Perspective Student Research Journal - Edition 5 2024

Perspective

EDITION 5, 2024

STUDENT RESEARCH JOURNAL

From the Editor

It is my great pleasure to welcome readers to the fifth edition of the Pymble Ladies’ College Student Research Journal, Perspective. Inside these covers, you will find student essays, poems, narratives and major works which reflect topics our students have researched throughout their schooling in 2024.

By taking the step of submitting their work for publication, most of the student authors are also taking their first steps into academic publishing. Why is this significant? As Director of the College’s research centre, the Pymble Institute, I am committed to enabling our students to see into the structures of the world of academia and to understand how these structures, including the publishing process, work. Early positive experiences with research, where girls know they can ‘do it’ and ‘be it’, place strong stepping stones into territory upon which the girls will later tread.

Why are footholds into research important for girls? To our collective detriment, women are underrepresented in research in Australia, especially in technology and science. The gaps between women and men in all research fields expand as people move into more senior positions, such as professorships, with women predominating at the senior lecturer and lecturer levels. The Pymble Institute was founded in 2021, so it is still early days, but in time, Pymble graduates of this era will be making their mark in their chosen research fields.

In this edition, I am very excited students are presenting essays on generative artificial intelligence, spurred by the student-run AI Conference held in June 2024. Following the academic tradition of presenting at a conference and then writing a paper, Alice Yan, Sherry Yang, Thazin Naidoo and Chloe Xue took the opportunity to do so and can now see their work in print. Similarly, after collaborating to enter a business

and technology competition, Ruofan Tang, Thenulya, Chloe Wang and Isis Li returned to their project to prepare it for the Perspective audience.

I believe it is always important to make a start and to build upon it as you go. To this end, we celebrate three of our Senior Science students – Carrie Luo, Elena Zhang and Madeleine Short – who put this mantra into action with publishing their Science Extension Major Works. Readers will surely see these students’ names appear against future scientific research as they utilise their emerging skills in even more powerful ways in the future. The social scientists Season Lam, Rori Lemon, Celeste McDermott, Jaya Krishnadasan, Kitty He and Nandika demonstrate great skill in qualitative research methods with their use of literature reviews, personal reflection and collection of data through interview and survey techniques. Their work showcases the power of the Year 12 Society and Culture and Aboriginal Studies courses to build research capacity, while enabling students to investigate topics of great importance to them and society most broadly. A standout in this field is the paper on poetry by Abigail Barfield, from her Aboriginal Studies course. We are very proud of Abigail’s achievement to reach the position of First in State for this course. Abigail was mentored by the Pymble Institute’s inaugural research fellow, Dr Debra Dank, a Gudanji woman and award-winning author, teacher, education leader and academic, who worked with students and staff of the College in 2023. It is wonderful to see the impact of the Pymble Institute on students such as Abi in this way.

Research into global history and human social structures holds a strong place in Perspective with many students contributing papers prepared for courses in the College’s many History options. Eleni Vassiliadis, Isabel Aveling, Sally Cooper, Rachel Chan, Aliya Yang and Chloe Jeeyeon Kim share their History Extension essays and younger students, Dezi Mangann-Jones, Phoebe Paleologos, Chloe Wang,

Imogen Kee and Meii You take us to places as diverse as the ancient world, Australia during war time, Nazi Germany and Vietnam to understand people, politics and power. Blending research with creativity is seen in the students who use the poetic and narrative voice to explore issues, contexts and characters. I hope readers will find the papers by Nityasree Viswananthan, Helena Tang, Zarina Nurlanov, Malalai Karimi, Baheshta Ramoni and May Zhang both thought provoking and evocative as they use research skills to take readers into worlds of imagination. We also celebrate the award-winning poetry of Junior School writers Leia Ripley, Sarah Kitzing and Rayna Zhou. The girls use their poetry to investigate topics of social importance and we are proud to publish their work in Perspective Finally, readers will find the work of our philosophers who are unafraid to explore the big questions in life. They examine questions about life, death, free will, freedom and curiosity through researching the work of philosophers of the past and applying findings to contemporary contexts.

It is always a delight to work with the wonderful students who make up the Perspective team. This edition has been mentored into existence by Ang-Ya Koo (Year 12) who assisted the younger girls in the team to learn the skills needed to produce a research publication, and Sophia Chang (Year 12) who mentored a younger student, Anna Le, to manage the artwork and design. Thank you to Jenny Xu, Leahara Wijesuriya and Ariana Azizmohammed who lead the editorial team through their careful management and hard work, and to the editorial team of Emily Tse, Helena Tang, Aysel Gupta and Jocelyn Ying. Congratulations to all the authors, editors and designers for their dedication and well done to all involved on our fifth edition!

DR SARAH LOCH DIRECTOR – PYMBLE

INSTITUTE

From the Student Editor

The first time I was introduced to Perspective was during the first launch of the journal in 2021. As a Year 7 student stumbling into the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts after a music lesson, I was somewhat intimidated by the swaths of senior students and teachers, yet also curious as to what the celebration was for. Upon speaking to an older girl, I learnt that Pymble had its very own research journal, and thus my own journey with Perspective began.

Perspective has grown greatly over the past four years, yet its core principles have stayed the same - to use research for good, and to drive positive change.

With the help of Dr Loch, the editorial team have spent the past year reading and refining the many submissions we received, compiling them into the research journal that you see today. At Pymble, we are incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct, review and publish research, and we hope to share our learning with the wider community. Our mission has been to create an environment where students feel comfortable to share their opinions, findings and ideas, and to extend learning in areas of interest.

Our editor for Philosophy and Ethics, Ariana, writes, “Growing up, I often heard stories from my parents about their life in Iran, a place where women like my mother, who did not grow up privileged, were not promised a graduation. In a society where misinformation was widespread and opportunities for education were only occasional, the simple

act of reading a book or expressing an opinion was a luxury many girls couldn’t afford. Research, in any form, was out of reach for most, quieting voices desperate to speak. Although, even in an environment of such, hunger for knowledge persisted, a testament to the power of research. Reflecting on my family’s experiences, I’m grateful for my opportunities at Pymble and of the potential of research. It’s not just about gathering information – it’s about using that knowledge to create an equal world. Research has the power to shape our understanding of the past and guide our actions for the future. And in a world where misinformation still thrives, that power is more important than ever.”

Our design team, consisting of Anna and Sophia, has represented Perspective’s ethos in this year’s cover, which focuses on collaboration and personal voice as a reflection of the many personal interest projects submitted this year.

We would like to thank all of the students who have contributed works to this edition of the journal, as well as the editors for each section;

Ariana Azizmohammad

Aysel Gupta

Ang-Ya Koo

Helena Tang

Emily Tse

Leahara Wijesuriya

Jenny Xu

Jocelyn Ying

Throughout the past year, we have all learnt so much from Dr Loch - not only about the process of research, but also about what it means to lead with kindness and patience. Despite how daunting research may seem, Dr Loch always makes sure that every student’s opinion is heard, and is always here to offer us advice and guidance. Perspective would not be possible without her leadership and insight, which have made the experiences of every contributing student extraordinary. The editorial team would also like to express our sincere gratitude to Mrs Coupland for her work behind the scenes and her constant support of the Pymble Institute, and to the talented team from Community Engagement who bring the journal to life.

Lastly, we would like to thank our readers for your interest in the research of Pymble students, and for your support of the journal. We hope that this edition brings you new ideas, new discoveries and new perspectives.

Cheers,

JENNY XU AND THE PERSPECTIVE EDITORIAL TEAM

Should stolen historical artefacts be repatriated? A study of the Parthenon Marbles

BY ELENI VASSILIADIS, YEAR 12

This essay was written for Year 12 Extension History.

The debate surrounding the repatriation of stolen historical artefacts, which generally hold great cultural significance, has been raging for centuries. This discussion is particularly exemplified by the Parthenon Marbles, which are widely considered representative of all antiquities held outside their homeland.1 The argument for repatriation is strong, despite the complex nature of the Parthenon Marbles debate, not only due to the moral importance they hold, but more specifically the legal aspects and postcolonial revisionism that can be examined through evolving perspectives, lending greater depth to the argument. Whether considering the Kohinoor diamond, the Rosetta Stone, or indeed the Parthenon Marbles, questions on moral ownership, legal ownership and colonialism arise. Who truly has a right to own physical manifestations of history, and should they? By delving into this debate, we can explore the contentious issue of artefact repatriation through the lenses of national and colonial claims as well as ethical and legal ones, to uncover the nuanced complexities of repatriation, and whether or not cultural importance should play a role in deciding that, as well as the consequences of historical injustices being corrected in the modern day. Ultimately, we must consider the wider conceptual questions that this debate raises, and the effect of this movement on museums, and the right to a shared public history.

The marbles themselves are particularly interesting as even their initial acquisition raises issues of legal complexities. These issues date back to the early 19th century, when Lord Elgin, who was the then British Ambassador to Ottoman Empire-controlled Greece, obtained ‘permission’ to remove fallen marble sculptures from the Parthenon temple in Athens.2 In doing this Elgin exceeded his diplomatic authority, as it is suggested he would not have achieved this permission without his position. This authorisation itself relies on the ‘firman’ he attained from the Ottomans, with the only surviving evidence being “an English translation of the Italian translation of a Turkish document” which was presented to the British parliament in 1816, after which the Elgin Marbles Act was passed to authorise purchase.3 However, as the Greeks were under Ottoman occupation at the time this makes the permission invalid, as the Ottomans, like the British, had no right to claim Greek cultural heritage. This is corroborated by the legal principle “nemo plus juris ad alium transferre potest quam ipse

habet”, meaning you cannot give what you do not have, and so, if this initial appropriation of the marbles was illegal, it means the purchase of them also couldn’t have been, questioning England’s right to maintain them today.4 Additionally, Elgin is observed to have been “a little barbarous”5 in his excavations, removing more than just fallen marble even though “the firman confers no authority to remove sculptures from the buildings or to damage them in any way,” raising further questions surrounding his actions and methods.6 Where the marbles are now is just as important a question as how they got there,7 and if we can examine the initial expropriation, and find a legal route to repatriation, we should attempt to do so as “this point of view has never been closely examined and demands serious scrutiny,” suggesting that the legal route is a legitimate and promising road to repatriation.8

Not only is it important to consider context dating back to 1801, when Elgin took the marbles, but the continuous attempts of the Greek government to regain ownership of the marbles, which is fundamental to the debate. Official attempts date back to 1883, following Greek Independence, demonstrating the Greeks’ continual dedication towards repatriation.9 Efforts such as the foundation of the Athens Acropolis Museum in 2009, ensuring the marbles would remain available for public consumption, further responds to concerns over preservation and display. A significant factor hindering this case is the fear that it could set precedent for all appropriated artefacts worldwide, however this fear is unfounded as “[the marbles] are a unique case of restoration due to legal peculiarities of their possession by Lord Elgin, and their artistic and cultural value for Greece.”10 This is further enforced as precedent surrounding repatriation already exists through the 1970 UNESCO conference on the repatriation of historical artefacts with recognised cultural importance.11 Another legal issue raised is the ability to prove that an item taken so long ago was ‘stolen’, a necessary step in achieving repatriation. It is widely accepted that there were issues with the initial plundering of the marbles, consistent with the 1954 Hague convention ruling that cultural property should not be expropriated by warring parties.12 The French term ‘Elginise’ has even been coined to refer to the act of removing cultural property. That said, while the historical legal issues provide important knowledge and roads to repatriation, the key issue relates to the ownership of these artefacts today, encapsulating the issue of legislating and enacting solutions to such controversial and enduring debates. As demonstrated, this

debate has continued for hundreds of years, and we must consider its relevance today, as well as advancements such as an evolving understanding of cultural importance, justice, and legal knowledge, that can allow this history to be fairly and equally shared.

The Parthenon Marbles are deeply linked to the legacy of British colonialism, with their acquisition being emblematic of imperial trends towards the appropriation of culture during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Thus, the Parthenon Marbles are rooted in complex questions of ownership and colonial expansion, with Lord Elgin’s actions not purely driven for the goal of architectural ‘preservation’, but instead the desire to continue British cultural and historic domination.13 Historian Debbie Challis says, “The cultural ancestry of ancient Greece, therefore played a role in informing notions of Britishness”, seeing themselves as ‘guardians’ of this heritage, attempting to connect their expanding colonial empire to an advanced ancient civilisation.14 Additionally, there was a paternalistic belief that the British had a right to remove these items for the goal of ‘restoration’, believing that they were better equipped to appreciate and preserve these items for future generations. This sentiment is echoed by Dr R.V.D Magoffin of the Archaeological Institute of America who, in 1926, said “Had they remained in Athens, many of them would have been destroyed, and the rest certainly would have suffered from weather or unscientific handling,” demonstrating the continuance of this idea into the 20th century.15 This perspective brings up the issue of ‘cultural property’, which colonial powers such as Britain felt could be freely taken by anyone willing to, raising the idea of cultural internationalism versus cultural imperialism, with the latter applying to this debate.16 England additionally justifies the retention of these objects for preservation, public enjoyment, and, subconsciously, as physical representations of colonial power. Furthermore, the Duveen damage between 1937-39, in which Lord Duveen, used harsh abrasives and metal tools to scrape away the surface of the marbles, attempting to make them appear whiter, challenges the narrative of ‘restoration’ and ‘conservation’.17 Instead, it shows how this colonial empire irreparably damaged national artefacts in order to conform them to their own expectations and stereotypes. Conversely, expert John Merryman explores the concept of retentive legislation saying, “will things that would be preserved and valued overseas just waste away… at home?”18 which he believes served as a motivating factor for Elgin. This colonial concept however is refuted by the continued efforts of the Greeks towards preservation, beginning in 1833, on the Parthenon and Erectheion.19 Furthermore, the role of museums within this colonial narrative cannot be ignored. Institutions such as the British Museum continue to serve as reminders of imperial power. Although important education facilities that “serve the public good by acquiring works of art and stewarding them safely into the future,” they play

a role in perpetuating historical injustices, such as the belief that any restoration of cultural artefacts could set a dangerous precedent and empty the great museums of the world.20 As art historian James Cuno said, “all museums decontextualise all older works of art”, raising the question, “how can one reconcile the need to protect the physical condition of the sculptures with one’s desire to see them in their original context?”21 As international calls for repatriation of all types of artefacts strengthen, custodians of history find themselves at the centre of the debate, assessing not only past colonial practices regarding removal, but moreover the role of museums in moving towards historical justice for stolen artefacts. Although Elgin’s methods remain questionable, and the continued ownership of the marbles contentious, their expropriation reflects the colonial narrative that encourages the notion that one can indeed own, and have a right to claim historical items, particularly powerful nations, regardless of origin.

In the 21st century, in the aftermath of dismantled colonial empires, there emerges a nuanced and thoughtful re-evaluation of historical events, particularly concerning their moral implications, with postcolonial theory criticising the legacy of colonialism, including material exploitation. With the value of hindsight, we are afforded a plethora of sources and diverse viewpoints, from which a more balanced argument emerges, prioritising justice and transcending the simplistic Orthodox “finder’s keepers’ mentality”.22 The ongoing Parthenon debate exemplifies this as “one of the longest running and contentious debates about the place of historical artefacts in a postcolonial world”.23 Art historian Alice Procter contributes significantly to discourse, emphasising the role of museums as institutions of memory, and thus their responsibility to accurately represent shared history, which is important to consider as the British Museum fails to acknowledge their history. She highlights the “cultural resonance for modern Greeks” while criticising the British entitlement created by Lord Elgin’s actions.24 Despite these growing tensions the British Museum and government remain reluctant to engage in meaningful dialogue, reflecting a neo-colonial stance, effectively dismissing years of conceited action to demonstrate the importance of the marbles. Irishman Roger Casement’s poem, written during the early 1900s, says: “Give back the Elgin marbles, let them lie –unsullied, pure, beneath the Attic sky”, demonstrating how the colonial narrative has been challenged historically, and often highlights the moral argument.25 This debate, however, extends to raise additional concerns regarding the ownership of history, where we must consider how, although emblematic of all other colonially plundered artefacts, in the modern-day, Greece, as a European country has their artefacts prioritised over places such as Africa. This demonstrates the continued colonial perspective of Britain, as to what artefacts have greater value, and prompts the re-evaluation of colonialism’s

enduring legacy and Western power dynamics.26 The marbles nevertheless act as a gateway “trojan horse” to other repatriations.27 Furthermore, the modern proposal of replicas as a solution to disputed ownership, invites reflection on the value of authenticity versus accessibility. Opponents of this solution, such as academic Geoffrey Robertson, argue that heritage should not be given on loan, as “offering stolen heritage – for however long – is a post-colonial insult”.28 This debate encapsulates not just the complexities of cultural heritage, but the struggle of dismantling colonial structures, debating rightful ownership, and finding solutions to multifaceted legacies.

When discussing the Parthenon Marbles, it is inescapable to acknowledge their significant importance to the Greek people, as they, along with many other antiquities, are deeply tied to national identity, pride, cultural integrity, and historical justice. The marbles are unique in their nature, as they do not only represent the history of a people, but their continuing culture. While sometimes dismissed, it is vital to consider the importance of physical connection to culture, and the rightful place of nations as custod ians of their own heritage in repatriation. Since the inception of the Greek state, there has been a desire for differentiation through the creation of national identity, achieved through the alignment of modern culture with that of ancient Greece, resulting in persistent attempts to reclaim their physical heritage. Melina Mercouri, the former Greek Minister for Culture, epitomised this sentiment, saying in 1986 “You must understand what the Parthenon Marbles mean to us. They are our pride. They are our sacrifices. They are our noblest symbol of excellence…They are our aspirations and our name. They are the essence of Greekness.”29 While a deeply nationalistic statement, loaded with emotive language, the core of her argument stands strong: the marbles were taken illegally by Elgin and never legally or morally belonged to the British, and deserve to be repatriated due to their continued cultural importance. Sir Harold Nicholson’s critique adds to this argument: “had not these lovely things been preserved in England; they would have been destroyed during the Greek War of Independence … It is a rotten argument… It is not for the receiver of stolen goods to claim that the goods are safer in his care than if restored to the original owners.”30 Opponents of this argument claim that cultural nationalism is insufficient to merit returning something such as the marbles as it is inherently dubious and founded on sentiment. However, in the case of questionable legal ownership, if not sentiment, what can be used to determine the applicability of repatriation? Especially as when cultural heritage is kept under lock and key in foreign museums, people can lose and misunderstand their own heritage and national history.31 When we consider this question of whether history can be owned, and thus repatriated, it is intrinsic to examine the context as “The coincidence of the loss of the marbles and the restoration of Greek independence makes the Parthenon Marbles a highly

emotional symbol of Greek national identity.”32 While these ‘encyclopaedic’33 museums protect artefacts, it is also true that objects within their original context maintain more meaning with “the architectural or sculptural monument [having] to be seen in its social environment in order to be understood and defined.”34 The cultural patrimony that Greece possesses over the Parthenon Marbles is vital in understanding the importance of repatriation and historical justice, and how they are not just artefacts, but representations of culture, a concept which must be considered in the ownership of history.

By examining the Parthenon Marbles debate, we gain an entrance point into the controversial and compelling issue of artefact repatriation. Despite the diverse range of viewpoints, there is a convincing case for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece, not only on legal grounds, but also to show the importance of correcting colonial wrongs, particularly concerning artefacts with strong cultural patrimony. Although not all stolen artefacts have the same circumstances, it is important to consider the role of colonialism, context, and morality in all cases. Furthermore, this investigation has highlighted the need to interrogate conceptual questions surrounding the right to own physical manifestations of the past. This demonstrates the continued international relevance of this discourse, and the necessity for continual and evolving dialogue. Whilst the concept of owning history is complex, it allows for a greater understanding of our shared history. However, it is vital to evaluate the relationship between the persistent importance of public history and the rights of individual nations to their own history. This debate has the potential to set groundbreaking precedent for further repatriations, necessitating efforts to correct historical injustices and promote respectful engagement with cultural artefacts in a globalised world.

REFERENCES

1 John Henry Merryman, “Thinking about the Elgin Marbles,” Michigan Law Review 83, no. 8 (1985): 1887, https://doi.org/10.2307/1288954.

2 William St Claire, “The Marbles in London,” in The Parthenon: The Repatriation of the Sculptures (I. Sideris, n.d.): 128.

3 Vassilis Dimitriades, “The Legality of Removing the Sculptures from the Parthenon,” in The Parthenon: The Repatriation of the Sculptures (I. Sideris, n.d.): 111.

4 Irini Stamatoudi, “Legal Issues Associated with the Return of the Parthenon Marbles,” in The Parthenon: The Repatriation of the Sculptures (I. Sideris, n.d.), 223.

5 Merryman, “Thinking about the Elgin Marbles,” 1892.

6 Dimitriades, “The Legality of Removing the Sculptures from the Parthenon,”110.

7 Daniel Shapiro, “Repatriation: Right and Wrong,” in The Parthenon: The Repatriation of the Sculptures (I. Sideris, n.d.), 229.

8 Dimitriades, “The Legality of Removing the Sculptures from the Parthenon,” 103.

9 Matthaios Tsimitakis, “The Parthenon Marbles and the Debate about Cultural Heritage,” CreativesUnite, November 29, 2023, https:// creativesunite.eu/article/the-parthenon-marbles-and-the-debateabout-cultural-heritage.

10 Anastasia Strati, “The International Legal Framework of the Return of the Parthenon Marbles to Greece,” in The Parthenon: The Repatriation of the Sculptures (I. Sideris, n.d.), 206.

11 Geoffrey Robertson, Who Owns History? Elgin’s Loot and the Case for Returning Plundered Treasure (Australia: Biteback Publishing Ltd, 2019): 2.

12 Mary Beard, The Parthenon (Great Britain: Profile Books Ltd, 2002): 112.

13 Hannah Reich, “Art Historian Alice Procter Is on a Mission to Decolonise Museums and Galleries in Her ‘Uncomfortable Art Tours,’” ABC News, May 14, 2020, https://www.abc.net.au/news/202005-14/art-tour-guide-galleries-museums-racism-colonialismexclusion/12241850.

14 Debbie Challis, “The Parthenon Sculptures: Emblems of British National Identity,” The British Art Journal 7, no. 1 (2006): 33.

15 “Returning Elgin Marbles to Athens Argued,” The Science NewsLetter 9, no. 276 (1926): 7, https://doi.org/10.2307/3901577.

16 Stamatoudi, “Legal Issues Associated with the Return of the Parthenon Marbles,” 225.

17 St Claire, “The Marbles in London,” 131.

18 Merryman, “Thinking about the Elgin Marbles,” 1892.

19 Dimosthenis Ziro, “The Impact of Elgin’s Destruction of the Acropolis Sculptures on Modern Restorations,” in The Parthenon: The Repatriation of the Sculptures (I. Sideris, n.d.), 173.

20 Tsimitakis, “The Parthenon Marbles and the Debate about Cultural Heritage.”

21 James Cuno, “The Role of Art Museums in the Protection and Preservation of Antiquities,” in The Parthenon: The Repatriation of the Sculptures (I. Sideris, n.d.), 175.

22 Robertson, “Who Owns History?,” 22.

23 Megan Gafford, “Where Do Works of Art Belong?,” Quillette, March 27, 2024, https://quillette.com/2024/03/27/where-do-works-of-artbelong/.

24 “Alice Procter: An International Game of Elgin Marbles,” News, RNZ, January 8, 2022, https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/theweekend/audio/2018826551/alice-procter-an-international-gameof-elgin-marbles.

25 Ian Swindale, “Two Poems,” 2012, https://www.parthenon. newmentor.net/poems.htm.

26 Jeremy Popkin, From Herodotus to H-Net, Second Edition (Oxford University Press, 2016): 155.

27 “Alice Procter: An International Game of Elgin Marbles.”

28 Robertson, “Who Owns History?,” 30.

29 “Oxford Union, June 12, 1986 – Melina Mercouri Foundation,” Melina Mercouri Foundation (blog), accessed May 2, 2024, https:// melinamercourifoundation.com/en/oxford-union-june-12-1986/.

30 Merryman, “Thinking about the Elgin Marbles,” 1903.

31 Robertson, “Who Owns History?,” 32.

32 Cuno, “The Role of Art Museums in the Protection and Preservation of Antiquities.”

33 Gafford, “Where Do Works of Art Belong?”

34 Vassilis Filias, “The spatial-environmental dimension as an axial element of the aesthetic unity of the individual views of the cultural monument,” in The Parthenon: The Repatriation of the Sculptures, n.d., 118.

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———. “The Exhibitionist.” The Exhibitionist. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://www.theexhibitionist.org.

Reich, Hannah. “Art Historian Alice Procter Is on a Mission to Decolonise Museums and Galleries in Her ‘Uncomfortable Art Tours.’” ABC News, May 14, 2020. https://www.abc.net.au/news/202005-14/art-tour-guide-galleries-museums-racism-colonialism-

exclusion/12241850.

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RNZ. “Alice Procter: An International Game of Elgin Marbles.” News, January 8, 2022. https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/theweekend/audio/2018826551/alice-procter-an-international-gameof-elgin-marbles.

Robertson, Geoffrey. Who Owns History? Elgin’s Loot and the Case for Returning Plundered Treasure. Australia: Biteback Publishing Ltd, 2019.

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Explain how Holocaust museums utilise different scales of history to communicate the Jewish experience of the Holocaust

ISABEL AVELING, YEAR 12

This essay was written for Year 12 Extension History.

‘One death is a tragedy, a million deaths a statistic’2. What about 6 million?2

With large-scale events such as the Holocaust, conceptualising its impact can be difficult, leading to generalisations and detachment. To combat this, museums include small-scale narratives into their exhibitions, personalising and humanising historical events of tragedy. Curators are faced with the challenge of balancing this scale, as an overabundance of smallscale narratives can lead to an ignorance of the larger picture3. The method by which museums as history are able to do justice to tragic historical events is something widely debated and discussed amongst curators4. For this reason, scale is often employed as a way in which curators can balance the enormity of a situation with small-scale individual accounts, so humans are psychologically able to comprehend challenging historical events. The use of this concept is enacted at the Yad Vashem History Holocaust Museum (YVHHM), a museum in the hills of Jerusalem; the Berlin Jewish Museum (BJM),5 a state funded museum located in central Berlin; and the Sydney Jewish Museum (SJM), a survivor and family funded museum in central Sydney. Their utilisation of factors such as architecture, light, art, object and technology interact with Historical scales in order to communicate the Jewish Holocaust experience.

The external architecture of museums can be directly related to conveying a multi-scale history. Suggested by Oliveria and Steemers, the role of architecture within museums belongs to one of two schools of thought6. The first is that architecture should act as a quiet background, allowing the artefacts to speak for themselves. The second suggests architecture is necessary to heighten the experience of perceiving the exhibition. Oliveria and Steemers note both views support the idea that it is not enough for artefacts to be seen, a deeper meaning must be developed and conveyed for architecture to be successful within museums.7 A way this meaning is created is through developing and balancing different scales. This is supported by Forrest who holds the belief that a museum’s architectural environment, ‘simultaneously comprises multiple contexts across different scales’.8 An example of architecture acting as polysemous in order to maintain the tension between different historical scales is the BJM’s Libeskind building. The building shape has a common interpretation of

being a lightning bolt9. Another view of the building is a deconstructed Star of David10. Both interpretations show a metaphorical reflection of the Holocaust as an attempt to destruct Jewish identity, referring to the Shoah11 on a large-scale. However, these ideas are balanced with the small-scale of individuals, as the building’s shape is modelled after a map of the houses of different prominent Jewish figures living in Berlin12. By holding various meanings which reflect differing scales, the museum building is able to convey its consideration of the individual effects of the Holocaust as well as the effects of the Holocaust on the large-scale, such as on life in Europe and Jewish identity.

