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Advancing the interests of Australia and Australians internationally
Advancing the interests of Australia and Australians internationally
Advancing the interests of Australia and Australians internationally
Advancing the interests of Australia and Australians internationally
Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui
14-16 November 2002
Honorary Chair:
Prof. Huang Dekuan President of Anhui University
Chairs:
- Dr. John Yu, Chair, Australia-China Council
- Prof. Huang Yuanshen Chair, Australian Studies Association of China
Vice Chairs:
- Prof. Du Xuezeng Vice Chair, Australian Studies Association of China
- Prof. Yin Ruxiang Vice Chair, Australian Studies Association of China
- Prof. Chen Zhengfa Director, Australian Studies Centre, Anhui University
A. Politics and Economy
B. Culture and Education
C. Literature
Prof. Joselyn Chey
Former Executive Director of the ACC
Watershed decisions by the Whitlam government in 1972 recast Australia's international role and established it as an independent middle-ranking power in the region. Following the establishment of diplomatic relations with China, cultural relations developed rapidly. Australia officially adopted multiculturalism, recognising the changing composition of Australian society and this led to new emphases in local cultural activity, including higher priority being given to Chinese traditional arts.
This paper traces the development of cultural exchanges with China against the background of changes in Australian and Chinese official policies. Major events of the official and unofficial cultural exchange programs are listed, commencing with the visit to China in June 1975 of the Rosny Children's Choir from Tasmania. The role of the Australia-China Council in cultural exchange is examined in some detail.
In China government policy explicitly links political and cultural work and cultural diplomacy is part of the country's international public relations. Widespread social changes were sparked by economic reforms in China from the late 70s on. The Chinese Communist Party now has little power to control creative artistic workers and their international contacts and many state cultural organisations have been virtually privatised, affecting their participation in international exchange programs.
A broad picture emerges of successive stages of the cultural relationship with China in the 70s, 80s and 90s, roughly corresponding to changes in government policies in Beijing and Canberra. For instance, in the 80s and 90s internal debates in Australia concerning multiculturalism, Asian immigration and Australia's role in the region affected exchanges and in the last decade trade and investment have assumed prominence in bilateral relations while cultural exchanges have been relegated to a lesser priority. Private cultural exchanges have blossomed, replacing much of the former official program and a growing number of expatriates in both countries active in cultural circles help cultural exchanges to continue unabated to the enrichment of life in both countries.
David Carter, Australian Studies Centre, The University of Queensland
This paper examines the rise in Australia over the last decade of what might be called the 'Two Australias discourse'. From both sides of politics, an analysis of Australian society and culture as increasingly and dramatically divided, and especially as divided into two, has become more and more frequent both in media commentary and in academic publications. My paper will examine the nature and emergence of this discourse and assess its meaning in contemporary Australia. One of its key themes has been anxiety over the increasing 'Asianisation' of Australian society and my paper will focus on this issue as a way of addressing the conference theme.
Qian Qing
English Department, Peking University
The book Engagement: Australia Faces the Asia-Pacific, by Australian former Prime Minister Paul Keating, conveys to us a message of the political insights into foreign policies on the part of the Australian Labor Party as well as the concrete external policies developed by the Government he led. It, as the name suggests, focuses particularly on the relationships between Australia and other Asian-Pacific countries. It involves a number of issues such as nuclear disarmament, environment protection, bilateral trade, defense policies, aid policy, etc. In chapter 10, the author turns his attention to the place of Australia in the world. He puts emphasis upon the global dimension going together with the intense regional focus in Australia's foreign policy. In addition, he attaches great importance to Australia's political role in international affairs such as its contribution to the successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round and the completion of Chemical Weapons Convention. Keating also expresses his strong mind and belief in "creating a federal Republic of Australia", for he holds that the republic can expand Australians' view of themselves and enhance their capacity to go confidently to the world around them. However, his efforts met vigorous opposition from the Liberal Party, which would like to adhere to the old practice.
In fact, this volume serves more as a comprehensive review of what Paul Keating and his Government were trying to achieve through their efforts of engaging in the affairs of the neighboring countries. Only in this way, Keating believes, can Australia get rid of its geographical barriers and establish its secure position on the world political stage.
Wei Hongchi
Beijing Diplomatic Institute
In this paper, I aim to conduct an in-depth study of the culture war in Australia during the 1990s which reflects Australia's search for national identities by examining the symbols of the war—Paul Keating, Pauline Hanson and John Howard.
Since the late 1970s, with the evolution of international order, the effect of globalization and the change of Australia's domestic cultural environment, Australia has been brought to face its Asian neighbors and entered into an age of uncertainty and redefinition. In response to the question of national identity and future direction, all sorts of solutions have come out. This is why the 1990s has witnessed the culture war in Australia.
Paul Keating, Pauline Hanson and John Howard stand at different poles of the debate concerning the direction in which Australia should be heading. Driven largely by the economic dynamism of East Asia and the desire to lead the country into a new era, Paul Keating seeks to transform Australia into a culturally diverse and tolerant, Asianised and republican nation. In the process, Australia was to throw off the shackles of its past. Pauline Hanson represents a nostalgic desire to return to the safe and secure days of an older Australia with an inward-looking spirit and a closed culture. John Howard has sought to combine opportunities and challenges with an appreciation of what is valuable in Australia's inheritance.
The major purpose of my research is to find out the quest for national identities as symbolized by the culture war. This means an examination of the beliefs of Keating, Hanson and Howard on issues like immigration, republicanism, foreign relations and the inter-relationship between the different perspectives of Australia's national identities. Paul Keating understands Australia's future in the Asian environment. Pauline Hanson hopes to bring Australia back to an "imperial" context. John Howard's commitment to Asia is on the basis of strengthening traditional links with the United States. Keating and Hanson stand for opposite directions of Australia's future while Howard is a strategic adaptation to Keating's radical transformation. All of these interpretations are reflections on the time of uncertainty. The search for national identity in Australia is an on-going and continuous process. It is through various identities that the Australians find themselves and move towards a new balance.
Wang Shiming
University of Suzhou Science and technology
Australian Labor Party is a very pragmatic and effective party and the relations between Australia and China is mainly due to the wisdom and considerable intelligence contributed by the Labor Party.
Gough Whitlam showed great foresight when he visited China as the Opposition Leader and recognized the Government of the People's Republic of China as the "sole legal government of China" in one of the first acts of his incoming Labor Government in 1972. So, the groundwork of Whitlam smoothed the way for the succeeding governments to develop the relations with China.
In 1983, the Labor Party led by Mr. Bob Hawke reclaimed office. This, married up with China's policy of developing a market economy and opening up to the outside world, together with the emphasis on both sides on an economic complementarity between Australia and China, created good condition for further cooperation.
