Papers by Jennifer A Green
New Media & Society, 2021
This article considers how Indigenous peoples in Central Australia share and keep digital records... more This article considers how Indigenous peoples in Central Australia share and keep digital records of events and cultural knowledge in a period of rapid technological change. To date, research has focused upon the development of digital archives and platforms that reflect Indigenous epistemologies and incorporation of protocols governing access to information. Yet there is scant research on how individuals with little access to such media share and hold—or not, as the case may be—digital cultural information. After surveying current enabling infrastructures in Central Australia, we examine how materials are held and shared when people do not have easy access to databases and the Internet. We analyze examples of practices of sharing materials to draw out issues that arise in managing storage and circulation of cultural records via Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drives, mobile phones, and other devices. We consider how the affordances of various platforms support, extend, and/or chal...
The practices of archival return may provide some measure of social equity to Indigenous Australi... more The practices of archival return may provide some measure of social equity to Indigenous Australians. Yet priceless cultural collections, amassed over many decades, are in danger of languishing without ever finding reconnection to the individuals and communities of their origin. The extensive documentary heritage of Australian Indigenous peoples is dispersed, and in many cases participants in the creation of archival records, or their descendants, have little idea of where to find these records. These processes of casting memories of the past into the future bring various conundrums of a social, political, and technical nature. They raise questions about the nature and dynamics of ongoing cultural transmission, the role of institutional and community archives in both protecting records of languages, song, and social history and disseminating them, and the responsibilities of researchers, organisations, and end users in this complex intercultural space. These questions are perforce f...
Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements inv... more Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong. represent the views of the University of Wollongong. Recommended Citation Recommended Citation Gough, Deborah Colleen, Cultural transformation and modernity: a Samoan case study, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Centre for
Australia is home to a rich and diverse range of Indigenous narrative practices and verbal art fo... more Australia is home to a rich and diverse range of Indigenous narrative practices and verbal art forms. These are highly valued and part of the 'intangible cultural heritage' of Indigenous Australians. Making string figures is one such practice, and early records from across the continent suggest that the tradition has a time span that stretches back, at least to the early days of colonization. In this paper we outline some of the sociocultural contexts of Arandic string games from central Australia, and then give a structural analysis of the figures recorded. We look at both similarities and differences in figure construction, comparing the Arandic figures to other records of string figures, both from within Australia and further afield in parts of Oceania. We then apply a formal analysis, in the string figure tradition, to our collection of Arandic string figures and highlight some figures and methods of construction that appear to be unique to central Australia.
Wangkarra: communication and the verbal arts of Australia’s Western Desert
International Journal of Intangible Heritage, 2019
In this paper we situate the verbal arts of the Ngaanyatjarra people of the Western Desert of Aus... more In this paper we situate the verbal arts of the Ngaanyatjarra people of the Western Desert of Australia within the discourse surrounding the UNESCO concept of Intangible Cultural Heritage. We describe the rich heritage of oral traditions that exist in the Ngaanyatjarra region, how they emerged, how they are being sustained and the forces of change that reveal their fragile state today. We give an account of the Western Desert Verbal Arts Project, a documentation project that has, since 2010, collected, recorded and archived a spectrum of practices including oral narratives, sand storytelling, alternate sign language and special speech styles. These practices are embedded in a speech community where the everyday indigenous spoken language is also considered endangered. We consider ways to not only safeguard these rarefied and extremely fragile verbal arts traditions, but also to bring them to the fore as an integral aspect of the living heritage of the Ngaanyatjarra people
Bulletin of the International String Figure Association, 2020
Australia is home to a rich and diverse range of Indigenous narrative practices and verbal art fo... more Australia is home to a rich and diverse range of Indigenous narrative practices and verbal art forms. These are highly valued and part of the 'intangible cultural heritage' of Indigenous Australians. Making string figures is one such practice, and early records from across the continent suggest that the tradition has a time span that stretches back, at least to the early days of colonization. In this paper we outline some of the sociocultural contexts of Arandic string games from central Australia, and then give a structural analysis of the figures recorded. We look at both similarities and differences in figure construction, comparing the Arandic figures to other records of string figures, both from within Australia and further afield in parts of Oceania. We then apply a formal analysis, in the string figure tradition, to our collection of Arandic string figures and highlight some figures and methods of construction that appear to be unique to central Australia.
