Paper short abstract:

In 1892 The Academy published a spirited exchange between lexicographer Murray and anthropologist Tylor about the term couvade. Their debate speaks to issues that live on, including creative inferences in science, authority and referencing, evidence, translation, and disciplinary boundaries.

Paper long abstract:

In the last three months of 1892, a spirited exchange between lexicographer J.A.H. Murray and anthropologist E.B. Tylor graced the pages of periodical The Academy. It concerned the origins of the term couvade, popularised by Tylor in 1865. Tylor proposed that couvade, or "hatching" was "an existing European name," which could be productively applied to a range of practices surrounding childbirth, including dietary and hunting restrictions, and so called "male lying-in," primarily in South America and the West Indies. The debate between Tylor and Murray includes the diverse way points of a medieval French sung story, or chantefable, a late eighteenth/early nineteenth century comic poem about childbirth, and Max Müller’s review of Tylor's 1865 work, translated into French. It concerned what could count as evidence and witnessing amidst the protracted movement and traffic of language across the channel. "People who want words will make them in their own way," Tylor told Murray. By the time they were engaged in this public debate, Tylor had already made couvade in a graphic register, using his ‘social arithmetic’ to quantify marriage and childbirth customs, presenting couvade as occurring midway in the supposed evolution from matriarchy to patriarchy. The exchange between Tylor and Murray, the Scottish editor of what would become the Oxford English Dictionary, in some ways represents a latent critique of armchair anthropology, and brings to the fore many themes that remain salient for contemporary anthropologists. Chief among them are: creative inferences in science, authority and referencing, evidence, translation, and disciplinary boundaries.

Paper short abstract:

This paper presents initial PhD research findings concerning the role of silence for those bereaved by suicide. Drawing on a case study, it discusses experiences of shame, painful emotions and expressions of grief following a death by suicide and explores the role of silences in healing.

Paper long abstract:

This paper presents initial PhD research findings concerning the role of silence for those bereaved by suicide. Research studies indicate that silence is understood to permeate discourses as a polysemic phenomenon fundamental to understanding the communicative structures and meanings within a society, including negotiating ruptures in relationships (cf. Foucault 1990; Marsh 2010).

This paper discusses a case study of an extended family's bereavement following the death of a loved one by suicide. It takes an ethnographic approach exploring the family's experiences and how silences shaped life trajectories and relationships following the death. It draws on semi-structured interviews and observations, including reflections on a post-mortem examination report and a personal grief journal by the deceased's mother describing the death and the months that followed.

My initial research findings suggest the family experienced various forms of silence following the death, impacting relationships in multifaceted ways. For instance, the deceased's mother discusses feelings of low self-worth due to a self-perceived inability to resolve her grief. Further, she discusses a desire not to burden others with her experiences of pain and how she concealed grieving in front of family members. It suggests a sense of shame, guilt, and anger surrounds painful emotions and expressions of grief concerning deaths by suicide. This paper argues that silences become implicated in keeping family narrative identities safe and may assist in healing, particularly by focusing on special events and memories and developing unique family rituals in remembrance.

Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the early research findings of a case study centred on the transport needs of children with disabilities. Its findings will be discussed in relation to types of Future Mobilities that are currently being created and examined by transport industries across the globe.

Paper long abstract:

At this stage of my PhD I am focusing on a case study, in collaboration with the organisation Mobility and Accessibility for Children in Australia (MACA), that centres on the transport needs of children with a disability and/or medical condition. My research tackles questions such as: How do those who might be left out of current transport systems already travel? How do technologies participate in this? What works for them, what doesn't? How do they make it work? How do they envisage their futures? My approach includes a variety of ethnographically informed methods which in some cases have been updated due to covid restrictions (semi-structured face-to-face interviews, online interviews, discussion of comics strips that depict various transport needs or future imaginings of mobility, keeping travel journals, and the completing of “car maps” that are used to map what is in the car, where everyone sits, etc.) Combined they help to examine the everyday aspect of the individual's lives, putting people to the forefront of the project. This conference paper explores the early research findings of this work. Common threads have already emerged from the interviews:

1. Uncertainty towards the future as the children age

2. Anxieties around safety and the type of technologies used for safety.

These findings will be discussed and expanded upon in relation to types of Future Mobilities that are currently being created and examined by governments and transport industries across the globe.

Paper short abstract:

This presentation I would like to discuss how to approach sailing from an intersectional angle, keeping in mind the tensions with indigenous/settler politics in Australia. My research will focus on the experiences of participating marginalised peoples in the sport.

Paper long abstract:

Sailing, and especially competitive sailing, is an elite, masculine sport from multiple perspectives. With expensive gear, boats, and the upkeep, sailing is particularly accessible for those with higher income or sponsorships, and a strong social network in the field. The strong links with coloniality, as settlers arrived in Australia on sailing ships, problematise the sport further. Women have historically been seen as bringing ‘bad luck’ to sailing voyages, and still struggle to participate in competitions as crew or skippers who are seen as having equal potential to men. While sailing is known for being a sustainable way of transport, in practice it has many issues with pollution and use of chemicals or other unsustainable materials. Interestingly, participation of marginalised peoples seems to coincide with an activist stance. In 2018, the all-female team Ocean Respect Racing participated in the Sydney-Hobart Race under skipper Stacey Jackson, who actively call attention to gender equality and ocean sustainability in the sport. In 2019, the all-Indigenous team Tribal Warrior participated in the same race, wanting to show that anything is possible for Aboriginal peoples in Australia.

I would like to discuss in this panel how to approach the sport from an intersectional angle, keeping in mind the tensions with indigenous/settler politics in Australia. My research, currently still in its early phase, will focus on the participation of marginalized peoples in the sport, how they experience their participation and how they engage with their more-than-human counterparts in comparison to dominant sailors.