Speaking for Australia: cross-cultural dialogue and international education.

Speaking for Australia: cross-cultural dialogue and international education. In their interactions with international students, either at homeor abroad, teachers often find themselves speaking on behalf of thenation. Overseas students arrive with expectations created in theinternational education marketplace, expectations that depend more on anationalist than on an internationalist in��ter��na��tion��al��ism?n.1. The condition or quality of being international in character, principles, concern, or attitude.2. A policy or practice of cooperation among nations, especially in politics and economic matters. outlook. Students also haveideas of national difference acquired through the globalised media.Teachers who seek to critique the nation by deconstructing mediaknowledge need to consider the ethics of engaging with theirstudents' sense of self-identity and the pedagogical ped��a��gog��ic? also ped��a��gog��i��caladj.1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of pedagogy.2. Characterized by pedantic formality: a haughty, pedagogic manner. risks ofquestioning their own authority to speak on behalf of the nation.Internationalising the curriculum means developing teaching methods andassessment instruments which will invite students to reflect on theirimaginative journey into 'new' and 'different'cultures; but it will also require the teachers to reflect on their ownconflicting identities and loyalties, and to make that journey alongsidetheir students. Me Australian, you international student Like the governments of the United States United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and the United Kingdom,the Commonwealth government of Australia This article describes the federal government of Australia. See Australian governments for other jurisdictions. For a description of politics and political institutions, see Politics of Australia. regards international educationas a means of influencing how the nation is viewed abroad. Under theColombo Plan Colombo Plan,international economic organization created in a cooperative attempt to strengthen the economic and social development of the nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. , a scheme devised in 1950 to promote education, health andeconomic development in south and south-east Asia South-East Asian → le Sud-Est asiatiqueSouth-East Asiasouth n → S��dostasien ntSouth-East Asian → , Australia sponsoredregular intakes of Asian students for secondary and tertiaryqualifications (Bolton, 1996). Today, educational links are sponsoreddirectly by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs foreign affairspl.n.Affairs concerning international relations and national interests in foreign countries. and Tradethrough AusAID scholarships and through funding agencies such as theAustralia-Japan Foundation, the Australia-Indonesia Institute and theAustralia-China Council. The mission statement of the Australia-IndiaCouncil (2005) states: 'The Australia-India Council advancesAustralia's interests concerning India by initiating and supportingactivities designed to enhance awareness and understanding between thepeoples and institutions of Australia and India.' These agenciesfund a range of educational initiatives, such as visiting scholarshipsand the establishment of resource centres. Overall, it is hoped thatinvestment in the education of future political and business leaders ofAsia will lead to improved foreign relations Foreign relations may refer to: Diplomacy, the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or nations Foreign policy, a set of political goals that seeks to outline how a particular country will interact with other countries of the and trade. The more immediate benefits of overseas educational links are thefees paid by international students attracted into the domestic tertiaryeducation Tertiary education, also referred to as third-stage, third level education, or higher education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, or gymnasium. system. (1) In 2002, Australian Education International (AEI AEI American Enterprise InstituteAEI Archive of European IntegrationAEI Australian Education InternationalAEI Automotive Engineering InternationalAEI Australian Education IndexAEI Albert Einstein Institute ),the education and training network of the Australian Department ofEducation, Science and Training (DEST DEST DestinationDEST DestroyDEST Department of Education, Science and Training (Australia)DEST Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories (Australia)), released Positioning Australianeducation and training f,r the future: A report on the findings ofAustralian Education International's research into the branding ofAustralian education and training offshore. The aim of this research wasto identify the most effective brand position for Australian educationand training 'that is attractive to students and differentiatesAustralian education and training from its major competitors, the UnitedStates of America UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The name of this country. The United States, now thirty-one in number, are Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, (USA) and United Kingdom (UK)' (AustralianEducation International [AEI], n.d.).According to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. this research,students look to fulfil six main needs in an international education:freedom; challenge; status; control; security; and affiliation. Theproject identified those needs which were associated with Australia andrecommended 'that Australia seek to adopt a brand positioning thatcovers the needs of freedom, challenge and status with slight variationsby country and sector' (AEI, n.d.). As the report itself put it: The brand positioning statement which expresses this positioning and which attracted such a favourable response across all sectors of the market and in most regions and countries is: 'A place that offers new, exciting challenges everyday, both in my studies and in my personal life; where I am free to make my own decisions, have fun when I want to and be recognised for my achievement at all levels.' (AEI, 2001, p. 105) As a result, AEI adopted the slogan: 'Explore thepossibilities. Your future. Your world. Challenge yourself. Study inAustralia.' Beyond the education sector, Australia as a whole is branded by theDepartment of Industry, Tourism and Resources through a statutoryauthority, Tourism Australia Tourism Australia is a statutory authority of the