Mr. Paul Keating's aim was to maintain a "realistic, business-like approach" in dealing with China. During his period, Australia and China shared common interests concerning the region and the broader international community, and the APEC Forum became an important bridge of both sides.
Zhang Wei
Nanjing University
This paper examines the development of modern Australian press from 1970 to 1999 with particular attention to the period of its concentration. The paper discuses three major problems of the information flow: media monopolies'control, bias of journalists and the self-censorship within the press. It also examines how the media monopolies have influenced the newspaper industry and how the government exercises restrictions on the media domination. In the conclusion, the paper raises the sharp question, i.e. when the threat to freedom of the press caused by concentration of newspaper ownership becomes apparent, should the press be regulated and if so, would the restriction become a kind of threat to freedom of the press?
A Comparative Study of Australia-ROC Relations and Canada-ROC Relations in the Post Cold War Era
Liou To-hai
Department of Diplomacy
National Chengchi University
Both Australia and Canada claim themselves to be middle powers whose foreign policy behavior is characterized by multilateralism, international economic diplomacy and cooperative security. Partly motivated by emerging Northeast Asia's economies, their trade liberalization and the creation of APEC forum in the late 1980s, Australia and Canada began to pay attention to Northeast Asia, including Taiwan, in the 1990s. In addition, both Australia and Canada have a chunk of land rich in natural resources but sparse population. They have a strong economic complementarity with most Northeast Asia economies possessing few natural resources. Taiwan is among those economies. Furthermore, both Australia and Canada have actively engaged in attracting Taiwanese business and investment immigrants. Thus, both have emerged as the most favored destinations for Taiwanese emigrants since the early 1990s. Many similarities between these two countries and their relations with Taiwan motivate me to conduct this comparative study of Taiwan's economic interactions with Australia and Canada since the 1990s. Special attention will be given to their bilateral trade, mutual investment, immigration, and technological cooperation.
Generally speaking, by contrast Australia is doing quantitatively better than Canada in its trade relationship with Taiwan, whereas Canada has led Australia qualitatively in technological cooperation with Taiwan and in luring Taiwanese immigrants and investment. Thanks to geographical proximity, stronger complimentarity with Taiwan, and proactive trade promotion, Australia has been able to successfully penetrate the Taiwanese market and has enjoyed a trade surplus with Taiwan for more than a decade. In addition, Australian businessmen are more interested in the Taiwanese market than their counterparts in Canada in terms of the amount of their trade with Taiwan and investment in Taiwan. Though minus growth of Taiwan-Australia trade volume appeared during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and Taiwan's internal economic slump last year, their bilateral trade is likely to have a promising future for the mid and long term, given Taiwan's heavy dependence on Australia's natural resources, minerals in particular as well as the opening of Taiwanese market with its entry into the WTO. In contrast with Australia, taking advantage of its geostrategic location adjacent to the United States, Canada has attracted more Taiwanese hi-tech industries to engage in technological cooperation with Canadian enterprises and much more Taiwanese investment with an eye to easy access to NAFTA, and the lucrative U.S. market in particular.
Liu Fande
China Academy of Social Sciences
Australia is confronting an unprecedented challenge in the new millennium. Its multiculturalism policy needs readjusting, and its national psychology needs reshaping. It is pivotal for the Australia to get rid of its sense of isolation, and cordially engage itself with its Asian neighbours; otherwise it will lose some opportunities emerging in the process of globalization in this region.
Hu Zhuanglin
Peking University
Since China has adopted new economic and social policies to cope with the switch to a socialist market-based economy and the opening up of China to the outside world, one can find a changing society will never be insulated from the influences of age-old criminal practices. The present paper focuses on crimes in Australia and China, so that both countries will benefit from each other's experience. The paper consists of 3 main sections: general trends, rates of crimes, and crimes by category, the last section covering homicide, property crime, drug-related crimes, organized crime, economic crime, and sex-related crimes, etc.
Dai Ning
Beijing Foreign Studies University
As Chinese are becoming wealthier everyday, the number of youngsters going overseas for education, mostly higher education, is steadily on the increase in the past 10 years. Australia used to be one of the first choices for most Chinese, given the fact that education is one of the top-five export industries in Australia and that Australia is a pretty large country favored by Chinese students for good prospects of getting immigration status. It is found, however, that though the actual amount of entry by Chinese student each year maintains steady, the enthusiasm for study in Australia is somewhat cooling down in China, in comparison with the increasing enthusiasm for other countries, notably UK and other European countries.
There is a combination of reasons behind. The Australian Government's new visa policy, which puts IELTS score as a prerequisite in 2001, and the subsequent requirement for visa applications to be sent to Australia for processing in March 2002, is seen as a tightening on the immigration policy. The change, as well as competition from other countries contributes for the lower growth in Australia's acceptance of Chinese students. Meanwhile, Australia's neighbor New Zealand has diverted quite a large sum of students from China, thanks to the successful promotion of the NZ government, plus the comparatively lower tuition and living cost. With other European countries, most notably through British Council and British Universities' promotion, large number of students now give up Australia and take UK as their first destination country. The un-desirable job prospects for Chinese students after graduation from Australian universities, also affects the market position of Australian education, not to mention the qualification concern that European universities seem to be more attractive.
Wei Songshou and Sun Sizhong
Xiamen University
For a long time, the immigrants and their descendents have been the major composition of Australian population. As a result, Australia has earned its name as an "Immigration Country".
Immigrants play a key role in the growth of the Australian population and economic development. Meanwhile, the movement mechanism and current state of the world population provide sufficient conditions for the Australian absorption of immigrants.
The transition of Australian immigration policy from White Australia to Multiculturism has made a significant contribution to its population growth and economic development.
Based upon the requirement of the current state of Australian population and its potential change trend, the Australian economic development and the relations with the relevant countries and the international organizations, it seems that Australia should further improve the connotation of its immigration policy of Multiculturism in the 21st century, including its strategic targets and intermediate specific measures.
Cai Leikuo
Graduate School of Education, Peking University
In 1984, Professor Bruce Johnstone first put forward the suggestion that students who benefit from higher education should pay part of the cost. As is known to all, in the year of 1989, China and Australia respectively implemented their cost sharing policy. In China, the policy is composed of two separate parts: one is tuition system and the other is financial loan system. Australia's Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) seems to have united these two, according to which most students can choose either to pay their share once for all (with a 25 percent discount) or to defer all or part of their payment until their income reaches a certain level that requires them to begin repaying it through the taxation system. As the deferred part of the tuition cost is subsidized by the government, this practice is considered a fair and reasonable way of ensuring that students contribute to the cost of their higher education. For this reason, HECS has attracted much attention from all over the world ever since the policy was put into practice. I have made a comparative study on the outcome of the cost sharing policy between China and Australia, in which I described the different contents of the policy, discussed their effects on higher education and sought for the fundamental factors in the establishment of the policy. Given this opportunity, I would like to present the final part of the research paper in detail for discussion at the conference.