In architecture, light can be used metaphorically, effectively representing factors such as scale within museums. It can, according to Portoghesi, change the spatial effect of an area and thus change its atmosphere.13 Not only is lighting required to view the exhibition but also to create an ambience that correctly reflects the feelings of each part of the museum. Primarily, this is done through the relationship between light, dark and the threshold between them in the space.14 By balancing and contrasting the two, due to common associations of darkness with the unknown and fear, and light with hope and clarity, a metaphorical theme can be harnessed to underpin exhibitions. This relates to the BJM where light is constantly used to represent the Holocaust on a large-scale. The absence of light throughout the museum is to place the viewer in a confronting space for deep reflection15. In parts of the museum such as the Holocaust Tower, thin rays of light pass through almost complete darkness, referencing the constant force of hope always maintained by the Jewish population during the Holocaust16. This references the Shoah on a large-scale, characterising all related with it as darkness. However, throughout the BJM some light always remains, enforcing Jewish identity and hope continues. Khan relates light to being the spirit that provides character to a space17, something highly applicable to the BJM. In museums, light can be used metaphorically to present the large-scale having the intended effect of emotionally connecting viewers through innate light-dark associations such as viewable in the BJM’s reflection of Jewish Holocaust experience.

Art has the ability to share large-scale narratives in a conceptualizable way for viewers through the use of tools such as metaphor. This holds the power to convey strong internal emotion in a way words and other types

of history are unable to do.18 Falk suggests the idea of ‘stamps’ within museums.19 He argues every memory comes with a ‘stamp’ linking to the emotions attached to it, and the stronger each stamp is, the more likely it is the viewer will remember and understand it.20 As a result, a focus on engaging visitors emotionally is present in museums. Emotional involvement can help viewers to conceptualise the large-scale of the huge casualty numbers.21 By conveying some of the emotion related to this, museums can begin to convey what this means for individuals, community and broader identity. This is especially applicable for the BJM’s installation Shalekhet, the Hebrew word for fallen leaves22. The floor is covered with over 10,000 open mouthed faces made of iron. They are to reflect the faces of those killed: stopped in soundless screams23. Holocaust experience is represented as a whole, allowing the viewer to understand the vastness and horror as a part of Jewish suffering. The anonymity of the faces with a lack of individualisation relate to the idea they could be reflecting any of the 6 million dead, a powerful message conveyed artistically24 This portrayal of the Holocaust aligns with Adorno’s beliefs surrounding artistic expression, ideas which have had widespread impacts on museums.25 He believed certain forms of traditional artistic expression were insufficient to describe the reality of the Holocaust, and to create as if it never occurred would be ‘barbaric’26 This was responded to by the creation of abstract and metaphorical forms of expression, the influence of which manifests itself in various museums, such as in the BJM’s Shalekhet. It is enacted through the metaphorical nature of the exhibition and its ability to look at the tragedy of the Holocaust as a whole, emphasising the large-scale and huge amount of loss.

Sculpture is another artform which utilises metaphor as a tool for communicating scale. De Man praises metaphor for its ability to “break up a totality into discontinuous fragments” as it disorders our perception of reality, something necessary to realise small-scale intensities.27 Reminder of the extreme scale of the Shoah is something that allows for viewers to remember its extent. However, a large-scale can be difficult to conceptualise, leading to misunderstanding and detachment as, psychologically, human brains are not designed to conceptualise numbers larger than five28. Curators need to consider alternative ways to convey large numbers to their audience. This applies to the glass sculpture in the Children’s Memorial at the SJM. Its bowl shape contains 1.5 million droplets of water; one for each child murdered in the Holocaust. Sculpture can be utilised within museums as a method of maintaining different scales of history through artistic expression. Due to their creative nature, an emotive expression of history is conveyed, combining multiple historical scales into one piece. The absence of a small scale and individuality relates to how many stories will never be shared, gone with the children that held them. It allows visitors to try to conceptualise how big 1.5 million

is, with the large amount of water existing in the sculpture confronting viewers29 who enter the space. Metaphors through artistic expression can convey large-scale situations, allowing for otherwise inconceivable numbers to be better understood.

Photographs in museums have the ability to convey small-scale narratives surrounding events, looking at individual experiences. These are valuable for their ability to humanise large-scale tragedies otherwise unimaginable, reminding visitors that statistics are reflective of real people with individual stories. However, Goldberg highlights the dangers in using photographs, potentially falling into the trap of using popular images to create false generalisations within viewers. An attempt to combat this is to display multiple photographs, creating a wide scale narrative of broader experience. The value in creating tension between scales of history is the effect of showcasing small-scale elements for their significance within the broader picture. As supported by Hansen-Glucklich, ‘While they contribute singular voices and stories… they belong to a still greater context’.30 At YVHHM this is most relevant in The Hall of Names31 where 600 photographs and documents related to Holocaust victims are located inside an upwards reaching cone. The use of photographs of individuals maintain a smallscale view, having the effect of personifying tragedy. By looking at each individual face, a greater understanding of what the Shoah means emotionally is able to be grasped by the viewer, individualising each loss, instead of being faced solely with a numerical value impossible to conceptualise.32 Diversity within the photos through age, gender, nationality, photo quality and ethnicity adds another layer to large-scale representation, emphasising the vastness of Jewish experience. The loss of generations is thus presented as a tragedy extending beyond individuals or communities, instead as a ‘strike at the very heart of Jewish practise and tradition’.33 Using photographs has the ability to convey small-scale narratives surrounding events to humanise tragedy. However, when multiple photographs are shown, a largescale is simultaneously presented of wider experience. This is applicable in YVHHM, creating a personalised narrative surrounding large-scale Jewish Holocaust experience.

Objects have the ability to represent the individuals they belonged to, conveying small-scale narratives. This results in their usage acting as a symbol of the universal, causing the interweaving of visitors’ personal lives with the lives of the persecuted, creating relatability and thus also sympathy. According to Foucault’s concept of heterotopias, a museum is ‘a place of all times that is itself outside of time’34. Objects which are still used today play a large role in this creation of a timeless place. When personal, small-scale objects are placed with many other objects of the same kind, a new narrative of large-scale is shared. Museum curators do this to convey the scale on

which the event occurred in a processible way. Foucault relates this to being in the ‘epoch of simultaneity: we are in the epoch of juxtaposition’35, as a result of creating tension between different scales. An example of this is the use of shoes at YVHHM. As shoes are used as symbols of universal human experience, each shoe represents the life of the person who wore them. Thousands of shoes are located in this part of the exhibition, allowing viewers to attempt to conceptualise each person who wore the shoe, and also their death. Their arrangement in a disorganised pile alludes to the neglect of the shoes and thus those who owned them. The story present in each shoe relates to Arnolde-de Simine’s suggestion of how in museums, objects are representatives of a story, which is what gives them their value and makes them interesting for viewers.36 This story can also be one of microhistory, revealing small-scale narratives about an individual which are able to be applied to a broader situation to create a large-scale narrative. Microhistory operates in influence of the broader Annales School of Thought which ideas contain the inclusion of all people, causing a focus on small-scaled, ordinary individuals, then using this to look at a bigger picture.37 This is key in the featuring of Olga’s blanket at the SJM38. This blanket given to Holocaust survivor Olga Rosenberger during liberation embodies wider female Jewish Shoah experience through a microhistorical viewpoint with its value being in its lifespan, such as its containment of human hair.39 Using a single blanket, a broader narrative of tragedy and loss is revealed to visitors, balancing Olga’s small-scale with Holocaust experience on a large-scale, making tragedy personalised and specified. Objects represent the smallscale but when placed with other objects of the same kind or explained through a microhistorical viewpoint communicate narratives of large-scale Shoah experience.

Technology introduces various opportunities for museums, such as in its ability to convey scale. HansenGlucklich suggests the power of technology is in its ability to enable a more traditional understanding of memory as an archival function40. Hansen-Glucklich suggests the role of museums are to act as physical containers for this memory41. AI in exhibitions is a method of telling history, such as seen at the SJM’s Reverberations. With the aging of Shoah survivors meaning they will soon be unable to share their stories, recordings of them have been created. Visitors can question these, for which the survivors answer, able to convey their stories in their own words, so small-scale narratives surrounding the Holocaust do not become forgotten. According to Albert Mehrabian’s 7-38-55 Communication model, it is believed only 7% of our understanding is from words, 38% from tone and voice, and 55% from body language;42 all things visitors are able to benefit from experiencing within the AI exhibition. This allows a small-scale, individualistic view of the Holocaust to be created in the survivors’ chosen words. Emotions are basic human experiences, which are shared with all people across time and space43. This

allows visitors to connect to each story empathetically, thus receiving a more extensive emotional understanding of the Holocaust, benefiting from the museum’s choice of a small-scale lens. As said by Lord, ‘Museums are meant to be caring for the heritage of the past yet still creating a legacy for the future’44, something done by sharing small-scale narratives through the use of AI. Emerging technology such as AI has the ability to convey scale in new ways such as to eternally share small-scale narratives from survivors in their own words, humanising the Holocaust and its tragedy, enabling viewers to conceptualise its impact as seen at the SJM.

A multi-scale history enables a complex view of the Holocaust, balancing the weight of tragedy for individuals with the suffering of the wider Jewish community, to encapsulate the extremity of the Shoah for its ongoing impact on Jewish identity. Through a small scale, a personalised history is shown in which viewers are able to conceptualise and empathise with. Museums have the opportunity to use small-scale narratives to highlight a broader, large-scale theme, a balance necessary in the case of the Holocaust. This is as differing scales of history allow for an event’s extremity and impacts on individuals to be realised, humanising statistics. Yad Vashem History Holocaust Museum, Berlin Jewish Museum and Sydney Jewish Museum consider the scales of history in areas such as architecture, light, art, object and technology to best convey the magnitude and cruelty of Jewish experience in the Shoah.

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بهجت, حسام. “Metaphysics in Architecture- The Jewish Museum in Berlin Case Study.”

0, no. 0 (January 22, 2022): 0–0. https://doi.org/10.21608/ mjaf.2022.108495.2571.

The impact of British colonisation on Eora social systems

DEZI MAGANN-JONES, YEAR 11

This essay was written for the Aboriginal Studies course.

The arrival of British settlers in 1788 led to the dispossession of the Eora people from their traditional lands moving onto reservations such as Sackville Reserve. The displacement had severe impacts on the Eora social systems such as the Stolen Generations, which were central to their identity and beliefs.

A significant part of Aboriginal culture is family and kinship which was significantly impacted by the arrival of settlers in 1788. According to John Mulvaney, “they were organized around small social units, families and clans, which coalesced on occasions when seasonal conditions permitted or when kinship obligations required. Hundreds of individuals often congregated for ceremonial activities such as initiation rituals” (Mulvaney 1981). Policies implemented by the New South Wales Government, such as the Stolen Generations, had a significant impact on the Eora Nation as the government purposely removed children from their families, justified by paternalism. This interrupted the passing down of cultural knowledge and practices, through oral storytelling as communities were disrupted.

Kinship structures were significant to Eora culture to outline the lores, education and different practices. An impact of colonisation was the transmission of diseases, this led to the termination of kinship within cultures as Elders passed away due to their weak immune system as they had had no exposure to these diseases before. This impacted the passing down of knowledge and kinship. In an interview with Alira Tufui, the director of operations at AbSec, AbSec is the peak organisations for Aboriginal children and families in NSW. They work to empower Aboriginal children, young people, families and communities. Alira stated, “Due to colonisation we lost all of our ways around our totemic systems and beliefs around our marriage systems. It was all lost, as Indigenous people were moved into missions and reserves”. She also stated that, “none of it can be easily revived as it was all recorded through story and if it was written down there was western influence behind it”. This primary source demonstrates the importance kinship had and will continue to have. This interruption of kinship had intergenerational impacts on Aboriginal families and communities, disrupting customary social structures and cultural transmission.

The dispossession of Eora people from their ancestral lands had a significant impact on their culture and social systems. The Nation had a deep connection to their Country, which was connected to their way of life. Due

to the colonisers not understanding this connection, this led to the assumption of terra nullius, meaning ‘land belonging to no one’. During the interview with Alira Tufui, we discussed how the loss of land and natural resources impacted social systems in the Eora Nation. Tufui says,“the loss of land meant that we had increased numbers and statistics around chronic health conditions and poor health outcomes throughout Aboriginal people, with diabetes and heart disease”. This highlights the importance of the connection to land and culture. Another source was in the Darramurragal clan – one of the twenty-nine clan groups that make up the Eora Nation. The Aboriginal heritage and History within the Kuring-gai Local Government Area (2015) document states, ‘Lieutenant Fowell, stated in 1789, “Every boat that went down the harbour found them lying dead on the beaches and in the caverns of the rocks.’ The source illustrates the impact of unknown diseases on the Eora Nation as a whole. The loss of connection to Country continues to have an impact on the Eora Nation today, limiting cultural practices and social cohesion.

Due to colonisation, the concept of community has changed significantly due to the ongoing challenges of colonisation. Aboriginal people have worked together and become resilient to overcome to impacts of colonisation. “It is clear here that the primary goal of Indigenous activists during this time was a post-colonial future, in which they were seen as equal citizens of the Nation, and no longer the colonised, displaced and dominated people”(Saunders 2018). This justifies that Aboriginal people have shown resilience in overcoming the impacts of colonisation and working together as a community. Tufui reflected on the concept of community evolving in the post-colonial era commenting that, “as we were removed from our traditional lands and we were dispossessed of our custodianship, no matter where you go, the concept of community for Aboriginal people is a strength in unity … community went from a physical place to a sense of community with a more broader scale for Aboriginal people as it is a unity from all the traumatic events of the past”. This quote reflects how Aboriginal people have worked together based on past experiences to come together from different Nations to unite.

The evolution of the concept of community reflects the impact of colonisation and the ongoing resilience of Aboriginal people. It demonstrates how the Eora Nation have reshaped their social systems in response to colonisation. To conclude, the ongoing impacts of colonisation have deepened and highlighted the connection of Aboriginal people as a result of colonisation.

BILIOGRAPHY

Aboriginal Heritage. (2006). A brief Aboriginal history. https://www. aboriginalheritage.org/history/history/ Australians Together. (2024). First Nations kinship. https:// australianstogether.org.au/discover-and-learn/our-cultures/kinship City of Sydney. (2017). Aboriginal histories. https://www.cityofsydney. nsw.gov.au/history/aboriginal-histories.

Jalata, A. (2013). The impacts of English colonial terrorism and genocide on Indigenous/black Australians. Sage Open, 3(3). https:// doi.org/10.1177/2158244013499143

Ku-Ring-Gai Council. (2015). Aboriginal heritage and history within the Ku-Ring-Gai Local Government Area. https://www.krg.nsw. gov.au/files/assets/public/v/1/hptrim/information-managementpublications-public-website-ku-ring-gai-council-website-

environment/aboriginal_heritage_and_history_within_the_ku-ringgai_local_government_area_-_july_2018.pdf

Raines, M. (2020). Impact of colonisation on Indigenous Australians https://www.evolves.com.au/impact-colonisation-indigenousaustralians/

Saunders, I. 2018. Post-colonial Australia: Fact or fabrication? NEW: Emerging Scholars in Australian Indigenous Studies, 2-3:1, 56-61. http://dx.doi.org/10.5130/nesais.v2i1.1474

Walking Together Reconciliation Committee. (2020). Family and kinship. https://www.workingwithindigenousaustralians.info/content/ Practice_Implications_5_Fafmily_and_Kinship.html

Watarrka Foundation. (2024). The role of family and kinship in Aboriginal culture. https://www.watarrkafoundation.org.au/blog/therole-of-family-kinship-in-aboriginal-culture.

Crisis of morality: Australian withdrawal from Vietnam

MEII YOU, YEAR 7

This paper was entered in the 2024 National History Challenge, for which the theme was ‘Crisis and Response’. It was selected as a finalist to proceed to national judging and received the award of ‘Young Historian Silver’.

The Vietnam War, 1955-1975, was a conflict between communist North Vietnam and quasi-democratic South Vietnam along with their allies, China and the US. Since the 19th century, French colonisation dominated modern-day Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, called ‘Indochina’. In 1940 Japan took control but when it lost WWII, native peoples saw a chance to revolt, led by the young revolutionary Ho Chi Minh and his communist party. The French tried to take back the territory through force, leading to the Geneva Peace Accords of 1954. However, this saw Vietnam split into two territories, and a war began in 1955 when Ho’s Communist North tried to invade the South. Both sides fought bitterly for 20 years, with the US-backed South using Agent Orange and napalm - disastrous chemicals that destroy forests and burn people to death - and massacring millions of villagers in the Vietnamese countryside.

The Vietnam War was a terrible conflict whose impacts were felt worldwide. Australia allied itself with the US and then Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, keen to emphasise Australia’s alliance and extremely conservative, sent in 800 infantrymen and, as time passed, more and more soldiers. Menzies’ successor Harold Holt sent in 1700 reinforcements. In all, 7000 Australian soldiers, many of them unwillingly conscripted, fought on Vietnamese soil and 521 died, with many wounded. In November 1970, the first Australian troops left Vietnam, and in 1973, the last soldiers withdrew. This essay examines the reasons for Australia’s withdrawal, and argues that a series of crises in Australia and Vietnam, not US policy, were the main reasons our troops were brought home.

Historians often explain Australia’s withdrawal from Vietnam as a response to US politics, and this story is supported by many official documents. For example, Prime Minister William McMahon and his Cabinet wrote about their decision to withdraw troops in a primary source from the 26th July, 1971.1 The upcoming visit of US President Richard Nixon to Peking (Beijing) was seen by the Cabinet to “imply” that the US would “now speed up its programme of withdrawal”because its anti-communist policy was changing and less severe. Secondly, the Cabinet argued that “with particular reference to the capacity of local forces to maintain security...an early decision to withdraw Australian forces was inevitable,” suggesting that they believed South Vietnam could stand on its own. This interpretation is

also supported by recent secondary sources. The Anzac Portal argues that when the US announced its withdrawal of 15,000 soldiers on 20 April 1970, “two days later, the Australian Government, following the US lead, expressed its strategy for withdrawal,”2 suggesting that the end of Australian involvement was a response to US Government policy and the ‘Vietnamisation’ of defence forces.

However, this mainstream historical interpretation does not give attention to the crisis faced by ordinary Vietnamese people, and the impact this had on Australia’s decision to withdraw. As a result of the war, more than 3 million people died,3 including many innocent Vietnamese living in remote villages. The use of the herbicide Agent Orange to clear forests negatively impacted all sides and the Australian public was well-aware of this poisoning of soils which resulted in starvation. Referring to it as “a thousand My Lai [massacres],”4 the Sydney-based communist Tribune used soldier testimony to outline its horrors and in the years after an Australian soldier featured in the Women’s Weekly. After handling Agent Orange, he claimed to often be dizzy and nauseous, exhausted and out of breath.5 Another deadly weapon was napalm, a substance that caught fire easily and led to severe burns that killed and mutilated thousands while choking many more in toxic fumes. This crisis was discussed in Australia, changing attitudes towards the war. For example, the UNSW student magazine Tharunka ran a 1967 article which stated that “at least 415,000 civilians have been killed since 1961,” and “It’s clear that in the rural villages which bear the brunt of the napalm raids, at least 70% and probably more of the residents are children.”6

The war had a horrific impact on Vietnam’s children, and this crisis was well-known in Australia. More than a quarter million children were slaughtered in the war, mostly from bombing rural communities. Tharunka examined how napalm burnt and severely scarred children, often leaving them limbless and mutilated.7 This was exacerbated by extremely poor sanitary conditions and lack of resources whereby many qualified doctors had fled or died, leaving a shortage of surgeons. Thus, many mutilated children were not operated on in months or even years. The Tribune detailed this in the story of Doan Minh Luan. Attempting to escape to Britain when he was 8, he was attacked with napalm. “He left the plane with a muslin bag over what had been his face. His parents had been burned alive. His chin had ‘melted’ into his throat, so that he could not close his mouth. He had no eyelids.”8 Another issue was the many unexploded bombs in the ground that unsuspecting children set off, resulting in hundreds of casualties and these effects continue today.9 Thus, Vietnamese children were severely

impacted, and this fact was known and discussed in Australia, particularly as broadcast television allowed people to see this violence in their own homes.10

Australians therefore began to question the morality of the war, in contrast to earlier anti-communism. This was due to a growing knowledge of the war’s cruelty and horrors, but also due to the introduction of conscription in Australia, a process where some male citizens were forced to fight. Many university and school students therefore protested because they were impacted, fighting on the front lines and getting killed. This shock and disgruntlement finally culminated into the Moratoriums of 1970 and 1971.

The Vietnam moratoriums were a series of protests held in Melbourne against the Vietnam War, the most successful of which was held on May 8, 1970. They represented the will and political expression of the people. As leader Jim Cairns stated, “Democracy is government by the people, and government by the people demands action by the people … in public places all around the land.” Becoming Australia’s spiritual leader in the anti-war movement, Cairns, who was a former

parliamentarian, made the moratorium successful. This was despite opposition from the conservative government, and in the same year as the moratoriums began, Australia started withdrawing troops from Vietnam. “The will of the people is being expressed today as it never has been before,” Cairns said.

The changing attitudes of Australians towards war in Vietnam was therefore not just a response to US politics but to the crises of suffering in Vietnam and at home, and the response of Australian youth caused positive effects on society at-large, enlarging democratic rights, such as protesting on the streets. Before this, in Melbourne, there had been a law saying that ‘You could not hand out leaflets on the street.’ However, the moratoriums changed some of these rules to make way for real democracy - power in the people. This also strengthened self-expression as young people, the new generation searching for solutions, were far less conservative than the current government and expressed new, radical ideas that went against conservatism. Together, these changes built a better and fairer democracy in Australian society and politics.

REFERENCES

1 Cabinet Office, Cabinet decision to withdraw Australian forces from Vietnam, 26 July 1971, available at: https://www.naa.gov.au/studentsand-teachers/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/ war/vietnam-war/cabinet-decision-withdraw-australian-forcesvietnam-1971

2 “Vietnam War 1962 to 1975,” Anzac Portal, https://anzacportal.dva. gov.au/wars-and-missions/vietnam-war-1962-1975 [last accessed 14/8/24]

3 Spector, R. H.. “Vietnam War.” Encyclopedia Britannica, August 19, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War.

4 “A Thousand My Lais, Tribune, 9 June 1971, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237866769

5 “Agent Orange,” Women’s Weekly, 6 February 1980, https://trove.nla. gov.au/newspaper/article/51184851

6 “The Children of Vietnam,” Tharunka, 29 December 1967, https:// trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230416121

7 “The Children of Vietnam,” Tharunka, 29 December 1967, https:// trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230416121

8 “This is Vietnam,” Tribune, 15 February 1967, https://trove.nla.gov.au/ newspaper/article/237356803

9 “Vietnam War 1962 to 1975,” Anzac Portal, https://anzacportal.dva. gov.au/wars-and-missions/vietnam-war-1962-1975 [last accessed 14/8/24]

10 Mydans, Seth, “An American Who Has Helped Clear 815,000 Bombs from Vietnam,” The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/15/world/asia/vietnam-deminingchuck-searcy.html [last accessed 20/8/24]

11 Paul Strangio, “50 years on, the Vietnam moratorium campaigns remind us of a different kind of politics,” The Conversation, https:// theconversation.com/50-years-on-the-vietnam-moratoriumcampaigns-remind-us-of-a-different-kind-of-politics-137883, [last accessed 14/8/24]

12 Paul Strangio, “50 years on, the Vietnam moratorium campaigns remind us of a different kind of politics,” The Conversation, https:// theconversation.com/50-years-on-the-vietnam-moratoriumcampaigns-remind-us-of-a-different-kind-of-politics-137883, [last accessed 14/8/24]

13 Paul Strangio, “50 years on, the Vietnam moratorium campaigns remind us of a different kind of politics,” The Conversation, https:// theconversation.com/50-years-on-the-vietnam-moratoriumcampaigns-remind-us-of-a-different-kind-of-politics-137883, [last accessed 14/8/24]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Agent Orange,” Women’s Weekly, 6 February 1980, https://trove.nla. gov.au/newspaper/article/51184851

“A Thousand My Lais…,” Tribune, 9 June 1971 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/237866769

Cabinet Office, Cabinet decision to withdraw Australian forces from Vietnam, 26 July 1971, available at: https://www.naa.gov.au/studentsand-teachers/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/ war/vietnam-war/cabinet-decision-withdraw-australian-forcesvietnam-1971

“City marchers in Newcastle demand ‘end Vietnam War’,” Tribune, 9 June 1965, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/ article/236346973?searchTerm=end%20of%20vietnam%20war Mydans, Seth, “An American Who Has Helped Clear 815,000 Bombs from Vietnam,” The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/15/world/asia/vietnam-deminingchuck-searcy.html [last accessed 20/8/24]

Spector, R. H., “Vietnam War.” Encyclopedia Britannica, August 19, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War.

Strangio, Paul, “50 years on, the Vietnam moratorium campaigns remind us of a different kind of politics,” The Conversation, https:// theconversation.com/50-years-on-the-vietnam-moratoriumcampaigns-remind-us-of-a-different-kind-of-politics-137883, [last accessed 14/8/24]

“The Children of Vietnam,” Tharunka, 29 December 1967, https:// trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/230416121

“This is Vietnam,” Tribune, 15 February 1967, https://trove.nla.gov.au/ newspaper/article/237356803

“Vietnam War 1962 to 1975,” Anzac Portal, https://anzacportal.dva. gov.au/wars-and-missions/vietnam-war-1962-1975 [last accessed 14/8/24]

Assessing the significance of local histories as part of broader nationwide truth-telling about the Australian massacres during the colonial period (1788-1901)

SALLY COOPER, YEAR

12

This essay was written for Year 12 Extension History.

Local histories play a vital role in Australia’s history and path to nationwide truth-telling, as they contribute significantly to the patchwork of source material used to construct national history about massacres and violence during the colonial period. Local history can be defined as the study of the past in a smaller geographical area about historical events or peoples.1 They can be nuanced, presented in many ways. Publications of local history, primarily from historical societies during the 1950s and 60s, offer a detailed, reliable history of the area.2 As massacres occurred in First Nations communities, the local history becomes relevant to the community and the broader public when engaging with the colonial period. This is where local histories are most significant, as they provide a “view from the bottom”, as Australian historian Ian Willis states, through “relate[ing] stories of community rituals, traditions and celebrations” that create a “dense landscape of meanings that are layered and nuanced”.3 Australia’s colonial history has left a legacy that is deeply entwined with narratives of violence and dispossession, especially through the nationwide massacres of Indigenous peoples. Nationwide truthtelling refers to the open and honest acknowledgement of the historical occurrences, particularly those involving injustices and atrocities, across the entire country.4 5 This practice is significant for Australia’s identity as it promotes a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of the nation’s history, fostering reconciliation and unity. As society has struggled with accepting our past, the importance of local histories has emerged as a pivotal factor to the broader pursuit of nationwide truth-telling as a means to reconcile. These local histories offer detailed insights into the complexities of Australian colonial massacres, as they shed light onto the specificities, such as the motivations and impacts that affect local communities. Local histories, as an example of a microhistory, make an accessible version of history that allows for a refined level of history, especially for the public as it provides a gateway into the complexities of Australian history. Historians are able to explore and understand these local histories within Australia, by using oral and historical records, such as diaries, photographs, and newspaper articles, in order to fill the gaps that have been lost to time.6 7 As such, understanding and acknowledging these local histories is crucial in the pursuit of nationwide truth-telling, as it aids in the reconciliation process and helps to cultivate a

more comprehensive and accurate narrative of Australia’s colonial past.

