In any kind of research, there is more than one way to interpret what we are observing. The Positivist intent though, would be to find the “correct” interpretation that would lead one to the objective, universal truth, discarding all other interpretations as the useless results of human bias, error, and preconception. But what if, instead, we stopped searching for the One Truth (which may or may not even exist, and even if it does, humans might not be able to directly access it) and began to view truths as plural. That each piece of knowledge we gain is really a part of something larger, with a whole picture that only begins to come into focus the more of these partial truths we amass and fit together.
COVID-19
Purity, Danger, and Handwashing
Author: Michael Dunford is currently a PhD Candidate at the School of Culture History and Language. His research asks how how agrarian economies and agrarian ecologies intersect with the politics of ethno-racial difference in mainland Southeast Asia. Prior to his time at ANU, Michael was a social science instructor at the Parami Institute in Yangon, … Continue reading Purity, Danger, and Handwashing
Ep #93: Waterworlds, Witchcraft and Chaos: This Month on TFS
The Familiar Strange · Ep #93: Waterworlds, Witchcraft and Chaos: This Month on TFS We’re back! We’re back from our Semester break and keen to get back into creating the content you know and love. This week, we’re joined by Dr Sean Heath! The newest Familiar Stranger. In the first part of this panel, we … Continue reading Ep #93: Waterworlds, Witchcraft and Chaos: This Month on TFS
Ep# 86: The Funging the Non-Fungible & The Changing Face of Protests: This Month on TFS
The Familiar Strange · Ep# 86- The Funging The Non - Fungible & The Changing Face Of Protests- This Month On TFS Welcome back to The Familiar Strange! We’re joined this week by our newest Familiar Stranger, Kathryn! You might have heard her on Episode 84 last season but we’ve convinced her to stick around! … Continue reading Ep# 86: The Funging the Non-Fungible & The Changing Face of Protests: This Month on TFS
Reconnected in a Disconnected World: The Role of Objects in Shaping Practices
Our local streets became our sole stomping ground, yet walking the same route everyday had some unexpected gains. On these very streets, actually on the very ground, something intriguing started to happen.
Masks and Their Moralities
For some, instructions to wear masks in public places have been an opportunity to chart new courses in fashion or have simply been a minor inconvenience in the effort to prevent the further spread of Covid-19. Alternatively, for others in more libertarian and sometimes conspiratorial groups, the face mask has become a symbol of the overreach of the state. I suspect for many of those reading this blog post the opposition to wearing masks seems deeply irrational and perplexing. Likewise, I have found these sentiments troubling and an affront to my own sense of community and ethics. For myself, wearing a mask has become a way of publicly presenting my commitment to stopping the spread of viruses and an acknowledgement of science and evidence as a guide to public health policy. So how has the face mask become a symbol of such divergent meanings?
Taking Stock in California: Inequity & Grief
Having meaningful conversations about systemic racism and social immobility can connect people as much as the act of absorbing someone else’s microcosm of grief and relating to it. Ideally, I think, the conversations should encompass both the macro issues and the micro everyday scenes: acknowledging the social values that might hinder social change and communicating the process of witnessing everyday pain that reminds us of our shared humanity.
Mission By Mail: Evangelism in a Pandemic
Religion is no "opiate of the masses." Rich and poor, educated and ignorant alike flock to the call of certainty in these uncertain times. Rather than action based on the fear of an angry deity’s surveillance and judgement, this is an escape from the unease within. Certainty is a kind of social power. It indicates authority. Certainty reinforces identity through the use of prescribed language. Certainty is a foundational part of action. Today’s pandemic religion is about something you can be sure of. It’s about a bid for authority seen as stolen by science, by government, by secularism, and by technology. In the same way that 'thoughts and prayers' are more of a dismissive platitude than an actual step towards healing, it’s “Amen” at a distance without much in the way of getting directly in the trenches to rescue the drowning.
Navigating Lockdown: What Studying Vipassana Mediation Taught Me About Surviving Melbourne’s Intense Lockdown
While last year I was busy being quite the adventurous backpacker, this year my biggest achievement has been to walk beyond the well-worn path between my bedroom and kitchen. It might have been the intensity of the lockdown slowly rotting away my brain, but I couldn’t help but start to draw some parallels between my time locked up in my bedroom in Melbourne, and my practice of Vipassana in Thailand.
Ep #66 Method Adaptations, Big Bugs & aguaje: Diana Tung on Doing Fieldwork During Covid-19
The Familiar Strange · Ep #66 Method Adaptations, Big Bugs & aguaje: Diana Tung on Doing Fieldwork During Covid-19 “How much time do you actually need to spend with someone to “accurately” represent their lives?” This week, we bring you an interview with Diana Tung who is currently doing her field work in the city … Continue reading Ep #66 Method Adaptations, Big Bugs & aguaje: Diana Tung on Doing Fieldwork During Covid-19