A Novel Forecast

Meanwhile, Kavesh had been reading 12th-century Sufi literature, particularly Sheikh Ibn ‘Arabi’s seminal work, Al-Futuhat Al-Makkiyah (The Openings in Mecca). Ibn ‘Arabi’s musings, coupled with contemporary anthropological insights from Anna Tsing, Eduardo Kohn, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro and the philosophical ponderings of Bruno Latour and Donna Haraway, laid the groundwork for the initial draft.

Kavesh and Natasha chose Nurturing Alternative Futures to emphasise the strength of Indigenous and local communities’ entanglement with nature cultures, providing diverse ways for more than just humans to live as beings in the world. Developing upon emerging environmental humanities and multispecies anthropological theories, this book provides a fresh perspective on how we might rethink more-than-human relationality and why it is important to “nurture alternative futures.” The stories, lived experiences, and mutual worlding that this volume presents offer a portrayal of alternative forms of multispecies coexistence, rather than an anthropocentric future. You can attend the official book launch in April.

“We are highly grateful for the tireless efforts of the contributors, as editors of such volumes are always reliant on the speed of submission of the final contributor. We were lucky to have authors responding relatively quickly.”

This was also the primary motivation for making the book Open Access, which means that anyone online can download

“The best part of writing this book was simply the opportunity to watch and re-watch so many fantastic movies. Repeat viewings always brought more important findings regarding a film’s storylines, symbolism, and approaches to historical depiction that made their way into the book’s interpretations. And I was amazed by how many of the great works of Korean cinema, which is among the most accomplished in the world, are actually historical films, which says a lot about the importance of history in South Korean identity and culture. And here there’s no doubt about ‘how Korean’ these movies are, as there has been in considering the appeal of K-pop or even K-dramas.

Even during the purportedly isolated Burmese Way to Socialism years, local movie production continued, and ticket sales increased. Glamorous stars adopted global fashion and yet inspired Burmese cultural pride in the face of foreign domination. From silent films depicting moral perils, to Hollywood remakes, to socialist realism and ethnic unity films, local cinema has captured the imaginations of Burmese people for over a century.

In a tour-de-force study of 60 years of cinematic entertainment, Silver Screens and Golden Dreams tracks the journey of Burmese popular movies across three historical periods: the colonial era, the parliamentary democracy period, and the Ne Win Socialist years. Jane engages cinema as an interrogator of mainstream cultural values, providing political and cultural context to situate the films as artistic endeavours and capitalist products.

By skillfully blending historical and anthropological approaches, Jane shows how Burmese cinema presents a lively, unique take on the country’s social history.

All are welcome to attend a book party to celebrate the launch of this title on
19 April, during the ANU Water Festival (17–19 April).

“I eventually told him in mid-2023 about the volume once it had been finalised, while we were in PNG on fieldwork together, 2.5 years after starting the project! I also needed to get it from the horse’s mouth (so to speak), which is another reason for telling him. While in PNG, after we located a deeply buried cultural site, I got to work digging while Glenn sieved. During this time, I asked Glenn to recount his story and he did. However, because I was enjoying the story and we were both busy digging, I didn’t take any notes, so I had to call him once we got back home to retell the tale!”

This book will also be accessible via Open Access, so everyone—especially many of the communities Glenn had worked with in PNG—will be able to access it for free. All are welcome to attend the launch at 3:30pm on 24 May at the Coombs Tea Room.

The book is eloquently and poignantly written, with deep insights, sensuous and animated details of Indigenous ecological knowledge and long quotes from many of Debbie’s teachers, like Jessie Wirrpa and Hobbles Danaiyarri. In the words of Richard Davis, one of the book’s reviewers, it is “the final and most substantial of Debbie’s love letters to the Aboriginal people of the VRD. I say this because there is a such a sense of reverence, wonder and respect throughout the book.”

Dreaming Ecology will be launched on 16 May 2024 from 5.30pm in the Coombs Tea Room and will be free to download (open access) through ANU Press.

There were social and personal reasons for her concealment. In a life that spanned more than a century—1882 to 1989—Monte Punshon witnessed crucial events in Australia's history, and her story shines a light on the hidden corners and complexities of late nineteenth- and twentieth-century society.

In this imaginative biography, Tessa Morris-Suzuki brings to life a woman who was unafraid to be, and who accepted, willingly, the price of her liberation.

Tessa’s book will be launched later this year. Watch this space for details coming soon.

Although many cultural practices in today's India exemplify "culture wars" between liberal and conservative agendas, Flexible India argues that visions of yoga offer a "culture peace" that conceals, without resolving, such tensions. This flexibility allows states, corporations, and individuals to think of themselves as welcoming and tolerant while still, in many cases, supporting practices that make minority populations increasingly vulnerable. However, as Shameem shows, yoga can also be imagined in ways that offer new tools for critiquing hierarchical structures of power and race, Hindu nationalism, cultural appropriation, and self-help capitalism.

Shameem’s book is likely to be launched later this year during 2024 Immersia: Engaging with Asia and the Pacific.

Ethnographic research reveals the experiences of brokered transnational courtship (these days via the internet) and the dynamics of families and local communities formed through correspondence marriage. While these transnational unions represent ‘adventures in identity’ they also share characteristics with other Australian marriages and families. The stereotypes are a poor basis for understanding the experience of the social actors, but nonetheless the negativity haunts many of the partners.