In 2018, a collection of some 60 edited and subtitled films, resulting from a documentation proje... more In 2018, a collection of some 60 edited and subtitled films, resulting from a documentation project (2012-2018) in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands on verbal arts of the Western Desert, was ready to be returned to the Ngaanyatjarra community. In this case study, we describe the journey of this return and the cultural, ethical, and technological issues that we negotiated in the process. From the archived collection lodged with PARADISEC (Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures), we developed a workflow that harvested selected media and their associated metadata and transferred them to LibraryBox, a portable digital file distribution tool designed to enable local delivery of media via the LibraryBox wi-fi hotspot. We detail here the return of the curated collection in a series of community film festivals in the Ngaanyatjarra communities and via the delivery of media from LibraryBox to individual mobile phones. We also discuss the return of a digital collection of historical photographs of Ngaanyatjarra people and strategies to re-inscribe such old records for new purposes. These endeavours are motivated by the imperative to 'mobilise' our collection of Western Desert Verbal Arts by making the recordings available to the Ngaanyatjarra community. We anticipate that the lessons we learnt in the process will contribute to better design for local solutions in the iterative cycle of documentation, archiving, and return.
New Media & Society, 2021
This article considers how Indigenous peoples in Central Australia share and keep digital records... more This article considers how Indigenous peoples in Central Australia share and keep digital records of events and cultural knowledge in a period of rapid technological change. To date, research has focused upon the development of digital archives and platforms that reflect Indigenous epistemologies and incorporation of protocols governing access to information. Yet there is scant research on how individuals with little access to such media share and hold-or not, as the case may be-digital cultural information. After surveying current enabling infrastructures in Central Australia, we examine how materials are held and shared when people do not have easy access to databases and the Internet. We analyze examples of practices of sharing materials to draw out issues that arise in managing storage and circulation of cultural records via Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drives, mobile phones, and other devices. We consider how the affordances of various platforms support, extend, and/or challenge Indigenous socialities and ontologies.
Language Documentation & Conservation, 2022
In this article, we provide an overview of the last twenty years of research on Indigenous sign l... more In this article, we provide an overview of the last twenty years of research on Indigenous sign languages, deaf community sign languages, co-speech gesture, and multimodal communication in the Australian context. From a global perspective, research on sign languages and on the gestures that normally accompany speech has been used as the basis for exploring different aspects of linguistic theory. Such research informs debates about the nature of the human language capacity and questions as to whether the diverse range of languages we see in the world share some universal patterns of organisation. We outline some of the theoretical and methodological achievements of scholars working in these interconnected disciplines in Australia, highlight the value of corpus-based approaches to linguistic research, draw attention to research on multimodality in the verbal arts, and discuss community-oriented research outputs guided by collaborative research practices. The article is accompanied by an on-line and editable bibliography of well over 300 publications that is accessible to researchers and others working in these related fields. 1 We acknowledge support provided by the Australian Research Council (DE160100873), the Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (CoEDL) (CE140100041), and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council (AH/N00924X/1). Many thanks to the Auslan research community for checking two decades of references. We thank Trevor Johnston and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and the editors of LD&C for their support. We also thank Eleanor Jorgensen and Rui Yamawaki for their editorial assistance.