Government of Australia, with responsibility for tourism marketing within Australia and internationally, as well as research and forecasting of domestic and global tourism trends. . In May 2004, the Australian TouristCommission (ATC ATC Air Traffic ControlATC Average Total CostATC Certified Athletic TrainerATC At the Center (Hartford, Maine retreat center)ATC Applied Technology CouncilATC All Things Considered ), a forerunner of Tourism Australia, launched 'Anew brand for a new era': The new brand values depict Australia as a place that is refreshingly free of boundaries, inhibitions and constraints, and where 'having a go' is still possible. It is a place where blue sky thinking is the rule, not the exception. A place in which one cannot help but be irreverent, to approach things from a different angle and see life 'in a different light'. It promotes the Australian values of irreverence, optimism, mateship, integrity, and originality, and shows how we 'live differently' in Australia (Tourism Australia, 2005). This branding was designed not only to attract tourists but toinfluence the environment in which business generally was conducted:according to Tourism Australia, 'The launch of the refreshed BrandAustralia represents not only a step forward for the Australian tourismindustry, but also for Australia's entire business community.' This included educational business, and as the ATC Press statementat the launch made clear, there was to be consistency between BrandAustralia and the AEI's branding of Australian education andtraining: 'AEI met with ATC Managing Director Ken Boundy in midJannary this year and discussed the need for any new tourism brand to becompatible with Australia's international education interests'(Australian Education International, 2004). The use of the kangaroo kangaroo,name for a variety of hopping marsupials, or pouched mammals, of the family Macropodidae, found in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. The term is applied especially to the large kangaroos of the genus Macropus. to brand both tourism and educationsuggested a common outlook: 'The ATC'S brand personality of"infectious candour candouror US candorNounhonesty and straightforwardness of speech or behaviour [Latin candor]Noun 1. and optimism" and emphasis on"difference" complements Study in Australia'sdifferentiator of "freedom" as keys to Australia's uniqueidentity and credible positioning in the eyes of the world'(Australian Education International, 2004). Teachers, of course, quickly become aware of international studentswho have ended up with the wrong product. Failure of communicationbetween seller and buyer results in teachers being confronted bydistraught human individuals, far from home, needing comfort andreassurance. At the same time, however, students are well aware of theirown status as representatives of an economically powerful internationalstudent market, and teachers find themselves defending not only thereputation of their institution but a national brand. In theirinteractions with international students, either at home or abroad,teachers often find themselves speaking on behalf of the nation, andAustralian teachers are not always confident that what they are offeringbears a resemblance to that offered by 'the blue sky thinking'of Tourism Australia and the other agencies promoting Australianeducation. Teachers also find themselves speaking for the nation when engagedin institutional collaboration and cooperation with overseas partners.This is another situation where teachers can find themselves at variancewith national agencies. In their reflections on their experience ofworking with government agencies to promote Australian Studies overseasin the period 1990 to 1997, Walter and Lever observe that 'theemphasis was on how education could be used as a lever to serveAustralia's economic interests, with little concern for what theobjects of our attention were looking for Looking forIn the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. in the exchange' (Walter& Lever, 2004, p. 77). In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , attempts at cross-culturaldialogue between academics were frustrated frus��trate?tr.v. frus��trat��ed, frus��trat��ing, frus��trates1. a. To prevent from accomplishing a purpose or fulfilling a desire; thwart: by self-centred nationalpolicies. As various Australian governments For the operations of Australia's federal government, see Government of Australia Queen of Australia Governor-General of Australia Prime Minister of Australia Parliament of Australia High Court of Australia Australian electoral system have recognised, the success ofnational policies abroad depend on the development of knowledge aboutAustralia; yet, as Walter and Lever point out, the failure of governmentto enter into a dialogue results in a self-defeating mistrust ofAustralia internationally: The focus of successive Australian governments, and their departments, on narrow short-term goals and immediate economic returns has not only undermined overseas initiatives to develop knowledge about Australia, it has destroyed the possibility that Australian Studies can provide the avenue for the improved understanding that would bring economic trust. The OAS [Offshore Australian Studies] strategy studies found a widespread suspicion in Asia of every initiative by Australians as a result of experience of these mercenary goals (Walter & Lever, 2004, p. 82). It is hard to see how the definitions of the nation as 'thoseunique attributes that differentiate Australia from otherdestinations' (Tourism Australia, 2005), or as 'how we"live differently" in Australia' provide a foundation fordialogue. Even disregarding the vital, fundamental question of whodefines 'irreverence, optimism, mateship See also: Mateship is an Australian cultural idiom that embodies equality, loyalty and friendship. There are two types of mateship, the inclusive and the exclusive; the inclusive is in relation to a shared , integrity, andoriginality' as Australian national values, the promotion ofAustralia and Australian education internationally would seem to dependon a nationalist rather than an internationalist outlook. In anyinteraction between a teacher and an overseas student, the teacher isalready defined as one of the 'we' who 'livedifferently' in Australia, while the student is cast as theoutsider, the one who is an 'international' student, whereverthey may have come from. Although Australia may be part of 'Yourfuture. Your world', it seems that 'your' world is not'our' world. Soap opera soap