Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing Current Research

Current Research

We welcome researchers and writers to partner with us to develop scholarship and creative work related to the following themes:

The Environment and/or the Region

  • The relationship between literature and the environment
  • Literary studies that connect with the tropical environment: reef, rainforest, dry and wet tropics
  • Place-based studies or place-making in literary practice
  • Climate and literature
  • The study or advancement of regional writers or regional writing communities
  • Literary ecologies in regional areas
  • Creative practice and the regions
  • Publishing histories and the regions
  • Regional literary histories and cultures
  • Studies of regional communities in literature
  • The impact of regional living on communities and individuals
  • Critical regionalism and bioregionalism
  • The aftermath of catastrophe or disaster in regional literature
  • The depiction of regional work, living, or industries
  • Migration, displacement, resettlement, and refugees and regional literature

Wellbeing

  • Exploration of literary narratives that depict the impact of trauma on individuals or  communities
  • Investigation of how literature reflects or engages with the experiences of people dealing with illness, recovery, disability, caregiving, or health systems.
  • Analysis of literary works that address issues of human and social inequity, including but not limited to race, gender, socio-economic status.
  • The impact of AI or technology on humans, communities, or societies in literature
  • Analysis of adversity and resilience in literary works
  • The impact of societal norms, values, and historical events on the portrayal or experiences of wellbeing or in literature
  • Studies of how literature addresses issues of poverty, economic inequality, and social class that elucidate socioeconomic factors in wellbeing
  • Studies of ageism or issues as mortality, identity, and societal perceptions of the elderly in literature
  • Literature that focuses on issues of equity, equality, discrimination, or adversity in relation to  gender identity, sexual orientation, gender violence
  • Literature that focuses on acceptance, discrimination, and mental health
  • Literature that focuses on the impact of military service, the literature of veterans, or on building communities of resilience
  • Responses to disaster or catastrophe

First Nations Perspectives

  • Literature as a tool for decolonisation
  • Ways of teaching literature that are inclusive and foster cultural understanding.
  • Studies of how First Nations authors challenge and subvert colonial narratives, reclaim Indigenous voices, and resist cultural appropriation.
  • Studies of First Nations literature that acknowledge the impacts of colonisation, missions, and reserves, the stolen generation, forced relocation, and other historical injustices
  • Studies that embrace a diversity of First Nations’ contemporary perspectives
  • Studies that advance Indigenous literary criticism, the understanding of First Nations peoples and society through literature, and/or foster Indigenous storytelling
  • Studies of storytelling and research practices that adhere to ethical research practices, respecting the protocols and wishes of First Nations communities and individuals
  • Studies that foster understanding of the relationship between First Nations literature and the land and of sea country
  • Comparative Indigenous Studies and Literature