Scholars from the School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics regularly work with partner organisations to address pressing issues. We promote social cohesion, along with linguistic and cultural diversity. The projects below provide a snapshot of our varied work in this area.
Repatriating Aboriginal languages from archive to community
Alice Gaby is partnering with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies and the Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity to run a two-week workshop, "Paper & Talk". At this workshop, Indigenous community language researchers will partner with academically trained linguists to locate relevant archival materials on their languages, work to interpret them, and produce meaningful resources for language revitalisation in their home communities.
Independent Travellers and Sustainable Tourism Development
Dr Jeff Jarvis is leading this project, which aims is to understand the behaviour and motivations of the independent traveller market in Fiji.
Independent travellers are strategically important for the Fijian tourism economy as they are high yield, stay longer and travel further than the core markets of Australia and New Zealand. Due to their dispersion and their desire for "authentic experiences" they present significant economic opportunities for both the indigenous population and small scale entrepreneurs to develop SME enterprises.
Key industry partners in this project are Tourism Fiji and South Sea Cruises/Awesome Adventures.
https://www.fiji.travel/
https://awesomefiji.com/
Multilingual Libraries
Dr Louisa Willoughby and Dr Simon Musgrave have partnered with colleagues in IT and City of Greater Dandenong libraries to investigate the use of the library’s multilinguial collection. Using cutting-edge techniques of big data analytics, coupled with qualitative interviews with library staff and patrons the study gives new insight into factors shaping demand for multilingual holdings in our libraries and how libraries might best respond to the needs of increasingly diverse and networked patrons.
'Healthy Parks – Healthy People' Monash – Penn State Collaboration
Associate Professor Vicki Peel (LLCL), Professor Brett Hutchins (MFJ) and Dr Celine Klemm (Monash Sustainable Development Institute - MSDI) have partnered with colleagues from the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism management at the School of Health at Penn State University to investigate the 'Healthy Parks – Healthy People' agenda in both the US and Australia.
Together with partners from Parks Victoria and USNPS, the team will examine the relationship between visitation to national parks (both in the U.S. and Victoria) and health and human well-being. In particular we will identify populations in each country who are not benefiting from these resources, in an effort to develop strategies for enabling visitation and benefit accruement. This meets the strategic research mission of both Monash and Penn State (PSU) Universities for improving human health and stewarding the planet’s resources.
Susan Carland is leading a project offering day-long training for DFAT staff and graduates on "Islamic Awareness" (so when they are diplomats posted OS to Muslim majority countries, they have intercultural competence).
South Asian Diaspora International Researchers’ Network (SADIRN)
Monash research project, South Asian Diaspora International Researchers’ Network (SADIRN) is partnering with Professor Susheila Nasta (Open University London) in developing its current project ‘Creative Lives’, a series of interviews (published online) with established and emerging South Asian diasporic writers. Included in the series are multi awarded novelists, Amit Chaudhuri (Indian-British) and Michelle de Kretser (Sri Lankan-Australian). Interviewers are members of SADIRN, particularly Early Career Researchers from Australia and beyond.