Fan Ying
International Trade Department, Xiamen University
This thesis introduces the competition policy reform carried out by the Australian government beginning from 1995. It focuses on the contents of the national competition policy, the implementation institutions and the achievements of the reform. The writer draws some conclusions from the above experiences to provide references for China's authorities to make and implement competition policy.
Xu Meilian
Xiamen University
In the thirty years after the establishment of Sino-Australian diplomatic relations, bilateral economic and trade relations have developed a lot through mutual efforts. But considering the political and economic positions of the two countries in the world, it is still far from what it should have been. China's entry into WTO means a great market for other WTO members including Australia. On the other hand, China will also enjoy its rights as a WTO member. As is expected, bilateral trade between China and Australia will increase in the near future, but at the same time, competition may become intensified. So what is the effect of China's entry into WTO on the bilateral economic and trade relations between the two countries? And how should the two countries develop their new economic and trade relations under the WTO rules? These are what I will discuss in the paper.
Huang Yejing
Australian Studies Centre, Shanghai Acacemy of Social Sciences
The target of this paper is to study the management mode of environmental protection in the process of urbanization. The basic framework of this project is to make an analysis of Australian experience of industry of environmental protection to be learned by Chinese counterparts. As a country with high level of urbanization, Australia has made noted achievements in the comprehensive management of urban environment. Moreover, industry of environmental protection plays an important role in domestic economy. China is a developing country with the basic task of economic modernization, facing a confrontation between expansion of cities and environmental deterioration. Therefore, Australian's experience of environmental management is very important to China. In terms of this framework, the project will focus on the following three parts:
1. Environment Protection and Market oriented system
The first part will give a review of the operation system of industry of environmental protection. The history shows that urban environment management activities have experienced a great transformation from a kind of public service dominated by monopoly capital to an independent industry based on market economy system. This transformation reflects the effort in promoting the combination of environmental protection and cultivating a new economic growth "point".
2. Metropolis and waste generation
Solid waste is produced rapidly in Shanghai with the increase in population and the expansion of the city as a growing metropolis. Most of the waste is disposed by means of landfill, as is done in several Metropolises in Australian, like Sydney and Melbourne. But Shanghai suffers more and more from the lack of land for solid waste. In the past several years, Australian has made much progress in waste minimization and comprehensive utilization in some cities, especially in Canberra. In contrast, waste recycling projects have just begun in Shanghai and have met many difficulties. This part will investigate the experience in comprehensive protection of solid waste in Australian.
3. Government policy orientation for waste disposal industry
Because environment protection industry is characterized with low direct benefit and long investment returns cycle, reutilization project also meets with obstacle from capital restriction and technology limitation. Under these circumstances, policy orientation for this industry is critical. Government is required to play a role in the following aspects:
1) Stipulate comprehensive and reasonable laws, regulations and standards of environment protection with the aim of bringing the development of this industry into good order.
2) In order to be rid of the disadvantage of this industry compared to other industry in domestic economy, direct financial support is necessary. This kind of support includes direct subsidy and interest preferential for loan to enterprises.
Ouyang Huanzi
Australian Studies Centre
Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
Since 1970s, away from the traditional practice of single pursuit of industrialization and ignorance of environmental protection, human communities came to realize that environment and development are closely related and thus started to form the target of seeking ecologically sustainable development and adopting environment-friendly policies. Together with other industrialized countries, Australia is actively involved in environmental protection and ranks among the advanced countries in environmental preservation.
Australia focuses on the key issues of environment preservation, such as land erosion, improvement of water quality, control of chemical substances (including the treatment of poisonous wastes), the impact of greenhouse effects upon climatic changes, reduction of ozone layer, the impact of total human activities upon the natural environment, and the preservation of natural and cultural heritage (including the protection of biodiversity).
I. To Promote International Cooperation on Wetlands Management
Over the past twenty years, the world has come to appreciate that wetlands are not wastelands. Studies showing the many values of wetlands have resulted in an appreciation that we need to take greater care with how we manage our water resources.
The Ramsar Convention of 1971 was the first global intergovernmental treaty which promoted the conservation and wise use of natural assets. Australia was the first Contracting Party to the Ramsarand in March 1996 hosted the sixth conference of the contracting parties.
The Six Ramsar Conference was held in Brisbane, where the global agenda for wetlands conservation and management was set for the next six years. This Conference was notable because it endorsed the preparation of several more tools designed to show how we can manage our wetlands to maintain them in good condition while continuing to benefit from the many special functions wetlands perform. The basic principle is ecologically sustainable development.
1. The importance of wetlands resource and the causes of wetlands destruction
Wetlands are a vital element of national and global ecosystems and economics. At the most fundamental level, wetlands are a key part of water cycle, playing critical roles in maintaining the general health of Australia's rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
Although there is a growing understanding of their many values and functions, wetlands remain as one of our most threatened resources. They continue to be regarded by many as wastelands and the destruction of wetlands have not been stopped. Where wetlands were once abundant, they have been destroyed or altered, without recognition of the long-term and reverse side impacts these actions will have on the quality of human life.
In summary, wetlands are ecologically, economically and socially important, which can be shown mainly in the areas such as biodiversity conservation; nursery and breeding grounds; especially for fish and water birds; biological productivity; improved water quality and nutrient cycling; foreshore protection from wave action and erosion; flood mitigation through water storage and retention; water storage and ground water recharge; soil and water conservation and grazing, forestry and cropping; aesthetic, cultural and heritage values; recreation; scientific research and education.
2. The threats the wetlands have been facing
To Australia's wetlands, the threats are many and varied. The distinction between wetland loss and wetland degradation is not clear-cut. Continued degradation may result in complete loss of wetland functions and values. Wetland loss usually means the result of deliberate intent, and wetland degradation means an indirect and unanticipated consequence of actions within wetlands and their catchments.
Historically, the development of urban areas has regularly involved the filling of wetlands for industrial, commercial, housing and disposal purposes and for the provision of playing fields and other recreational facilities.
On the other hand, agricultural development has involved substantial loss of wetlands on the floodplains of coastal rivers. Drainage and conversion of wetlands for agricultural activities has been a major cause of wetland loss worldwide. Sustainable natural resource management necessarily involves wetlands management as part of a whole system approach.
Indirect loss may result from the overuse of groundwater, thereby leading to loss of springs and similar wetlands.