Archival returns: Central Australia and beyond, 2019
In 2018, a collection of some 60 edited and subtitled films, resulting from a documentation proje... more In 2018, a collection of some 60 edited and subtitled films, resulting from a documentation project (2012-2018) in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands on verbal arts of the Western Desert, was ready to be returned to the Ngaanyatjarra community. In this case study, we describe the journey of this return and the cultural, ethical, and technological issues that we negotiated in the process. From the archived collection lodged with PARADISEC (Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures), we developed a workflow that harvested selected media and their associated metadata and transferred them to LibraryBox, a portable digital file distribution tool designed to enable local delivery of media via the LibraryBox wi-fi hotspot. We detail here the return of the curated collection in a series of community film festivals in the Ngaanyatjarra communities and via the delivery of media from LibraryBox to individual mobile phones. We also discuss the return of a digital collection of historical photographs of Ngaanyatjarra people and strategies to re-inscribe such old records for new purposes. These endeavours are motivated by the imperative to 'mobilise' our collection of Western Desert Verbal Arts by making the recordings available to the Ngaanyatjarra community. We anticipate that the lessons we learnt in the process will contribute to better design for local solutions in the iterative cycle of documentation, archiving, and return.
International Journal of Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2019
In this paper we situate the verbal arts of the Ngaanyatjarra people of the Western Desert of Aus... more In this paper we situate the verbal arts of the Ngaanyatjarra people of the Western Desert of Australia within the discourse surrounding the UNESCO concept of Intangible Cultural Heritage. We describe the rich heritage of oral traditions that exist in the Ngaanyatjarra region, how they emerged, how they are being sustained and the forces of change that reveal their fragile state today. We give an account of the Western Desert Verbal Arts Project, a documentation project that has, since 2010, collected, recorded and archived a spectrum of practices including oral narratives, sand storytelling, alternate sign language and special speech styles. These practices are embedded in a speech community where the everyday indigenous spoken language is also considered endangered. We consider ways to not only safeguard these rarefied and extremely fragile verbal arts traditions, but also to bring them to the fore as an integral aspect of the living heritage of the Ngaanyatjarra people.
Bulletin of the International String Figure Association, 2020
Australia is home to a rich and diverse range of Indigenous narrative practices and verbal art fo... more Australia is home to a rich and diverse range of Indigenous narrative practices and verbal art forms. These are highly valued and part of the 'intangible cultural heritage' of Indigenous Australians. Making string figures is one such practice, and early records from across the continent suggest that the tradition has a time span that stretches back, at least to the early days of colonization. In this paper we outline some of the sociocultural contexts of Arandic string games from central Australia, and then give a structural analysis of the figures recorded. We look at both similarities and differences in figure construction, comparing the Arandic figures to other records of string figures, both from within Australia and further afield in parts of Oceania. We then apply a formal analysis, in the string figure tradition, to our collection of Arandic string figures and highlight some figures and methods of construction that appear to be unique to central Australia.
Indigenous people in remote Australia face many dilemmas in relation to the status and vitality o... more Indigenous people in remote Australia face many dilemmas in relation to the status and vitality of their languages and communication ecologies. Cultural leaders want to maintain endangered heritage languages, yet this concern is balanced against an awareness that English competency is a necessary life skill. Remote Indigenous groups must also negotiate the effect of globalized media on language and cultural practices. While public policy seeks to bridge the digital divide in remote Australia, little attention has been paid to the dominance of English in the new digital environment and the potential impact that increased English language activities may have on endangered Indigenous languages. In this paper we discuss the Getting in Touch project, a joint initiative between linguists, Australian Indigenous language speakers, and software developers. Using a participatory, collaborative process, the project aims to develop ideas for digital resources that privilege Indigenous languages and knowledge systems. We argue that taking Indigenous languages into account in app design may help enhance digital literacies in remote Indigenous communities and promote digital inclusion.
Sign Language Studies, 2021
Australian Indigenous sign languages are predominantly used by hearing people as a replacement fo... more Australian Indigenous sign languages are predominantly used by hearing people as a replacement for speech in certain cultural contexts. In some circumstances sign is used alongside speech, and in others it may replace speech altogether. This article provides a
window on some of the articulatory dimensions of these sign languages by examining the distribution of the “horns” handshape in repertoires of sign from a range of communities in Central and Northern Australia. The horns handshape is notable as it is one of the more common handshapes found, at least in some of the sign languages used in Australian Indigenous communities. This contrasts with the apparent infrequency of this handshape in some other sign languages of the world. By implementing a methodology that takes the interconnections between sign and speech into account, the article explores loose networks of semantic association in signs that employ this handshape and assesses evidence of semantic motivation for its use in sets of related signs.
