ways in which they operate financially with the state providing special privileges that other institutions cannot claim. They have also been under scrutiny for their failure to protect children from serious harm in the form of child abuse in religious organisations such as schools, parishes and orphanages. There have been hundreds of public inquiries across the world investigating child abuse in religious organisations, particularly the Catholic Church. Dr Kath McPhillips is an expert in institutional child sexual abuse in religious organisations and in this episode, she examines some of the key features in institutional failure, cultural change and redress.

Associate Professor Kate Senior in conversation with Daphne Daniels, the Deputy CEO of Yugal Mangi Development  & Stronger Futures, and the Editor of the Ngukurr News.

This month's episode of Our Human Experience podcast is in conversation with Associate Professor and medical anthropologist, Kate Senior and the Deputy CEO of Yugal Mangi Development & Stronger Futures and Editor/ co-creator of the Ngukurr News, Daphne Daniels. Kate and Daphne take us on a journey that reveals their 23 years of friendship, and continuing dedication to retrieving dispossessed Indigenous artefacts across Australia that obtain valuable truth in the history of the Ngukurr community. They discuss their creation of the editorial, Ngukurr News and how its positively impacted the Ngukurr community in reconnecting them with Aboriginal ancestral information, alongside providing opportunities for young people to work on a project that is visible and respected. Kate and Daphne play a vital part in the Nations reconciliation process between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and shed light on the importance of truth-telling about Australia’s history in achieving historical acceptance. Most importantly, this episode reveals the continuous strength and resilience shown by remote Aboriginal communities.

Crime fiction today is the most global literary genre. It has reached almost every country and has huge readerships across the world. Jesper Gulddal has researched how this genre is topping the charts around the world and his book, The Routledge Companion to Crime Fiction, offers innovative approaches to the classics of the genre as well as ground-breaking mappings of emerging themes and trends. In this episode we discuss how classic crime fiction modes are being appropriated and given a local flavour around the world.

Dr Michael Sala is an award-winning author and creative writing academic with the School of Humanities and Social Science. Michael’s first book, The Last Thread, on the Commonwealth Book Prize (Pacific Region), and the UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards. He is currently writing his third book, the first volume of a fantasy trilogy, a genre he’s familiar with but has never attempted to write before. In this episode we talk to Michael about his writing process and how he is shaping a future generation of writers through his creative writing courses.

This month we interview Dr David Betts on his research which focuses on the lived experiences of older sexual and gender minorities. Part of being human is having human connections and the ability to be open with people is fundamental to our wellbeing. However, this cohort is an often isolated and invisible group with unique needs, especially as they age. As a social worker in gerontology wards in Christchurch, David noticed a lack of general social supports for people coming into health services and the impact on their wellbeing, prompting him to learn more through a career in academia. David highlights the challenges they face particularly when going into aged care, like discrimination and social stigma.

Populations are increasing all around the world and this impacts the human experience whether you’re living in Melbourne or Manipur. Professor Duncan McDuie-Ra examines the relationship between rural-urban space migration and the kind of world this creates, particularly in the borderlands of India. In this episode we interview Duncan about his research which has seen him spend time in the cities that are going through a reinvention and are both dangerous and captivating.

One in 4 people today experience a mental health problem and the World Health Organisation says we are currently witnessing a global mental health crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic and isolation has also created many mental health challenges. In this episode Professor Catharine Coleborne shares her research with us which is understanding these challenges historically. Cathy leads the Future of Madness Network at the University of Newcastle and has recently published a book Why talk about Madness? Bringing history into the conversation. In this episode we learn about what it means to study the history of madness and why is it important to voice these histories.

The rapid evolution of digital technology has enabled the public to place the police under more scrutiny than ever before through the act of recording police operations via mobile phones. We have seen just how powerful this act can be with the tragic death of George Floyd in the USA. Dr Justin Ellis is a criminologist researching the impact of this increased exposure on everyday crime and police-public relations. His research has covered infamous cases of police using excessive force, particular at the Sydney Mardi Gras, and uncovers the hidden costs involved and the impact on police policy.

During the corona virus pandemic, we have realised just how important public health policy is. In this interview we talk to behavioural scientist Associate Professor Penny Buykx about her research into public health implications for alcohol and substance use. Human’s are disposed to addiction and we do things that are detrimental to our health even though we may know it’s not good for us. Penny sheds light on her research that is helping inform public health policy around alcohol pricing and what insights she has discovered regarding the public’s perception of the link between alcohol and cancer.

Language is something all humans are born with a capacity to develop - children learn language without effort - so it is fundamental thing that is unique to humans. But how does where you live influence the way you speak? Associate Professor Bill Palmer studies linguistics and his latest research project aims to determine how culture and social diversity interact with landscape in representing physical space in the minds and grammars of speakers of Australian Indigenous languages. He is collecting data from 6 Australian Indigenous languages that are endangered to inform us of how the landscape in which we live impacts what words we use. He also shares with us his confronting experiences of living on remote islands while completing his field work and warns that we are facing a dire situation with many of the world’s languages facing extinction.

What can the historical experiences and cultural memories of the earliest global domestic workers tell us about the history of home, domesticity and cross-cultural relationships? Historian Professor Victoria Haskins is revealing the little known story of the Ayahs and Amahs from India and China – female domestic care workers who travelled to Australian and Britain during the period of British colonialism. The stories of these incredibly mobile women helped shaped our world today. Victoria also reveals the intriguing family history find that sparked her academic journey.

The first episode of Our Human Experience for 2020 features Associate Professor Nancy Cushing, an environmental historian with an interest in air pollution as well as human animal relations. Nancy answers the question of whether the air pollution resulting from the recent bushfires was unprecedented and gives us an insight into why Australians eat so much meat.