operaBroadcast serial drama, characterized by a permanent cast of actors, a continuing story, tangled interpersonal situations, and a melodramatic or sentimental style. Australia One of the aims of the Commonwealth government's promotion ofeducation internationally has been to counter negative images ofAustralia overseas. It is undeniable that increased knowledge of othercountries can improve international understanding, and that improvedunderstanding, in turn, helps to improve strategic and economicrelations. More problematic from an educational perspective is anyassumption that the knowledge of Australia encountered by students inthe classroom will reinforce the kinds of image the government wishes tosponsor. What if those images that the government regards as out-moded,such as a White Australia or an undeveloped country populated pop��u��late?tr.v. pop��u��lat��ed, pop��u��lat��ing, pop��u��lates1. To supply with inhabitants, as by colonization; people.2. mainly bysheep, still have some validity alongside newer images of a cosmopolitanand technologically-advanced Australia? Scrutiny of contemporary images of Australia is most likely where,as in Australian Studies, teaching is informed by Cultural Studies orMedia Studies. As Jennings has pointed out: when the critical study of media forms is used as one part of a multiple approach to teaching cross-cultural understanding, students also need to be encouraged to unpick the mediated image. They need to be encouraged to read critically the images commonly encountered in films and on television in relation to others that are available, in order to negotiate and explore the tensions and contradictions that such images create (Hassam, Jennings, & Spencer, 2004, p. 209). The development of globalised communications media, such assatellite and internet broadcasting Internet Broadcasting (formerly Internet Broadcasting Systems), or IBS, is a provider of television station web sites. IBS hosts over 70 local stations' sites, and co-produced NBCOlympics. , means that many overseas studentswill already have engaged with Australia through film and television.Indeed, the success of campaigns to promote Australian education dependson it. An online survey of tertiary students in Britain found that thosestudying Australia were attracted to the topic primarily because ofmedia exposure. (2) In other words, a form of cross-culturalcommunication Cross-cultural communication (also frequently referred to as intercultural communication) is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds endeavour to communicate. had already taken place prior to the institutionalised Adj. 1. institutionalised - officially placed in or committed to a specialized institution; "had hopes of rehabilitating the institutionalized juvenile delinquents"institutionalized2. study of Australia. As one respondent put it: 'I'm a massivefan of Aussie soaps(!), so I suppose that was a factor, as was thecoincident co��in��ci��dent?adj.1. Occupying the same area in space or happening at the same time: a series of coincident events.See Synonyms at contemporary.2. Ashes series This is a list of Ashes cricket series played between Australia and England. Most Ashes series have consisted of five Test matches between the two countries. The Ashes series with the fewest Test matches was the 1887-88 Ashes series, consisting of only one Test. .' Images derived from tourism, popularculture and sport are where many overseas students have begun theirunderstanding of Australia. The survey also suggested that, despite this trend, students didnot regard familiarity with everyday culture as worthwhile knowledge ofAustralia. When asked to name Australians that they encounteredregularly on British television British television broadcasting has a range of different broadcasters, broadcasting multiple channels over a variety of distribution media. Major broadcastersThere are six major broadcasters: Free-to-air analogue terrestrial networks or in newspapers and magazines, somerespondents drew attention to the ephemeral Temporary. Fleeting. Transitory. nature of media celebrity.One respondent knew of 'Rolf Harris, John Howard For other persons of the same name, see John Howard (disambiguation).John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian politician and the 25th Prime Minister of Australia. , Cathy Freeman Catherine Astrid Salome Freeman OAM (born 16 February 1973) is an Australian athlete who is particularly associated with the 400 m race. As an Aboriginal Australian, she is regarded as a role model for her people, and by many in the non-Aboriginal community as a symbol of national (maybe not now), Kylie Minogue' while another catalogued'Clive James, Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (IPA: /'kaɪ. , Dame Edna Everage and Les Patterson(not sure of actor's name), The Vines, Holly Valance Holly Rachel Vukadinović (born 11 May, 1983), who is better known by her stage name of Holly Valance, is an Australian actress and ARIA nominated singer. Early life (only at themoment--may well be shortlived)'. Others were evidently embarrassed by admitting the extent of theirknowledge of such ephemera e��phem��er��a?n.A plural of ephemeron.ephemeraNoun, plitems designed to last only for a short time, such as programmes or postersNoun 1. , as evidenced by the exclamation points inthis response, 'the cast of Neighbours!! the Minogue sisters!! andany politians etc on the news', along with the comments of yetanother respondent who listed, 'Clive James, Dame Edna, GermaineGreer, Rolf Harris Rolf Harris, MBE (1968), OBE (1977), CBE (2006), AM (1989) (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian musician, composer, painter, and television host.Named after Rolf Boldrewood, an Australian writer his mother admired, he was born in Bassendean, a suburb of Perth, Western !!, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan (honest), DannyMinogue ... I could go on but it is starting to get a bitembarrassing.' Through immersion in a globalised popular culture, students hadacquired what they considered inappropriate knowledge of Australia, andthe courses the students had undertaken (mainly in History andLiterature) had not allowed them to regard such knowledge as valuableand to capitalise on their previous engagement with Australia. There isa division between what we might call 'hard' knowledge, thatacquired by academic study, and 'soft' knowledge, thatacquired from everyday living. The students' assumption seems tohave been that 'hard' academic knowledge was real knowledge,was about the real