Language Documentation & Conservation Special Publication, 2019
The practices of archival return may provide some measure of social equity to Indigenous Australi... more The practices of archival return may provide some measure of social equity to Indigenous Australians. Yet priceless cultural collections, amassed over many decades, are in danger of languishing without ever finding reconnection to the individuals and communities of their origin. The extensive documentary heritage of Australian Indigenous peoples is dispersed, and in many cases participants in the creation of archival records, or their descendants, have little idea of where to find these records. These processes of casting memories of the past into the future bring various conundrums of a social, political, and technical nature. They raise questions about the nature and dynamics of ongoing cultural transmission, the role of institutional and community archives in both protecting records of languages, song, and social history and disseminating them, and the responsibilities of researchers, organisations, and end users in this complex intercultural space. These questions are perforce framed by ethical and legal questions about access, competing ideas of ownership, and shifting community protocols surrounding rights of access to and the dissemination of cultural information. This paper arises from a project designed to reintegrate such research collections of Central Australian cultural knowledge with the places and communities from which
they originally emanated. While we show that the issues raised are seldom neutral and often complex, we also argue for the power that culturally appropriate mobilisation of archival materials has for those that inherit the knowledge they embody.
Pacific Linguistics, 2010
Australian Aboriginal Studies is available on subscription to individuals, students, institutions... more Australian Aboriginal Studies is available on subscription to individuals, students, institutions and AIATSIS members. Please see the order form at the back of this issue for full price and payment details. For ordering and contact details see <www.aiatsis.gov.au/publications/australian-aboriginalstudies-journal/past-issues>. Limited numbers of back issues from 1998-2006 are available for $A15.00 each. Content pages of all previous issues are indexed at <www.aiatsis.gov. au/asj/back.html> Australian Aboriginal Studies (AAS) is published by Aboriginal Studies Press in collaboration with the Research Program of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. It is peer-reviewed and published twice a year. Since 1983 AAS has published interdisciplinary research in Australian Indigenous studies with a focus on the humanities and social sciences. It is published for a wide audience in a plain English style and visual content is encouraged.
Indigenous people in remote Australia face many dilemmas in relation to the status and vitality o... more Indigenous people in remote Australia face many dilemmas in relation to the status and vitality of their languages and communication ecologies. Cultural leaders want to maintain endangered heritage languages, yet this concern is balanced against an awareness that English competency is a necessary life skill. Remote Indigenous groups must also negotiate the effect of globalized media on language and cultural practices. While public policy seeks to bridge the digital divide in remote Australia, little attention has been paid to the dominance of English in the new digital environment and the potential impact that increased English language activities may have on endangered Indigenous languages. In this paper we discuss the Getting in Touch project, a joint initiative between linguists, Australian Indigenous language speakers, and software developers. Using a participatory, collaborative process, the project aims to develop ideas for digital resources that privilege Indigenous languages and knowledge systems. We argue that taking Indigenous languages into account in app design may help enhance digital literacies in remote Indigenous communities and promote digital inclusion.
Uploads
Papers by Jennifer A Green
window on some of the articulatory dimensions of these sign languages by examining the distribution of the “horns” handshape in repertoires of sign from a range of communities in Central and Northern Australia. The horns handshape is notable as it is one of the more common handshapes found, at least in some of the sign languages used in Australian Indigenous communities. This contrasts with the apparent infrequency of this handshape in some other sign languages of the world. By implementing a methodology that takes the interconnections between sign and speech into account, the article explores loose networks of semantic association in signs that employ this handshape and assesses evidence of semantic motivation for its use in sets of related signs.
they originally emanated. While we show that the issues raised are seldom neutral and often complex, we also argue for the power that culturally appropriate mobilisation of archival materials has for those that inherit the knowledge they embody.