Dragon Tails: Re-interpreting Chinese-Australian Heritage
12:00AM, Fri 9 October 2009
Registrations are Now Open
Dragon Tails: Re-interpreting Chinese-Australian Heritage 9-11 October 2009 Sovereign Hill, Ballarat, Victoria
Dragon Tails: Re-interpreting Chinese – Australian Heritage will bridge the gap between heritage tourism, history and will offer an exciting opportunity to hear from over 50 presenters. Keynote speakers include media commentator Annette Shun Wah, noted historian Professor Janis Wilton and tourism studies expert Professor Bob McKercher from Hong Kong.
VENUE: Sovereign Hill Museums Association, Ballarat, Victoria (www.sovereignhill.com.au)
REGISTRATION:
For full details concerning registration, please download and complete the conference registration form below.
Please note: Participants who register before Friday 21 August are eligible to receive the discounted early bird rates.
Registration closes Friday 25 September 2009.
For more information regarding conference events listed on the registration form, please visit the Events page.
CONFERENCE OUTLINE
In 1984, noted historian Jennifer Cushman challenged researchers to move beyond the prevalent one-dimensional approach to understanding the Chinese presence in Australia—an approach that was primarily concerned with examining Australia’s attitudes towards the Chinese. In taking up this challenge, and seeking to understand the Chinese ‘on their own terms’, researchers have uncovered new sources and applied inter-disciplinary approaches to reveal the complex picture of Chinese community cultures, identities and race relations in Australia.
While we would no longer say that the history of the Chinese in Australia is hidden or neglected, where do these new stories fit within the wider narrative of Australian history? What are the challenges involved in communicating and interpreting these new perspectives, with their inherent complexity and contradictions, to broader audiences? One of the major aims of this conference is to bring together these new historical understandings about early Chinese-Australians, and consider their place within broader histories of Australia and the Chinese diaspora. Another aim is to create a forum for how these stories might be interpreted in the classroom, and at cultural heritage sites and museums.
THEMES:
- Chinese goldseekers and their legacy
- Developments and issues for Chinese-Australian heritage tourism (regional and urban)
- Everyday life and culture for early Chinese-Australians
- Communicating Chinese-Australian heritage (e.g. education, multimedia, internet technology)
- Early Chinese-Australian formations of politics, identity and citizenship
- Interrogating Chinese-Australian historiography and material culture
- Perspectives on heritage Chinese precincts
- Mapping historical connections between Asia and Australia
- Biographies and oral histories of Chinese-Australian ‘pioneers’
- Creative work that re-interprets Chinese-Australian history
‘Dragon Tails’ is a joint project of Monash University and Sovereign Hill Museums Association with support from Parks Victoria, The City of Ballarat, Victorian Multicultural Commission and Asian Australian Studies Research Network.
The conference is part of two Monash University research projects hosted by the Faculty of Business & Economics and the Faculty of Arts. The Ballarat location was chosen due to its pivotal role as a centre for the Chinese people during the Victorian gold rush era.
For more information about the conference including registration details please visit the conference website: www.dragontails.com.au
Enquiries about the conference should be directed to enquiries.dragontails@gmail.com