Australia, whereas 'soft' media knowledgewas mediated knowledge, was about misleading stereotypes. Dissonance between 'soft' media knowledge and'hard' academic knowledge is caused when students are suppliedwith a historical context that is not commonly represented by mediaimages, certainly not by tourism images. In particular, learning aboutAboriginal dispossession The wrongful, nonconsensual ouster or removal of a person from his or her property by trick, compulsion, or misuse of the law, whereby the violator obtains actual occupation of the land. Dispossession encompasses intrusion, disseisin, or deforcement. and its ongoing consequences produced adeflation deflation:see inflation. deflationContraction in the volume of available money or credit that results in a general decline in prices. A less extreme condition is known as disinflation. of an initial enthusiasm for Australia. When asked how theircourses might have changed their perceptions of Australia, a number ofrespondents commented on the way in which their learning had challengedthe version of Australia they had acquired from popular culture. Onerespondent said: We started out by getting all the stereotypes out of our system--the Fosters man, Skippy the bush kangaroo, the bloke who wrestles crocodiles. And although these are still images of Australia, having watched several films and read several plays based around the Aborigines, I believe nay perception has changed. Another respondent commented,'I no longer think of Australiaas it appears in soaps; I am now aware of its history and the ways inwhich the country has developed.' This student echoes a tendency for some learners to disown dis��own?tr.v. dis��owned, dis��own��ing, dis��ownsTo refuse to acknowledge or accept as one's own; repudiate.disownVerbto deny any connection with (someone)Verb theirprior investment in Australia and to express some disenchantment dis��en��chant?tr.v. dis��en��chant��ed, dis��en��chant��ing, dis��en��chantsTo free from illusion or false belief; undeceive.[Obsolete French desenchanter, from Old French, withthe culture they have studied. As another student responded: 'Ilike it less. Before I started I wanted to live there. Now I'm notso sure.' This disenchantment is not the kind of 'brandpositioning' that Tourism Australia or AEI wishes to promote, andthe survey suggests that, as a result of studying Australia, most of thestudents had come to share scepticism scep��ti��cism?n.Variant of skepticism.skepticism, scepticisma personal disposition toward doubt or incredulity of facts, persons, or institutions. See also 312. PHILOSOPHY. — skeptic, n. of the media as a reliable sourceof cross-cultural knowledge about Australia. Authority and authenticity The Commonwealth government of Australia understandably regardsitself as a reliable source of knowledge about Australia, and itsmandate to speak on behalf of Australia overseas gives itspronouncements authority. Authority in terms of constitutional or statepower reinforces a theoretically separate authority as a national voice.Yet while it is possible for a government to use its constitutionalauthority to speak for an authentic or real Australia, teachers areplaced in the awkward position of being authorities who wish to questiondominant or normative definitions of the nation. In the interactionbetween teacher and international student, authority in terms of theinstitutional power of the teacher becomes infused with their separateauthority as a national voice. The notion of an authentic or real Australia is problematic. AsRichard White Richard White is the name of: Richard White (c.1537–1584), Welsh Roman Catholic martyr, poet and saint better known as Saint Richard Gwyn Richard Grant White (1822–1885), American Shakespearean scholar Richard Crawford White (1923–1998), U.S. notably put it in 1981 in Inventing Australia: Images andidentity 1688-1980: There is no 'real' Australia waiting to be uncovered. A national identity is an invention. There is no point asking whether one version of tiffs essential Australia is truer than another because they are all intellectual constructs, neat, tidy, comprehensible--and necessarily false. They have all been artificially imposed upon a diverse landscape and population, and a variety of untidy social relationships, attitudes and emotions (White, 1981, p. viii). White's thesis has been debated, clarified and challenged, butthe notion that 'There is no "real" Australia waiting tobe uncovered' is widely accepted among Australian Studies teacherstoday. Teachers tend to demonstrate this by concentrating ondeconstructing overtly (and overly) positive images of Australia. Thisis understandable where students evince e��vince?tr.v. e��vinced, e��vinc��ing, e��vinc��esTo show or demonstrate clearly; manifest: evince distaste by grimacing. a far greater knowledge ofAustralian visual culture than of contemporary Australian politicaldebate, and the lists of prominent Australians are headed by mediacelebrities, with only an occasional mention of the current PrimeMinister or Pauline Hanson Pauline Lee Hanson (n��e Seccombe; born May 27, 1954) is an Australian politician and former leader of the One Nation Party, a party with a populist, anti-immigration platform. In 2006, she was named by The Bulletin as one of the 100 most influential Australians of all time. . It is not surprising, therefore, thatteachers should examine upbeat images such as 'the Fosters man,Skippy the bush kangaroo Skippy the Bush Kangaroo was a popular Australian television series for children produced from 1966 to 1968. Ninety-one 30-minute episodes were made over the three seasons of production. , [and] the bloke who wrestles crocodiles'rather than, say, the less heroic political cartoons of Bruce Petty Bruce Petty (Melbourne, 1929 - ) is one of Australia’s best known political satirists and cartoonists. He is a regular contributor to Melbourne's The Age newspaper. He is married to Australian award-winning novelist, Kate Grenville. orMichael Leunig Michael Leunig (born 2 June, 1945), often referred to as Leunig, is a noted Australian cartoonist. His best known works include The Adventures of Vasco Pajama and the Curly Flats series. . Nonetheless, the online survey of UK students produced anunexpected strength of criticism of the Commonwealth government itself.One respondent said: My perception of Australia now [is] that it is a country which is extremely racist, and its policies on asylum seekers are inexplicable, when it has plenty of space and natural resources to cope with a larger population. Why are