The lack of a cohesive national history has created a gap in the Australian narrative, resulting in significant cultural debates and shifts in understanding, particularly in relation to the treatment of First Nations peoples during the colonial period. From this, many different interpretations and debates arose, causing the History Wars that emerged during the late 1990s and to most recently 2010 and 2016.8 The culture wars in the Australian context emerged during the late 20th century, whereas other nations have been engaged in since the mid 20th century.9 With Australia’s step into the culture war, new protagonists have been introduced with ‘white blindfold’ vs ‘black armband’ debate. The ‘white blindfold’ approach, associated with Keith Windschuttle and former Prime Minister John Howard, heavily deny the mistreatment of First Nations peoples ever existed, or greatly exaggerated.10 They both disputed the claims of the thousands of First Nations peoples who died during the colonial frontier wars.11 12 The ‘black armband’ view, however, suggests the colonial massacres resulted in thousands to tens of thousands of deaths, directly from examining local histories.13 These historians were coined the term ‘Black Armbanders’, for focusing on the treatment of First Nations peoples from the colonial period.14 Lyndall Ryan and Henry Reynolds are prominent Australian historians involved in the History Wars, as both their works have been attacked by Windschuttle for “fabricate[ing] the history of Indigenous Australians in sympathetic terms”, as historian Tony Taylor states.15 Consequently, the whole Australian narrative has been turned on its head by changing cultural norms, changing recognition and what constitutes as valid evidence. Oral testimonies are an example of this ‘new’ evidence, as more validation emerges alongside the acceptance of revisionism and the post-colonial school of thought.16 The shift from an orthodox and ‘white blindfold’ approach into a revisionist, post-colonial and ‘black armband’ perspective has moulded the Australian identity, directing society to focus on nationwide truth-telling. This has been deepened and given credence by the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a consensus document released in 2017 that called for a First Nations Voice in the Australian Constitution and a Makarrata Commission, meaning “coming together after a struggle”, to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling between governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

ASSESSING

(1788-1901)

peoples.17 This cultural shift towards nationwide truthtelling signifies a momentous change in the Australian narrative, opening up new avenues for reconciliation and mutual understanding between all Australians.

Local historical societies have played a crucial role in nationwide truth-telling about the Australian massacres during the colonial period, especially in the 1950s and 60s when their evidence filled gaps left by mainstream academic historians. During the 1950s and 60s, local historical societies emerged as vital contributors to the narrative of Australian history, particularly in documenting the massacres of Indigenous peoples that were frequently ignored or denied by academic historians.18 These local societies gathered evidence, preserving oral histories, documents, and artifacts that showcase Aboriginal experiences, particularly through the colonial periods.19 This filled a gap that was left by academic historians as they were embroiled in culture wars, with debates and denials surrounding the extent of colonial violence.20 21 These historical societies became popular during the 1950s, as members ‘joined societies to preserve their local pasts and pursue their historical interests’, as Australian historian Louise Prowse argues, after World War II.22 Tom Stannage, another Australian historian, was one of the leading historians who took part in the academic shift in research towards First Nations local history in the Subiaco Local Historical Society, in Western Australia during the 1960s and 70s.23 24 Many similar movements towards focusing on local history was heavily influenced by the civil rights movements in Australia, especially of those focusing on race and gender.25 Colonial Queensland (QLD) was one of the most involved states in frontier massacres, inflicting 116 massacres between the 1780s to the 1910s.26 From those, 3456 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were killed throughout that period, making it the most deaths in a state from colonial massacres.27 The massacre that took place at Yandilla Station, Darling Downs in QLD (1842) exemplifies a local history that was only recorded through the perpetrators (colonists and pioneers) perspective through the work of Henry Stuart Russell, an English explorer and historian who recorded his journeys in ‘The Genesis of Queensland’.28 The work, reviewed by Maurice French and separately Lyndall Ryan, is suggested to have been ‘covered up’ by Russell, as it was deemed unlikely that “three white men could have survived unscathed against such a large number of Aboriginal people”, and that there were “more than three well-armed white men” involved in the massacre, suggesting a cover-up of evidence.29 The Toowoomba Historical Society is the closest historical society in the area to Yandilla, and have released many publications regarding histories of Toowoomba and the Darling Downs.30 The majority of the publications include the time periods from around 1840 to present day, framed primarily around the pioneers and settlers during the earlier times.31 While they include this time period, there is

limited reference to Aboriginal history within that region, with the only suggestion being a photo of an Aboriginal person on the front cover of Toowoomba’s Story – In Brief (2003), alongside a white pioneer.32 The absence of an explicit First Nations local history in Toowoomba’s Historical Society raises some questions towards the treatment of Aboriginal peoples during that colonial period, as there were definitely Aboriginal presence and frontier conflict in the Darling Downs locality. Another local history publication by Kempton Bedwell shows similarities between Toowoomba’s Story and his work, ‘Beginnings of Toowoomba’, 1957, as they both discarded the Aboriginal histories that took place during the colonial period.33 While the civil rights movement within Australia during the 1950s and 60s, including but not limited to First Nations experiences, Bedwell’s work is exemplar of the ignorance of these experiences in academic circles of history as shown through the burial of historical recognition of the frontier wars.34 Notwithstanding the concerted efforts of historians of the mid-20th century, the expanse and depth of these events are only just coming to light, for example, the true extent and evidence of atrocities of what we now know as the “frontier wars”.

Current research around massacres during the frontier wars have led to the uncovering of lesser-known events such as those at Yandilla Station. This concentrated effort by modern historians within a climate of greater acceptance and the encouragement of truth-telling, provides us with a sound platform of evidence, much of which is just revealed today. Modern-day historians such as Ryan and Reynolds are able to examine the evidence of the events and create further public history for a further understanding through using both academic and public history in books as an avenue for this comprehension. Lyndall Ryan’s ‘Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930’ map utilises local history to engage in the broader, nationwide truth-telling movement.35 She uses primary sources from local histories and a corroboration rating system of each massacre (one star to three, three being multiple primary sources) to craft a map that is highly accessible to the public to explore these local histories that were not at the forefront of academic history during the 20th century.36 Historian John Harris accentuates this, as the “modern historians… have been trying to… write back into history the story of Aboriginal Australia hidden for so long from our eyes”.37 This has arisen from the modern-day environment where truthtelling has become more necessary from the discovery and acceptance of ‘new’ evidence from emerging technologies, such as oral testimonies.38 In doing so, Ryan et al. showcase the way that local histories can be used to form national identity through the map as an avenue for truth-telling. David Carment, an Australian historian, claims that the greatest of benefits ascended from local history during the early 21st century is that “it helps provides increasingly mobile populations… with a sense of place and purpose”. 39 Hence, local histories not only

unravel the intricate tapestry of Australian communities but also serve as a critical tool for truth-telling, providing fresh insights into our understanding of history.

However, local histories are at a disadvantage due to the nature of lost oral history through the losses in colonial massacres. Oral history, as defined by the University of Leicester, is the recording and preservation of an interpretation about historical material and is “particularly useful for… minority groups or small communities who will not often be represented in… formal histories”.40 Indigenous people are “heavily reliant on oral history as a form of storytelling, learning, and commemorating” (Gwatkin-Higson, 2018).41 Oral history allows for the past voices of First Nation Australians to be heard, as it is shared throughout communities to reinforce their experiences of the past. The loss of untold stories and histories from death can limit modern historians exploring local histories, as it severs the connection that oral history travels down. Colonial massacres pose a significant threat to these oral histories, as the countless deaths result in missing links in the framework of the full history that occurred. These gaps present a considerable challenge to historians trying to piece together a comprehensive and accurate representation of Australia’s past. The loss of oral histories means losing firsthand accounts and cultural narratives that are essential for a complete understanding of historical events. Previously during the early 20th century, oral testimonies were not considered ‘valid’ evidence due to the vulnerability it has to time and memory.42 However, during the 1950s and 60s, there was a shift in the academic circle of history towards accepting oral history and the value of its subjectivity.43 This is still fulfilled today, as efforts are being made throughout the country to safely document and archive current cultural knowledge that has been passed down.44 On the other hand, this is not useful for massacres during the colonial period, as many of the stories have already been lost due to the severed connection. Thus, local histories are at a disadvantage due to the lost stories of oral history.

The nuanced nature of local history can form an accessible and contemporary avenue for truth-telling within Australia. Public history is a key component for truth-telling, as it provides an opportunity for the public to connect with the events of the past, and in this case, colonial massacres.45 While public history is not directly connected to local history, the basis of which the public forms around is derived from using local histories, whether it is publications or traditions and storytelling. The Myall Creek massacre is one of Australia’s most well-known colonial massacres, as colonists killed 28 Aboriginal people.46 47 It was notably the first and only time that colonial perpetrators were tried and executed for a massacre of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, treating both sides of the story as equal for a fair and just trial.48 From 2000 onwards, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people come together at the Myall Creek

Massacre Memorial Stone, as an act of reconciliation and “acknowledgment of truth”.49 50 Public monuments such as the memorial stone and the remembrance ceremony display the value of local histories, as it showcases how the local history can be used to unite and connect Australians to the complex narrative of our history. Lyndall Ryan and Jane Lydon’s book, ‘Remembering the Myall Creek Massacre”, presents a local history about the Myall Creek Massacre and the process from the event to present day, and how the community around Myall Creek has used the massacre as a tool for educating, taking a step towards truth-telling. This demonstrates that local histories not only preserve the memory of past events but also play a crucial role in fostering understanding and reconciliation in contemporary society.

Overall, local histories play a critical role in shaping the current views on the past, as they enable a broad, nationwide truth-telling movement about the colonial massacres. Truth-telling is vital for the future of Australia and will become successful when future generations understand that the most important war of Australian history was the frontier wars, as Reynolds coins it. Local histories provide the foundation for this understanding, offering detailed and personal insights that larger national narratives might overlook. By focusing on the specific events and experiences of communities, local histories enrich our collective memory and highlight the diverse experiences that constitute our past. This approach ensures that the stories of all Australians, particularly those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, are acknowledged and remembered. In doing so, local histories help to pave the way for a more inclusive and truthful representation of Australia’s history, crucial for national reconciliation and unity.

(1788-1901)

REFERENCES

1 Carol Kammen, On Doing Local History, 2nd ed. (AltaMira Press, 2003).

2 Helen Doyle and Katya Johanson, “A Guide for Historical Societies,” n.d.

3 Ian Willis, “Local History: A View from the Bottom,” History Workshop, December 5, 2016, https://www.historyworkshop.org.uk/ education/local-history-a-view-from-the-bottom/.

4 Henry Reynolds, Truth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement (Sydney, NSW: NewSouth Publishing, 2021).

5 “Reconciliation and Truth-Telling,” Reconciliation Australia, accessed March 31, 2024, https://www.reconciliation.org.au/our-work/truthtelling/.

6 John Harris, “Hiding the Bodies: The Myth of the Humane Colonisation of Aboriginal Australia,” Aboriginal History 27 (2003): 99.

7 Henry Stuart Russell, The Genesis of Queensland : An Account of the First Exploring Journeys to and over Darling Downs : The Earliest Days of Their Occupation; Social Life; Station Seeking; the Course of Discovery, Northward and Westward; and a Resumé of the Causes Which Led to Separation from New South Wales : With Portrait and FacSimiles of Maps, Log, &c., &c. (Sydney, NSW: Turner & Henderson, 1888).

8 Tony Taylor, “Australia’s ‘History Wars’ Reignite,” The Conversation, March 31, 2016, http://theconversation.com/australias-history-warsreignite-57065.

9 Taylor.

10 Taylor.

11 Terry Barnes, “John Howard Is Right about British Colonialism in Australia,” The Spectator, July 27, 2023, https://www.spectator.co.uk/ article/john-howard-is-right-about-british-colonialism-in-australia/.

12 Patrick Brantlinger, “‘Black Armband’ versus ‘White Blindfold’ History in Australia,” Victorian Studies 46, no. 4 (2004): 659.

13 Henry Reynolds, The Other Side of the Frontier: Aboriginal Resistance to the European Invasion of Australia (Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin, 1982).

14 Taylor, “Australia’s ‘History Wars’ Reignite.”

15 Taylor.

16 “What Is Oral History? History at Leicester,” University of Leicester, accessed April 7, 2024, https://le.ac.uk/history/outreach/besh/oralhistory/what-is.

17 “View The Statement,” Uluru Statement from the Heart (blog), accessed March 25, 2024, https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/ view-the-statement/.

18 Louise Prowse, “Parallels on the Periphery: The Exploration of Aboriginal History by Local Historical Societies in New South Wales, 1960s-1970s” 12, no. 3 (2015): 57, 58, 61, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14 490854.2015.11668586.

19 Federation of Australian Historical Societies, “Collections,” Federation of Australian Historical Societies (blog), accessed May 30, 2024, https://www.history.org.au/collections/.

20 Louise Prowse, “Parallels on the Periphery: The Exploration of Aboriginal History by Local Historical Societies in New South Wales, 1960s-1970s.”

21 Taylor, “Australia’s ‘History Wars’ Reignite.”

22 Louise Prowse, “Parallels on the Periphery: The Exploration of Aboriginal History by Local Historical Societies in New South Wales, 1960s-1970s.”, 57-58, 61

23 Louise Prowse.

24 David Carment, “‘For Their Own Purposes of Identity’: Tom Stannage and Australian Local History” 20 (2013): 68, 69.

25 Frank Bongiorno, “From Local History to the History of Place: A Brief

History of Local History in Australia,” 2009, 7.

26 Lyndall Ryan et al., “Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 17881930 Statistics,” accessed April 7, 2024, https://c21ch.newcastle.edu. au/colonialmassacres/statistics.php.

27 Lyndall Ryan et al.

28 Henry Stuart Russell, The Genesis of Queensland: An Account of the First Exploring Journeys to and over Darling Downs: The Earliest Days of Their Occupation; Social Life; Station Seeking; the Course of Discovery, Northward and Westward; and a Resumé of the Causes Which Led to Separation from New South Wales: With Portrait and Fac-Similes of Maps, Log, &c., &c

29 Lyndall Ryan et al., Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 17881930 (Yandilla Station Massacre), accessed March 24, 2024, https:// c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/introduction.php.

30 “Publications – Toowoomba Historical Society,” accessed June 1, 2024, https://www.toowoombahistory.org.au/publications/.

31 “Publications – Toowoomba Historical Society.”

32 “Publications – Toowoomba Historical Society.”

33 Kempton Bedwell, “Beginnings of Toowoomba,” Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, 5, no. 5 (March 28, 1957): 1316.

34 Louise Prowse, “Parallels on the Periphery: The Exploration of Aboriginal History by Local Historical Societies in New South Wales, 1960s-1970s.”

35 Lyndall Ryan et al., “Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 17881930,” accessed March 24, 2024, https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/ colonialmassacres/introduction.php.

36 Lyndall Ryan et al.

37 Harris, “Hiding the Bodies.”, 99

38 Patricia “Chent” Gwatkin-Higson, “What Is the Role of Oral History and Testimony in Building Our Understanding of the Past?” 4, no. 1 (2018): 40, https://doi.org/10.5130/nesais.v4i1.1538.

39 David Carment, “‘For Their Own Purposes of Identity’: Tom Stannage and Australian Local History.” 75

40 “What Is Oral History?”

41 Patricia “Chent” Gwatkin-Higson, “What Is the Role of Oral History and Testimony in Building Our Understanding of the Past?”

42 “‘Why Should We Share Anything with Them?!’ – Oral History, Truth, and Ethics in Post-Totalitarian Societies - UC Berkeley Library Update,” March 22, 2023, https://update.lib.berkeley.edu/2023/03/21/whyshould-we-share-anything-with-them-oral-history-truth-and-ethicsin-post-totalitarian-societies/.

43 “Why Should We Share Anything with Them?”

44 “Digital Archiving | First Nations Media Australia,” accessed June 2, 2024, https://firstnationsmedia.org.au/resources/digital-archiving.

45 “Reconciliation and Truth-Telling.”

46 National Museum of Australia, “National Museum of Australia - Myall Creek Massacre” (National Museum of Australia; c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=National Museum of Australia, April 12, 2023), https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/ resources/myall-creek-massacre.

47 “The Massacre Story,” Friends of Myall Creek (blog), accessed April 7, 2024, https://myallcreek.org/the-massacre-story/.

48 “The Massacre Story.”

49 “National Heritage Places - Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site - DCCEEW,” accessed April 7, 2024, https://www.dcceew.gov.au/ parks-heritage/heritage/places/national/myall-creek.

50 “The Massacre Story.”

51 Jane Lydon and Lyndall Ryan, eds., Remembering the Myall Creek Massacre (Sydney, NSW: NewSouth Publishing, 2018).

52 Henry Reynolds, Truth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Barnes, Terry. “John Howard Is Right about British Colonialism in Australia.” The Spectator, July 27, 2023. https://www.spectator.co.uk/ article/john-howard-is-right-about-british-colonialism-in-australia/.

Bedwell, Kempton. “Beginnings of Toowoomba,” Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland, 5, no. 5 (March 28, 1957): 1316.

Brantlinger, Patrick. “‘Black Armband’ versus ‘White Blindfold’ History in Australia.” Victorian Studies 46, no. 4 (2004): 659.

Carol Kammen. On Doing Local History. 2nd ed. AltaMira Press, 2003.

David Carment. “‘For Their Own Purposes of Identity’: Tom Stannage and Australian Local History” 20 (2013): 68, 69.

“Digital Archiving | First Nations Media Australia.” Accessed June 2, 2024. https://firstnationsmedia.org.au/resources/digital-archiving.

Doyle, Helen, and Katya Johanson. “A Guide for Historical Societies,” n.d. Evans, Raymond, and Robert Ørsted–Jensen. “‘I Cannot Say the Numbers That Were Killed’: Assessing Violent Mortality on the Queensland Frontier.” SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester, NY, 2014. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2467836.

Federation of Australian Historical Societies. “Collections.” Federation of Australian Historical Societies (blog). Accessed May 30, 2024. https://www.history.org.au/collections/.

Flierl, Michael. “Research Guides: Newspapers: Why Use Newspapers.” Accessed May 20, 2024. https://guides.osu.edu/newspapers/why_use.

Frank Bongiorno. “From Local History to the History of Place: A Brief History of Local History in Australia,” 2009, 7. Friends of Myall Creek. “The Massacre Story.” Accessed April 7, 2024. https://myallcreek.org/the-massacre-story/.

Harris, John. “Hiding the Bodies: The Myth of the Humane Colonisation of Aboriginal Australia.” Aboriginal History 27 (2003): 99.

Henry Reynolds. The Other Side of the Frontier: Aboriginal Resistance to the European Invasion of Australia. Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin, 1982.

———. Truth-Telling: History, Sovereignty and the Uluru Statement. Sydney, NSW: NewSouth Publishing, 2021.

Henry Stuart Russell. The Genesis of Queensland : An Account of the First Exploring Journeys to and over Darling Downs : The Earliest Days of Their Occupation; Social Life; Station Seeking; the Course of Discovery, Northward and Westward; and a Resumé of the Causes Which Led to Separation from New South Wales : With Portrait and FacSimiles of Maps, Log, &c., &c. Sydney, NSW: Turner & Henderson, 1888. History Trust of South Australia. “Types and Locations of Historical Sources.” Accessed May 20, 2024. https://www.history.sa.gov.au/ resource/types-and-locations-of-historical-sources/.

Jane Lydon and Lyndall Ryan, eds. Remembering the Myall Creek Massacre. Sydney, NSW: NewSouth Publishing, 2018.

Louise Prowse. “Parallels on the Periphery: The Exploration of Aboriginal History by Local Historical Societies in New South Wales, 1960s-1970s” 12, no. 3 (2015): 57, 58, 61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14 490854.2015.11668586.

Lyndall Ryan, Jennifer Debenham, Bill Pascoe, Robyn Smith, Chris

Owen, Jonathan Richards, Stephanie Gilbert, et al. “Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930.” Accessed March 24, 2024. https:// c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/introduction.php.

———. “Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930 (Myall Creek Massacre).” Accessed April 7, 2024. https://c21ch.newcastle. edu.au/colonialmassacres/detail.php?r=579.

———. “Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930 (Skull Hole Massacre).” Accessed April 7, 2024. https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/ colonialmassacres/detail.php?r=952.

———. “Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930 Statistics.” Accessed April 7, 2024. https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/ colonialmassacres/statistics.php.

———. “Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930 (Yandilla Station Massacre).” Accessed March 24, 2024. https://c21ch. newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/introduction.php.

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Assessing the influence of nationalism and postcolonialism on informing the repatriation debate

RACHEL CHAN, YEAR 12

This essay was written for Year 12 Extension History.

The repatriation debate, centring on whether cultural artifacts should be returned to their countries of origin, is profoundly shaped by the sentiments of nationalism and post-colonialism. The debate surrounding the return of artifacts has long been a contentious issue, investigating the conceptualisation of human history and the fundamental roles and responsibilities of museums. Amidst this discourse, a tension emerges between internationalism and nationalism. Internationalists view cultural heritage as universally valuable, advocating for retention in museums and asserting claims that transcend cultural boundaries. Conversely, nationalists champion culturally specific rights and emphasise the importance of repatriation, acknowledging the claims of source communities. However, the development of postcolonial thought has enabled a more nuanced understanding of the repatriation issue, considering its significance in the process of decolonisation. Yet, the evolution of this debate suggests that a definitive resolution may remain elusive, as competing ideologies and interests perpetually clash. This dual role underscores the intricate relationship between cultural heritage and national identity, with artifacts serving as symbols of past glory or testaments to historical injustices.

Internationalist approaches have been adopted by those in favour of museums retaining their collections, citing an encyclopaedic institution’s ability to represent history holistically. The notion of an objectively internationalist museum was first conceptualised during the Enlightenment, grounded upon ambitions of a public space that diffused knowledge of the world’s cultures1 Though emerging in the eighteenth century, this concept has continued to propagate the modern repatriation debate. The perceived significance of the encyclopaedic museum is often deployed to critique claims of cultural ownership over artifacts, suggesting that increasing the breadth of collections and increasing public access to museums assists the explication of human behaviour “for the benefit of humankind.”2 Following the period of growing decolonisation post-WWII, historical academia in the 1960s witnessed an increase in postcolonial discourse alongside an acknowledgement of cultural power imbalances. Historian Geoffrey Robertson notes that prominent museums advocating for universal heritage predominantly exist in Europe, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.3 This concentration perpetuates colonialism, implying that artifacts belong in certain museums but not others, and disregarding that the comparatively more

advanced institutions in the West have occurred at the expense of former colonial countries. Anthropologist Sharon Macdonald characterises these museums as “symbols of the existence of the newly forming nationstates… positioning the new nation-states as ‘collectors,’ signalling their identity and indeed very existence by their ownership of collections.” These collections allow nations to demonstrate their possession and mastery of the world, a feat that colonial powers particularly showcased through the accumulation of material culture from the countries they colonised.4 Furthermore, a reluctance to repatriate artifacts has resulted in a conflation between decolonisation and nationalism by many scholars, attributing a nation’s attempt to reclaim the identity stolen from them to an attempt to brandish their own national identity.

Epistemic challenges surrounding the objects’ chain of ownership warrant countries to declare ownership over certain artifacts, providing the framework for nationalistic approaches to the debate. Internationalist perspectives criticise repatriation claims for their disruption of history’s holistic retelling, condemning the modern political agendas of nations that exist despite fluctuations in geographic borders. Cultural groups have profoundly diverged over time, resulting in the argument that there is no inherent nation that gets to claim ownership over an artifact.5 For example, the stele of King Naram-sin of Akkad has been the subject of debate following the establishment of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Originating from the ancient Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia, the region now borders all four countries, demonstrating the significance of global heritage when ancient boundaries no longer reflect modern nations.6 James Cuno, former director of the Getty Museum, maintains this stance in his book, “Who Owns Antiquity?”, arguing that, not only are modern nations no longer a reflection of ancient empires, but the restitution of cultural artifacts serves to “affirm continuity with [a nation’s] glorious and powerful past[,] burnishing their modern political image.” Cuno affirms that, under the guise of cultural protectionism, governments such as Egypt, Iran and Italy increasingly claim artifacts to associate themselves with the Pharaonic era, ancient Persia and Roman Empire for political benefit.7 This is exacerbated by artifacts that lack documentation and a concrete chain of ownership, labelled, “unprovenanced antiquities.”8 Thus, problems arise when nations blatantly claim artifacts, disregarding where the antiquity was unearthed which may differ from its place of origin. Scholar Zareer Masani, in analysing the Koh-I-Noor diamond, asserts its complex

history of changing ownership, suggesting that it transcends national boundaries and belongs to the global community. Masani’s perspective, while recognising that the object has “changed hands multiple times” and the intricacies surrounding the diamond’s provenance, overlooks the deeper implications of colonial exploitation and cultural appropriation.9 Masani’s assertion fails to adequately address the moral imperative of repatriation in redressing historical injustices and empowering marginalised communities. By advocating for a globalist approach that disregards the specific historical contexts of colonial acquisition, Masani perpetuates a narrative that undermines the struggles of postcolonial nations to reclaim their cultural heritage and assert their sovereignty. Similarly, historian Tiffany Jenkins contends that the nationalism underpinning repatriation claims fails to present history holistically. In her book “Keeping Their Marbles,” Jenkins states, “We should judge the past on the terms of the past, rather than by what we feel is right today,” claiming that desires for repatriation are founded upon liberal guilt and an obsession with “history’s victims.” The language adopted in her analysis is overwhelmingly dismissive of historical injustices, as evidenced by her blunt assertion that the repatriation of artifacts serves only to make these marginalised groups “feel better about their lives.” Jenkins reprimands attempts at revisionism, contending that encyclopaedic museums are best positioned to educate, rather than the nations themselves, as this would lead to a telling of history “by the victims [at risk of being] rewritten to make them feel better, [which is not] history.”10 Therefore, the internationalist proponents perceive nationalist claims to cultural artifacts as convoluting productive historical conversation, asserting the importance of global heritage instead.

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) characterises the role of the museum as an institution that, “exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment.”11 Proponents of the internationalist stance diametrically opposed perspectives on the national significance of artifacts, instead submitting their significance to global heritage. These sentiments are reflected in the international joint statement signed by 18 museums, the “Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums”, which asserts that artifacts, “whether by purchase, gift or partage - have become part of the museums that have cared for them, and by extension part of the heritage of the nations which house them”, and rather, museums are “agents in the development of culture” and “serve the people of every nation.”12 Admittedly, the 18 signatories originate from museums in North America and Europe, indicating that this internationalist perspective predominantly reflects the interests of Western institutions.13 This raises questions about whether the principles of universal heritage are genuinely upheld or if they serve to

perpetuate the nationalist interests of encyclopaedic institutions in maintaining historical dominance over these artifacts.

Postcolonial approaches emphasise the failure of Eurocentric museums to effectively represent cultural nuances, ultimately leading to the homogenisation of history. The attainment of independence by former African colonies accelerated the call for reclaiming artifacts, driven not only by nationalist aspirations to fortify cultural histories and legacies but also by the imperative to address the pervasive influence of Western dominance within museums. Postcolonial historian Alice Procter attests that encyclopedic museums often lead to a “lack of specificity, flinging together distinct and disparate cultures” that inhibits an authentic representation of cultural heritage.14 The benefits of repatriating artifacts in contributing to decolonisation are most evident by a cultural artifact that has been obscured due to an overextended approach to museum curation: the Gweagal Shield, featured in episode eighty-nine of, “A History of the World in 100 Objects” podcast. Narrated by former British Museum director Neil MacGregor, the episode featured the “Australian Bark Shield” and described the artifact as, “one of the very first objects brought to England from Australia… by the explorer Captain Cook.” The museum display itself correspondingly obfuscates the truth of Cook’s violence and reduces the artifact to an object “found” during the landing party’s arrival.15 Postcolonial approaches to the repatriation debate underscore the imperative of acknowledging historical injustices and addressing the enduring legacies of colonialism. Historian Geoffrey Robertson in his book, “Who Owns History?” further emphasises the need for a postcolonial lens as universalist approaches have led to “bloodless descriptions” within historians’ analyses.16 This is evidenced by Cuno’s justification of the 1897 Benin raid as being the result of an “imbalance of power at the end of the nineteenth century.”17 Through neglecting the force and exploitation inherent to the acquisition of artifacts during colonial periods, there is a perpetuation of colonial exploitation, reinforcing a power dynamic where Western institutions maintain control over non-Western cultural heritage.

The retention of artifacts under the guise of protecting global heritage often masks a deeper intention to maintain cultural dominance and historical narrative control, thus perpetuating inequalities and injustices rooted in colonialism. Reflecting the intentions of such museums, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s “Philosophy of Mind” contends that those “with no state formation… has, strictly speaking, no history… nations which existed before the rise of states…still exist in a condition of savagery.”18 This racist nationalist conviction in European superiority significantly influenced the formation of encyclopaedic museums, thus negating its internationalist agendas. Furthermore, historian Geoffery Robertson

contends that the refusal of countries like the United Kingdom to return looted artifacts, despite having their own anti-looting laws, reflects blatant nationalism. The British Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act 2003 penalised the “acquiring, disposing of, importing or exporting tainted cultural objects.” Yet, the British Museum continue to refuse the repatriation of its artifacts, primarily the Parthenon Marbles. In extension, the UK’s refusal to accept mediation with Greece under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) laws demonstrates the nationalism that informs the museum’s actions.19 Therefore, while the internationalist stance purports to transcend national boundaries, it is inextricably linked to and informed by nationalist sentiment, significantly shaping the repatriation debate.