Pollution is a particular threat as pollutants tend to accumulate and concentrate in wetlands. On regional scale, wetlands are threatened by both acute and chronic pollution. The former generally arises from accidents. (Such as oil spills from shipping, road or industrial accidents.) The latter may arise from both local and widespread sources. Otherwise, catchments run-off carries nutrients, sediments and pollutants into waterways and eventually wetlands. Excess nutrients cause eutrophication, resulting in changes to biological and chemical processes within wetlands.
Invasive species – just like all ecosystems, can also be a major threatening factor. Australia's wetlands are adversely affected by introduced plants and animals. The threats are not only from species already introduced into the wild in Australia, there is also the constant risk of new introduction of pounded exotic pasture, aquarium and garden species, and so on.
II. Wetlands Preservation Policies, Strategies and Inspiration
The Australian Commonwealth Government has fully realized that it shoulders direct management responsibility for significant areas of Australia's wetlands and also administers a range of social, economic and environmental programs that have great impact upon wetland conservation and use throughout the country. The Commonwealth is a signatory to several international treaties relating to wetlands and must accordingly ensure that its obligations under these treaties are met. For this reason, the government has formulated The National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development. And the Wetlands Policy of Australia has set six strategies to provide for the conservation, repair and wise use of wetlands, including managing wetlands on commonwealth lands and waters; implementing Commonwealth policies and legislation and delivering Commonwealth programs; involving the Australian people in wetlands management; working in partnership with State/Territory and Local Governments; ensuring a sound scientific basis for policy and management and international actions and so on.
Australia's preservation of natural environment has provided us with a number of enlightening lessons. First, it has formulated and enforced a number of laws and regulations regarding the preservation of environment so as to give full legal status to such work. Second, it has mobilized the mass media to popularize the knowledge of environmental protection and to raise the public's awareness of the significance of environmental preservation and let it become the conscientious activity of governments at all levels, local communities, and residents. Third, it has been seeking international cooperation to promote the steady growth of world environmental protection and also to transfer Australia's environmental technology and to establish its positive image in environmental preservation while promoting the sharing of resources for environmental protection.
China, as a country with a population of 1.2 billion people and natural resources less than abundant, should indeed be determined to learn from Australia. We should pay more attention to cultivate the awareness of environmental economy, to pursue the double target of promoting the utilization ratio of natural resources and controlling the pollution of environment. We should cultivate the awareness of the role of science and technology in environment protection and make full use of science and technology in ecological development. We should further popularize the awareness of environmental ethics and promote the harmonious development of human community and nature so as to provide guarantee to the healthier development of China's modernization and bring happiness and wellbeing to our later generations.
If Australia wants to continue taking a major share from this market, it needs to seriously consider approaches in adjusting its current immigration policy, and providing a favorable environment for Chinese students. Education, after all, is a smokeless industry and a growing one in Australia. Having more students from China is good for Australia, and good for the enhanced exchange and co-operation between the two countries.
江苏徐州师范大学澳研中心 张秋生 许凌
澳大利亚和中国同为亚太大国，两国关系的建立与发展对亚太地区的政治稳定和经济繁荣均具有重要影响。然而，由于政治原因，中华人民共和国建立后的20余年内，两国关系仍处不正常状态。1972年，在各种因素影响下，澳中关系实现了正常化，并推动了澳亚关系的发展。本文就推动澳中建交的基本因素、建交进程以及建交对澳亚关系的重大影响作了深入考察与探讨。
本文认为推动澳中建交的基本因素主要包括：1、美国全球战略调整和对华政策变化影
响了澳大利亚的亚洲政策；2、中国独立自主外交的发展和联合国合法地位的恢复；3、增加出口，发展经济贸易的需求，促使澳大利亚向中国寻求新的广阔市场，而建立正常外交关系是其必要的前提；4、澳大利亚国内的公众、学术界和政治团体对中国的态度日趋好转，要求改善对华关系。
在考察了澳中建交的历史进程后，论文分析了澳中建交对澳亚关系的重大影响主要表现在：1、澳中建交使亚太国际关系格局朝着利于力量均衡的方向发展，并为亚太地区的政治稳定与经济繁荣创造了条件；2、推动了澳大利亚与亚洲国家睦邻友好，地区合作思想与政策的形成和发展；3、为澳大利亚与亚洲经济贸易关系的发展，提供了更广阔的空间和更持久的活力。
Ken Stewart
University of Western Sydney
In the late nineteenth century, during the period before Federation, and in the early twentieth century, during the first decades of the newly federated nation, many Australians, including the writers and journalists, I will discuss in this paper, began to construct Australia in their writing in tandem with their responses to "Asia", including in particular China. This was a tentative process, for China was well known in one sense and unknown in another, and involved a diversity of responses. In this consideration of attempts to "find" both China and Australia, I will look at a number of "episodes" in writing, particularly in the journalism of several figures usually associated with Australian nationalism and/or federation. The authors I shall concentrate on include A.B Paterson, Edward ("Chinese") Morrison (who met Paterson in China at the time of the Boxer rebellion), Alfred Deakin and Henry Lawson. I shall also examine the significance of the "conversation" (for each of these writers knew one or more of the others) among these persons concerning Australia and China.
Sarah Paddle
School of Australian and International Studies
Faculty of Arts, Deakin University
This paper will examine the history of Australian women living and working in China in the twentieth century. To do this I will compare the Australian experience with research on American, British and New Zealander women. The paper includes a study of two categories of Australian women in China: the expert observers, and the secular reformers. Using current theorising of post-colonialism, I will identify the specific contribution and dimensions of Australian women's experience in China.
Gao Yanli
Department of English, Peking University
In China, contemporary Australian studies have been greatly affected by China-Australian relations and world situations. First, the confrontation between China and Australia in the early Cold War Era, the establishment of the two countries diplomatic relations, and the economic cooperation have contributed a lot to China's Australian studies. Second, China's political situations, such as the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Cultural Revolution and the Open Door Policy, have also influenced the studies in this area. Third, cultural, political and economic exchanges in recent years have promoted the mutual understanding and communications between the scholars in the two countries. All these factors are intertwined and have played a critical role in China's contemporary Australian studies. From 1949 to 2002, China's Australian studies have undergone three phases: difficult period (1949-1972), developing period (1972-1989), and academic period (1990 to the present). This paper will explore the backgrounds, characteristics and problems of the Australian studies in these three different periods. It attempts to throw some light on the Australian studies in China in the future.
Hu Yuling
Australian Studies Centre
China People's University
As the former Primer Minister John Howard once said, " Australia occupies a unique intersection of culture, geography, history and economic resources, living in a continent of great physical beauty. We have an educated and skilled workforce, democratic institutions, social harmony and a life style that is the envy of the world".
