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This paper explores moral discourses in evangelical Christianity regarding social justice, particularly sex/human trafficking. It draws on ethnographic research to argue that a 'post modern turn' is bringing changed understandings as to what constitutes 'justice' for this particular religious group.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores moral discourses in evangelical Christianity around concepts of social justice, in particular sex and human trafficking. There has been a substantial increase in the number of evangelical Christians who are becoming interested in, and participating with, initiatives that have an emphasis on social justice issues. This is a change in focus from previous evangelical missionary activity which focused mainly on proselytizing and 'soul winning'. This paper draws on ethnographic research conducted amongst a group of people who were students at a 'justice based' Christian training school in New Zealand. Data collection consisted of participant observation of the course lectures, and fourteen interviews with course students from eight different countries.

Evangelicalism is currently in the thick of a post-modern upheaval as regards to its core orthodoxy and praxis. A changing view of God and how he is perceived to engage with justice seems to be one of the main drivers that is causing an increase in social justice activism, especially amongst younger evangelicals. I argue that most of the literature on evangelical engagement with social justice fails to understand the nuances of current evangelical moral discourses and what constitutes 'justice' for this particular religious group in the early twenty first century.

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Today, the misuse of our environment is a significant issue. From its early days, Buddhism has viewed the environment from a moral ethics perspective. I aim to highlight the teachings in the Pāli canonical texts to show that the Buddhist attitude towards the environment is positive and effective.

Paper long abstract

At the very outset it is to be noted that the environment that prevailed during the time of the Buddha in the 6th century BC is not as complicated and polluted as the kind of environment we see today in the 21st century AD. In modern days the misuse of the natural environment is a big issue and at the same time human beings are creating problems not only for the environment by deforestation but also for people by polluting the air we breathe. Early research on this subject gave rise to a concept known as 'ecology' which focuses its attention on the study of the pattern of the relationship between plants, animals, people, and the environment. A thorough study of the teachings of the Buddha enlighten us that natural environment had enjoyed a great privilege at the hands of the Buddha and his community saṅgha as compared to some other religions like Brāhmiṇism in those days. Buddhism being an ethical religion treated the natural environment from the perspective of moral ethics from its early days. So, in this paper, my aim is to bring out the teachings of the Buddha as found in the Pāli canonical texts to show that the Buddhist attitude towards the environment is very positive and effective.

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Fashion designers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson are credited for the rise and success of Aboriginal textiles in 1980s. I explore the effect of external markets and artistic trends on the emergence of Aboriginal screen-printed textiles, questioning whether it was Aboriginal- or fashion-industry led

Paper long abstract

Aboriginal screen-printed textiles came to prominence in the early 1970s, led by Tiwi Designs of Bathurst Island (NT) and followed by a succession of small screen-printing initiatives from across the Top End. Simultaneously, Sydney's fashion designers Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson received national and international acclaim with their use of Aboriginal motifs and Australiana designs. Aboriginal Art Centres such as Bathurst Is., Gunbalanya, Yuendumu and Utopia collaborated with Kee and (in particular) Jackson in the 1970s to 1990s. Such collaborations led to Kee and Jackson being credited for the rise of Aboriginal textiles in the national fashion industry in the 1980s (Manyard 2000; Newstead 2014).

A central question underlying this claim is whether the emergence and successes of Aboriginal textiles was (and still is) Aboriginal-industry led or fashion-industry led. Drawing on Miller and Küchler's (2005) agency of cloth and material culture, I explore the effect of external market forces and artistic trends on the emergence of Aboriginal screen-printed textiles and evolution of the designs. This presentation draws upon the historical terrain of Injalak Arts (Gunbalanya, western Arnhem Land) and Tiwi Designs (Bathurst Island, NT) silk screen-printing enterprises focusing on emergent years from 1970s-1990s. It builds on an instigation of the oral history of Injalak Arts (NT) and research on Injalak Arts' Textile archive recently donated to Museum Victoria.

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This paper interprets Charles Dickens’ classic story – A Christmas Carol. The social and economic meanings of Scrooge’s transformation are elucidated via the ideas of ‘ludic economy’ and ‘gift play’. Based on this study, it is proposed that these ideas complement the study of the 'moral economy'.

Paper long abstract

This paper explores an alternate anthropological frame for studying the economy. The frame is that of the 'ludic economy' which focuses on interpreting 'gift play'. This approach is employed as a method for re-interpreting Charles Dickens' classic story - A Christmas Carol (1843) elucidating the cultural meaning of Scrooge's transformation and in particular interpreting how his transformation relates to changes in the Victorian economy. Although the moral dimensions of the story are important, a 'ludic reading' reveals the importance of the performativity of Scrooge's 'gift play'. This concept of 'gift play' is derived from the work of: Marcel Mauss The Gift (1925) and Johan Huizinga's Homo ludens (1938). I argue that the cultural significance of the Carol relates to the tense 'gift play' that Scrooge embodies. Scrooge's transformation, from miser to spendthrift, reveals a change in the idea of how the game of economy should be played. Hence, through writing the Carol, Dickens made a decisive play within the game of moral economy - that the aim of the game is no-longer capital accumulation but instead hedonistic consumerism. This interpretation highlights the point that the anthropological study of economy can be complemented by studying the 'ludic economy' alongside the 'moral economy' - an important aspect of this process is reading for the 'gift play'.