However, the potential nationalist underpinnings of the repatriation argument are ultimately justified, as it enables nations to restore and preserve the cultural heritage that was previously subsumed by colonialism. This is aptly reflected in economist Felwine Sarr and art historian Benedicte Savoy’s report, “The Restitution of African Cultural Heritage: Towards a New Relational Ethics.” Commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron, the report endorses a nationalist approach to reclaiming culture, detailing the current intellectual, aesthetic and economic appropriation that enables the “conqueror” to profit from the benefits derived from objects that inherently do not belong to them. Indeed, certain cultures have been systematically exploited throughout history, further exacerbated by the continued possession of artifacts with cultural significance. Sarr and Savoy reference German philosopher Carl Heinrich Heydenreich in describing this disconnection as a deprivation of the “spiritual nourishment that is the foundation of [the victim’s] humanity.”20 The nationalist sentiment underpinning the restitution argument is thus attributed to an interest in preserving cultural heritage, where the retention of artifacts can lead to a “cultural amnesia” that further distances a nation from its past.21 The potential for an “asymmetrical history” that upholds colonial narratives whilst lessening the voices of colonised nations is most evident in the long-contested ownership of the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which was assumed by the British Empire following the Anglo-Sikh War. The coerced acquisition of the diamond, facilitated by the exploitation of a 10-year-old Maharaja, Duleep Singh, depicts the colonialism of the British Empire. Yet, this history remains largely obscured in the diamond’s current display at the Tower of London, where it is presented as a symbol of the British monarchy’s power and wealth rather than the product of colonial violence. By compelling Singh to sign the Treaty of Lahore, relinquishing both Punjab territory and the diamond, the British Empire reinforced its dominance while depriving a significant historical artifact of its cultural origins.22 Consequently, this led to a gap in the understanding and appreciation of the

diamond’s true significance within South Asian history. Sarr and Savoy establish that, through the passage of time and population decrease, populations who have been historically victimised will further sustain an erasure of their culture. Thus, the cultural nationalist lens assists nations in regaining control of the historical narrative, empowering them toward self-determination.

Ultimately, both nationalist sentiments and postcolonialism have substantially informed the repatriation debate. The colonial legacy of encyclopaedic museums reveals that the internationalist approach to cultural artifacts is not a neutral stance, but a continuation of nationalist and imperialist policies that prioritise the prestige and identity of former colonial powers. In addition, the nationalism underpinning repatriation demands is demonstrated to be justified within a postcolonial lens, allowing for a reclamation of cultural identity by nations.

REFERENCES

1 Tristram Hunt, “The Enlightenment and the Universal Museum • V&A Blog,” V&A Blog (blog), June 16, 2022, https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/ design-and-society/the-enlightenment-and-the-universal-museum.

2 James Cuno, Museums Matter: In Praise of the Encyclopedic Museum (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2011).

3 Geoffrey Robertson, Who Owns History?: Elgin’s Loot and the Case for Returning Plundered Treasure (Random House Australia, 2019).

4 Sharon Macdonald, “Collecting Practices,” A Companion to Museum Studies, January 1, 2006, 81.

5 Felix Bernet Kempers, “Repatriation Beyond Property” (Master Thesis, 2021), https://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/185.

6 Maria Inês Teixeira, “Pasts Returned: Archaeological Heritage Repatriation Policy in Turkey and the Plans for a Future Nation,” 2015.

7 James Cuno, Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle over Our Ancient Heritage, REV-Revised (Princeton University Press, 2008), https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt7tcbg.

8 Kathryn Tubb, “Irreconcilable Differences? Problems with Unprovenanced Antiquities,” Papers from the Institute of Archaeology 18, no. 0 (November 15, 2007), https://doi.org/10.5334/pia.294.

9 Fennell, Marc, “Jewel of Denial,” Stuff the British Stole, 2022.

10 Tiffany Jenkins, Keeping Their Marbles : How the Treasures of the Past Ended up in Museums ... and Why They Should Stay There (Oxford ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016), http://archive. org/details/keepingtheirmarb0000jenk.

11 “10-07-29_fact-Sheet-Museum-definitie_ENG.Pdf,” accessed June 1, 2024, https://icom.museum/wp-content/ uploads/2021/01/10-07-29_fact-sheet-museum-definitie_ENG.pdf.

12 “Declaration on the Importance and Value of Universal Museums,” 2002.

13 “PUGH_FINAL.Pdf,” accessed June 2, 2024, https://dash. harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/37372102/PUGH_FINAL. pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

14 Alice Procter, The Whole Picture: The Colonial Story of the Art in Our Museums & Why We Need to Talk about It, 2020.

15 Neil MacGregor, “Australian Bark Shield,” 2010.

16 Robertson, Who Owns History?

17 James Cuno, “Culture War: The Case Against Repatriating Museum Artifacts,” 2014.

18 Paul Redding, “Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel,” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Edward N. Zalta, Winter 2020 (Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2020), https://plato. stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/hegel/.

19 Robertson, Who Owns History?

20 library-policy, “The Sarr-Savoy Report, the Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. | Library Policy and Advocacy Blog,” August 25, 2020, https://blogs.ifla.org/lpa/2020/08/25/the-sarr-savoy-reportthe-restitution-of-african-cultural-heritage/.

21 Chip Colwell, “Repatriation and the Work of Decolonization,” National Council on Public History (blog), June 18, 2019, https://ncph. org/history-at-work/repatriation-and-decolonization/.

22Smithsonian Magazine and Lorraine Boissoneault, “The True Story of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond—and Why the British Won’t Give It Back,” Smithsonian Magazine, accessed June 1, 2024, https://www. smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-koh-i-noor-diamondandwhy-british-wont-give-it-back-180964660/.t

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Jenkins, Tiffany. Keeping Their Marbles : How the Treasures of the Past Ended up in Museums ... and Why They Should Stay There. Oxford ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2016. http://archive. org/details/keepingtheirmarb0000jenk. library-policy. “The Sarr-Savoy Report, the Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. | Library Policy and Advocacy Blog,” August 25, 2020. https://blogs.ifla.org/lpa/2020/08/25/the-sarr-savoy-reportthe-restitution-of-african-cultural-heritage/.

Macdonald, Sharon. “Collecting Practices.” A Companion to Museum Studies, January 1, 2006, 81. MacGregor, Neil. “Australian Bark Shield,” 2010. Magazine, Smithsonian, and Lorraine Boissoneault. “The True Story of the Koh-i-Noor Diamond—and Why the British Won’t Give It Back.” Smithsonian Magazine. Accessed June 1, 2024. https://www. smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-koh-i-noor-diamondandwhy-british-wont-give-it-back-180964660/.

Procter, Alice. The Whole Picture: The Colonial Story of the Art in Our Museums & Why We Need to Talk about It, 2020.

“PUGH_FINAL.Pdf.” Accessed June 2, 2024. https://dash. harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/37372102/PUGH_FINAL. pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

Redding, Paul. “Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta, Winter 2020. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, 2020. https://plato. stanford.edu/archives/win2020/entries/hegel/.

Robertson, Geoffrey. Who Owns History?: Elgin’s Loot and the Case for Returning Plundered Treasure. Random House Australia, 2019. Teixeira, Maria Inês. “Pasts Returned: Archaeological Heritage Repatriation Policy in Turkey and the Plans for a Future Nation,” 2015. Tubb, Kathryn. “Irreconcilable Differences? Problems with Unprovenanced Antiquities.” Papers from the Institute of Archaeology 18, no. 0 (November 15, 2007). https://doi.org/10.5334/pia.294.

How did Nazi laws and policies towards Jewish people change from 1933 to 1938 with

a focus on the

events of Kristallnacht?

IMOGEN KEE, YEAR 9

Hitler and his Nazi party’s rise to power affected the Jewish community making life increasingly difficult through the implementation of antisemitic laws and policies. Through the short course of 1933 to 1938 there are four stages of not only negative views reflected upon Jewish people but also four stages of abuse projected onto Jewish people that continued to build while Hitler reigned. Hitler’s antisemitic views spread like a virus across Europe, fascism infecting everyone he held power over.

The first stage of legal and policy changes that took effect on Jewish life was the prejudiced attitudes spread about Jewish people. Many people blamed Jews for Germany’s loss in the First World War as over 100,00 Jewish Germans were in the military and served on behalf of Germany. Due to the loss of this war society needed a “scapegoat” and Jewish people were who they chose to blame. By blaming Jewish people, European anti-Semitic views became increasingly common. One man seemed to influence antisemitism throughout Europe, and particularly Germany, his name was Adolf Hitler. In 1933 Adolf Hitler (Hitler) became the Chancellor in a time of German economic downfall and societal vulnerability due to the loss of World War One and the great depression. He had a hatred for Jewish people and used his position of power to take advantage of the country’s broken state and sway society’s image of Jewish people. By using propaganda and spreading the negative stereotypes of Jewish people through many media sources (e.g. movies, books and posters) Hitler was able to redesign the idea of a Jewish person throughout the public. Once these substandard views of Jewish lives were planted the antisemitism throughout Europe started to explode and affect the actions that society and Hitler’s party took towards Jews.

Jewish life was further affected by the acts of prejudice, name-calling and social exclusion of Jews from German society. Jewish life was greatly affected by a set of laws implemented in 1935 called the “Nuremberg Laws”. These laws were strict and prohibited things such as marriage and extramarital rights between Jews and non-Jews, removed the citizenships of German Jews and restricted them from displaying the German flag. By setting firm laws and policies around Jewish life it became increasingly harder to live as a Jew in Germany.

As time continued to pass and Nazis continued their fascist leadership, new laws were added and in 1938 Jews were required to report their financial assets and properties, removing their economic security. Not only

did these laws enable Nazis to now have control of Jews financial situations but under the Nuremberg laws they could now control any Jewish religious institutions and even Jewish futures as they banned Jews from practising Law or Medicine. Jews were ordered to hand in their passports so they could be stamped “Jews” and had to carry identification cards at all times, dehumanising and categorising thousands of Jewish people. Discrimination against Jews in all aspects of life including employment discrimination and educational discrimination against Jews ran common throughout German society, a manipulation driven by Hitler. Despite the already dreadful set of restrictions for Jewish life, further laws and policies were implemented after ‘Kristallnacht’ or when translated to English known as ‘The Night of Broken Glass’.

Kristallnacht was a turning event for Germany as it largely increased the number of laws and policies forced upon Jewish people by the Nazis. On November 9th, 1938, over the course of a single night, Hitler’s Nazi party was sent to destroy any Jewish institution, businesses and even synagogues. Hitler ordered the Nazi party to go on this rampage as a young Jewish-polish man named Herschel Grynszpan had just previously killed the Third secretary of the German Embassy in Paris, Ernst Vom Rath. Hitler saw the murder as an excuse to go ballistic against the Jewish community. His rage was seen through the Nazis actions of destroying 900 synagogues, 7,000 Jewish businesses, the deportation of 30,000 Jewish men to concentration camps and 91 deaths. Jews were treated like animals, being thrown into streams that flowed to a zoo and were left to rebuild the irreversible damage that had been done. After Kristallnacht Jewish civil, social, economic and political rights were almost completely obliterated and they were left with nothing except taxes to pay for the damage of Kristallnacht. Laws surrounding areas such as Jewish children and education not only enforced prejudice against Jews and their lives but now also enforced racial segregation throughout Germany. The events of Kristallnacht were a turning point for Jewish-German communities and confirmed the violence that was thrust upon them. Kristallnacht was a clear representation of how increasingly difficult it was for Jews to live in a society where the build-up of laws dissolved the foundations and futures within their lives.

REFERENCES

Class material

Assess the influence of politics on Britain’s collective memory of the post-war era

ALIYA YANG, YEAR 12

This paper was written for Year 12 Extension History.

The influence of politics on perceptions of the postwar era, particularly in regard to Britain’s collective memory, is of insurmountable value. Due to its nature of informing public decision-making, and popular narratives, the influence politics holds in matters of domestic history outweighs many of its historiographical counterparts, including academic history. In fact, political narratives and the decisions that they result in shape all schools of history, affecting collective experiences and memory. With the recent rise of political polarisation, the history surrounding the postwar era, a period widely viewed as the foundation of modern Britain, has become subject to increasing revision, with the role of the historian becoming an increasingly political endeavour. Consequently, the fracturing of a political postwar consensus, defined by an unprecedented bipartisan agreement on domestic and foreign policy objectives, particularly that of Clement Attlee’s Labour government between 1945 and 1951, has been called into question. This initial political consensus led to the consensus presented within postwar orthodox historiography, where the narrative surrounding the postwar era came to signify one of promise and opportunity. Postwar historiography has been predominantly divided into two camps: the orthodox perspective, which views the era as one of rebuilding and renewal after the war that preceded it, and the revisionist, where critics sought to challenge its legacy. As a result, both academic and political historiographical narratives have sought to revise the postwar era as a consequence of their historiographical standpoint or political ambitions.

Collective memory, defined by political scientist Ivars Ījabs as a “complex social process in which a society or social group constructs and reproduces its relation to the past”, exemplifies the democratisation of history, where collective memory is constructed through a combination of collective lived experience as well as the cultural narratives built after the event or era took place, proving influential in informing historiographical narratives, particularly in defining eras of national consciousness, such as the postwar era in Britain.1 As such, both historians, especially revisionist historians, who aim to portray ‘history from below’, and politicians who claim to be ‘the voice of the people’, utilise British collective memory surrounding the postwar era to their argumentative advantage.

Initially, the most contentious debate between orthodox and revisionist postwar historians was Britain’s foreign

policy objectives during the postwar era. Attlee was heralded by orthodox historians and politicians for playing a substantial role in the foundation of NATO in 1949,2 while Attlee’s successor, Winston Churchill, was praised for calling for “...a European group which could give a sense of [...] common citizenship to [this] mighty continent” in 1946, paving the way for the United Kingdom’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973.3 Early revisionist historiography refrained from critiques of Britain’s foreign alliances, instead adopting a postcolonial approach in condemning Attlee’s dissolution of the Empire. This is reflected in Hubert Evans’ Looking Back on India (1992), where he condemned decolonisation Attlee’s decolonisation efforts in India, writing, “These decisions [were] taken by hardly more than a dozen Englishmen, not one of whom had the slightest first-hand knowledge of India’s condition”.4

However, as politics has become increasingly polarised, the history of Britain’s position in Europe has continually been reinterpreted for changing political agendas. Eurosceptics and later Brexiteers such as Dominic Cummings and Nigel Farage viewed the European Union as an archaic institution built upon the utopian thinking characteristic of the left-leaning orthodox perspective of the Attlee government, with Cummings describing the EU as “a crap 1950s idea.”5 Boris Johnson, another prominent member of the ‘Vote Leave’ campaign, disregarded Churchill’s pro-European postwar legacy for his wartime nationalistic premiership in order to promote his Brexiteer agenda, claiming that “It’s pretty clear [Churchill’s] vision for Britain was not subsumed within a European superstate”.6 Calling upon “the British people to be the heroes of Europe”,7 Johnson inferred the wartime ‘Blitz spirit’, furthering the re-popularisation of British isolationism brought upon by the Brexit movement, which such interpretations of the postwar era are often portrayed as emerging from, spurred by a time when Britain found itself alone.8 Kasia Tomasiewicz similarly attributes nationalistic attitudes that underpinned the referendum to the postwar construction of the ‘Blitz spirit’, claiming, “The pro-Leave camp were very into the idea of Britain alone. We can do it alone, again”.9 By challenging the concept of Europe through their invocation of the postwar period during the Brexit campaign, Brexiteers such as Cummings effectively democratised the foreign policy conversation around both the contemporary European Union as well as its historical narrative, popularising collective reflection on the era throughout their campaign. With the ‘Leave’ vote attaining a majority in the referendum, pro-Leave

campaigners effectively introduced a new strain of historical democratisation, whereby narratives around the past become constructed around the collective decisions made by voters on the future of their nation.

Although historiographical debate regarding the postwar era had predominantly centred on foreign policy matters, political polarisation has subjected previously undisputed domestic policies of the Attlee administration to historiographical revisionism, inspiring the evolution of the post-revisionist perspective that argues the political consensus accepted by orthodox and some revisionist historians mythical in nature, further fracturing the academic historiographical debate. Unlike many post-revisionist arguments, attempting to provide synthesis between the traditionalist orthodox perspective and the combative revisionist perspective, post-revisionist postwar historiography fractures the consensus further, challenging the existence of the postwar political consensus. Social historian Nick Ellison claims the postwar political consensus is superficial, citing the ideological differences between parties; “Elements of the agreement existed [...] but always in a context of prevailing conflict”.10 Post-revisionist historians have hence posed the Attlee government’s policies as illusory, alluding to the concept of jam tomorrow, suggesting the progress made by his government was insubstantial in effecting real change.

Orthodox visions of a classless society have only faltered in the face of great political change and the growing political and historiographical polarisation brought upon by shifting cultural attitudes. Criticising the orthodox narrative of the dismantling of class ties, political journalist Hannah Fearn endorses the ‘history from below’ revisionism; “When [the wealthiest] sit in Parliament and talk about [the] economic benefits of the 1950s — it’s not an accurate reflection of what it was like for the majority of people”.11 A reflection of societal attitudes and the values championed by the collective, popular history’s mass appeal provides the most direct reflection of contemporary public sentiment, with the 2022 BBC docuseries Back in Time for Birmingham, which explores the city’s Asian history exemplifying shifting societal attitudes to a more postcolonial revisionist version of history. Detailing the treatment of South Asian immigrants to the United Kingdom following the 1948 British Nationality Act, the docuseries asserts, “Most landlords openly discriminated against immigrants. Overcrowded accommodation in poor conditions was the norm”, a view affirmed by historian Yasmin Khan.12 However, despite the shift to revisionist historiography in academic and political historiography, recent popular interpretations of the postwar era often maintain the orthodox narrative, characterising the period as one of dismantling class ties, with the war that preceded it acting as a great equaliser. The 2012 BBC docuseries Turn Back Time: The Family describes the era as such, stating that “In defence of the

realm, all social classes had been thrown together”.13 This presents the dominant orthodox and largely revisionist view, a perspective that has only been challenged by academic historians in recent years, with post-revisionist perspective drawing on the illusory nature of the postwar divide.

The post-revisionist argument centres around the Labour government’s endorsement of the 1944 Education Act, introducing grammar schools, non-fee-paying institutions that admitted students based on academic merit.14 This effectively introduced a tripartite structure of schooling, with secondary state education being split amongst grammar schools, technical schools and secondary moderns, existing alongside fee-paying schools.15 However, with grammar schools receiving majority of state funding, grammar schools became increasingly middle-class, and university education remained unattainable for many working-class students, while universities themselves remained elite institutions.16 This ineffective attempt at reducing inequality is affirmed by historian David Kynaston, who states, “Numbers [increased from] 50,000 at the end of the war [to] 80,000 by the early 1950s, along with greater financial provision for children [from] working-class families. But [...] their traditional curricula remained largely unchallenged and unchanged”.17 As a result, post-revisionist historians point to this perceived failure at dismantling class ties as a jam tomorrow promise made by the Attlee government, and justification as to why contemporary Labour leaders still feel the need to pledge the dismantling of the ‘class ceiling’ today.18 In fact, it was not until the 1960s, when the establishment of ‘plateglass universities’ saw to the increasing need for a greater number of higher education institutions and university learning began to become diversified.19 However, post-revisionism remains a purely academic pursuit, and with the influential schools of popular and political historiography remaining either orthodox or revisionist in their construction of the postwar era, this argument for the illusory nature of class in the period carries little impact on Britain’s collective memory.

A recent attempted revision of a longstanding component of the orthodox postwar narrative lies in its attempted politicisation. A growing trend in contemporary British right-leaning politics has been the repeated harkening of the postwar era as the zenith of British life, with parliamentarians inferring the era for its arbitrary “sense of community”. Much of this originates from the parliamentary ‘New Conservatives’ movement, which promotes socially conservative and economically bigstate ideals. MPs Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger, both founding members of the parliamentary group, have repeatedly used the 1950s as part of their political agendas, with Kruger stating: “I don’t want to go back to the 1950s — I want to go further”.20 Miriam Cates has repeatedly invoked the 1950s as part of her natalist agenda, writing; “In the 1950s [...], the average number of children per woman

was around 2.5. Now it’s just 1.6”, using the postwar era to promote her political aims.21 In a speech to Parliament given in November 2021, Cates proclaimed, “A couple of generations ago … there was a network of mums, grandmas and aunties on hand to help [mothers]. Our social fabric was much richer”.22 This form of Conservative revisionism has become increasingly characteristic of the Conservative Party’s factionalism since the 2019 general election. However, Cates’ revisionist argument has only engaged the public due to its foundations in the familiar, established orthodox argument.

Despite its repeated politicisation, the era’s image within British collective memory is that of the orthodox narrative, painting the postwar era as one of community, as reflected in popular interpretations of the era, such as Jennifer Worth’s Call the Midwife. While Worth appears to affirm Cates’ narrative of community, stating “Family life was lived at close quarters and children were brought up by a widely extended family of aunts, grandparents, [and] cousins, all living within a few houses [of] each other”, Call the Midwife presents a portrayal of the postwar era aligning with the image within the British national consciousness, while Cates exploits the orthodox narrative in order to further her revisionist, natalist agenda.23 Thus, whilst not a new phenomenon, the New Conservatives, with their narratives on the postwar era more polarising than the One-Nation Conservatives of years past, continue to fracture the historiographical consensus surrounding the postwar era with their misconstruing of the past.

The last aspect of the postwar era to have retained some form of both historiographical and political consensus lies in the Attlee government’s establishment of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948. The NHS acted as the lynchpin of the suite of policies of the political postwar consensus, under which, the creation of a welfare state united both the orthodox and the revisionist perspectives. Arguably the most revered institution to emerge from Attlee’s Britain, the NHS became the last orthodox representation of a homogenous British state, the last pillar of ‘caring Britain’. The NHS hence acts as a prime example of collective memory being built on cultural narratives created after an era had taken place, as, despite its “lukewarm” reception,24 it has grown to what has been described by former Conservative minister Nigel Lawson as “the closest thing [to] a national religion”.25 Despite the works of late 20th century historians and political scientists commenting on the ‘extensive’ NHS reforms made by the Thatcher and Blair administrations, with Rudolf Klein writing: “... governments’ obsession with tinkering with the structure of the of the NHS can be seen as an attempt to devise a formula that will reconcile the various competing aims of policy”, in a publication in 1998, it remained that the NHS did not experience the same structural reforms as their policy counterparts.26 Whilst in the years following

the Attlee government’s establishment of the NHS, its fellow industries, including water, rail, and even council housing, were sold to private parties, NHS funding remained high throughout the Thatcher and Major governments, who were reluctant to challenge the role of the NHS in British collective memory.27 Due to its reverence within British collective memory, the NHS had not faced the same historiographical revisionism as many of its argumentative counterparts in the years since its postwar foundation. The institution itself has become so ingrained in British national identity that its status, and thus, the historiography surrounding it, had been widely considered to be unassailable. However, this means that politicians who seek to disrupt and reform the NHS must also challenge its historical baggage.

Following the 2010 general election, which took place in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the newly elected Conservative government sought to reassess the functioning of the NHS, thereby reevaluating the place its establishment by the Attlee administration holds in British collective memory. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, ushered in a new era of Austerity, and NHS funding was reduced, a decision challenging the consensus between the orthodox and revisionist perspectives on the value of the NHS.28 As a direct result of Austerity, the NHS is now crumbling, with a record 7.8 million people on a waiting list in September 2023.29 These contemporary decisions on the part of the Conservative government diminished the NHS’ image within British collective memory as an all-inclusive and caring institution, thus, by extension, affecting the narrative surrounding its establishment in the postwar era. Austerity contending with the present state of the NHS has shifted British collective memory of the NHS’ establishment during the postwar era. The image of ‘caring Britain’ is now fracturing, its last tenet in the orthodox and revisionist narratives challenged.

Politics and political narratives have thus revised every aspect of the postwar consensus, its increasing polarisation leaving no tenet of the era unrevised. Increased political polarisation has had pervasive influence in shaping academic narratives, while simultaneously impacting British collective memory, with Conservative and nationalistic revisionism further dismantling the orthodox historiographical consensus. As a result, despite the contrasting narratives presented within academic history, the role of politics in shaping policy that concerns the national interest is able to dramatically shift collective memory of the postwar era, playing a significant role in the fracturing of historiographical consensus as well as in appealing to dominant cultural narratives which shape public opinion.

REFERENCES

1 Ivars Ijabs, ‘Collective Memory’, in Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, ed. Alex C. Michalos (Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2014), 991–93, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-0070753-5_436.

2 Keir Starmer, ‘Under My Leadership, Labour’s Commitment to Nato Is Unshakable’, The Guardian, 10 February 2022, sec. Opinion, https:// www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/10/labour-natobritish-left-ukraine-keir-starmer.

3 ‘United States of Europe’, International Churchill Society, 18 September 1946, https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/ speeches/1946-1963-elder-statesman/united-states-of-europe/.

4 Hubert Evans. Looking Back on India. London, England: Routledge, 1988. https://research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=9174b02dfd89-38ae-bf68-1cdc8c8bfffd.

5 Glyn Morgan, ‘Is the EU “a Crap 1950s Idea”? Dominic Cummings, Branching Histories and the Case for Leave’, in Brexit and Beyond, ed. Benjamin Martill and Uta Staiger, Rethinking the Futures of Europe (UCL Press, 2018), 38–40, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt20krxf8.9.

6 Tim Ross, ‘Boris Johnson: The EU Wants a Superstate, Just as Hitler Did’, The Telegraph, 14 May 2016, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/2016/05/14/boris-johnson-the-eu-wants-a-superstate-just-ashitler-did/.

7 Tim Ross, ‘Boris Johnson Interview: We Can Be the “heroes of Europe” by Voting to Leave’, The Telegraph, 14 May 2016, https:// www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/14/boris-johnson-interview-wecan-be-the-heroes-of-europe-by-voting/.

8 Ros Taylor, hosts, ‘World War II: Every Day Is Like D-Day’, Jam Tomorrow (podcast), January 16, 2023, accessed May 30, 2024, https://open.spotify.com/show/6sSMO4P44gYGmKTX8pnmpk.

9 Taylor, ‘World War II: Every Day Is Like D-Day’.

10 Harriet Jones and Michael Kandiah, eds., The Myth of Consensus: New Views on British History, 1945–64 (London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1996), 20.

11 Andrew Harrison, hosts, ‘Back to the 50s — Is Britain Stuck in a Time Warp?’, Oh God, What Now? (podcast), 22 August 2023, accessed 30 May 2024, https://open.spotify.com/ show/24yXEs1KoENCnxRjxMLkwF.

12 Back in Time for Birmingham - Series 1, Episode 1, accessed June 1, 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0018lp8/back-intime-for-birmingham-series-1-episode-4.

13 Turn Back Time: The Family - Series 1, Episode 3, accessed May 27, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kF3gCcByjm0.

14 David Kynaston, Austerity Britain, 1945-1951 (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010), 28-9.

15 Kynaston, Austerity Britain, 1945-1951, 28.

16 Kynaston, Austerity Britain, 1945-1951, 28.

17 Robert M. Blackburn and Jennifer Jarman, ‘Changing Inequalities in Access to British Universities’, Oxford Review of Education 19, no. 2 (1993): 201.

18 Speaking Skills Key to Break Class Barriers, Says Keir Starmer’, BBC News, 5 July 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-66113585.

19 Michael Beloff, The Plateglass Universities (Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1970), 20-23.

20 Robert Crampton, ‘Danny Kruger: “I Don’t Want to Go Back to the 1950s — I Want to Go Further”’, The Times, 6 April 2024, sec. news, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/danny-kruger-we-need-to-takebritain-back-from-weirdos-and-intellects-2lf0pmxp0.