With the development of international communication, Australia has gradually become familiar to people all over the world. More and more people are being attracted by Australia and its easy living environment. Compared with other countries, Australia has an easier life style. One point is its " Tall Poppy Syndrome". Almost every ingrained Australian believes in it--- "the psychology of envy". Based on the description of this psychology, the author intends to compare the life style in China with that of Australia in the light of history, economy, cultural background etc., and tries to suggest that we Asians should guard against this "Tall Poppy Syndrome".
Zhou Xiaoping
Recently I had an exhibition in Australia, titled "Zhou Xiaoping – From China to Arnhem Land and Beyond". Works included in this exhibition illustrate the journey of understanding I have made since that first meeting with Australian Aborigines in 1988. I would like to talk about this exhibition with same slides.
In people's mind it maybe very difficult to associate traditional Chinese painting art form with the Australian aboriginal people.
I was born in Hefei, China. I am trained as a traditional Chinese brush painter. 13 years ago I brought my skills to Australia. It was an exhibition of traditional Chinese paintings in Melbourne.
In 1989 when I was in Alice Springs, I saw Australian aborigines for the first time. I wondered who these very different looking people were and was fascinated by their distinctive body language and by the sense of an intense inner life their eyes seemed to convey.
Since I came to Australia I have spent 2 years living and working in Aboriginal communities, camping outside with only my swag. It is very important for me to live with them if I intend to paint them. It gives me first hand experience and feeling to paint the Australia subjects I have come to love.
There are many stories I can tell through my artwork..
I would like to share the knowledge and experience I have gained through my study of the aboriginal culture.
Du Xuezeng
School of English and International Studies
Beijing Foreign Studies University
"Mate" as an informal but friendly masculine address term is seen or heard used in almost all varieties of English, denoting a friend or companion in general. However, a special usage concerning it has been formed in Australian English, and it is employed with higher frequency in everyday interaction in Australia. It gained its currency over the years in Australian history, and has remained popular up to the present day, and is used to define one particular kind of relationship between Australians in the society, which is often referred to as "mateship". This paper attempts to explore its disputed origin, its usage in Australian society and the relationship it represents as well as the social or cultural factors lying behind it.
Ye Sheng-nian
Shanghai University of Science and Technology
In the process of developing technology, Australia has demonstrated some cultural ingredients which helped to shape a working environment as well as an exploring spirit for the achievements they have made. The so-called cultural ingredient refers to the established ways of thinking and execution to view and develop and use technology to promote production.
The first is perhaps the persevering spirit in making no submissions to any difficulty or setbacks. Examples include the one in relation to the difficult years in the early development of astronomy in the last two decades of the 19th century and the growing years of CSIR which was later turned into CSIRO.
Second is a skeptical spirit in making innovations and following no set models. A good example is the story of telephane which once stirred up part of the Australian society and could have substituted for TV as the first visual receiver.
The third is learning spirit by taking care to borrow new techniques from outside and build up the transfer of techniques. Many of the techniques and skills the Australian use either at work or in life are bought or borrowed from outside. It shows partly the lack of confidence or so-called national doubt of their own ability. But at the same time it also provides more possibilities to seek best products and technologies to ensure the quality. For instance, the research and production of a kind of biochemical product called pastgur or vacciwg by Audbacax.
The fourth is the encouragement of individual competition by providing awards and tributes to individual creativity and achievements. It could be seen in the establishments of awarding system and distribution of fund by focusing on the individual responsibility. Also the way the Australian technology research works is more open and like network and less hierachical, which helps to promote such a tendency though team work is always important to the achievement of any final result in technology.
Zhang Chunyan
Beijing Foreign Studies University
It would be safe to say that in the construction of Australian national identity, the role of nature is very important, for the history of two centuries' White settlement on this continent is the history of struggle between white man and nature. With reference to Lawson as founding father, the Australian tradition registers the bush as the landscape on which Australian identity is constituted, which is expressed through all kinds of media forms. This paper analyzes the position of nature in Australian construction of their national identity in the films, but films are not the center of this paper; they are just serving as supporting materials. The perspective is from post-structuralism and deconstruction in which the traditional passive role of nature as an object and "other" to be battled, controlled and possessed in Australian culture is questioned. The first part will be allocated to a general review of the representation of nature relating to national identity in Australian films; in the second part, the origin and causes of the human attitude toward nature in Western cultural tradition will be explored; then the focus will be shifted again to the analysis of nature in the myth of national character and identity; the last part will be devoted to the recent challenges of the traditional role of nature in Australian films and its background.
Hu Jianqiao
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Since the mid-19th century, Australianness has always been a hot issue in Australian society. What is Australianness and how to define it, there are a lot of debates. However, this Australianness in some way could be related with Chinese since the Gold Rush in terms of semiology in which the basic statement is that the most precise characteristic of value is in being what the others are not. The existence of a large number of Chinese in Australia becomes a typical representation of the other which functions as a mirror of what the Australian is not. The negative representations of the Chinese therefore serve to define and legitimate what is considered to be the positive qualities of Australian. And to some extent, we can say, Chinese even play a quite important role in the establishment of Australianness and Australian national identity. Hence, this paper is an attempt on the discussion of correlations between them in a political, economical, cultural and religious point of view.
Cai Hongxia
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Film, as one cultural artifact, cannot alienate itself from the social, cultural context in which it is produced and seen. It is usually seen as a desirable medium through which the dominant beliefs and values of one culture can be reflected and thus the images of a nation can be projected. This is the case with Australian films, especially since their revival in the 1970s. This article hence tries to explore what the images of Australia are or, in other words, what "Australianness" is by viewing Australian "ocker" films and "quality" films in the 1970s and their respectively revisited ones in the 1990s, in which it tries to make a point that Australian identity is not static, that it is in consistency with the development of the society.
Dr Annette Stewart
Macquarie University
My presentation describes the possible success /failure of a joint venture between two English language departments, one of an educational organisation in China, and one in Australia. The "joint venture" is purely hypothetical and fictional, though my paper is partly based on my observations as a Foreign Expert teaching in China in 1998-9, and on interviews I have held with Australian colleagues from two other universities who have participated and led similar ventures. Because the field is very broad, my paper focuses only on two or three aspects in any detail. These will include: recruitment and human resources; socio-cultural difficulties; and teamwork. These detailed accounts will be framed by an examination of organisational theories of management and leadership. It is a recognised limitation of this exercise that such theories are mostly western ones: it is hoped that the elements not included, and inappropriate to Chinese organisation, will provide a stimulating discussion among participants in the conference. Given the bias of the views, it may still be posited that recent Western theories of leadership mainly tend towards phenomenology, rather than social reality; human resources, and cultural artefacts; while Chinese educational organisations tend towards what are described in the West as tight bureaucratic management, machine bureaucracies, ideological control, and "psychic prisons". Of course there are many features which exceed these latter descriptions, in particular the highly sophisticated socio-cultural aspects of Chinese organisations. Specifically, I will apply the "brain model", (Morgan, Images of
Organisation) to the proposed venture, and suggest how this may be used to circumvent some difficulties. Positive and negative outcomes will be predicted, and recommendations made for possible future directions, for example networks, strategic alliances , offshore operations, distance teaching with flexible mode delivery, exchange programs for teachers, leaders, and students.