they so racist and selective? The asylum seekers are desperate people, who do not pose a threat to the country, and most of them would be self-supporting m time, given the chance. The treatment of recent boat people from Afghanistan was inhuman, immoral, and was used cynically for political purposes. Another remarked,'I am still shocked by their treatment ofAboriginals (i.e. taking their children from them) and the racism of thecurrent government.' A key attraction for overseas students studying Australia is itsstrong Indigenous culture and society, and when respondents were askedwhat they had most enjoyed studying, the single most popular topic citedwas some aspect of Indigenous Australia. In these circumstances, theintroduction of students to white treatment of the Indigenouspopulation, and in particular to the policies of Indigenous childremoval, cast a long shadow over their investigation of Australia, andone which darkened dark��en?v. dark��ened, dark��en��ing, dark��ensv.tr.1. a. To make dark or darker.b. To give a darker hue to.2. To fill with sadness; make gloomy.3. their attitude towards Australia as a whole. Onestudent observed that 'through the study of Indigenous peopleliving in Australia, I have become more disappointed in the Aussienation and its political leaders, but I understand why the landscape isas it is now.' For these students, the effective suspension of the reconciliationprocess by the Howard government, with its shift of focus away from anacknowledgment of institutionalised injustice onto what Prime MinisterHoward has termed 'practical reconciliation', has left themwith little optimism for race relations race relationsNoun, plthe relations between members of two or more races within a single communityrace relationsnpl → relaciones fpl raciales within Australia. These responses make clear an ethical responsibility in teachingabout Australia. Although teachers might disagree with Verb 1. disagree with - not be very easily digestible; "Spicy food disagrees with some people"hurt - give trouble or pain to; "This exercise will hurt your back" Howard'sdescription of leftist left��ismalso Left��ism ?n.1. The ideology of the political left.2. Belief in or support of the tenets of the political left.left history as 'black armband' history, itis quite clear from the online survey that the teaching of Australiawithin Britain had a negative effect on students' perceptions ofAustralia. It needs to be asked, therefore, whether an ideologicaldebunking de��bunk?tr.v. de��bunked, de��bunk��ing, de��bunksTo expose or ridicule the falseness, sham, or exaggerated claims of: debunk a supposed miracle drug. of 'soft' media knowledge such as Skippy the bushkangaroo or the latest Brand Australia produces too dark a view ofAustralia, and if so, to what extent such disappointment is inherent inthe pedagogy of teaching overseas students. Overseas students are less able to analyse critically images whichportray non-Indigenous Australia negatively or which portray IndigenousAustralia positively. Phil Noyce's film, Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002),with its treatment of the stolen generations and its representation ofAboriginal people as survivors, produces an emotional bond betweenaudience and film which frustrates a debunking of its use of Hollywoodimagery and storytelling StorytellingAesopsemi-legendary fabulist of ancient Greece. [Gk. Lit.: Harvey, 10]MünchäusenBaron traveler grossly embellishes his experiences. [Ger. Lit. . Non-indigenous figures of authority, like A.O. Neville Auber Octavius Neville (October 20, 1875–April 18, 1954) was a bureaucrat in Western Australia.Born in Northumberland, England, Neville immigrated to Victoria, Australia as a child. , the Chief Protector of Aborigines The role of Protectors of Aborigines resulted from a recommendation of the report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Aborigines (British Settlements). On 31 January 1838, Lord Glenelg, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies sent Governor Gipps the report. , played by KennethBranagh, Fare badly in this film, as they have done generally in filmsmade by Australians. As Curthoys has pointed out, narratives ofAustralian national formation have tended to view Australians asvictims, be they victims of the environment, such as the explorers Burkeand Wills, or of British ineptitude IneptitudeSee also Awkwardness.Brown, Charliemeek hero unable to kick a football, fly a kite, or win a baseball game. [Comics: “Peanuts” in Horn, 543]Capt. Queegincompetent commander of the minesweeper Caine. , as at Gallipoli in 1915 (Curthoys,1999). A national ethos, dramatised in the lyrics of 'WaltzingMatilda', which views figures of authority irreverently and whichportrays the Australian national type as an underdog, encourages thedebunking of populist images of power and heroism. As a critical method, this may present problems for overseasstudents whose educational experience has centred more on thedissemination of traditional knowledge than on demonstrating thefalseness of received wisdom. The same would be true where education isperceived to be subservient sub��ser��vi��ent?adj.1. Subordinate in capacity or function.2. Obsequious; servile.3. Useful as a means or an instrument; serving to promote an end. to the needs of the nation rather than, asin Australia or Britain, a means of individual or personal development.In such cases, an irreverent teacher undermines the basis of their ownauthority. But there is a broader problem of speaking with authoritywhere teachers wish to submit the idea of the nation to a radicalcritique. If, to use Richard White's words, a national identity isan invention and if there is no 'real' Australia waiting to beuncovered, students are entitled to ask what is being studied? Theproblem here is not so much the debunking as, once again, theexpectation that the teacher speaks on behalf of Australia. Atransnational Cultural Studies program is able to deconstruct de��con��struct?tr.v. de��con��struct��ed, de��con��struct��ing, de��con��structs1. To break down into components; dismantle.2. 