http://hdl.handle.net/10453/41816 2026-04-04T22:31:12Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/19829 Title: The Power of One on One: Human Libraries and the challenges of antiracism work Authors: Dreher, T; Mowbray, J Abstract: This monograph is the first comprehensive and independent analysis of Human Libraries (formerly Living Libraries) in Australia. ‘Human Libraries’ refers to an innovative social inclusion community initiative developed in Europe that is increasingly being adopted by public libraries across Australia, and some community groups and government agencies. The monograph provides an overview of Human Library practices and identifies key challenges for policymakers and practitioners. It also contributes to scholarly debates on anti-racism work and on the benefits and limits of cross-cultural contact or dialogue within that work. The monograph documents the aims, history and key practices of Human Libraries in Australia, and provides discussion points for people involved. The emergence and development of Human Libraries is analysed with reference to ‘contact theory’ and the aim of addressing prejudice. The monograph also discusses the politics and ethics of comfort and safety negotiated in cross-cultural storytelling. While the research finds a strong ‘buzz’ and widespread enthusiasm for the Human Libraries project, the authors also suggest a need for critical reflection on key questions about the strategy and its implementation. 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/19831 Title: Rough living: surviving violence & homelessness Authors: Robinson, C Abstract: Rough Living: Surviving Violence and Homelessness reveals the ways in which intense chains of disadvantage incorporating homelessness are triggered by very early experiences of violence. Drawing on biographic interviews with 6 men and 6 women, the project bears witness not only to horrendous repeated experiences of physical and sexual violence but discusses what may be understood as related multi-dimensional vulnerability in areas such as physical and mental health, education, employment and social connectedness. A picture of the long-term cycles of violent victimisation and homelessness and their compounding traumatising effects are made clear and the importance of trauma-informed service delivery is outlined as a key way forward. 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/19828 Title: Technology’s Refuge: The use of technology by asylum seekers and refugees Authors: Leung, L Abstract: This research by Linda Leung investigated the use of Information communication technologies (ICT) by refugees during flight, displacement and in settlement. It examined the impact of Australia’s official policy of mandatory detention on how asylum seekers and refugees maintain links to diasporas and networks of support. Given the restricted contact with the world outside of the immigration detention centre, the study juxtaposed forms and processes of technology-mediated communication between institutionalised detention with those of displacement and settlement. The research found that while there were obstacles to communication in situations of conflict and dislocation, asylum seekers and refugees are able to ‘make do’ with the technology options available to them in ways which were less constrained than in detention settings. Communication practices during the settlement process focused on learning new technologies, and repairing the disconnections with family members resulting from separation and detention. 2009-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10453/19830 Title: Doing the Rights Thing: Approaches to Human Rights and Campaigning Authors: Spry, D Abstract: This report is about the current state of human rights and the advocacy campaigns to end various abuses to these rights. It challenges views that give authority exclusively to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and reductionist views that take the subsequently framed body of international human rights law as sacrosanct. In this monograph I suggest that this is an incomplete and therefore insufficient view of human rights; that the struggle for human rights exists in historical, political and cultural contexts that may variously challenge or lend support to perspectives on human rights. To argue this, I have presented three accounts: a brief historical overview of human rights; a close reading of a key human rights organisation; and accounts from a recent human rights campaign in Australia. History shows human rights are far from stable and permanent. Human rights are fought for and realised, or not, in different ways at different times. Variously, the language of rights has prompted ferocious opposition as well as inspired and legitimised campaigns for fundamental freedoms. By most measures, it has not been a tale of untrammelled progress towards a final recognition and realisation of rights. The questions of what rights are, and how we know this, remains fundamentally unresolved. These debates continue in contemporary societies. A close reading of Amnesty International acts as a case study for the examination of human rights campaigns in the post-World War Two period. The Amnesty International story coincides with the development of the international human rights regime and is widely regarded as being an overwhelming success. Amnesty International’s accolades over the decades are well deserved. In this report its methods are analysed as an example of a type of approach to human rights that is widespread. But upon examination, this story suggests that the emphasis on an internationalising, all-encompassing, universalising set of obligations is not without significant drawbacks. This is particularly so when the international rule of law is met with the challenges of local or national political frameworks and cultural values. There are alternatives to this universalising approach. They are not necessarily in conflict with international human rights principles. They use additional arguments, strategically selected with optimal (but perhaps not ideal) outcomes in mind. They are based on principles that might initially be unexpected: national interest, family values, economic rationalism and the importance of democratic legislatures. These are seen in the third account presented here, in relation to campaigns in 2006 by A Just Australia, Chilout and GetUp for refugees’ human rights. These examples suggest that smaller, nimbler campaign organisations, focused on concrete human rights outcomes, can strategically and successfully employ discourses that are designed to fit with the local political and cultural settings. 2008-01-01T00:00:00Z