21 Miriam Cates, ‘My Thoughts on Family Policy’, Miriam Cates MP (blog), 23 February 2023, https://www.miriamcates.org.uk/news/mythoughts-family-policy.

22 United Kingdom. House of Commons. 2021. Parliamentary Debates November 9, vol. 703, col. 236. Miriam Cates. https://hansard. parliament.uk/Commons/2021-11-09/debates/95B2BF04-4AA94B01-86DD-BB7276ABA58B/GivingEveryBabyTheBestStartInLife#cont ribution-9BC2902A-8AB4-4790-BE78-A8DD3188DC62.

23 Jennifer Worth, foreword to Call The Midwife: A True Story Of The East End In The 1950s (Hachette UK, 2009), ii.

24 Roberta Bivins, ‘Commentary: Serving the Nation, Serving the People: Echoes of War in the Early NHS’, Medical Humanities 46, no. 2 (1 June 2020): 154–55, https://doi.org/10.1136/ medhum-2019-011760.

25 United Kingdom. House of Commons. 2023. Parliamentary Debates. February 23, vol. 728, col. 351. Matt Hancock. https:// hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-02-23/debates/4FA4CE3A7A39-403A-ABDC-E6C0166E3C4A/FutureOfTheNHS#contribution4DE3EEC7-0904-4937-A750-454744497FCC.

26 Rudolf Klein, ‘Why Britain Is Reorganizing Its National Health Service--yet Again’, Health Affairs (Project Hope) 17, no. 4 (1998): 111, https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.17.4.111.

27 Rachael Harker, ‘NHS Funding and Expenditure’ (House of Commons Library, 17 January 2010), 7-10.

28 Harker, ‘NHS Funding and Expenditure’, 7-10.

29 Carl Baker, ‘NHS Key Statistics: England’, 22 March 2024, https:// commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7281/.

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Harrison, Andrew, hosts. ‘Back to the 50s — Is Britain Stuck in a Time Warp?’ Oh God, What Now? (podcast). 22 August, 2023. Accessed 30 May 2024. https://open.spotify.com/ show/24yXEs1KoENCnxRjxMLkwF.

Heffernan, Richard. New Labour and Thatcherism. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230598430.

Helm, Toby, Anna Fazackerley, and David Barnett. ‘How Austerity (and Ideology) Broke Britain’. The Observer, 10 September 2023, sec. Business. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/sep/10/howausterity-and-ideology-broke-britain.

Hickson, Kevin. ‘The Postwar Consensus Revisited’. The Political Quarterly 75, no. 2 (2004): 142–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467923X.2004.00597.x.

Ijabs, Ivars. ‘Collective Memory’. In Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research, edited by Alex C. Michalos, 991–93. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-0070753-5_436.

International Churchill Society. ‘United States of Europe’, 18 September 1946. https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/ speeches/1946-1963-elder-statesman/united-states-of-europe/.

Jones, Harriet, and Michael Kandiah, eds. The Myth of Consensus: New Views on British History, 1945–64. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1996. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24942-8.

Kavanagh, Dennis. ‘The Postwar Consensus’. Twentieth Century British History 3, no. 2 (1 January 1992): 175–90. https://doi.org/10.1093/ tcbh/3.2.175.

Klein, R. ‘Why Britain Is Reorganizing Its National Health Service--yet Again’. Health Affairs (Project Hope) 17, no. 4 (1998): 111–25. https:// doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.17.4.111.

Kynaston, David. Austerity Britain, 1945-1951. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010.

Morgan, Glyn. ‘Is the EU “a Crap 1950s Idea”? Dominic Cummings, Branching Histories and the Case for Leave’. In Brexit and Beyond edited by Benjamin Martill and Uta Staiger, 37–45. Rethinking the Futures of Europe. UCL Press, 2018. https://doi.org/10.2307/j. ctt20krxf8.9.

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Paul, Kathleen. ‘“British Subjects” and “British Stock”: Labour’s Postwar Imperialism’. Journal of British Studies 34, no. 2 (1995): 233–76.

Ross, Tim. ‘Boris Johnson Interview: We Can Be the “heroes of Europe” by Voting to Leave’. The Telegraph, 14 May 2016. https:// www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/14/boris-johnson-interview-wecan-be-the-heroes-of-europe-by-voting/.

Ross, Tim. ‘Boris Johnson: The EU Wants a Superstate, Just as Hitler Did’. The Telegraph, 14 May 2016. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/ news/2016/05/14/boris-johnson-the-eu-wants-a-superstate-just-ashitler-did/.

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Chin up! How Australian women defied the odds and kept the war effort going in World War II

CHLOE WANG, YEAR 9

Abstract: This essay reveals the role of Australian women in WWII, who entered the workforce and helped sustain the war effort. It celebrates the initiative and competence of these women, who kept working to overcome a misogynistic world with stereotyped work, a gender wage gap and lack of legitimacy.

“Chin up girls, I’m so proud of you.” - Matron Irene Drummond to her 21 fellow nurses just before the Bangka Island Massacre (1942)1

Australian women served their country by holding down the home front and entering the workforce in World War II. These women ensured that the Australian forces could win the war, while fighting unequal pay and sexist stereotypes, proving that women were capable of doing any job despite the gender imbalance in the workforce at the time.

The pre-war expectations around work for Australian women were steeped in misogyny. 1930s newspapers directed towards women like the Australian Women’s Weekly ran advertisements about the labour of housewives constantly, one specific supplement advertisement emphasising that “You housewives have a strenuous life. Your duties last from early morning till late at night. Your cares are endless and nerve-wracking.”2

This advertisement, meant to appeal towards the average woman demonstrated the largely accepted vision of “female work”. The primary role of women was still to be housewives and homemakers above all else. Even for the subsect of women who did work, those stereotypes continued to trouble them in the workplace. Considered inferior workers, women were paid 50% of the average male wage.3 The 1933 census indicated that around 25% (460,000 individuals) of the workforce was female, still greatly outnumbered by men. It also showed that women were greatly pigeon-holed into ‘feminine’ industries such as clothing manufacturing, with 99% of all female workers in an industry with less than 50% female employment.4 This proved that women were delegitimised and underrepresented in the workforce, a consequence of rampant sexist stereotyping.

The Great Depression was a general challenge for men and women but additionally challenged working women. Following the 1929 Wall Street crash, the worldwide economy faced an unprecedented downturn, leading to the greatest period of Australian unemployment, with rates peaking at 32%.5 However, female workers were not as impacted with a comparatively lower 15%

unemployment, with the male unemployment rate was 26%.6 According to trade unionist Muriel Heagney in 1935, the underlying reason behind this was the aforementioned extreme workforce gender segregation.7 This is proven by the 1933 census, which revealed the hardest hit sector by unemployment was construction and heavy manufacturing, industries like forestry, which employed 9 women for 15,000 men.8 But to chauvinistic Australian men of the time, this disparity in unemployment meant that women stealing male jobs, making the environment increasingly antagonistic to working women. Trade unions and men began campaigning against women being in the paid workforce. The Shop Assistants Board in Queensland went as far as to attempt to ban the “hundreds of married women whose husbands are in good positions are employed in the city” from earning wages.9 Unemployed women were also additionally disadvantaged compared to men. During the Depression, the government had begun providing sustenance payments to civilians who lost jobs. However, while 28% of unemployed men received such benefits, only 3% of eligible unemployed women were given any support10, demonstrating the view that women weren’t legitimate workers and didn’t deserve the support. For both employed and unemployed women, the Great Depression exacerbated their occupational disadvantages. As the 1930s ended, a crisis that would shake the entire world emerged. On September 1, 1939, Nazi-led Germany invaded Poland and World War II began. Australia entered the war in conjunction with Britain on September 3rd.

Prime Minister Robert Menzies declared in a chilling radio message that: “Australia is also at war... If such a policy [Hitler’s plans] were allowed to go unchecked there could be no security in Europe, and there could be no just peace for the world.”11 In an instant, Australia had turned into a nation with a unified front with a singular goal: to help the Allies win the war. Consequently, the Australian workforce was being depleted due to enlistments. Australia’s early involvement was focused on supporting British operations, so enlistment numbers were at a manageable rate. There were still enough men to serve in auxiliary forces and work in wartime material production. However, the threat of Japanese attack arose and by mid1941, that had caused such a sharp uptick in enlistment that the government had to combat the increasing employment pressure. With no other option, in 1941

Prime Minister John Curtin declared that “the principle of extensive employment of women in industry where men are not available in sufficient numbers to attain the scale of production approved of as a war objective”.12 Thus, women officially became “manpowered” (recruited) into

wartime jobs and the call was put out to every Australian woman: “Join us for a victory job!”13

One role that was newly open to women was manufacturing wartime resources. Pre-war, 86% of female factory workers were in the light manufacturing (textiles, clothing, paper etc.) industry.14 But with the demands of the war, munitions were the most urgently needed resources, introducing women to the world of heavy manufacturing. Women began to work in munitions factories producing guns, missiles, bombs and even aircraft parts. This deconstructed ideas around the gendering of hard manufacturing and proved women were physically capable. By 1943, women made up half of all Australian munitions workers, however, they were paid only 50% of the equivalent male rate.15 In spite of stereotypes and insufficient pay, women thrived in wartime manufacturing.

Aside from the standard paid jobs, women were also being recruited into military forces which was unprecedented. First formed was the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Originally intended to amend the shortage of wireless telegraphists in 1941, recruitment surged following the Japanese invasion in December. With more men gone and more roles to fill, the WAAAF quickly became the largest women’s military service with 27,000 women serving in total to “Keep Them Flying!”16 and allow men to take up active duty fighting Japan. Servicewomen participated in 73 different roles such as flight mechanic and electrician. ~700 women even reached commissioned ranks in administrative and technical roles. The WAAAF got official recognition by becoming a permanent Air Force part in 1943 (although disbanding in 1947). 57 WAAAF servicewomen died in the line of duty, their names enshrined in the official Roll of Honour. Despite this, servicewomen were only paid two thirds of the RAAF male salary.17 Subsequently formed was the Australian Women’s Army Service, which urged women to “Release a man [to a fighting unit], join the AWAS!”18 Formed in 1941, AWAS members were instated in many military roles, initially working more “feminine” jobs like being typists and cooks, but eventually expanding their roles and becoming drivers, signallers, provosts and intelligence officers. In fact, by 1945 a group of 300 AWAS servicewomen served in New Guinea on the MV Duntroon, being the first women in defence roles to serve abroad. Overall, around 24,000 women would enlist in the AWAS, paid two thirds of the male military salary.19 Another more exclusive female military service was established for the similar purpose of freeing men up to join the war. In October 1942, 14 women were sworn in as founding members of the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service, trained to be supplementary wireless telegraphists. The WRANS soon began expanding in both numbers and positions. In four months, the WRANS had 1,000 members who served as telegraphists, clerks, coders, intelligence officers and

medics. WRANS servicewomen even worked extremely confidential technical cases. 3,000 women would serve in the wartime WRANS, which was so successful that after it was disbanded post-war, it was quickly reconstituted in 1951 and became fully integrated into the Royal Australian Navy by 1985.20 Female military involvement was revolutionary at the time, with women facing poor pay but simultaneously working their way to increased legitimacy in their units.

Women were also being recruited to work the land to meet the farming labour shortages in the wake of the Japanese invasion in February 1942. The Australian Women’s Land Army was a government campaign that called on women from city areas to relocate to rural towns and engage in agricultural tasks like vegetable growing, livestock raising and wool shearing. The AWLA had approximate permanent and auxiliary members at its peak. The AWLA minimum wage was 30 shillings per week, considerably less than the male farming salary.21 Nonetheless, women gained unprecedented authority in agriculture during this time.

By 1943, 800,000 women were actively employed in the war effort, with 200,000 women joining the workforce exclusively for that reason.22 That resulted in a 30% increase in female employment over around 5 years.23 As the war ended in 1945, the women returned to their regular roles and most women’s services disbanded.

In conclusion, Australian women proved that they were indispensable workers, who pressed on in the face of stereotypes and a generally unequal work environment to take up traditionally male roles to serve their country best in a time of immense crisis even when they were paid unequally. They helped defend the Australian people and showed their courage, initiative and skill, forever enshrining themselves as examples of the competence of the working woman.

REFERENCES

1 “‘There Was No Mistaking Their Vicious Intentions’ | Australian War Memorial,” August 2, 2023. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/ blog/vivian-bullwinkel#:~:text=We%20all%20knew%20we%20 were,And%20then%20the%20killing%20began

2 Trove. “Advertising - the Australian Women’s Weekly (19331982) - 16 Sep 1933,” n.d. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/ article/48075722?searchTerm=You%20housewives%20have%20a%20 strenuous%20life.

3 c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of Statistics. “1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 1937,”n.d. https://www.abs. gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/featurearticlesbytitle/244554793484CD12CA2569DE00296988?OpenDocument.

4 Wilson, Roland, and L. F. Johnston, Canberra. “Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, 30th June, 1933” 1933. https://www. ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/0/E7B02D9905CC61D7CA257840001AAE09/$File/1933%20Census%20-%20Volume%20 II%20-%20Part%20XXIII%20Occupation.pdf.

5 “Height of the Great Depression | Australia’s Defining Moments Digital Classroom | National Museum of Australia,” n.d. https://digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/height-great-

6 Heagney, Muriel. Are Women Taking Men’s Jobs? Hilton and Veitch, 1935.

7 Ibid.

8 Wilson, Roland, “Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, 30th June, 1933”. Part XXVI. Unemployment. https://www.ausstats.abs.gov. au/ausstats/free.nsf/0/7796B589ECCE5269CA257840001AE640/$File/1933%20Census%20-%20Volume%20II%20-%20Part%20XXVI%20 Unemployment.pdf.

9 Power, Margaret. “Women and economic crises: The 1930’s Sepression and the present crisis.” Women and Labour Conference Macquarie University, 1978. https://www.ppesydney.net/content/ uploads/2020/04/Women-and-economic-crises-the-1930s-depression-and-the-present-crisis-Revised-version-of-paper-delivered-atWomen-and-Labour-Conference-Macquarie-University-May-1978. pdf.

10 Ibid.

11 Menzies, Robert Gordon. “Wartime Broadcast.” September 3, 1939. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/prime_ministers/ menzies.

12 Curtin, John. “On Female Recruitment Into the Wartime Workforce.” October 1941. https://www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/work-for-victory/women-in-the-paid-workforce/.

13 Bramley, Maurice. Join us in a victory job. 1943. Lithograph printed in colour on paper.

14 Wilson, Roland, and L. F. Johnston. “Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, 30th June, 1933. Part XXII.-Industry.” Commonwealth Government Printer, 1933. https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/ free.nsf/0/5CF09575569B3102CA257840001A8A5B/$File/1933%20 Census%20-%20Volume%20II%20-%20Part%20XXII%20Industry.pdf.

15 Old Treasury Building. “Munitioneers – Old Treasury Building,” March 7, 2022. https://www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/work-for-victory/ women-in-the-paid-workforce/munitioneers/.

16 Jardine, Walter Lacy. Keep Them Flying. 1942. Offset lithograph on paper.

17 Trove. “Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF). (1941-1947),” 2008. https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/547356?c=people

18 McCowan, Ian. Release a man. Join the A.W.A.S. 1941–1945. Offset lithograph on paper.

19 “Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) | Australian War Memo-

rial,” July 24, 2019. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/ awas.

20 Trove. “Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS). (19411984),” 2008. https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/519579?c=people.

21 21: “Australian Women’s Land Army | Australian War Memorial,” December 7, 2020. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/ homefront/land_army.

22 Heath, Nicola. “How The Second World War Changed the Game for Australian Women.” SBS Voices, March 13, 2019. https://www.sbs. com.au/voices/article/how-the-second-world-war-changed-thegame-for-australian-women/bca1tjodc.

23 Ibid.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS), Australian War Memorial,” July 24, 2019. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/awas.

“Australian Women’s Land Army, Australian War Memorial,” December 7, 2020. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/homefront/ land_army.

Bramley, Maurice. Join us in a victory job. 1943. Lithograph printed in colour on paper.

Annotation: This advertisement composed by Maurice Bramley was a primary source that I used to demonstrate the recruitment of Australian women in WWII. The advertisement portrays a group of women in various wartime service uniforms (factory workers, farmers, pilots, medics etc.), smiling and calling upon their peers. Additionally, for me, it was very useful to contextualise the types of jobs that women were expected to do and how and when the government began recruiting them.

c=AU; o=Commonwealth of Australia; ou=Australian Bureau of Statistics. “1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 1937,” n.d. https://www.abs. gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/featurearticlesbytitle/244554793484CD12CA2569DE00296988?OpenDocument.

Curtin, John. “On Female Recruitment Into the Wartime Workforce.” October 1941. https://www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/work-forvictory/women-in-the-paid-workforce/.

Heagney, Muriel. Are Women Taking Men’s Jobs? Hilton and Veitch, 1935.

Heath, Nicola. “How The Second World War Changed the Game for Australian Women.” SBS Voices, March 13, 2019. https://www.sbs. com.au/voices/article/how-the-second-world-war-changed-thegame-for-australian-women/bca1tjodc.

Annotation: This article by Nicola Heath was a secondary source that I used as a foundation for my entire essay and a starting point for research into the occupations that women had in WWII. Heath lists and outlines all of the major workplaces that women were in, providing a basis for what I would research for the rest of the essay. Heath also includes insightful data points, which I incorporated into the final part of my essay.

“Height of the Great Depression | Australia’s Defining Moments Digital Classroom | National Museum of Australia,” n.d. https:// digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/height-greatdepression#:~:text=The%20Wall%20Street%20Crash%20of,deeply%20 for%20decades%20to%20come.

Jardine, Walter Lacy. Keep Them Flying. 1942. Offset lithograph on paper,

McCowan, Ian. Release a man. Join the A.W.A.S. 1941–1945. Offset lithograph on paper.

Menzies, Robert Gordon. “Wartime Broadcast.” September 3, 1939. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/prime_ministers/

menzies.

Old Treasury Building. “Munitioneers – Old Treasury Building,” March 7, 2022. https://www.oldtreasurybuilding.org.au/work-for-victory/ women-in-the-paid-workforce/munitioneers/.

Power, Margaret. “Women and economic crises: The 1930’s Depression and the present crisis.” Women and Labour Conference Macquarie University, 1978. https://www.ppesydney.net/content/ uploads/2020/04/Women-and-economic-crises-the-1930sdepression-and-the-present-crisis-Revised-version-of-paperdelivered-at-Women-and-Labour-Conference-Macquarie-UniversityMay-1978.pdf.

Annotation: This paper by Margaret Power was a secondary source that I used to investigate the working lives of Australian women in the Great Depression. Power uses a very wide range of insightful statistics (census data, news articles) and references many other important sources (Heagney’s pamphlet). This was the main foundation for my research and ideological direction in the first part of my essay which established the pre-war working landscape for women.

“‘There Was No Mistaking Their Vicious Intentions’ | Australian War Memorial,” August 2, 2023. https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/ blog/vivian-bullwinkel#:~:text=We%20all%20knew%20we%20 were,And%20then%20the%20killing%20began

Trove. “Advertising - the Australian Women’s Weekly (19331982) - 16 Sep 1933,” n.d. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/

article/48075722?searchTerm=You%20housewives%20have%20a%20 strenuous%20life.

Trove. “Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF). (1941-1947),” 2008. https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/547356?c=people

Trove. “Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS). (19411984),” 2008. https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/519579?c=people.

Wilson, Roland, and L. F. Johnston, Canberra. “Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, 30th June, 1933,” 1933. https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/0/ E7B02D9905CC61D7CA257840001AAE09/$File/1933%20Census%20 -%20Volume%20II%20-%20Part%20XXIII%20Occupation.pdf.

Wilson, Roland, “Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, 30th June, 1933. Part XXVI. Unemployment.” https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free. nsf/0/7796B589ECCE5269CA257840001AE640/$File/1933%20 Census%20-%20Volume%20II%20-%20Part%20XXVI%20 Unemployment.pdf.

Wilson, Roland, and L. F. Johnston. “Census of the Commonwealth of Australia, 30th June, 1933. Part XXII-Industry.” Commonwealth Government Printer, 1933. https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/ free.nsf/0/5CF09575569B3102CA257840001A8A5B/$File/1933%20 Census%20-%20Volume%20II%20-%20Part%20XXII%20Industry.pdf.

Demigods or demagogues? The charismatic yet controversial figures weaponising rhetoric for political agendas

PHOEBE PALEOLOGOS, YEAR 11

“Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac” – Henry Kissinger, Former US Secretary of State1

To argue that a demagogue is a demigod is laughable – unless, of course, the demagogue believes they are a descendent of an omnipotent being. However, the differentiation between the threat of demagogic rhetoric versus a political agenda is frayed. In this article, I explore demagoguery, the common characteristics and traits, and the appeal of a demagogue to the masses. From Cleon the Athenian and Adolf Hitler to Donald Trump, the human tendency to be incapable of ‘detoxing’ from the cyclical ‘addiction’ to demagogues has led to cataclysmic global changes. The research undertaken in this essay reveals recurring characteristics in these named figures, allowing for the education of masses to attempt to counter their impact. If our belief is that these politicians have been blessed by an empyrean figure, however, the minimisation of casualties will ultimately be lacking due to our own ignorance/naivety.

From the Ancient Greek word ‘Δημαγωγός’ (demagogós), translating to ‘leader of the people’, the word demagogue is defined in contemporary parlance as ‘a person, especially a political leader, who wins support by exciting the emotions of ordinary people rather than by having good or morally right ideas’.2 Demagogues use rhetoric skilfully with the intent of affecting the emotional state of their audience. The concepts of demagoguery are delineated by Roberts-Miller into three groups:3

a. In-group/out-group thinking: the tendency to categorise people into groups that define identity – the “in-group” being the group that defines your identity, the “out-group” being the group you define yourself against.

b. Political argumentation: Argumentation in which people engage in the various “stock issues” (causality, inherency, solvency, feasibility, unintended consequences), inclusive of politically diverse points of view.

c. Further demagoguery: Evading political argumentation by reducing all policy issues to a zero-sum battle of “us versus them”.

WHAT ARE THE COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF DEMAGOGUES?

Three examples of Demagogues are Cleon the Athenian, Adolf Hitler, and Donald Trump. Their characteristics, seen in both leadership and personal traits, are beneficial to note for drawing comparisons between behaviours.

Cleon the Athenian (Unknown – 422 BC), recognised as the first demagogue, demonstrated all the generic traits accredited to demagoguery – he was vociferous, charismatic and egotistic. Ancient Greek philosopher and historian Plutarch states in Life of Nicias, “It was he [Cleon] who first introduced shouting and abuse into his speeches, as well as the habit of slapping his thigh, throwing open his dress and striding up and down the platform as he spoke, and his habits produced among the politicians an irresponsibility and a disregard for propriety which before long were to throw the affairs of Athens into chaos”.4

The most destructive person in human history was arguably Adolf Hitler (1889 – 1945). Theodore Dorpat, a Seattle-based psychologist, described Hitler as having Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, tracing his personality traits of volatility and malice, back to his trauma from his father’s treatment and his mother’s death. Hitler’s leadership characteristics displayed a different façade, one of complete control. He was taskoriented, transformational, and relationship-oriented. Hitler’s appeal to Antisemites was founded on centuries of German antisemitic values. For greater influence, he connected himself with people of high status, including movie directors and people of high economic status. Hitler’s struggle for power to become Chancellor, however, differed from that of Trump and Cleon due to his need for “personalised power”, a desire for dominance and direct control of self-serving and antisocial power, rather than total power, power over all components, due to his selfish and impulsive nature, and his overall lack of self-control.5

Nicknamed by Panayota Gounari as the “American Agitator”, Trump is an example of a modern-day demagogue: outspoken, and infamous for his political views on sexism, race, international relations, healthcare, education, gun laws, militarism and religion.6 Trump’s attitudes during rallies range from extreme excitement to anger. Aggression has been a strong trait throughout his life - Trump himself accounted that he punched his second-grade music teacher.7 An acquaintance, Barbara Res, stated in an interview “As far as the anger is concerned, that’s real for sure. He’s not faking it… The fact that he gets mad, that’s his personality”.8 Res went on to state “He got too famous. He started believing his own s--- … people were telling him he was great, and he was buying that. He started thinking that he walked on water… He thinks he’s God”.9

Like Trump’s personality, his leadership style is reflective of his beliefs of his own omnipotence. An article jointly published by the College of Saint Benedict and St John’s University concludes that Trump’s executive leadership style is ultimately “bold, competitive, and self-assured (i.e., ambitious); tough and directive (i.e., dominant)”, with Trump himself being “impulsive and undisciplined (i.e., outgoing); and disruptively tradition-defying, with an inclination to shade the truth and skirt the law (i.e., dauntless)”.10

WHY ARE HUMANS ADDICTED TO DEMAGOGUES?

The initial appeal of demagogues is often limited to niche groups such as Trump’s appeal to middle-class, middleaged white males: Hitler’s appeal the common and nationalist populus or traditional socialists, and Cleon’s appeal to nationalists, young male soldiers, and lowerclass peoples. So, how does their appeal spread, and why are humans innately attracted to demagoguery?

French polymath Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931) published his findings on crowd psychology in his book Psychologie Des Foules (The Crowd: Study of the Popular Mind) (1895) concluding that in a crowd, a member loses their conscious personality and acts unconsciously through a group conscience.11 This can be when a musician starts clapping on stage, and the crowd joins in. It is not a sudden, conscious decision of “I will start clapping”; but rather an unconscious decision to join in with the group. To navigate the crowd, Le Bon states that a demagogue will use three main techniques: firstly, affirmation – affirming beliefs and ideals; secondly, repetition –enforcing beliefs and ideals, and thirdly, contagion – spreading beliefs and ideals. The lack of conscious understanding by the crowd limits one’s personal capacity to rationalise statements and ideals.

Furthermore, demagogues will utilise “memes”, an element of culture or behaviour passed from one to another by imitation, to disseminate their ideals. In his novel, The Selfish Gene (1978), Dawkins credits the use of memetics for mimicry, stating, “Memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain by a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation.”12 Humans are, by nature, observational learners; the psychological understanding of our tendency for “monkey see, monkey do” can be attributed to our use of mimicry for learning and understanding. In Advances in Social and Experimental Psychology, the innate human adaptation to mimic is tied to us being “intensely social animals”, and connected with “relationships, liking, and empathy, functioning both as a signal of rapport and as a tool to generate rapport”.13 H. Keith Henson (2002) suggests that memes can be used in a similar way to the action-attention-reward (AAR) pathway, “hijacking the brain reward system by inducing high levels of attention behaviour”, leading to an addiction to the memes used by demagogues.14 Humans will attach

to the meme, and as Dawkins predicts, will pass the meme on to others, leading to the rapid spreading of the demagogue’s beliefs.

The presence of demagogues throughout history has been maintained due to their ability to appeal to the psychology of the masses. Whilst the populace remains often oblivious to the devices used by demagogues to keep them enthralled, we are destined to continue in the cycle of allowing these individuals to obtain power. Breaking the cycle of memes by first educating the masses will reduce their impact. This essay examines the common traits of the exemplified demagogues, thus educating readers on possible traits of future successors. The subsequent immunisation of the masses through education will therefore counter future impacts of demagoguery, breaking this continuation.

REFERENCES

1 David Skidmore, “Henry Kissinger and the Seductions of Power • Iowa Capital Dispatch,” Iowa Capital Dispatch (blog), December 2, 2023, https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2023/12/02/henry-kissingerand-the-seductions-of-power/.

2 “Demagogue,” October 2, 2024, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ dictionary/english/demagogue.

3 Patricia Roberts-Miller, “Demagoguery, Charismatic Leadership, and the Force of Habit,” Rhetoric Society Quarterly 49, no. 3 (May 27, 2019): 233–47, https://doi.org/10.1080/02773945.2019.1610638.

4 “Plutarch • Life of Nicias,” accessed October 14, 2024, https:// penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/ Nicias*.html.

5 “Hitler: His Ability to Use Power and Influence for Control,” accessed October 9, 2024, https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2015/03/08/hitlerhis-ability-to-use-power-and-influence-for-control/.