'soft' popular imagery on the basis of its 'hard'methodological authority, and comparative Religious Studies subjectshave occupied the space left by a theology that has lost its belief in adeity. But on what 'hard' authority is Australian Studiestaught where there is no belief in an authentic, real Australia? Studying our world Where there is a division between overseas students and those whospeak on behalf of Australia, 'you' and 'I' willremain separated. Although Australia may be, in AEI's words, partof 'Your future. Your world', 'your' world is notpart of 'our' world. In her article, 'Authority and authenticity: Whose AustralianStudies is it?' (2003), Jennings offers an alternative method ofexploiting what the students already know in order to facilitatecross-cultural dialogue. Jennings refers to the distinction made bySeamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (IPA: /ˈʃeɪməs ˈhiːni/) (born 13 April 1939) is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. He currently lives in Dublin. , the Irish poet and writer, between the 'lived'and the 'learned' ways in which a place is known: the first anilliterate and unconscious process, the second a literate and consciousone. To a degree, these differences correspond to what I have beenreferring to as 'soft' everyday knowledge versus'hard' academic knowledge, but Heaney's 'lived'experience of a place would seem to exclude popular knowledge gainedthrough the media, to exclude viewing soap operas This is a list of Soap operas by country of origin. ArgentinaAmandote Padre Coraje Pinina Resistir�� Floricienta (2004-2006) Chiquititas (1995-2003) Australia because they are notlived experiences. Later in her article, Jennings reflects on her ownposition as an Australianist in Britain whose own national identity isboth English and French: For British-born scholars who engage in Australian Studies in a serious way, an identifiable style or tendency seems to have developed as a means to explain not just our fascination with Australia and things Australian but even more so our identifications, loyalties and learning processes. Our British colleagues already think we are (or rather imply that we should be) Australian, with the result that we are constantly striving to explain ourselves in order to try and justify our 'honorary' Australian status. Confessional moments and antipodean epiphanies dot the pages of our work, grounding our readings in real and imaginative encounters with Australia. The notion of an 'honorary' Australian status is usefulin explaining the position of those who teach about Australia whenforced to speak for Australia. That is to say, the teacher becomes an'Australian', whether or not they are an Australian national.Jennings suggests that Australianists who are not Australian-bornutilise their own 'imaginary journey' towards such an honorarystatus as a pedagogical model for encouraging students to recognise thepersonal nature of their engagement with Australia: 'utilising thepotential of an imaginative journey into another culture encouragesstudents not only to bring their own experiences into the framework ofinterrogation interrogationIn criminal law, process of formally and systematically questioning a suspect in order to elicit incriminating responses. The process is largely outside the governance of law, though in the U.S. , but more importantly invites them to make it "theirAustralian Studies"' (Jennings, 2003). Students choosing to study Australia have already begun theirimaginative journey into Australia and their self-identification isconnected to a range of 'soft' knowledge, such as tourismimages, films, friends and prior visits. An interest in mattersAustralian could be how they differentiate themselves from friends, orit could be an interest that helps bind a family network. To the degreethat teachers undermine this identification by debunking upbeat mediaimages of Australia, they undermine their students' self-identity.There is, as I suggested earlier, an ethical dimension to this, butthere is also a linked pedagogical dimension. While students may beembarrassed about the appropriateness of their 'soft'knowledge of Australia in a 'hard' academic context, if wefail to allow them to view that knowledge as a resource then we fail toengage with how they see themselves. And if how they see themselvesdepends on maintaining a rosy view of Australia as presented by TourismAustralia, then they will at heart remain impervious to what is beingtaught, despite professing pro��fess?v. pro��fessed, pro��fess��ing, pro��fess��esv.tr.1. To affirm openly; declare or claim: "a physics major in online surveys that as a result of theirstudies they have become disillusioned dis��il��lu��sion?tr.v. dis��il��lu��sioned, dis��il��lu��sion��ing, dis��il��lu��sionsTo free or deprive of illusion.n.1. The act of disenchanting.2. The condition or fact of being disenchanted. with Australia. Health education provides a helpful, if inexact in��ex��act?adj.1. Not strictly accurate or precise; not exact: an inexact quotation; an inexact description of what had taken place.2. , analogy. If weregard cigarette smoking in the same way as we regard Australia, thenstudents remain committed to smoking (that is, Australia) while all thetime aware of its health risks. Students continue to believe inAustralia much as they carry on smoking, because it is part of theirsocial identity, part of how they relate to others. We might bear inmind the advice given by anti-smoking campaigners to those who intend torun anti-smoking campaigns: 'Arousing fear and distress is alegitimate approach, as long as it is not gratuitous Bestowed or granted without consideration or exchange for something of value.The term gratuitous is applied to deeds, bailments, and other contractual agreements. and is balancedwith messages that offer people a way to relieve the emotionsroused' (Bates Bates? , Katherine Lee 1859-1929.American educator and writer best known for her poem "America the Beautiful," written in 1893 and revised in 1904 and 1911. , 2003).We return here to the ethics of teaching. Howmany teachers would feel comfortable lecturing their students againstsmoking? And how many teachers think they might succeed? And yet if suchissues are not addressed, at what level does learning take place? Dostudents react negatively to Australia because they perceive theirteachers to be teaching a negative view? Is it something they articulateduring examinations only to figuratively light up immediately they leavethe exam room? Reflection should cover not only 'their knowledge oftheir own country' but, most importantly Adv. 1. most importantly - above and beyond all other consideration; "above all, you must be independent"above all, most especially , their knowledge ofthemselves. It is its encouragement of students to reflect on their'identifications, loyalties and learning processes' thatinvigorates Jennings' suggestion that students be led to engagewith their 'imaginative journey into another culture'. In thisway it becomes