Glen Philips
Edith Cowan University
A brief history of more than a decade of staff exchanges between the two institutions of higher learning. Staff members who have taught at Guang Wai as foreign experts will be interviewed to ascertain their perceptions of the extent of intercultural penetration achieved by the teaching of Australian Studies in China over this period and the perceived advantages to Guang Wai students as well as Edith Cowan.
Liu Dianqiu
Australian Studies Center, Tsinghua University
The thirty years of the diplomatic relations have witnessed the development of educational co-operations between Australia and China. This paper tries to look into this aspect, offering a brief overview with an emphasis on the higher learning.
The bilateral academic exchanges and collaborations among scholars, students and institutions started in the 1970s'. Governmental cooperation in education was initiated in the 1980s', with an official cooperation agreement encompassing vocational education, distance education and higher education.
The overall and potential bilateral educational cooperations stem from the educational similarities of and mutual benefits to the two countries. In the late 1980s', the Australian government launched an "education reform", implementing the fee-paying principle, regarding education as a special "trade" instead of "aid" either in domestic education or international cooperation.
To embrace the challenge of China's entry into the WTO, the Chinese and Australian governments both have adjusted their own policies and regulations so as to facilitate and to step up the educational cooperation between the two countries.
Wang Guo-fu
Suzhou University
Australian education is a potential area for Australian studies in China, for both countries attach a great importance to education for their future and their economic development; both countries are reforming and reshaping their education so that it may serve the country better and more effectively; systematic studies of Australian education will surely benefit both countries, for it is more practical and more future-oriented.
As Australia is a medium power with a very advanced, well-reformed education, a close study of its education will help with China's education reform.
It is a field well worth our efforts to explore in our Australian studies. Better still if there appears a center which mainly focuses on the study of Australian education. To achieve this, the key task is to attract PhD's and MA's specialized in Australian education to the cause of Australian studies in China. Without their active participation Australian studies in this field will never be influential nor wide in scope.
Li Youwen
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Australian Studies enjoys a twenty-year history in China. Teaching about Australia, as one aspect of Australian Studies, has contributed much to the 20-year success. As an activity of cross-cultural communication, teaching Australian studies has opened up discussions on how to effectively achieve the purpose of cross-cultural communication between China and Australia. This paper is an attempt to explore and discuss some of the issues in the field of teaching Australian Studies in a Chinese context, from the perspective of cross-cultural communication.
Guo Chun
Jimei University
There are 2 key motivations for borrowing words into Australian English. One is to fill gaps-lexemes for new concepts and objects; the other is because of the influence of the changing culture. As far as its lexicon is concerned, the history of Australian English can be seen as one of transplantation and rapid adaptation. In this essay, the present writer explores Australian loan words from three aspects and analyze its features:
1. One of the most conspicuous features of Australian English is loan words from Aboriginal languages. Loan words from Aboriginal languages are about 400. Most of them are nouns and they are fairly restricted, being mainly a response to the linguistic needs of the white settlers. Most of them are inert. They are borrowed as the local names for particular animals and plants. They didn't bring with them the transferred or figurative meanings that they would have had in the source languages. Loan words from Aboriginal languages provide the most distinctively Australian words of all.
2. The impact of American English on the lexicon of Australian English may be divided into 3 phases. In the early 19th century, the influence on Australian English was not much, only 8 words were borrowed from America according to Ramson. In the gold rush years, words taken into Australian English were related to gold digging. During the twentieth century, words concerning radio, films, records, music, dance and so on were borrowed from American English. Some words of everyday life give way to American ones. Lexical items transferred from American English into Australian English can be numbered in their thousands and most have entered general English. Most of them tend to be short.
3. The appreciable number of migrants from non-English speaking countries since World War II have had an impact on Australian English, especially on vocabulary. The major languages have been German, Italian and French and the main ones are transfers of names of foods reflecting the "multiculturalization" of Australian's eating and drinking habits.
From the Australian Loan words we can come to the conclusion that there is a very close link between the life of a society and the lexicon of the language spoken by it. Australian loan words are the product of its changing society and culture.
Liu Yanqiu
Shangqiu Normal School, Henan
Australia is a multilingual and multicultural society now. But at the very beginning of the new nation, it was closely related to Great Britain: taking Great Britain as a model and adopting English as its mother tongue. The ideology of homogeneity of the nation was the most important thing. The governments at both federal and state levels strongly pursued a monolingual and monocultural policy in order to keep Australia a purist white race. " White Australia " policy, which was thought not only necessary but also desirable, was successfully used to fuel national consciousness to reach social cohesion and to maintain a British tradition, help to identify people's interests with nationhood and deny the existence of the deep class divisions in Australia. But with the expansion of the immigration, a lot of migrants who were not British origin came to Australia to meet the needs of Australian economical market and social development. For the sake of homogenous purpose, the governments shifted their policy to assimilation which aimed at maintaining the Australian traditions and expected all the "new Australians" to adopt the Australian culture completely. A knowledge of English language was regarded the first prerequisite for the migrants and Aborigines to help their assimilation into the community. All migrants and Aborigines should speak English in public and attain the same manner of living and entail a break with their 'old country'; its language , tradition of dress, dance, and cultural ceremonies and social relationships.
With the immigration net casting wider and wider, so many migrants problems and disadvantages appeared: it was so hard for them to abandon their own culture to learn English ; the working opportunity was not equal ——Australia was not a "workingman's paradise" as they thought. Many migrants began to leave Australia for America or other countries. The gap between the rhetoric and the reality of the assimilation ideology became increasingly apparent. The long-held policy of "English only" called for a complete change. In the 1970s, governments of both political parties in Australia had to change their outmoded attitude. They set up a lot of organizations to solve the social problems. The language policy shift also took place in broadcasting, education and language. Community languages became, to some degree, the mainstream. As a necessary result, Australia shifted from an initial monolingual and monocultural nation to a multilingual and multicultural society .
Glen Phillips
Edith Cowan University
This paper selects from traditional and contemporary leading Western Australian writers of short stories those works which depict the rural worker over the last sixty or seventy years of agricultural and mining activities in the south-western portion of the Australian continent. From the earlier writers there will be stories by Katharine Susannah Prichard, Gavin Casey, Donald Stuart and F. B. Vickers. From the later period will be Tim Winton, Elizabeth Jolley, Joan London, Kim Scott and Randolph Stow. The paper will seek to establish to what extent authors have relied on the manual labour of the typical lowest paid workers as an index of non- indigenous (in the main) attitudes to the Australian outback environment. Further to this, the intention is to obtain a clearer concept of the positive or negative valuing of the Australian landscapes inherent in Australian prose fiction.