6 Panayota Gounari, “Authoritarianism, Discourse and Social Media: Trump as the ‘American Agitator,’” in Critical Theory and Authoritarian Populism, ed. Jeremiah Morelock, vol. 9 (University of Westminster Press, 2018), 207–28, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv9hvtcf.13.

7 “Donald Trump Said He Once Punched a Teacher in the Face. Did He? - The Washington Post,” accessed October 17, 2024, https:// www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/11/13/ donald-trump-said-he-once-punched-a-teacher-in-the-face-didhe/.

8 “Former Donald Trump Executive: ‘He’s a Supreme Sexist,’” accessed October 9, 2024, https://www.thedailybeast.com/former-donaldtrump-executive-hes-a-supreme-sexist.

9 “Former Donald Trump Executive: ‘He’s a Supreme Sexist.’”

10 Aubrey Immelman and Anne Marie Griebie, “The Personality Profile and Leadership Style of U.S. President Donald J. Trump in Office,” Psychology Faculty Publications, July 1, 2020, https:// digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/129.

11 “Review of Psychologie Des Foules.,” Psychological Review 3, no. 1 (January 1896): 97–97, https://doi.org/10.1037/h0064747.

12 Spencer Mermelstein, “The Selfish Gene,” in Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science, ed. Viviana WeekesShackelford, Todd K. Shackelford, and Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016), 1–3, https://doi. org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1876-1.

13 Tanya L. Chartrand and Rick van Baaren, “Chapter 5 Human Mimicry,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 41 (Academic Press, 2009), 219–74, https://doi.org/10.1016/S00652601(08)00405-X.

14 Ian Pitchford, “Sex, Drugs, and Cults. An Evolutionary Psychology Perspective on Why and How Cult Memes Get a Drug-like Hold on People, And...,” 2002.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

“A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Cleon.” Accessed October 9, 2024. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/tex t?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=cleon-bio-1.

“Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler | Donovan Nuremberg Trials Collection | Cornell University Library Digital Collections.” Accessed October 9, 2024. https://digital.library.cornell.edu/ collections/nuremberg/analysis-hitler.

Ash Center. “The Real Numbers: Tracking Crowd Sizes at Presidential Rallies,” August 12, 2024. https://ash.harvard.edu/articles/the-realnumbers-tracking-crowd-sizes-at-presidential-rallies/.

BBC Bitesize. “The Appeal of the Nazis - Why the Nazis Achieved Power - Higher History Revision.” Accessed November 24, 2024. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zsrwjxs/revision/7.

Berkowitz, Peter. “The Demagoguery of Democratic Theory.” Critical Review 15, no. 1–2 (January 2003): 123–45. https://doi. org/10.1080/08913810308443576.

Britannica. “Cleon | Athenian Statesman, General, Orator.” Accessed September 29, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/CleonAthenian-politician.

Buchman, Joseph P. “Demagoguery and Narcissism in the Contemporary American Collective: A Depth Psychological Perspective.” ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. M.A., Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2018. https://www.proquest.com/ docview/2037227096/abstract/6C4F2563F5A54DEFPQ/1.

Chartrand, Tanya L., and Rick van Baaren. “Chapter 5 Human Mimicry.” In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 41:219–74. Academic Press, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)00405-X.

Clark, E. Culpepper. “Pitchfork Ben Tillman and the Emergence of Southern Demagoguery.” Quarterly Journal of Speech 69 (1983): 423–33.

“Cleon, Athenian Politician | Oxford Classical Dictionary.” Accessed October 9, 2024. https://oxfordre.com/classics/display/10.1093/ acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-1666.

“Definition of demagogue,” September 23, 2024. https://www. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demagogue.

“Demagogue,” October 2, 2024. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ dictionary/english/demagogue.

“Donald Trump Said He Once Punched a Teacher in the Face. Did He? - The Washington Post.” Accessed October 17, 2024. https://www. washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/11/13/donaldtrump-said-he-once-punched-a-teacher-in-the-face-did-he/.

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How did Renaissance humanism change the understanding of the past?

CHLOE JEEYEON KIM, YEAR 12

This paper was written for Year 12 Extension History.

The advent of Renaissance humanism, and the reemergence of classical Graeco-Roman philosophy brought about fundamental changes to the way history was understood redefining the past and leading to a re-examination of historical methodology. As the world emerged from the profoundly religious epoch of the Middle Ages, Renaissance humanism marked the beginning of bifurcation of history from religion and has been considered the movement that laid the groundwork for the intellectual history - a modern construction of history.1 For the purposes of this essay, the ‘Renaissance’ refers to a period from the early-mid 14th century until the mid-16th century in western Europe - commonly known as the early to high Renaissance - the most dominant time for demonstrating the revival of classical anthropocentric understandings of history, diverging from the roots of religious narratives. These restored multifaceted approaches to history possessed many of the characteristics of more modern approaches: Renaissance histories focused on the actions of influential people and scientific ideologies as opposed to God’s providence. Most notably, historical methodology underwent sweeping changes during the Renaissance, including the advent of genuine source criticism. This essay will first explore how Renaissance humanism’s assimilation of Graeco-Roman ideals into its theocentric ideologies is exemplified through the employment of anachronism in Renaissance art. Secondly, the essay will explore the focus on human agency in Renaissance historiography, highlighting how Renaissance historians’ anthropocentric accounts stand in stark contrast to the theocentric of Mediaeval chronicles. Lastly, the essay will examine the impactful changes in historical methodology produced by the profound humanist ideals of the Renaissance.

Anachronisms in Renaissance Art: Integrating Scientific and Religious Perspectives into Historical Understanding Art performs a vital role in shaping ideology and fostering historical comprehension as it is an intrinsic facet of artistic manifestation to “express subjective involvements with contemporary events,2” and thus its expression and symbols “reinforcing the dominant cultural values of its time.3” For the Renaissance painters: “subjective involvement4” often involved the use of well-placed anachronistic imagery in their profoundly religious settings. Renaissance art, reflecting the era’s profound advancements and enduring legacy, eloquently demonstrated the harmonious integration of scientific

and religious perspectives, a synthesis rooted in the humanist movement of the period. In this context, anachronism refers to “juxtapositions of historically distinct styles in a single picture, and stagings of historical in contemporary settings.5” More precisely, this pertains to the intentional utilisation by the artist of elements and minutiae within depictions of historical narratives, which diverge from strict historical fidelity.

Renaissance humanism sought to reconcile classical Graeco-Roman ideals (once dismissed for their pagan associations and conflicting scientific views) with Christian ideology – which prompted a re-evaluation of historical narratives, expanding the historical perspectives, fostering a more nuanced understanding of the evolution of ideas and beliefs throughout history. This ideal is profoundly evident through the use of anachronism in the paintings of religious figures of the past. In doing so, Renaissance humanism reinterpreted the past in a way that aligned with its emphasis on emulating the scientific and individualistic understandings of the world through integrating the rediscovered classical antiquity, thus transforming the perception and representation of historical narratives. The use of scientific anachronism to reflect the rising humanist understandings of mutual existence of religion and scientific ideologies are eminently evident in Carpaccio’s painting of St Augustine6 (1502). Carpaccio’s anachronistic inclusion of “writing implements, scientific instruments,” and an “hourglass7“ suggests the fusion of historical and contemporary elements in Renaissance art, projecting its modern values onto revered religious figures, as they are objects in which “a man of taste and liberal views… might have prized, but that Saint Augustine would not have owned.8” This manifestation of anachronism within the portrayal of a deeply religious figure thus signifies the transition from erstwhile theocentric norms of the Mediaeval era towards the humanistic perspective of the Renaissance - the integration of scientific thinking into religion.

Renaissance humanism precipitated a significant transformation in historical comprehension by interrogating conventional interpretations of Christian theology, while embracing and assimilating classical Graeco-Roman principles - Italian Neoplatonism with the employment of anachronistic components, thereby fundamentally restructuring the understanding of the past. Neoplatonism’s focus on the Renaissance humanist re-interpreting Plato’s philosophical declaration of the ultimate cause of everything as the mind of ‘the one’ who is conceived as divine subsisting God in Christian

faith. Through this connection, Plato was labelled as a “virtuous pagan,9” as evident through Dante’s inferno10 - thus promoting the integration of his ideals.

A manifestation of anachronism in Renaissance art emerges in the syncretism observed within the Christian church’s assimilation of classical traditions into its doctrine, evident in Raphael’s The School of Athens (1509-1511) located in the Vatican - the heart of Christian faith. The anachronistic feature of the portrayals of intellectuals from classical antiquity in the prime location of Christianity implies Raphael’s fresco as suggesting the humanist understanding of interdisciplinary learning. This is stated in Giorgio Vasari’s Lives (1550) - the foundational text in the history of art history,11 where he evaluates the painting as showing “theologians reconciling philosophy and astrology with theology.12” The fresco presents an exemplary of Prisca theologia, the Renaissance humanists’ fascination with ancient theologians13 through the detailed depiction of Neoplatonic ideals existing at the time through Plato holding Timaeus (360 BC)14. This presents Plato’s indication of the universe being created by the “single beneficent creator,15” thus presenting a paragon for the assimilation of Prisca theologia into the Christian understandings. Hence, the anachronistic practice reflects a shift towards emphasising the human experiences rather than divine intervention or religious morality in the viewing of history.

HUMAN AGENCY IN THE RENAISSANCE AND ITS DIFFERING FORMS

Renaissance humanism fundamentally reshaped the comprehension of the past by foregrounding the theme of anthropocentrism through the developments of human agency from the revival and integration of classical Graeco-Roman ideals. It shifted the prior notions of mediaeval scholasticism, which often framed history significantly by theological context, with events being commonly interpreted as the manifestation of divine will, to present the progress of history as being a linear progression towards fulfilment of divinity. Humanism, however, brought a shift towards seeing history through the lens of human actions and decisions. Renaissance humanism further brought upon the revival of the classical Greek philosophy of phronēsis, which stated the importance of individual human agency, in claiming selfagency as vital in achieving eudaimonia16. This perspective challenges deterministic views of history and emphasises the active participation of individuals in shaping their own destinies and the trajectories of societies.

Prior to the emergence of Renaissance humanist ideals, Mediaeval histories emphasised the “close involvement of God in human affairs.”17 This is visibly evident in Jacobus de Voragine’s collection of hagiographies The Golden Legend, 18 which reflects the religious fervour and piety of the time while also contributing to the dissemination of Christian beliefs and values. Kelley states “scholars in the Middle Ages also had an appreciation of classical

historiography,” however their historical sense had been highly centred around religious commitments19, and therefore it was only as humanistic ideologies evolved during the Renaissance in which the classical approaches to history had been reintroduced. Renaissance humanists emphasised the role of individuals in shaping historical events - arguing humans’ capability of shaping their own destiny and that historical outcomes are often the result of human agency, rather than merely divine intervention or fate.

Francesco Petrarch is a vital example of a Renaissance humanist who represents the shift of focus from God-driven to the ideals of human agency in the understanding of history. Petrarch is evaluated as beginning the “strong tradition for Italian humanism. ” His idealisation of the Aurea Roma21 inspired his “integration of ancient pagan learning in Christian literature”22 which initiated from his rediscovery of the “the work of Cicero”23 which focused on human agency leading to new approaches of understanding history. This advocated the study of history as not merely a chronicle of events as endorsed in the mediaeval period - described by Petrarch as “dregs of time”24 but a discovery of human influence, as evident in his book, De Viris Illustribus (1337). Through his emulation of classical works, Petrarch rekindled the classical philosophies focusing on human agency, thus pioneering the Renaissance humanist movement. Niccolò Machiavelli displays the pinnacle example of the Renaissance humanists shift in focus on human agency, as his work The Prince (1532)25, states fortune as determining only “half the things we do” and the rest “to be controlled by ourselves.” This presents the focus on human agency through following the humanist statement of autonomy, a shift from the Mediaeval understandings of individuals as being controlled by fate and God.

Machiavelli’s The Prince26 is intimately connected to the broader intellectual movement of Renaissance humanism, which had a profound impact on how the past was understood and interpreted. Thus, the emphasis on human agency fostered a more nuanced understanding of the past, recognizing the pivotal role of human endeavours in shaping societies, cultures, and civilizations across time.

Through the revival of classical ideals, Renaissance historians has been the catalyst to place more focus on the actions of “psychologically determined individuals.”27 Thus, Renaissance humanism emphasized human agency in history, suggesting that individuals, guided by phronēsis, played a pivotal role in shaping historical outcomes through their decisions and actions.

THE INFLUENCE OF RENAISSANCE HUMANISM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW HISTORIOGRAPHICAL METHODOLOGIES

The revival and integration of classical GraecoRoman principles during the Renaissance spawned the development of new methodologies for studying

and interpreting historical events, as it derived itself from the sole theocentric viewpoint of the Mediaeval times. These methodological shifts, rooted in a broader humanist intellectual framework, emphasised viewing history in a subjective manner through source criticism, and the separation of religion from the understandings of history. Moreover, the Renaissance also instilled a sense of history as a dynamic and secular narrative, shaped by human actions and societal factors, which continues to underpin contemporary historiographical approaches. Renaissance humanism revolutionised historical methodology by introducing a critical, sourcebased, and contextually aware approach to the study of the past. This has enabled a more accurate and nuanced understanding of history, characteristics that remain at the heart of modern historical scholarship. Secularism is a concept in which is independent from religious influence - promoting the idea of decisions being based on reason and universal ethical principles rather than religious doctrines. The rise of secular thought amongst intellectuals during the Renaissance was unmistakably linked to the re-emergence and republication of numerous classical Greek texts, inspiring the work of the Humanist historians. For example, Bruni’s, Historiarum Florentini Populi Libri XII (1449), is heavily inspired by Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War28 of which Bruni had been “one of the first Westerners to read in over a thousand years.”29 The re-evolvement of secularised ideas from classical historians such as Thucydides’ - who has been regarded as the father of scientific history due to his empirical methodologies of critical analysis of sources from “conclusions he has drawn from the proofs quoted may… safely relied on”30 without recourse to divine intervention has had a tremendous impact on the Renaissance understanding of the past. These re-discovered methodologies epitomised new historiography epoch, in which religious, divinationbased history eschewed towards anthropocentric, human focused historiography.31 The restoration of the secularised, classical Graeco-Roman approaches to history influenced the Renaissance historians to emulate these practices, characterising the period to emphasis of empirical evidence and critical thinking - a secularised method of approaching history.

The emergence of source criticism and division of religion in the understandings of history is present in De falso credita et ementita Constantini donatione (1517) by Lorenzo Valla, where he exposed “the famous donation of Constantine as a forgery.”32 This is a seminal example of how Renaissance humanism altered the understanding and methodology of historical studies, particularly through the emergence of source criticism and the division of religious authority from historical scholarship. Valla, applying philological and textual analysis, demonstrated that the language and content of the document could not have originated from the time of Constantine. He noted anachronisms and

linguistic inconsistencies that indicated it was actually composed much later33, challenging the authenticity of the document but also questioned the historical narrative constructed by the Church that relied on such documents - presenting the necessity for historical documents’ subjection for re-evaluation. Through this reassessment, Valla separated historical truth from ecclesiastical authority.34 This fostered a more secular approach to history, where facts could be distinguished from religious or ideological claims. His approaches encouraged historians to verify sources through critical analysis of evidence, laying a foundation for modern empirical historical source criticism methods. Thus, the integration of classical ideologies sparked the emergence of new historiographical methods - primarily of source criticism, allowing secular ideals to play a large role in the developments of the Renaissance humanists understanding of the past.

Renaissance humanism’s legacy in historiography is evident in the critical methods used to study the past, the focus on individuals and narratives, and the interdisciplinary nature of historical research. It helped transition European thought from medieval scholasticism to a more empirical and secular understanding of the world, characteristics that continue to define modern historical inquiry. The revival of classical antiquity during the Renaissance had a substantial impact on the development of modern historical methodologies, as it emphasized the study of classical texts from ancient Greece and Rome and led to new ways of thinking about and recording history. The empirical approach of history roots itself from the significance on human agency, influencing modern historians such as Leopold von Ranke to view history as “wie es eigentlich gewesen,”35 with his methods of emphasising “verifiable human quality and conditions.” This presents how modern historical methodologies embraces the Renaissance humanist methodologies of rhetorical and narrative traditions.

In conclusion, Renaissance humanism caused a profound shift in the intellectual framework of history, marked by a departure from the predominantly theocentric mediaeval narrative to a more anthropocentric and secular understanding of human progress and societal developments. This shift was significantly influenced by the rediscovery and integration of classical GraecoRoman philosophies, which emphasised human agency and rationality. Renaissance humanists not only challenged the traditional mediaeval historiographical practices but also laid the groundwork for modern historical inquiry by incorporating a critical approach to sources and fostering a contextual understanding of events. The employment of anachronism in Renaissance art and the nuanced portrayal of historical figures and events illustrated a deeper engagement with the past, reflecting the complexities of human nature rather than mere divine providence. This approach enabled historians

to explore political, cultural, and social dynamics in ways that were unprecedented during the Middle Ages. Thus, Renaissance humanism did not merely revive ancient learning but transformed it, infusing it with a spirit of inquiry and scepticism that heralded the modern historical consciousness. This transformation has had a lasting impact on the way history is studied and understood, emphasising a multifaceted and empirical approach that remains foundational to historical scholarship today.

REFERENCES

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2 Vytautas Kavolis, “Art Content and Social Involvement,” Social Forces 42, no. 4 (1964): 467–72, https://doi.org/10.2307/2574992 Pg 471.

3 Kavolis Pg 469.

4 Kavolis Pg 471.

5 Alexander Nagel and Christopher S. Wood, “Toward a New Model of Renaissance Anachronism,” The Art Bulletin 87, no. 3 (2005): 403–15 Pg 403.

6 View Appendix 1 (Editor- removed for publication)

7 Nagel and Wood, Pg 403

8 Nagel and Wood Pg 403.

9 Daniel Orth Bell, “New Identifications in Raphael’s School of Athens,” The Art Bulletin 77, no. 4 (1995): 639–46, https://doi. org/10.2307/3046140.

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12 Mary Quinlan-McGrath, “Raphael’s ‘School of Athens’: ‘Theologians Reconciling Philosophy and Astrology,’” Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 61 (2016): 159–91 Pg 159.

13 Quinlan-McGrath Pg 185.

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20 Kristeller, “Studies on Renaissance Humanism During the Last Twenty Years.” Pg 8

21 Kelley Pg 133.

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33 Kelley Pg 140.

34 Kelley Pg 140.

35 English translation: How things actually were

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Vidler, Anthony. “Platonic Paradigms: A Memory of the School of Athens.” Perspecta 48 (2015): 78–87.

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Witt, Ronald. “Petrarch, Creator of the Christian Humanist.” In Petrarch and Boccaccio, edited by Igor Candido, 1st ed., 65–77. The Unity of Knowledge in the Pre-Modern World. De Gruyter, 2018. https://www. jstor.org/stable/j.ctvbj7kck.7.

Zagorin, Perez. “On Humanism Past & Present.” Daedalus 132, no. 4 (2003): 87–92.

HELENA TANG, PYMBLE LADIES’ COLLEGE

The shadows of the trees danced upon the cedar fence, and dappled the wood. The leaves flickered like candlelights. From neighbouring gardens came the music of laughter. From the Italian restaurant across the street came its distinctive aroma of margherita pizza. From the slow fade-out of my friends’ silhouettes came the loneliness.

“See you!”

“Text us when you get home!”

Their voices blended into an ebullient chorus of farewells, as I watched them disappear into the distance.

Turning back around, I began walking home. My white sneakers appeared inordinately bright against the begrimed concrete footpath. The outline of my shadow followed me, conspicuous in the lambent pools cast off by the streetlamps standing guard at the sides of the road. I paused in my stride as I reached a crossing, my hand instinctively pushing the silver button at the traffic lights. Gratefully, I took time to admire the sky above.

Constellations shone like sugar split over black marble, glistening and promising the return of the sun after the land had its rest. It looked like an old photograph, the stars and moon who’d witnessed centuries and millennia just the same, watched over this unremarkable moment of a sixteen year old girl staring at the sky, waiting to cross the road.

I was jolted from my musings by the sound of music blasting at full volume. Looking in the direction of the noise, I came to see a group of men, perhaps in their twenties, driving towards the lights. As if the headlights could stab, my eyes shifted quickly to the other side. My heartbeat accelerated as their Mazda slowed to a stop at the red light, right beside the footpath where I was standing. I swallowed and clasped my sweating hands together when the volume of the music was lowered. I knew it was inevitable, what was going to happen. It had happened before, it was happening now, and it will happen again.

“Hey there, gorgeous,” an arrogant male voice called out.

“Why don’t you come for a ride with us?”

I did not respond to those comments, and kept my eyes firmly on the road ahead, refusing to gratify them with my gaze.

“You ungrateful rat, don’t you know it’s rude to ignore people who are giving you compliments?” One of the men snapped.

The lights finally turned green, and I released a shaky breath as they drove off, their harsh voices echoing faintly in the wind.

Head down, I crossed the road and kept walking. My ears blocking out summer’s incessant chorus of cicadas, I gazed down at my white top and short skirt, my skin showing unwillingly against the pale moonlight. I should wear something more covered up next time. I thought.

I turned left off the main road, heading into the suburban branches of the town. There were no street lamps in this area. Both sides of the street were lined with looming trees, their spindly fingertips reaching to brush the dark sky. I heard a faint susurration behind and my heartbeat thumped in loud, rhythmic echoes. Aware of the noises in these unusually silent hours, I glanced back, the muscles on my legs tensing, ready to run. There was a figure about ten metres behind - a man. Nausea overwhelmed me as I held back my whimper. I wiped my palms on my jeans. Were his strides quickening or was it my imagination conjuring up scenarios? My fingers reached for the keys in my pockets, only to realise I’d left them at home. No weapons. Not even a makeshift one.

I ran.

The wind whipped my hair in frantic motions and the night air stung my skin. Forcing myself not to look back or to smooth my skirt, my feet pounded on the ground. My breath came out in ragged gasps, but I didn’t pause to think. All I could do was run. Faster.

Further.

In such a moment, fear was as ubiquitous as sunlight on cracked streets. There were the marks that cowered within, terrified of anyone jumping out of the bushes. I sniffled passing every house, wishing it was mine.

The sight of the lamppost at the end of my street was a beacon of assuagement. I gritted my teeth and sprinted towards my house, its windows glowing with warm lights, and the sweet rituals of my younger siblings’ giggles rose along with the smoke on the chimney.

Desperately, I knocked on the door, my head almost smashing against it. Then I had enough. As if I could bleed an ocean through my eyes, saltwater streamed down my

cheeks, surrendering to the fear that had followed me from the Italian restaurant, right across the traffic light and now to my home.

The night was utterly silent.

Tentatively, I peered behind. The man wasn’t there at all. Not even a footstep was heard. I felt pathetic. Perhaps he was just walking home. Nothing sinister. It was difficult to reconcile this normalcy with the inherent trepidation being a young girl walking home alone at night. Yet this fear was a commonality between all women. It was an unspoken truth. That is:

I am a woman. And that, in itself, is enough reason to be afraid.

Karl’s Case

ZARINA

NURLANOV,

YEAR 11

Karl was a proud man. And deservedly so, because he was one of the most efficient suitcase salesmen in XX city, which was definitely saying something. Everyone needs a suitcase these days. Now, when it wasn’t as backwater as YY city and ZZ city, suitcases were pretty much the only thing anyone talked about at work. And sure, it was his job, but Karl definitely did have need for a suitcase of his own. An efficient man requires an efficient carryholder –nothing so outlandish as a backpack – psh! Those were for hippies and high schoolers. Obviously not a tote bag –did he look like someone who had time for lackadaisical slippings of straps? – and any sort of purse or feminine handbag was completely out of the question. So suitcase it was. Karl, despite having been in the business for almost ten years, was only starting to entertain these ideas now, and they consumed him with feverish anxiety? excitement? He couldn’t tell. There was a gorgeous, sleek yet charming and altogether retro one on sale just across the road from where he worked. During his lunch break, he ventured to take a look. There it was, in all its glory – it had a name like Chevalier or Sauvignon that rolled smoothly off the tongue, and Karl repeated it again and again under his breath as he walked out, clutching it to his quivering breast.

But once he had stepped outside, he realized abruptly –the sky was dark. The neon lights were on. There weren’t any commuters trudging home; they had all gone long ago. How could he have passed all that time away in a trance, just like that? Karl looked down upon his purchase uneasily. Magical, some part of him thought.

He hurried back to his office, just in case. And yes – it was completely empty, with all the lights turned off, all the files neatly stacked away, waiting for the next day. It was warm inside the building, and its atmosphere of ferocity had been toned down by the gentle night into something much more soothing. Karl was dead tired –inexplicably so, because just what had he been doing all day? – and thought about just sleeping at his desk. No, that wouldn’t do. It was far too hard, and cramped, and would remind him of the day’s toil. The boss’s office? No, no, he wouldn’t dare. Just imagining the boss’s ugly mug twisted into an expression of disgust at Karl’s sleeping figure made him shiver. For someone with such a highpaying position, Karl questioned briefly, what made him so profoundly ill-tempered and unsatisfied with life? He could buy all the suitcases he wanted but still, he roared at his employees day after day for not selling enough…

Karl sighed as his attention was brought back to his lovely suitcase. Ah, he thought – who needs a thousand of you? You are enough… you are large, but light, and slightly

fluffy on the inside.

And continuing this train of thought, he sank down into a squat and opened the case. Karl loved the smell of new things. He pressed his face into the fabric, taking it all in together – the scent, the texture, the tickle of fine polyester against his nostrils. Slowly and hesitantly, Karl crept inside the suitcase, drawing his knees up to his chest and his elbows to his knees. How silly he must look…! Like an animal… a burrowing animal! Still, he revelled in the softness that enveloped him, the refuge from the office, the comfort of a tight space. Without thinking about it too much, Karl shut the lid of the suitcase and promptly went to sleep in full business attire. The next morning – or should it be called morning, for it was hardly discernible for Karl whether or not it was from the dark confines of his new bedroom – office life continued as normal, with the boss shouting orders, furious tappings of keys, spillings of coffees, and hurried, nervous steps all around. Karl woke peacefully, without fright of any kind.

‘This is rather like a holiday,’ he thought.

All that was changed, however, when gravity seemed to lose its power and Karl’s entirety was picked up by a single, strong hand.

He held his breath. If they were to find out… what on earth would be said of him? ‘Karl, the suitcase salesman, so kooky about cases he slept in one!’ Karl’s eyes began to fill with wetness at the thought of such humiliation. No… no! He must be steadfast. So far, it didn’t seem that the carrier had any intention of opening the suitcase. The moment he was left unattended, Karl would spring out of there and hurry back to work. While puzzling over which excuse he would make for being late, he experienced the sensation of descending a staircase. What!? Why not just take the lift? More importantly, where was this person going? Surely not outside to throw him into the garbage… did the office have a Lost and Found?

As Karl sat there in his crowded enclosure he began to pray, although he had never been religious. And then – unexpectedly – the person carrying his suitcase, in his mind, became synonymous with God himself. Karl reverently admired the gentleness that the person set him down sometimes, worshipped the strength this person must have possessed to lift an entire grown man and carry him around with such ease, and genuinely loved the person for not exposing him with his bedhead, bad breath and general unpresentability to his colleagues. Over the course of the day, this religious love shifted

ever so slightly. Karl had scarcely noticed the hours go by because he was thinking, very intently - who exactly was this person? He liked to pretend it was a woman, and he would entertain thoughts about what kind of woman it was. Could it be chaste, humble Samantha from telemarketing? Or discreet, shy Hannah from the reception. He decided on the latter and imagined her, with her long stockinged legs and sleek pinned-back hair to be totally forgiving of his strange predicament. She would understand him. It was his job, anyway… Suitcases…

These fantasies were all halted, abruptly, when he felt himself slammed upon some sort of desk. But what desk? Think… think… The room was very quiet, but there was the sound of a clock ticking. What clock? Which room? All of these questions were answered when horrifyingly, the suitcase clicked open and the afternoon’s light beamed upon its inside for the first time since yesterday. Cautiously extending his stiff neck out of the interior, Karl came face to face with none other than his boss. Evil, cruel… ugly.

But despite all of that, Karl blushed.