not only 'their Australian Studies' but'their Australia'. Teaching our world There is a simple truth to cross-cultural dialogue. It is that allwho start on an imaginative journey towards another culture must firstleave home. They must be prepared to loosen their sense of belonging; asthat inveterate inveterate/in��vet��er��ate/ (-vet��er-at) confirmed and chronic; long-established and difficult to cure. in��vet��er��ateadj.1. Firmly and long established; deep-rooted.2. traveller Robert Louis Stevenson put it in The SilveradoSquatters (1883),'There is no foreign land; it is the travelleronly that is foreign'. Reflective learning requires that we seeourselves as foreign, as foreigners especially to ourselves. Above all, this applies to the teacher. As Jennings'reflections on her own shifting identifications and loyalties makeclear, those teaching about Australia need to take into account, andcapitalise on, the ways in which they are forced to speak on behalf ofAustralia, forced to become an 'honorary' Australian, whetheror not they are Australian-born. Australianists who teach outsideAustralia (in so-called 'off-shore' Australian Studies) shouldnot regard their honorary status as an absence of authenticity. Rather,they should call to mind those Australian academics at conferencesabroad who fail to question their authenticity as an Australian andadopt something of the persona of Sir Les Patterson Sir Lesley Colin Patterson is a fictional character portrayed by the Australian comedian Barry Humphries. Obese, lecherous and offensive, this farting, belching, nose-picking figure of Rabelaisian excess is an antipodean Falstaff. , BarryHumphries' parody of the Australian cultural attache Noun 1. cultural attache - an attache who is a specialist in cultural mattersattache - a specialist assigned to the staff of a diplomatic mission . Those who arenot Australian-born have the advantage of being more sensitive to thepressure to assume an Australian guise, and the Australian Studiesclassroom, be it offshore or in Australia, is educationally much richerwhere the teacher is not Australian-born. Australian teachers who might be circumspect cir��cum��spect?adj.Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent.[Middle English, from Latin circumspectus, past participle of circumspicere, to take heed : about speaking onbehalf of Australia within Australia find themselves drawn into it whenfacing a group of overseas students. The urge is to conflate con��flate?tr.v. con��flat��ed, con��flat��ing, con��flates1. To bring together; meld or fuse: "The problems [with the biopic]include . . institutional authority with a sense of one's authenticity, ofbeing at home. 'Lived' experience of Australia, what overseasstudents assume they lack, becomes the currency of exchange. YetAustralian identity is itself contested, there is no easy divisionwithin the classroom between 'me' and 'you', andmany students, not just those who are 'international', arealready far more skilled at cross-cultural dialogue than their teachers.Australian classrooms reflect the legacies of European empires For British writers Robert Cooper and Mark Leonard's concept of 21st century EU influence, see Eurosphere.Europe has never had a single empire. For classical empires in Europe see: Various Greek Empires Roman Republic (Sixth century BC to 1st century BC) and theinfluences of a more modern globalisation, both in the movement ofpeople and in the kinds of cultural and political influences we share. In these circumstances, we need to concentrate less on what weteach and more on how, and the most productive role of the teachereducationally may be to provide a learning framework for all students toreflect on, and gain confidence from, what they already know. Thisinvolves a shift of emphasis away from lecturer-directed approaches tolearning, however secure they may be for the teacher, towards placingstudents at the centre of the learning environment. Teaching activitieswhich require students to work in dialogue to produce an outcome willbring into play the wealth of cultural perspectives within theclassroom. Many teachers already attempt this, but few have either theskill or the institutional support to assess it, and the real challengeis to develop a range of assessment modes which give credit wherestudents evaluate new knowledge in terms of what they already know.Developing students' self-confidence and allowing that knowledge tosurface will encourage the kind of critical thinking overseas studentsare too often accused of lacking. Instead of disappointing students with the 'hard' truthsabout the area they are studying and debunking their prior understandingas stereotyped, the illusion we should be debunking is that theythemselves are undertaking that study from a stable or detachedposition. Reflecting on oneself as a woman, a soap opera addict, atourist, or an Australian-born 'Asian' should be as integralto studying Australia as reading about convict settlement or federation.Enhancing the Australian Studies curriculum is more than simply a matterof shifting the content from a traditional focus on literature andhistory to contemporary politics, popular culture or Indigenouscultures. What is needed are teaching methods and assessment instrumentswhich will invite students to reflect on the construction of their owncultural identity as a starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting pointterminus a quocommencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the for their imaginative journey into'new' and 'different' cultures. Cross-culturaldialogue is above all reflexive (theory) reflexive - A relation R is reflexive if, for all x, x R x.Equivalence relations, pre-orders, partial orders and total orders are all reflexive. , allowing insight into one's owncultural mix though the study of others. In a globalised world where cultural boundaries are harder thanever to define, what kind of internationalised or global AustralianStudies is sensitive to a globalised Australia? The place to start thissearch is with ourselves, and we each need to consider our own complexengagements with the nation. As teachers we should not be scared tospeak personally, from our own experiences. In an internationalisedAustralian Studies, our own identities as much as our students'need to be scrutinised. It would, of course, be better if teachers werenot forced by government agencies and their own institutions into theposition of seeming to speak for the nation, but no rewriting of apolicy document or restructuring of an institution can ever make