Guo Li
English Department, Peking University
Australian Aboriginal literature has long been considered as a "dweller at the margin of the European urban literary tradition" in Australian literary circle. However, the Aboriginal culture has managed to survive and found its voice in Aboriginal fiction, which has flourished during the late two decades. In the Aboriginal fictions there has been a cultural dialogue between the White and the Aborigines, which lies under the apparent margin/center opposition between the two ethnic groups. My major concern is this cultural dialogue in the Aboriginal fiction and its significance in the aspects of literature, culture and society. In the discussion postcolonial, postmodern theories will be adopted as the research methods to analyze the cultural collision, communication and presentation in the Aboriginal fictions.
The Aboriginal fiction falls into two categories. One is the works by the Aborigines, like Sally Morgan's My Place. The others are those by the White on the Aboriginal people. Xavier Herbert's Poor Fellow, My country is a typical example. These two groups of writers explore the Aboriginal culture and society from different perspectives. However, there exists a latent dialogue between them.
For the first groups, the themes of their works are about the marginalized situation of the Aborigines, the longing to return to their past glories when frustrated by the dominating center---the white man's world. However, their works indirectly reflect a gradual transformation of the Aboriginal culture towards the main stream, the white people's culture. Hence these writers' works are characterized by the conflict between the perseverance of their own culture and the adaptation to the "Other", the central white culture.
On the other hand, there are also quite a few white writers working on the Aboriginal issues, hoping to establish a harmonious relationship with them. These people have shown much sympathy to the Aboriginal people and a readiness to respond to the indigenous writers. Their attempt is an approach to their cultural "Other", which echoes the Aboriginal writers' tendency to adapt to the culture of the white people. In the interaction between these two cultures, a dialogical relationship has taken the place of the supposed margin/ center opposition, which is far from enough to describe the relationship between the cultures of two ethnic groups.
The cultural dialogue between the White and the Aborigines is of great significance, which is shown in the following three aspects:
A. It contributes a lot to the establishment of a literature characterized by ethnic multiplicity.
B. It helps to preserve and develop the Aboriginal culture tradition.
D. It promotes the merge of the Aborigines into the white people's society and thus improves the relationship between the Aborigines and the White, and elevates the status of the Aborigines in Australian society.
Zhu Yunyi
Anhui University
David Malouf is one of the most celebrated and respected of the contemporary Australian writers. One important theme in his fiction is to reveal the conflict between nature and civilization and to explore the possible reconciliation and unity between them. The paper focuses on analyzing the application of this binary approach in his fiction and how it works for the theme.
Zhan Chunjuan
School of Foreign Studies, Anhui University
Peter Carey is a "new fiction" writer with prestigious fame both in Australia and in the international literary arena. He skillfully moves between fantasy and reality, with a strong color of surrealism. Two major areas in his early fiction are discussed in this paper: the themes and the specific techniques, both of which bespeak Carey's surrealistic manner in fictional writing.
Gao Jingjing
Anhui University
In reading Les Murray, the reader finds one central theme in his poetry is the binary polarity of Athens and Boeotia, ie. urban ideology and rural ethos. Throughout his poetry Murray reiterates that the Boeotian Ethos remains at the heart of the Australian identity and is vital to the coherence and health of modern Australian Literature. This article focuses on the poet's central concern, tracing its development, exploring the reasons, its manifestation in various forms and the poet's unique understanding of the "Boeotianness".
Zhang Hongyan
Anhui University
The award of Nobel Prize for literature to Patrick White in 1793 confirmed his reputation as a famous contemporary writer of the English-speaking world. This is the first time that the prize was awarded to an Australian, and the terms of the award spoke of his introducing a new continent into literature. Patrick White, unlike the traditional Australian writers depicting the conflict between man and nature in their works, probes the human soul and reveals the conflict in the human mind. He presents his characters, most alienated from others, society or even themselves, as suffering from spiritual crisis in pursuit of the meaning of life as well as the meaning of God. To White, only through suffering can man really live and the world make progress. Thus suffering and transcendence becomes an overwhelming theme in most of his works, of which Riders in the Chariot is the most representative. The present paper aims to explore the aforesaid novel in this respect. In the exploration, Jungian approach is used to illustrate how, to Patrick White, suffering is prerequisite for spiritual transcendence and what means the four characters employ so as to transcend their sufferings.
Tang Zhengqiu
Zhongshan University
This thesis attempts a survey of the introduction of Australian poems in China from 1949-2000, which includes the translating strategies and major publications. Early efforts were made during the 50s and 60s but publications were scarce. In the 70s things were even worse. However, the 80s witnessed a mature period and in the 90s, it reached its apex and a new direction was heralded.
Li Ping
China People's University
The Thorn Birds is an epic family saga about the love, death, and struggles of the three generations of the Clearys. The most moving part is the tragic love story between the pure, strong-minded Meggie and the handsome, attractive and ambitious Father Ralph. Ralph sacrifices his love for his ambition, and in the end dies of heartbreak.
Fiona has a baby before she gets married. As a punishment, she is sold to Paddy, a poor man, and enjoys little happiness in the rest of her life. History repeats itself when Meggie falls in love with the Catholic priest Ralph. Meggie "steals" from Ralph their son Dane, but he is to be taken away by God when he becomes a perfect priest. In order to meet her lover, Justine refuses her brother Dane's invitation to Greece, but after Dane's death she can't forgive herself and considers herself the murderer of the brother. The theme of "crime" and punishment appears again and again in the novel.
The two symbolic places, Drogheda and Rome can never find reconciliation. One stands for the heart, the nature and the other for the mind, the spirit. Ralph is tortured for his whole life by the two places, which in fact stands for the conflict between his heart and soul.
The ranch of Drogheda is rich, violent, and relentless. For the Cleary family, it is the earth mother where they gain their strength and where they devote their energy. Meggie and her brothers suffer terribly once they leave the ranch. Meggie's son loses his life when he is trying to find a balance between Drogheda and Rome and her daughter, the brilliant actress Justine, finds the ranch a prison for herself.
The women characters of the family are so outstanding that the male characters seem to be pale. Mary Carson, the aunt of Meggie, is powerful, malicious and revengeful like the goddess of wrath; her mother Fiona bears all sorrows and pains without any complaints; Meggie dares to compete with God for Ralph's love; Justine is independent and strong-willed. The male characters, especially the brothers of Meggie, seem to be a part of the ranch, far away from the society.