Black Cockatoo

NITYASREE VISWANATHAN, YEAR 11

She stares, pieces of hair hanging down the sides of her face. We go back, she and I. Every morning she reminds me I’m not quite the same, not quite who I want to be, with our almost black skin, black hair, black eyes. She’s glaring. I hold my breath, suck in my stomach till it hurts, then blow it all out in a big breath. The brown lingers like a film on our skin. Nice try, she seems to smirk. I break eye contact, choosing not to engage, instead staring past her at blurs of cars we whiz past, looming eight-story residentials. Every once in a while, a block of brownish exposed brick rises, short and obvious amongst the smooth, eerily perfect concrete grey units, straight-edged and uniform. One day, I’ll live far away from here.

Grandmas amble along the footpaths, donning saris, tottering about for their morning walks with flowers in their hair, unabashedly Indian. The buildings give way to cramped lines of shops, IGAs and Australian-Indian groceries, cooped alongside cultural restaurants with their obtrusive signs. We pass a bump in the road, kicking up dust, thick with car exhaust fumes and the stench of curry. It drifts over the open top half of my window, pervasive now. I can’t breathe for a second with it–

“You smell like curry”. His nose scrunched up with disgust. I didn’t say anything. I stared down at my clothes as if I could see it on my school uniform, on my skin, vivid and obvious as the bright yellow turmeric in the packed lunch Amma had put in my bag that morning. You smell like curry you smell like curry you smell like disgusting you smell disgusting you smell–

Then the car window rolls up and I’m left staring at the girl in the tinted glass again. I raise my white collar to my nose - smelling to check, as if it might still be there. She watches me. Today of all days, I don’t want to be different. A flutter of wings breaks outside, chalky white dappled with gold. Sulphur-crested and proud, they screech their stewardship of the sunrise. Trailing behind, a streak of black dodges in and out of the flock, trying in vain to penetrate the wall of alabaster feathers. I crane my neck, entranced, as it follows our car. Skies of inky coal stretch with each flap – a black cockatoo. Our darkness corresponds, something that neither of us can wash away how much ever we scrub, chests aching in company with the desire to belong. It hangs back behind the group, bands of yellow curving along the fan of its tail feathers, whipping in the wind.

Yellow-gold bangles adorn my older sister’s wrist, for Harmony Day. I catch Amma glancing at her in the rear-view, pride in her eyes. My sister wears her culture more beautifully than I ever could, deep peacock salwar

kameez draped, falling perfectly over her knees, adorned with gold brocade. And when my mother’s eyes flip to me, mine dart back to the window. But not before I see the look in her eyes change, pride melting away. I don’t look back.

High rises soften to houses, slowly at first, then they peter off, fewer and fewer, like a heartbeat slowing down, thumpthumpthump thump thump, thump. Stubbles of grass turn into white pavement, then buzz cut lawns, curving, fringing grey uniform roads. Thump, thump, thump. It’s quieter here, comfortable, jacaranda trees standing sentry on street corners. I lean into the window a little more, a little closer to the pristine driveways and pruned bushes, crystalline blue pools trimmed by white fences. These are the kind of streets that could be a painting, the kind that ice-cream vans drive up. A smile steals across my face. One day.

The car pulls into the school gate, and I look at my flock, most faces white, some dark like mine. All in grey and navy plaid dresses. They gather around the drop-off. I move to step out of the car, and adjust my own navy uniform as I walk over to them. My sister steps out in her salwar kameez and she glides over to her group, a patchwork of cultures, vermillion, gold, verdigris, saffron, tangerine. I can’t shake the hollow inside my throat, watching them. It doesn’t matter anymore. None of it matters. I am Australian. I am Australian I am Australian I am Australian I am Australian. And the flock parts to let me in.

Picturesque Pitpal

MALALAI KARIMI, YEAR 7

The green and yellow tall trees are around the river.

The smell of the flowers on the trees is everywhere, like perfume in the air. When the wind blows the trees, the trees start to dance. I could feel the chill of the wind blowing on my face like I am under the water, so peaceful and quiet.

The mountains are touching the sky, the mountains are quiet and covered with snow and surround the village. In summer when the snow melts, the sound of the river rushing downstream is like an earthquake. In autumn, the water jumps over the rocks, the sound of the river is like singing. The green grasses are everywhere, the birds are laughing. The tree has red fruit, and it hangs from its stem like a hair, some of them are in a pair. I climbed like a monkey to grab one. When I tasted it, it was as sweet as honey. Like the whales in the sea travelling all around the world to find their way home, I will find my way to where I belong too.

WRITER’S COMMENT:

I am from Pitpal, a place in Afghanistan’s Panjshir valley. Three years ago, I left. I miss everything there. Sometimes I feel that I have lost something important that I can’t get back, no matter how hard I try. I moved to Australia because there was a war and the Taliban took over the country and girls couldn’t go to school or study. I chose this place because it is a quiet place in nature. When you are in the middle of mountains and trees, you feel that you have your own paradise with the snowy mountains and the sound of the river that changes every season.

Life Waves

BAHESHTA RAMONI, YEAR 7

Come to the beach, the sea is blue.

The sun is setting now, the waves start coming slowly.

The sound of the waves is getting louder. The beach is a place as calm as slow rain. Listen to the waves and feel it. The sun is setting now and saying goodbye to you.

Many waves start coming to you and showing you that you are not alone, after the sun is gone.

Come closer to the waves and tell her what you feel The water at the beach holds some things that we don’t know, the water will understand what you feel.

The soft, warm sand feels nice under your feet, with shiny seashells all around.

The sun goes down, colouring the sky with bright orange, pink, and purple.

Walking on the sand is like walking on the skin of the beach. Each step I take shares a story from the day. Seeing the beach for the first time is like opening a gift.

Nighttime

MAY ZHANG, YEAR 10

Seldom does the sun reach this forgotten corner of the city, only the last rays of the setting sun. Ava closed her eyes, basking in the withering ambers. To shut the world out or enjoy the brief moment of unfamiliar warmth, she did not know. With a long sigh, she opened the door, stepping inside her Dad’s apartment for the first time in years.

The old man stood in the doorway, his shoulders still broad but his legs thin, muscles loosely attached to the bone. Her jaw clenched as she tensed up. Although Ava knew he was kept occupied by his two jobs, she couldn’t help but feel bitterness clawing at her, for him being little more than a passerby in her life. Suddenly, memories crawled up her spine like a black widow, biting her in the chest.

Palm Beach was like a second home to her and her Mum, and when night fell, they would lie on the sand, gazing at the starry night. Her Mum, with laughter lighting up dimples in her sun-kissed cheeks, would say how she always wanted to live among the stars, to watch the ohso-busy world from above. At the time, Ava thought she could live in that moment forever. But the last time Ava saw her mother, she was in a casket, lying peacefully, as if she were on the beach next to Ava with a blanket of stars above. Ava looked up, only to be faced with a white popcorn ceiling.

“Are you gonna stay tonight?” The old man’s hoarse voice dragged her back to reality.

“Yeah.” She swallowed the last chunk of sausage. Then it was dead silence. Dad’s homemade sausage barbecues in the park were her favourite as a kid. But now, on the chipped plate under the swinging fluorescent light, the sausage looked artificial and store-bought.

Outside the window, the last drop of sunlight was engulfed by the horizon, and tree branches swayed, rattling the window frame. His back was a lot smaller than Ava remembered it to be, and she tried to pat him on his shoulder out of politeness, but he said it was okay.

The next morning, the sight of her Dad’s pained expression burned in her memory. She’d never stopped to think about how much pain he went through, and how after losing his wife he almost lost his connection with his daughter, too. Feeling a sticky mixture of guilt and shame, Ava grabbed her Dad and got on the next train to Palm Beach. She avoided it out of fear for so many reasons, but mainly for reliving the memories there without her Mum. But, she thought back to the sausage from dinner, which was Dad’s attempt at reconnecting; so, she should make an attempt, too.

Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the crashing sounds of waves. Fresh sea breeze whispered, tousling her hair and sweeping a strand behind her ear like her Mum used to. They flopped down next to the shoreline, traced by driftwood draped in seaweed. Pink and golden streaks were painted across a canvas of blue, clouds retreating into the horizon followed by the blanket of night. Ava found her eyes wandering up to the sky, looking for her Mum. She jolted when her Dad’s head leaned against her, a tear trickling down her neck.

“Thank you, for bringing me here.”

She turned to face him, unfamiliar with this close interaction between them. He always looked serious, with eyebrows knotted together. But with the dying sunlight illuminating his face, he looked so vulnerable. Wrinkles creased his face like folded clothes, but his eyes twinkled brightly.

“I’m sorry I didn’t take you sooner.”

She looked back up at the sky, this time at a sea of stars, winking back at her. She let out a crisp breath, the stuffiness in her heart with it, and rested her head on her Dad’s. Ava found her eyes searching once more, but her vision blurred and she cried, too. They lay on the sand, and as Ava lay with Mum for the first time in years, she understood their connection to her Mum could be restored by visiting.

When they got home, warmth, like the sun’s rays, filled the household although it wasn’t dawn yet. Suddenly, she didn’t feel alone anymore, for she had her Dad by her side, and her Mum overhead. Ava decided she was going to go to Palm Beach with her Dad every now and then.

Maybe it wouldn’t completely heal their broken relationship immediately, or even completely, but at least he’d find peace in an “oh so” busy world, and maybe that was enough.

Wishing

LEIA RIPLEY, PYMBLE LADIES’ COLLEGE

This poem was Highly Commended in the Years 5 and 6 Poetry section of the Pens Against Poverty Writing Competition.

Wishing For a warm meal

To vanquish the hunger chewing my stomach

Wishing For a companion

To eradicate the loneliness that consumes me

Wishing For new clothes

To obliterate the shivers that overcome me

Wishing For someone to notice me

To see past the grime and the desperation

To see a person, just like them.

The Mirror That Divided Us

SARAH

KITZING, YEAR 3

This is the winner of the Years 3 and 4 Stories section in the Pens Against Poverty Writing Competition.

The people of the Town of Felix were going through hard times. They had just been at war with their neighbouring Town, leaving their Town broken and crumbled. Few buildings remained upright! The hatred for the other Town remained. Everyone was so furious at each other and started blaming others for the unfortunate scene that confronted them. They bickered and they fought. Food was scarce and anger floated in the air.

There was only one child in the Town and that child’s name was Lily. She had just moved to the Town of Felix last year, just to experience this frightful situation. A sad gloom hung over her as she travelled daily from her half broken house into Town. Felix was meant to mean happy in Latin and this Town was certainly not happy. In her room, there was only one decorative item. It was a curious and old mirror which stood on the mantlepiece. She gazed into the mirror, closed her eyes, and wished this Town was as happy as its name. Just at that moment, a strong gust of wind came from the mirror. It swirled around the town and carried poor Lily and the Town’s folks back into the mirror.

The people landed on a flat stretch of land with flowers everywhere. Happiness hung in the air instead of the usual sadness. Not only that but there was food and the people ate their fill. They realised how lucky they were to have survived and have each other.

In a distance, they spotted a strange glittery glow. As they walked nearer, they realised it was the other side of the mirror. They peered in. Curious. Inside, they saw a gloomy Town in which the folks were shouting at each other angrily. They recognised faces from the ware in which they had fought. They recognised languages that were from the neighbouring Town. They recognised the same gloom which hung over their own Town. This fighting had to stop NOW and FAST. Lily stepped forward and reached out towards the mirror. A child on the other side of the mirror noticed and gingerly pressed his hand towards hers. The mirror melted away. The children smiled at each other as if they had been friends forever. The joy floated around their touch and around all the people of both Towns.

At first, the adults seemed hesitant but soon they stepped forward. “I am sorry” they said to each other. They shook hands and they hugged. “Let us never fight again”. The children played together and their laughter filled the air.

A Place for Everyone

RAYNA

ZHOU, YEAR 4

This is the winner of the Years 3 and 4 Poetry section in the Pens Against Poverty Writing Competition.

In a world where dreams take flight, Where every heart finds its light, A world for everyone we see, Voices strong and voices meek.

From bustling streets to quiet lanes

From sunny meadows to cool spring rains, A tapestry of lives entwined, In every face a story find,

No walls keep us far apart, A place for every beating heart, When kindness blooms when times are hard, Hope is sown into a get well card.

Let us build with bricks of grace And defeat any problem we have to face. Life is better with food and shelter, So make sure our peers do not suffer.

The importance of contemporary Aboriginal poetry as an expression of Country, Culture and Voice

ABIGAIL BARFIELD, YEAR 12

This paper was written as an Aboriginal Studies course major work.

This Project analyses a range of poetic intentions and themes that I have recognised in contemporary Aboriginal poetry, detailing the importance of this artform to depict First Nations relationships to Country and culture through an expression of an individual voice. Poetry is a powerful tool of activism, but its ability to capture beautiful and complex relationships within Aboriginal culture must not be overlooked. As an artform, poetry could be considered to hold a singular purpose and message, constructed by the poet. However, this is not reality. As highlighted by Sean Farrell Moran, academic, ‘poetry is more a threshold than a path, one constantly approached and constantly departed from’, discerning how poetry evolves through the subjective eye of the reader and poet, shifting throughout time, with refashioned contexts morphing new meaning to the poetry.1 Aboriginal poetry is no exception, reflecting the transcendence of First Nations Lore and Dreaming through time, which is explored to be a non-linear, fluid concept. Understanding how poetry fluidly responds to the eye of the reader and hand of the writer, resonating with differing contexts, is crucial to gauge. Shifting contexts, personal experiences, and subjectivity underscore poetry and First Nations relationships to Country and Culture, epitomising why Aboriginal poetry is a profound expression of Country, Culture and individual Voice.

Both Waterways and Country possess a timelessly interconnected relationship, which is understood by and deeply respected through First Languages. These First Languages, like Water systems, are cyclical, life-giving, and are the roots of Aboriginal cultures.

Bunada Language

Born of lung, egress to mouth…

Bunada Language

These oral waves shape the land And cascade in auditory Resonant message

Enfolding meaning, cradle knowledge And forge identity In expressive course across the terrain

Bunada Language

Rippling outward, perpetual. A nexus swelling and surging In celebratory liberation.

Bunada Language

Throughout ‘Bunada Language’ Nicole Smede illustrates and accentuates the intrinsic relationship between First Languages and waterways, which serve as physical and spiritual connectors between Aboriginal people, Country, and Culture.2 The connection between Language and Water evident in Smede’s imagery is deepened by their mutual importance to Aboriginal cultures and identities ‘enfolding meaning, cradle knowledge and forge identity’. Smede further comments on this relationship, highlighting how ‘our song lines… they flow across Country like a river in themselves’.3 Smede’s reflection on the synonymy between song lines and water systems reinforce how Language acts as a passage of communication between Aboriginal Culture and Country. By assuming this crucial role as a passage of communication, the connection between First Languages and Water systems can be more deeply understood, as they are both ‘flowing through the land’ and ‘great connectors’, as Smede states.4 Like water systems, First Languages stand as concrete connections to Country and Aboriginal people, as explored in ‘Bunada Language’. Smede’s poem presents a direct correlation between First Languages and water, as ‘Bunada’ is a Gumea Dharawal word referring to flowing water, used to infer that ‘language flows like a river’.5 The extended metaphor of First Languages being synonymous to flowing water is shaped by Smede’s imagery ‘oral waves’ and ‘cascade in auditory resonant message’. Smede contextualises this relationship between Aboriginal Languages and Water systems, highlighting how both are used as a tool to connect people across Country ‘Language is this great connector, just like our rivers. It flows through the land’.6 Moreover, Smede furthers the idea of First Languages and water systems being crucial, ‘language moves through our bodies like a water system’. Here, Smede highlights how Language acts as a cyclical connector from the individual to Country, and from Country to the individual. In this sense, Language is deeply connected to water, which also plays a key role in connecting identity to Country.

Additionally, Declan Furber Gillick explores the dispossession of First Languages from First Nations people in ‘Bigger than School Stuff’. The personification of language in ‘our mob will get really lonely for that language’ implies that languages were forcibly dispossessed from Aboriginal peoples. This expands on how the interpersonal and mutual relationship between Aboriginal peoples and First Language was severed through assimilation policies which actively sought to dispossess Languages from people.7 Through the

intrinsic connection between Aboriginal people and Country, the enforced dispossession of language from Aboriginal peoples is also reflected in Country, ‘our Country gets really lonely for that language too’. Here, Furber Gillick explores how Language and Country are intimately entangled, and paternalistic policies not only dispossessed First Languages from peoples, but also First Languages from Country. Thus, in ‘Bigger than School Stuff’, Furber Gillick examines how paternalistic policies dispossessed Language, as a personified concept, from Aboriginal peoples and Country.

The trees, mountains, hills, and animals that are spread across Country are intrinsically bound to Dreaming. Because of this relationship between Aboriginal culture and Country, First Nations peoples are acutely and respectfully interconnected to Land. This connection is explored through Aboriginal poetry, which also reflects the impacts of colonisation on this intricate relationship.

Debra Dank conveys the importance of communicating and storytelling with the Land through ‘We Come With This Place’, highlighting the enriching experience of listening to the knowledge Country imparts. Dank describes how the ‘awareness and relationship between people and Country was quite prosaic… because it was an absolute dependence nurtured through cultural links and traditional practices’.8 Here, Dank highlights the foundational and life-giving aspect of the relationship to Country, where this connection was strengthened by cultural and spiritual ties. Dank depicts both of these aspects in ‘We Come With This Place’, but her depiction of the spiritual and cultural connections to Country are particularly insightful, portraying the deeply spiritual relationship which is entrenched in communication and passing down of knowledge between Aboriginal people and non-human kin in Land.9 Dank particularly repeats the motif of ‘stories’ or ‘secrets’ travelling through the wind to encapsulate the importance of a spiritual connection to Country, similar to what Tim Selwyn described as ‘seeing what you can’t see, and hearing what you can’t hear’.10 Dank writes ‘I went to listen to the stories of the wind’, echoing Selwyn’s sentiment of taking time to care and listen to the Land. This continues in the passage: ‘Gudanji turned to Country and listened more deeply to the secrets travelling on the wind and through all the kin… to recall the knowing, to keep the goodalu and the kujiga’. Here, the spiritual relationship between Aboriginal people and the land is accentuated through the personification of the wind, where knowledge is passed in a cyclical nature from Land, to non-human kin, to Aboriginal peoples.

The exploration of the land reflecting human experiences and emotions of pain and trauma, which emerged due to the impacts of colonisation, epitomises the interconnected relationship between Aboriginal Peoples and Country. Margaret Kemmarre Turner’s

poem ‘Home’ and Debra Dank’s ‘We Come With This Place’ both depict how the Land mirrors the traumatic experiences of Aboriginal peoples due to colonisation, stressing the importance of the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the land. In ‘Home’, through ‘our land is broken… that’s what we carry’ Turner creates a metaphorical weight of the Land’s personified experiences that Aboriginal peoples ‘carry’. Primarily, the personification of the Land as ‘broken’ connotes the severed relationship between Aboriginal people and Country due to dispossession. Subsequently, the Land reflects the emotions of Aboriginal people, individually ‘breaking’ due to the enforced dispossession of Country. Turner depicts how the broken emotions of Country from dispossession is mirrored by Aboriginal peoples, producing a cyclical relationship where Aboriginal peoples reflects and bear the emotions of Land and vice versa. Dank continues Turner’s exploration into the circular relationship between Aboriginal peoples and Country, exploring how Aboriginal peoples’ experiences are mirrored by the land. The personification of the Land through the imagery ‘On a breath of wind came a rolling sound. The sound was like a heartbeat worried with fear, and it came with the dry acrid smell of mourning’, highlights the mirroring of Aboriginal experience by the land. The personified emotions of ‘fear’ and ‘mourning’ construct the effect of colonisation on Aboriginal peoples, and ‘breath of wind’ depict how land communicates these experiences, stressing the mirrored relationship between Land and Aboriginal peoples.

The intrinsic connection between Elders, Dreaming, and Ancestors is strengthened through complex Aboriginal cultural and kinship systems. The continual, non-linear nature of Dreaming can be understood through ‘Tjukurpa’ time, where the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara peoples of the Western Desert describe how ‘history acts as a continuum of ancestral to present time’.11 Anangu recognise the transcendence of Creation and Ancestors throughout history to produce a nonlinear understanding of time, which is continually evolving. As Dr Jeanine Leane, collector of the poetry anthology ‘Guwayu’, highlights, ‘poetry is for all timestime is a cyclic thing, where past, present, and future meet’, developing how the ability of the poetic form to transcend time reflects Dreaming and Aboriginal understanding of non-linear, ‘Tjukurpa’ time.12

Spirit Remains

Know that it is I, the law of this land, the Creator, the maker of rain I am the core, the spirit, the giver of life, And I can take it back again

Through Munro’s use of the poetic form, she conveys the permanence of Creation Spirits throughout time, transcending Western ideals of linearity to emphasise the importance of Creator Spirits to Aboriginal peoples

today. Munro’s use of polsyndentons and tricolons ‘the law of this and, the creator, the maker of rain’ conveys the widespread role of Creator Spirits, both in Aboriginal peoples spirituality, but also through the roles and responsibilities of Aboriginal peoples and the land. Munro’s continual rhythm established by polysyndeton’s crafts a passage of poetry which reflects flowing water, symbolising how the importance of Creator Spirits is limitless, containing the capacity to transcend time, rejecting Western notions of linearity to pervade in all fluid concepts of being. The presence of Creator spirits in Aboriginal cultures transcends time, epitomised through the Pitjantjatjara language lacking words or phrases equivalent for the Western concept of ‘in the beginning’.13 Tjukurpa time is explored to refer to the period of Creation, ancestors, and when grandparents are alive as simultaneous. Hence, Munro’s poem ‘Spirit Remains’ discerns the permeance of Creator spirits throughout time, playing a key role in shaping Aboriginal spiritual and cultural practices.

Poetry can be observed as a means to grapple and interrogate with internal conflicts produced from racist attitudes and intergenerational trauma which permeates throughout contemporary communities. As an intrinsically personal navigation of lived experiences, poetry expostulates socio-economic, political, and geographical injustices which have directly resulted from racist and paternalistic colonial legislation, attitudes, and movements.

Furber Gillick’s ‘none of it’ has an international focus on dispossession, conveying the synonymic dislocation of civil rights from Black Americans in the US to the dislocation of Country from Aboriginal peoples in Australia.14 Furber Gillick discusses the civil unrest in America during the Black Lives Matter movement, 2020, which permeated international social media ‘on my computer screen I saw over and over George Floyd die’. The repetition ‘over and over’ depicts a double entendre between the widespread coverage of Floyd’s death, and the resonance of his death with other murders caused by police brutality across the United States, particularly during 2020. Through such, Furber Gillick articulates how Black Americans have been dispossessed of their civil rights and liberties, synonymous to the dispossession of Aboriginal peoples from Country. This connection between the dispossession faced by Black American and Aboriginal people is depicted through the imagery of a Black American woman, distressed and agitated ‘weight shifting from one foot to the other’ being aligned to Furber Gillick’s personal insight at the start of the poem that he is ‘learning to shift [his] weight from one foot to the other’. Furber Gillick establishes the agitated, distressed relationship between Aboriginal Australians and Black Americans, transitioning the scope from the experiences of dispossession in America to Australia. Moreover, ‘none of it’ conveys how the

whole neighbourhood, including businesses, stores and infrastructure, doesn’t belong to the Black American community, as they have been dispossessed of their most basic civil liberties by attitudinal and systematic racism. Furber Gillick articulates how this poem links ‘the upturned lives, chaos, and violence’ in the United States and the politics of ‘upturned, uprooted, ruptured land on this continent’.15 This reflects how the dispossession of Land from Aboriginal people by colonisation is intrinsically liked through systemic racism to the dispossession of Black Americans from their civil rights. Thus, Furber Gillick illustrating an ‘international’ poem which broadens readers scopes to not only recognise the severity of each domestic situation in the US and Australia, but how oppression continues to permeate throughout modern societies across the world.

Genocide is never justified

And the past was open to gross misinterpretation. Why do sons and daughters of the raped and murdered deserve any more or less than those who have prospered from the atrocities of heritage?

And why do the sons and daughters refuse to reap What was sown

From bloodied soil?

In ‘Genocide is never justified’, Dr Romaine Moreton interrogates the evaluation of Aboriginal peoples experiences and trauma, questioning the historical interpretations of trauma and the intergenerational impacts of refusing the ‘sorry’ campaign.16 Through the use of rhetorical questions throughout her poem, Moreton implores readers to question the historically accepted versions of settler-colonialists’ actions and their intergenerational impacts which prevail in modern society. By directly asking readers, Moreton ‘engages activism’ and ‘eliminates passivity’, drawing attention to two key tensions underlying relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, as Danika Čerče, an academic, explores.17 The first tension Moreton explores is depicting how Indigenous peoples experiences stemming from colonisation are innately subjective, and thus should be dealt with equal importance, respect, and accountability. Secondly, Moreton explores how established lineages from settlercolonists in Australia should take accountability for the actions of their ancestors. This is established through the line ‘refuse to reap what was sown from bloodied soil’, where Moreton provides an intertextual reference to ‘thou shall reap what you sow’ from the bible which depicts how individuals should take accountability ‘reap’ for their actions ‘what you sow’. Through such intertextual reference, Moreton questions why future generations of Australians are not taking accountability ‘why do the sons and daughters refuse to reap’ for their ancestors actions of violence or brutality ‘sown from bloodied soil’ against First Nations peoples. Through her distinctively hardhitting poetry, Moreton invites the reader to consider

these social tensions which underscore relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, discerning how attitudinal racism continues to prevail throughout contemporary society through her individual poetic voice.

Foreign

Too long, we remain silent

Too long, it’s just about their rules. Foreign.

Defined as 200 or so years. You call us many names. Native. Aboriginal. Indigenous. We are as many as there are grains of sand

And distinct as there are fingerprints on your hand.

Throughout ‘Foreign’, Murray flips the narrative of what it means to be ‘foreign’, producing a piece of poetry which details resistance from attitudinal racism underscored by paternalism, reflecting the intergenerational plight against colonial apparatus.18 By directly addressing readers and referencing ‘we’ and ‘you’ rhetoric, Murray connotes a play between ‘us’ and the ‘other’. This highlights the paradox where Aboriginal peoples are labelled as ‘foreign’, when realistically, non-Indigenous Australians are the ‘foreign’ presence. This interplay between the ‘us’ and ‘other’ is resonant in Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poem ‘We are Going’, where she states, ‘we are strangers here now, but the white tribe are the strangers’, explicitly stating the paradox which underpins Murray’s poem.19 Angshuman Kar, literary academic, comments on how the ‘us’ and ‘other’ binary in prevails through Aboriginal poetry as the ‘us’ and ‘other’ binary prevails ‘through Australian life’.20

Aside from broader society, attitudinal racism descends into the colloquial paradigm which reduces Aboriginal poetry, and experiences, to stories of trauma and pain. This ‘voyeuristic obsession with tragedy and trauma’

REFERENCES

1 Farrell Moran, “Remembering Seamus Heaney: Poetry and The Historians,” Oakland University, n.d. 2.

2 Leane, Guwayu- For All Times (Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation, 2020), 71.

3 Smede, pers.comm, March 8, 2024.

4 Smede.

5 Zetland, “Bunada Language,” Red Room Poetry, n.d., accessed February 25, 2024.

6 Smede, pers.comm. March 8, 2024.

7 Furber Gillick, pers.comm 2, March 28, 2024.

8 Dank, pers.comm, January 5, 2024.

9 Dank, We Come With This Place (Victoria House, London: Echo Publishing, 2022). Whilst ‘We Come With This Place’ is not a piece in the poetic form, Dank’s writing aligned with this discussion of freedom of verse to convey a personal voice. Dank’s personal voice is profound

is an oppressor in itself, as there is strength, beauty, and positivity to celebrate aside from acknowledging those past experiences of trauma and pain.21 As Leane highlights, ‘There is trauma to acknowledge… but we aren’t just made of trauma, that’s not what drives our creative offerings. To think that, reduces us very much… we are a lot bigger than that’.22 Furber Gillick continues this exploration, commenting how ‘the fascination from a non-Aboriginal audience about pain and trauma as being the totalising narrative of the Aboriginal world… is an archaic and limiting perspective’.23 Both esteemed authors highlight a key feature of colonisation which transcends into a restriction of the poetic form itself, where value is placed on pain, trauma, and continued suffering over celebrations of strength, complexity, and explorations into the oldest continuing culture on Earth.