adifference without teachers learning for themselves and from themselves.Where else can we begin cross-cultural dialogue except by reflecting onour own cross-cultural selves? KeywordsAustralian studiesintercultural communicationcultural backgroundinternational educationglobalisationinternational students References Australia-India Council. (2005, February 23). About theAustralia-India Council. Retrieved February 26, 2005, fromhttp://www.dfat.gov.au/aic/aic_intro.html Australian Education International. (n.d.). Brand research.Retrieved January 4, 2005, fromhttp://aei.dest.gov.au/AEI/OffshoreSupport/StudyInAustraliaBrand/BrandResearch/ Australian Education International. (2001). Positioning Australianeducation and training for the future: A report on the findings ofAustralian Education International's research into the branding ofAustralian education and training offshore. Canberra: Commonwealth ofAustralia Commonwealth of Australia:see Australia. . Australian Education International. (2004, 7 June). Launch ofrefreshed Brand Australia. Retrieved July 25, 2004, fromhttp://aei.dest.gov.au/aei/archive/mip/itemsofinterest/2005/04interest15.htm Bates, C., McIntyre, D., & Watt, J. (2003). How to run anational tobacco campaign--a short guide. London: Action on smoking andhealth. Retrieved August 1, 2004, fromhttp://www.ash.org.uk/html/policy/campaignguide.pdf Bolton, G. (Ed.). (1996). The Oxford history of Australia The history of Australia began when people first migrated to the Australian continent from the north, at least 40,000-45,000 years ago. The written history of Australia began when Dutch explorers first sighted the country in the 17th century. : Vol. 5.The middle way. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Curthoys, A. (1999). Expulsion, exodus and exile in WhiteAustralian historical mythology. Journal of Australian Studies, 61,1-18. Department of Education, Science and Training. (2002, March 20).Higher education higher educationStudy beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. report for the 2002 to 2004 triennium tri��en��ni��um?n. pl. tri��en��ni��ums or tri��en��ni��aA period of three years.[Latin : tri-, tri- + annus, year; see at- in Indo-European roots. . RetrievedFebruary 26, 2005, fromhttp://www.dest.gov.au/archive/highered/he_report/2002_2004/html/1_4.htm Hassam, A. (2003). Australia studies in the UK: The white coloniallegacy. Crossings, 8(2). Retrieved August 31, 2004, fromhttp://www.inasa-crossings.net/ Hassam, A., Jennings, R., & Spencer, C. (2004). Why studyAustralia?: Cultural understanding through reflexive learning. In D.Carter, K. Darian-Smith & G. Worby (Eds.), Thinking Australianstudies: Teaching across cultures (pp. 197-210). Brisbane: University ofQueensland The University of Queensland (UQ) is the longest-established university in the state of Queensland, Australia, a member of Australia's Group of Eight, and the Sandstone Universities. It is also a founding member of the international Universitas 21 organisation. Press. Hellmundt, S., Rifkin, W., & Fox, C. (1998). Enhancingintercultural in��ter��cul��tur��al?adj.Of, relating to, involving, or representing different cultures: an intercultural marriage; intercultural exchange in the arts. communication among business communications students.Higher Education Research & Development, 17(3), 333-43. Jennings, R. (2003). Authority and authenticity: Whose Australianstudies is it? Crossings, 8(2). Retrieved August 31, 2004, fromhttp://www.inasa-crossings.net/ Tourism Australia. (2005). History of Brand Australia. RetrievedJanuary 4, 2005, fromhttp://tourismaustralia.com/Marketing.asp?sub=0291&at=371 Walter, J. & Lever, S. (2004). Cultural export and policycaprice ca��price?n.1. a. An impulsive change of mind.b. An inclination to change one's mind impulsively.c. : The relationship between Australian studies and government. InD. Carter, K. Darian-Smith & G. Worby (Eds.), Thinking Australianstudies: Teaching across cultures (pp. 72-89). Brisbane: University ofQueensland Press. White, R. (1981). Inventing Australia: Images and identity1688-1980. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Notes (1) According to DEST's Higher education report (2002, p. 43): In 2000, international students generated some $3.7 billion income for the Australian economy. Students in the higher education sector contributed $2.0 billion towards the total, with students from Asia undertaking a higher education course contributing $1.5 billion. The majority of international students are full-fee paying unless they are recipients of aid scholarships. Institutions are required to charge, as a minimum, fees designed to recover full economic costs applicable to the course on offer, in order to ensure that resources provided to the Commonwealth for the education of Australian students are not diverted to the provision of services to overseas students. (2) The survey was funded by the UK's Institute for Learningand Teaching in Higher Education and was hosted by Open LearningAustralia, the latter facilitated through the National Centre forAustralian Studies, Monash University Facilities in are diverse and vary in services offered. Information on residential sevices at Monash University, including on-campus (MRS managed) and off-campus, can be found at [2] Student organisations . The purpose of the projectaccording to the proposal was: To design and trial an online questionnaire to investigate background knowledge of Australia among students who choose to study Australia in UK HEIs [Higher Education Institutions] at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. To gather and evaluate this data in order to enhance undergraduate curricula to take account of students' prior knowledge, attitudes and experience. The targets of the survey were therefore UK students studying oneor more courses (modules/units/subjects) which contained a significantAustralian content. In all there were sixty-one responses, thirteenresponses to the pilot survey and forty-eight to the revised survey, andwhile there is no way of knowing what proportion of the target studentsresponded, broad trends and some thoughtful individual responses dopermit some provisional conclusions. Dr Andrew Hassam is Director of the Australian Studies graduateprogram at Monash University. He has extensive experience of AustralianStudies teaching internationally, and is at present involved incurriculum development projects with India. He is currentlyVice-President of the International Australian Studies Association(InASA). Email Andrew.Hassam@arts.monash.edu.au