All the brothers of Meggie have strong Oedipus Complex. They remain unmarried in their life and live with their mother. Frank is a case in point. Justine and Dane's relationship is mysterious. Only after she overcomes the guilty feeling towards Dane can she makes up her mind to marry Rayner.
The title of the novel comes from the legend of the thorn birds, which suggests that happiness in this world is only transient, and to get it one needs to sacrifice the rest of his life. In other words, once you commit a "crime", you have to bear the punishment forever.
The novel has explored much about the farm life, stage life and the Papal court life, which provides a panorama of the world during the Second World War. The robust landscape, the gripping love stories and the exploration of the Church help to establish the position of the novel in the world literature. What's more, the touch of fatalism makes it even more profound.
Huang Yuanshen
Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade
More than anybody else in Australia, Patrick White has put Australian literature on the world map. His works, being at once national and international, are perhaps an edification to Chinese writers who have been trying so hard without avail to bring their own works to the attention of the rest of the world.
While severely criticizing the tradition over-cherished by many, as "being dun-coloured journalism", White uses Australian landscape as the background of his novels, which the traditional writers never failed to do. His fictional flowers grow out of a typical Australian soil, behind the "ordinary" surface of which White discovers the "extraordinary". He challenges the tradition, but at the same time obtains nourishment from it.
White tackles issues of a universal meaning within the framework of an Australian story: the existence or non-existence of God, sufferings and redemption, transcendental quest, the pursuit of an ideal etc. , issues keenly felt by all the modern men. To the readers outside Australia, the unique Australian contents are stimulating and the thematic concerns are of universal interest. That, among other things, accounts for the sustaining power of White's works.
Most of the Chinese writers tell interesting stories, the meanings of which more often than not stay within the geographical domain of China. Scarcely perhaps did the writers think of the problems that are plaguing the whole world. The issues they raise are often local rather than universal. This shallowness and narrowness partially explain the relative indifference of Western readers to their works.
It is probably the time for Chinese writers to observe closely what and how White does and ponder carefully what they can do for the world literature.
Li Jianjun
Beijing Foreign Studies University
Christina Stead (1902-1983) has been acknowledged as one of Australia's finest writers. In this paper I intend to explore the representation of China in Stead's novels, with special emphasis on Seven Poor Men of Sydney and The Man Who Loved Children. Until now, no critic has explored Stead's knowledge of China. In Seven Poor Men of Sydney, the first novel which set her reputation as a writer, more than a dozen Chinese allusions appear. Notable instances are the habits of the Ming dynasty, Genghiz Khan, Confucius' poems, Chinese snuff-boxes and vases, and more surprisingly, the function of Kuo-min-tang in young China--to impede the path of revolution. In another novel, The Man Who Loved Children, Stead's widely acclaimed masterpiece, readers are exposed to 'all things Chinese, Chinese manners, intellects, polish'. Though the setting of part of the novel is Malaya, Chinese communities in South-East Asian countries had been closely connected with their home country before the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and overseas Chinese had been resistant to local assimilation. Here too, the revolution in early 20th century China is represented in distinctive ways.
Xiang Li, Suzhou University
This thesis explores the recurrent theme of the Australians' sense of displacement in a transitional period by analyzing Boyd's Langton tetralogy.
By tracing the geographical, cultural and social reasons, we know that the root of the Lantons' displacement lies in their moral values. The once distinguished aristocrats are rejected by both England and Australia; they are displaced as leaders of Melbourne society by Western-district graziers; they are engulfed by the cosmopolitan adventurers of the gold rushes; they are utilized by the government in the war.
Boyd, from the point of view of the landed gentry, elegizes the sense of displacement of the Langtons. However, this feeling is not only restricted to the Australians but also applies to the people of other countries in a transitional period.
Zhou Dujuan, Beijing Foreign Studies University
Thesis Statement:
Despite the great influence of Hollywood movies on Australian film industry and Australian filmmaking's adoption of several Hollywood models to enhance its popularity among overseas audience, it is still difficult to trace in Australian films made since 1970s the same ways of portraying love as what has been prevailing in Hollywood romantic love films. This paper tries to find a clue to this question from two aspects. One is the creation of Hollywood myth of romantic love under the impact of capitalism and consumerism and the interaction with class division and subcultures in American society. And the other is Australian distinctive social facts and ethos contributing to the absence of Hollywood romantic love in Australian films.
Outline:
I.Introduction
II. The factors contributing to the development of the myth of romantic love in American society
A.The stereotype and distinctive features of Hollywood romantic love
B. The formation of Hollywood romantic love with the development of late capitalism in America
1.The influence of consumerism and hedonism of postmodern culture
2.The specific mechanisms connecting romantic love to the capitalist market: the romanticization of commodities and the commodification of romance
C.The interaction of romantic love myth with class division and class subculture and ethos
1. The romantic love tradition originated in the upper class and structured by cultural standards set by the higher classes
2. Stronger capacity of consuming romantic commodities of middle class in terms of its better economic conditions
3. Stronger capacity of turning commodities into expression of romantic love of middle class in terms of its cultural resources
D.Women's gaining from the development of late capitalism and the creation of the myth of romantic love against masculinity
III. The factors contributing to the absence of Hollywood myth of romantic love in Australian society and films
A. Australia's lower level of capitalism and consumerism compared to "the affluent society" of America
1. Its heavy reliance on primary products
2. Its high level of Protection policy and isolation from the world market
3. The entry of Britain into EU
B. Working class conditions of Australian society
1. The high percentage constituted by working class in Australian society compared to the more influential middle class in American society
2. The distinctive qualities and ethos of working class compared to those of middle class
3. More oppression, inequality and less freedom, respect suffered by Australian women compared to American women both historically and conceptually
C.The different orientations of American and Australian film makers
1. The profit-oriented Hollywood film industry and its catering to the appetite of middle class
2. Academism of Australian filmmaking and its task of creating national identity
3. The development and adaptation of Australian films since 1970s and its uniqueness of "Australianness"
IV. Conclusion
中山大学外国语学院何家祥
澳大利亚唯一的诺贝尔文学奖获得者帕特里克-怀特的短篇小说《垃圾场》撷取人生的一个
必经历程—葬礼，将两个分属不同社会阶层的家庭、两种不同的行为模式及其所承载或反映的两种不同价值观作了鲜明的对比，反映了作者对澳大利亚（传统）文化价值观深刻的反思，对"高尚"与"低贱"这类传统话语作出了全新的诠释，读来让人耳目一新。本文拟用文化人类学和后现代主义理论，在分析贯穿这一小说的二元结构的基础上，对这一文本作一尝试性解读，以期探索作者籍以表达的深刻文化蕴义。
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