As we move to a future which must be shaped by reconciliation, attitudes towards poetry and Frist Nations peoples must diverge from the obsessive centralisation on pain and suffering, moving towards a celebration of Country, Culture, and Aboriginal voices. The structuring of this Major Work has reflected my aspiration to move towards such celebrations, where an appreciation for the complex aspects of Aboriginal Culture, Country, and individual voice, alongside Truth Telling, leads the momentum of contemporary society towards healing and reconciliation.

and poetic in nature throughout her novel, and it is a key piece of evidence to support the importance of expressing connections to Country, Culture, and Aboriginal People.

10 Selwyn, pers.comm, February 9, 2024. In this conversation, Tim closed his eyes and took a deep breath whilst saying this line, gesturing with his hands to the space around him. It is crucial to note his body language here, as it encapsulates the importance of the spiritual connection to Country.

11 James, McGrath, and Anne Jebb, “Tjukurpa Time,” in Long History, Deep Time, Deepening Histories of Place (ANU Press, 2015), 33–46. 22.

12 Leane, pers.comm, November 2, 2023.

13 James, McGrath, and Jebb, 2015, “Tjukurpa Time,” 31.

14 Furber Gillick, ‘none of it’ is an unpublished poem which I have permission from the poet to discuss in this work through a personal communication on November 10, 2023.

15 Furber Gillick, pers.comm 2.

16 Red Room Poetry, “Romaine Moreton,” Red Room Poetry, accessed April 6, 2024, https://redroompoetry.org/poets/romaine-moreton/.

17 Čerče, “On Contested History and the Contemporary Social Order in Australian Indigenous Poetry,” (2017): 57–70. 63.

18 Shiosaki and Martin, Maar Bidi: Next Generation Black Writing (Broome: Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation, 2020), 83.

19 Kar, “Where To?: An Indian Perspective on Australian Aboriginal Poetry in English,” Antipodes 28, no. 2 (2014): 370.

20 Kar, 376.

21 Leane, Guwayu- For All Times, 2.

22 Leane, pers.comm.

23 Furber Gillick, pers.comm, November 10, 2023.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Čerče, Danica. “On Contested History and the Contemporary Social Order in Australian Indigenous Poetry.” AAA: Arbeiten Aus Anglistik Und Amerikanistik 42, no. 1 (2017): 57–70.

Dank, Debra. pers.comm, January 5, 2024.

Dank, Debra. We Come With This Place. Victoria House, London: Echo Publishing, 2022.

Farrell Moran, Sean. “Remembering Seamus Heaney: Poetry and The Historians.” Oakland University, n.d.

Furber Gillick, Declan. pers.comm, November 10, 2023.

Furber Gillick, Declan. pers.comm 2, March 28, 2024.

James, Diana, Ann McGrath, and Mary Anne Jebb. “Tjukurpa Time.” In Long History, Deep Time, 33–46. Deepening Histories of Place. ANU Press, 2015.

Kar, Angshuman. “Where To?: An Indian Perspective on Australian Aboriginal Poetry in English.” Antipodes 28, no. 2 (2014): 367–78.

Leane, Jeanine. Guwayu- For All Times. Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation, 2020.

Leane, Jeanine. pers.comm, November 2, 2023.

Selwyn, Tim. pers.comm, February 9, 2024.

Shiosaki, Elfie, and Linda Martin. Maar Bidi: Next Generation Black Writing. Broome: Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation, 2020.

Smede, Nicole. pers.comm, March 8, 2024.

Zetland. “Bunada Language.” Red Room Poetry, n.d. Accessed February 25, 2024.

Zetland, Red Room Poetry “Romaine Moreton.” Red Room Poetry. Accessed April 6, 2024. https://redroompoetry.org/poets/romaine-moreton/.

PERSONAL INTEREST PROJECT (PIP)

The PIP is the major project for Society and Culture. Over three terms, students work towards a report encompassing areas of student choice while linking to the course. Popular choices of primary research methods include questionnaires, content analysis and interviews. This is combined with secondary research to generate an original piece of writing. The depth of possibilities are endless, ranging from investigating ‘how teen films represent beauty constructs’ to the ‘role of gender in ballet’ or the ‘representation of disabilities in popular culture’. The submissions included in Perspective are excerpts of completed projects but encapsulate the hard work and dedication of the Year 12 Society and Culture students.

Religiosity, oceans apart: Navigating identity through the currents of secularity

SEASON LAM, PYMBLE LADIES’ COLLEGE

This paper is an excerpt from the Society and Culture Personal Interest Project (PIP) Major Work.

INTRODUCTION

Both Atheist and Theist belief systems as major social institutions have allowed for the organisation of macro level social structures and the development of collective identity, significantly impacting the formation of individual worldviews and perspectives. Over time, however, secularism has become increasingly relevant within society, in which Theistic belief systems, more specifically in the adoption of major religious doctrines, have become less involved with macro level state affairs and, as such, began to diminish in importance at the individual level. I explored this phenomenon through the lens of modernisation in society, which defines a correlation between modernity, rationalisation, and secularity.

Ultimately, my Personal Interest Project (PIP) aims to investigate the relationship between Atheist and Theist belief systems, their effect across all levels of society, and the formation of individual worldviews. I hypothesised that structured belief systems, whether based on religious principles or personally constructed, have contributed greatly to the development of individual worldviews, providing a foundation for interpreting the surrounding environment and thus playing a major role in the development of personal identity overall.

WEAVING THE SELF WITH THREADS OF SHARED BELIEF

Philosophical doctrines and principles are continuously seen as organising structures in religious belief systems, which adherents rely on to govern micro level lifestyle factors, albeit to varying degrees of application. Hence, it is implied that self-proclaimed religiosity lies on a spectrum, contributing to personal and social identity to varying extents according to the individual prioritisation of religious socialisation. With large proportions of the population adhering to major religious systems such

as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam globally, a sense of unified identity between religious adherents is formed through the mutual application of religious philosophies (Iacoviello et al., 2019). In light of this, my findings suggest that individuals’ abilities to identify with communities, more specifically, through religious groups via their assertion of collective power, produce substantial effects on personal and social identity, aiding in the social processes of deindividuation and acquiescence.

Shared values and beliefs at the macro level of society are generally involved in the formation of primary principles by which communities and groups operate. Such shared beliefs as an enduring structure over time assist societies in “facilitat[ing] communication among its members, and guide many societal behaviours” (Bar-Tal, 2000, p. 16). This suggests that the construction of socially normative behaviours through transcending beliefs serve to characterise and distinguish between communities, creating specificity and nuance in group identification.

Following this in terms of the formation of the collective identity, my investigation found that having a shared aspect in a group, whether in terms of a common goal, objective, or shared values, contributes greatly to a sense of unity within its adherents. This is emphasised by a religious Generation Z interviewee who asserted, “the feeling of unity and belonging helps motivate and provide a social structure” (Interview H, 2024), affirming that, from a religious standpoint, the sense of belonging is an integral element that allows for the individual to conform with the religious collective.

From a socio-psychological perspective, this unique aspect or goal that is distinct yet shared among a community’s members, regardless of religiosity or intersecting elements of the individual identity, forms the foundations of the group by which individuals aspire to identify (Mack, 1965). This contributes most remarkably to

maintaining the group’s “esprit de corps”, a term coined by French sociologist Georges Palante translating to ‘union is strength’, ensuring solidarity, pride, and devotion amongst adherents (Janis & Mann, 1977, p. 199). This aids in fostering cooperation and prosocial behaviour, wherein individuals within a group cooperate for altruistic purposes and for the benefit of the whole. Thus, through common values that are integrated into individual belief systems, interpersonal connections can be formed, leading to a sense of connectedness and contributing to the collective identity.

Cohesion within a group can be explored through the lens of deindividuation, which was formally termed by American psychologists Festinger, Pepitone, and Newcomb in 1952. Deindividuation is described as being the manner by which individuals act as a collective via anonymity and exclusive identification, suggesting a reduction of self-awareness as a result (Hogg & Ridgeway, 2003). This overall process impacts wider communities regardless of religiosity, being non-specific and thus applicable to general groups of distinctive identifying traits. Academic journals on social contagion, identities, and deindividuation articulate that “deindividuation theory suggests that anonymity aids in the emergence of collective behaviour,” where there is emphasis placed on the role of anonymity through the submersion of self into the collective, and subsequently is considered to be “the source of euphoria and power that allows collective behaviour to occur” (Neal, 1993, p. 94).

This is evident through my personal reflection exploring my religious background, where I mentioned that my involvement with Christianity and interactions with peers of similar beliefs had granted me a positive sense of belonging, sustaining the notion whereby the dissolution of self-awareness and anonymity serves to foster collective behaviour and identity. Furthering this, my secondary research of this process concluded that it has profound effects leading to the unification of members within a group, in which decreased visibility of the self leads to decreased possibility of negative social repercussions (Guerin, 1999). Being applicable to both religious and non-religious groups at the macro scale, deindividuation as a social process is continuous in the construction of respective group identities throughout time.

The collective assertion of power in wider communities, especially those of a religious nature, is subsequently able to impact individual identity through the act of acquiescence. My findings involving both primary and secondary sources determined that individuals identifying as religious generally display the effects of acquiescence and deindividuation towards a specific group to a more considerable extent, whereas those who identify as Atheists are more inclined to rely on personal experiences and internalised values, having a more

definitive idea of the self. This is most notable through interview respondents, where a religious Generation Z interviewee sustained, “[The Bible] should not be subjected to an entirely different meaning just because of the changing nature of society’s values,” which demonstrates the cohesiveness and individual willingness to adhere with a religious belief system despite the rapid rise of secularism in modern society over time. There is a markable difference between Theist and Atheist responses; however, instantiated when a non-religious Generation X interviewee stated “I don’t make a fuss, I just don’t do it … If I don’t do this, I believe I’m kind of lying in a way” in response to our discussion about how they might approach conformity or nonconformity to group decisions. This is representative of the conflict between personal and socially accepted beliefs, hence demonstrating the inherent nonconformity significant within the Atheist perspective.

Secondary articles provide possible explanations that account for the extended impact collective groups impose on the individual identity, one of which includes the Looking Glass Self Theory. This theory, formulated by American Sociologist Charles Cooley in 1902, aims to explain the formation of individual identity. It denotes that the individual’s “self-consciousness involves continually monitoring self from the point of view of others” (Scheff, 2005, p. 147). Cooley’s approach elucidates that personal identity is formed through others’ perceptions of the individual and hence is, by nature, interwoven with the collective’s perception of normative behaviours and expressions of identity.

When studied within the context of religious systems, this notion attributes individual adherence and acquiescence to the collective worldview and delegation of social norms, which in turn influences the individual identity in a manner that conforms most with the macro level ideological structure. This may result in the expression of identity being ‘performative’ by nature, which is articulated by sociologists as being a process of “impression management,” a conscious attempt by the individual to control external perceptions of their identity (Scheff, 2005, p. 148). It is criticised, however, that Cooley’s Looking Glass Self Theory provides a relatively limited account of individual identity development, taking a passive approach to the process and disregarding the complexities, nuances, and fluidity of the individual identity over time (Franks & Gecas, 1992).

This sentiment, in particular regard to personal acquiescence and deindividuation to a group, is ascertained where I reflected upon my own concerns surrounding peer impressions and the internal drive to associate positive connotations with my expression of identity, being an illustration of the Looking Glass Self in regard to reflection of in-group norms on personal identity. In light of my Christian upbringing and my

eventual shift towards Atheist beliefs, this demonstrates the considerable extent to which individual identification and social conformity to an external group, especially one of religious standing, affects personal and social identity. This, in particular, can be seen as a direct manifestation of the ‘performative self’ and heightened ‘self-monitoring’ in order to control the group’s external perception of the individual, which is characteristic of Cooley’s Looking Glass Self.

With secularity becoming progressively more embedded within macro level processes in society over time, such processes are applicable not only to groups operating on shared values and aims but ultimately to institutions

REFERENCES

Academic Articles

Franks, D. D., & Gecas, V. (1992). Autonomy and conformity in Cooley’s self-theory: The looking-glass self and beyond. Symbolic Interaction, 15(1), 49–68. https://doi.org/10.1525/si.1992.15.1.49

Guerin, B. (1999). Social behaviors as determined by different arrangements of social consequences: Social loafing, social facilitation, deindividuation, and a modified social loafing. Psychological Record, 49(4), 565–577. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03395327

Iacoviello, V., & Lorenzi-Cioldi, F. (2019). Collectivism and individualism in status hierarchies: Socialization and social identity explanations. International Review of Social Psychology, 32(1), 15. https://doi. org/10.5334/irsp.285

Mack, R. W. (1965). Review of ‘Review of Reference Groups: Exploration into conformity and deviation of adolescents.’, by M. Sherif & C. W. Sherif. American Sociological Review, 30(1), 143–143. https://doi. org/10.2307/2091785

Neal, D. M. (1993). A further examination of anonymity, contagion, and

and organisations at the macro level, being cooperative in maintaining the welfare of society and the governing processes overall. Through my exploration of these group interactions, it is apparent that such social processes undoubtedly impose substantial impacts on micro level lifestyles, perspectives, and individual identities, which are essential in constructing the personal and social self and the self-concept. Such mechanisms, being analysed from the macro to micro levels, found that there was inherent interdependence, cohesion, and cooperation of the collective to that of the individual identity, explored through the lens of Cooley’s ‘performative self’.

deindividuation in crowd and collective behavior. Sociological Focus 26(2), 93–107.

Scheff, T. J. (2005). Looking-glass self: Goffman as symbolic interactionist. Symbolic Interaction, 28(2), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1525/ si.2005.28.2.147

Books

Bar-Tal, D. (2000). Shared beliefs in a society: Social psychological analysis. Sage Publications, Incorporated.

Hogg, M. A., & Ridgeway, C. L. (2003). Social identity: Sociological and social psychological perspectives. Social Psychology Quarterly, 66(2), 97–100.

Janis, I. L., & Mann, L. (1977). Decision making: a psychological analysis of conflict, choice, and commitment. Free Press.

Primary Sources

Interview H. (2024). Religiosity, Oceans Apart: Navigating Identity Through the Currents of Secularity.

Echoes of education: Indigenous voices from day and boarding schools

RORI LEMON, YEAR 12

This paper is an excerpt from the Society and Culture Personal Interest Project (PIP) Major Work.

“The Secretary of State, Earl Grey, … issued detailed instructions for the establishment of schools on Aboriginal reserves. Aborigines were taught… to throw off their native habits”.

Secretary of State, Earl Grey, London, 1830’s (Reynolds, p 84).

This comment in the epigraph is an excerpt from the journal, “Clean, Clad and Courteous” Revisited: A Review History of 200 Years of Aboriginal Education in New South Wales, written by Richard Reynolds. It reflects the assimilationist attitudes that the Australian education system was established on, which caused a dramatic effect on the continuity and change of Indigenous1 culture and its people. While the assimilation policy officially ended in 1973 (Australian Human Rights Commission, n.d.), the ongoing effect is still seen in attitudinal and structural implicit racism within the education system. Education is universally understood as an important indicator of inclusion or exclusion in society, producing access to future life chances. Thus, assimilationist approaches to education for Indigenous students have ongoing effects today. As an Indigenous woman living off-Country2 in a boarding school in a major city, I have seen racism, discrimination and inequalities in my personal experience in the education system.

Thus, the main focus of my Personal Interest Project (PIP) is to explore the experiences faced by Indigenous students at both day schools and boarding schools. Racism is a continuity across both education systems and is a reflection of ongoing institutional inequality in secondary education. Through my research, I crossculturally analysed the different experiences that Aboriginal students face when attending a day school on-Country in comparison to education off-Country in boarding schools. Therefore, the hypothesis of this PIP is that Indigenous students who attend a boarding school will have more negative experiences compared to those attending a day school. This is because they represent a minority of the population, and they are off-country and away from their family and culture for long periods of time.

“Education is a massive influence on the chances Indigenous children may face. More success in the education system (grades, scholarships, retention, tertiary

pathways) leads to neoliberal success (‘to get a better job’). But it also can traumatise a child to hate the system”. (PIP Interview, 2023).

The quote above was provided by an Indigenous boarding school teacher in an Interview for this PIP. This was the response when asked, “How does education for Indigenous children affect their future life chances?” Her response is a reflection of how education links to success in the Western world, but can also cause hate and mistrust of schools due to not culturally meeting Indigenous students’ needs.

Globally, education is understood to be a thoroughly important socially valued resource. It leads to career advancements, skill development, equality and overall better life chances (University of the People, 2023). In the Australian context, education is especially important for the future of Indigenous children; however, this can come with negative effects. Although the government states that education is the key to increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander pathways to success (National Indigenous Australians Agency, 2023), students’ micro world - their first-hand experience, strengths, culture and preferences - are sometimes not considered. Western education in Australia today can strip Indigenous students of their culture, identity and values but can also lead to better housing, economic outcomes and health (University of the People, 2023).

The history of Western education for Indigenous students has dramatically changed over time. Before 1788, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples lived and learned through their culture for over 60,000 years (Reynolds, 2009). However, this changed when Australia was invaded in 1788 by the British. In 1815, the first Aboriginal Institution was established in Parramatta, west of Sydney, and then in the 1830s, schools were established on Aboriginal reserves (Reynolds, 2009). However, these schools were not seen to be “successful” due to the low rate of academic success and attendance rates. Then, in the 1830s, Indigenous students were introduced to existing schools attended by settlers students (Reynolds, 2009). In addition to Indigenous education, Aboriginal students were strongly encouraged to convert to Christianity by people in power if they lived on missions (Reynolds, 2009). From the 1850s to the 1970s, Indigenous children were ripped from their families and cultures and were forced to live ‘white’ as they were assimilated through the introduction of Christianity, western education, clothing and food

(Healing Foundation, 2024). This is known as the Stolen Generations, when children were sent away from their families to missions or State Corrective Institutions (Bringing Them Home, 1997). During the 1940s and 1950s, the Aborigines’ Welfare Board3 and the Child Welfare Department worked closely together to place Indigenous children in out of home ‘care’, where a child’s skin colour determined the type of placement made (Bringing Them Home, 1997). Lighter coloured children were sent to institutions for non-Indigenous children or fostered by non-Indigenous families with the aim of ‘converting them to white society’ (Bringing Them Home, 1997). Then, in 1969, the NSW Aborigines’ Welfare Board was abolished, stopping institutionalised removal of Indigenous children on the basis of the assimilation policy (Bringing Them Home, 1997). The removal of children for over 100 years in Australia caused a great loss of identity, culture and family kinship connections (Bringing Them Home, 1997). With the passing of the Racial Discrimination Act in 1975, some changes occurred. More children started to attend ‘white’ public schools; however, school attendance and enrolments were still significantly lower than all other students (Reynolds, 2009). Furthermore, in 1975, Aboriginal Studies was introduced into school curriculums throughout history classes with the aim of bridging reconciliation through raising Aboriginal identity and self-esteem to promote multiculturalism (Reynolds, 2009). Today, Aboriginal history and the study of culture are integrated throughout school curriculums from preschool to year 12 with the aim of reconciliation and multiculturalism. This has achieved varying levels of success (Reynolds, 2009). The change of exclusion and inclusion of Indigenous people in Australian education has evolved enormously over time and is continuing to improve.

After 200 years of the mistreatment of Indigenous people and the lack of inclusion in Australia, in recent years, society’s values have shifted toward reconciliation. Australia has also seen a rise in the number of Indigenous students attending boarding schools that are located off-Country. In 2020, there were 2,106 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander boarders across 120 Independent schools, a seven percent growth since 2014 (Independent Schools Australia, 2021). In 2020, five of the 120 boarding schools in Australia had Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander only enrolments (Independent Schools Australia, 2021). This rise is seen to be for many reasons. In an interview conducted for this PIP, Dr Cathie Burgess, an Associate Professor in Indigenous Education at the University of Sydney, revealed she thinks there has been a rise of Indigenous students attending boarding school because of “limited educational opportunities in remote communities, Aboriginal communities feeling that the public system is failing their kids and should have access to better-resourced independent schools” (PIP Interview 2024). Another interview participant, an Indigenous teacher at a day school that has a boarding facility that

only caters to Aboriginal students, stated, “I also believe that private schools are investing more into scholarships to rural Indigenous students to come attend their schools.” Another interview participant, a non-Indigenous teacher at a day school, stated, “I have seen a number of Aboriginal students leave our community to go to boarding school, as a prestigious opportunity and for a lot of our students, it removes them from some complex and difficult situations which means they are breaking negative cycles and starting fresh.” The questionnaire conducted for this PIP aimed to investigate the effects of boarding and non-boarding schools on Indigenous students’ experiences. All participants identified as either Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. In total, 59.3% of participants attended a day school, and 40.7% of participants attend/attended a boarding school. According to the results of this questionnaire, Indigenous students chose to go to boarding school for three main reasons: sport, education and new experiences (PIP questionnaire, 2024).

Figure 1: Reasons for attending boarding school, (PIP Questionnaire, 2024)

Additionally, as I personally attend a boarding school off-Country, I chose to leave my family to receive better educational opportunities. The school provides different experiences I would not have had if I had attended school at home and on-Country. Similarly, The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education revealed that parents use boarding school as a “deliberate strategy to step beyond the educational boundaries of local secondary schools and place their children in direct contact with a wider range of opportunities” (Mander, 2015, p.176). It is important to note in both my experience and those of the participants who attend/ed a boarding school from my questionnaire, that the ‘cultural choice’ option was low, indicating that either directly or indirectly, boarding schools are understood to not provide for First Nations students in a cultural capacity, thus supporting the hypothesis for this PIP. In an interview with an expert, she stated, “there needs to be more awareness now about the importance of involving parents in the school hiring a support person for the students” (PIP Interview, Burgess, 2024). Actions such as these would improve the cultural support for Indigenous students.

REFERENCES

1 Within this PIP the terms Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, First Nations and Indigenous represent the descendants of Australia’s First People. These terms do not adequately represent the diversity of culture, values and language groups (Purdie, Dudgeon & Walker 2010, as cited in Bodkin-Andrews & Carlson, 2016).

2 In this PIP the term Country refers to the lands, waterways and seas to which First Nations people are from, live and are connected to (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2024).

3 The term “Aborigines” was only used to say the name of past Welfare Boards, not to refer to First Nations people of Australia.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Australian Human Rights Commission. (2024). Bringing them home https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/projects/bringing-them-home-8-history-northern-territory#:~:text=The%20assimilation%20policy%20was%20formally,child%2Dcare%20agency%20 was%20established.

Bodkin-Andrews, G., & Carlson, B. (2016). The legacy of racism and Indigenous Australian identity within education. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 19(4), 784-807. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2014.9 69224

Bringing Them Home. (1997). Report of the national inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their

families https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/pdf/social_justice/bringing_them_home_report.pdf.

Healing Foundation. (2024). Who are the Stolen Generations? https://healingfoundation.org.au/who-are-the-stolen-generations/#:~:text=The%20Stolen%20Generations%20refers%20 to,mid%2D1800s%20to%20the%201970s.

Independent Schools Australia. (2021). Boarding schools https://isa.edu.au/our-sector/diversity/boarding-schools/#:~:text=Between%202014%20and%202020%2C%20there,and%20Torres%20 Strait%20Islander%20boarders.

Mander, D. (2015). The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. Enabling voice: Aboriginal parents, experiences and perceptions of sending a child to boarding school in Western Australia https://ajie.atsis.uq.edu.au/ajie/article/view/161/102.

National Indigenous Australians Agency. (2023). Indigenous affairseducation https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/education#:~:text=Education%20is%20key%20to%20increasing,all%20other%20aspects%20 of%20life.

Reynolds, R. (2009). “Clean, Clad and Courteous” revisited: A review history of 200 years of Aboriginal education in New South Wales, The Journal of Negro Education, 78(1), 83-95.

University of the People. (2023). Benefits of education are societal and personal https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/benefits-of-education-are-societal-and-personal/.

MINI PERSONAL INTEREST PROJECT (MINI PIP)

The Mini PIP is designed to help students build their skills in Year 11 in preparation for Year 12. Focus skills include synthesis, report writing and referencing. In addition, students learn how to create and analyse questionnaires to analyse the role of socialisation in influencing the development of personal and social identity. Students develop their understanding of what makes something acceptable in society concerning constructs such as gender and culture, along with groups like peers, school, the media or beliefs.

The influence of social media on masculine ideals:

Examining the shifting expectations of Generation Z

CELESTE MCDERMOTT, YEAR 11

This paper is a Society and Culture Mini - Personal Interest Project (Mini-PIP).

In my synthesis, I will demonstrate how ideas surrounding masculinity have, over recent generations, increasingly included harmful expectations, due to the influence of the media. Media traditionally includes television and radio, but more recently, social media has become the most widely used form, with over half of the global population now active on at least one social media platform (62.6%) (Chaffey, 2024). With the rise of media production and consumption in more recent times, concepts of masculinity are changing. Social media has become a common facet of life, facilitating the rise in mass media consumption and creating an environment where Generation Z’s ideas of masculinity are directly impacted by, for example, ‘influencers’. Through the use of primary and secondary research, I have gathered information that effectively supports the hypothesis for this Mini PIP: Generation Z have harmful expectations of masculinity due to the influence of social media.

Social media representations also play a significant role in shaping ideas about what it means to be a ‘real’ man in our society. This is reflected in my questionnaire results, where 57.5% of Generation Z participants agreed with the statement, “The media has influenced my perception of masculinity.” In contrast, only 20% of Millennials agreed (see Table 1). This disparity suggests that as media exposure has increased over time, Generation Z feels a stronger impact from media influences on their concept of masculinity, supporting my hypothesis. Overall, it is worth considering the broader implications of these influences in the future, as media portrayals often reward male characters for exhibiting self-control and control over others, aggression and violence, financial independence and physical desirability; “for boys, violence and dominance are aligned with norms of masculinity” (MediaSmarts, 2020). It is worth considering the broader implications of these influences in the future.

Table 1: The media has influenced my perception of masculinity. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Over time and across generations, social media influence has had an increasingly negative impact on ideas of masculinity due to higher rates of exposure and damaging representations. My secondary research found that the portrayal of masculinity for Millennial males was one of ‘hegemonic masculinity’, the dominant form of masculinity that is privileged and upheld by society, associated with characteristics such as strength, courage, aggression, and the ability to provide and protect (Tutor2U, 2022). American sociologist Michael Kimmel (1982) said that this form of masculinity “set the standards” for men and was what “men measured against” and “desired” (Gill, 2007, p. 31). This harms young men, with the idealised representation of ‘masculine’ body types creating concerning implications for men’s self-esteem. This involves the ideal male body in U.S. society of the ‘muscleman’, with broad shoulders and disproportionately large chest and arm muscles (Mishkind et al., 1986). The book suggests that media such as television and radio perpetrated this. My questionnaire found that Generation Z agreed most strongly with these masculine body standards. In the final question, participants were shown photographs and asked which body type they viewed as the most masculine. The man on the left depicted a skinny body type with a narrow frame, whereas the man on the right fulfilled the factors of the “muscleman” dimension of hegemonic masculinity (see Figure 1).

Figure 1 Depictions of men

A total of 93% of Generation Z respondents voted for man on the left as being more masculine, as opposed to 85% of Millennial respondents. The difference in these results indicate Generation Z’s strong ideas of masculine body types, and Millennials slightly less so.

The University of Richmond defines masculinity as “qualities and attributes regarded as characteristic of men.” However, views on this definition vary as it is a social construct. In the questionnaire, I asked participants how much they agreed with this statement. As displayed in Table 2, 52.5% of Generation Z respondents were most likely to say they agreed. In contrast, Millennial participants responded with 30% strongly agreeing as opposed to the 7.5% of Generation Z participants giving this answer. One Generation Z participant “agreed” with this definition as they believed masculinity aligns with the “genetic and biological makeup of a male.” Meanwhile, one Millennial participant slandered this definition, calling it “woke” and “made up”. Their perceptions show that Generation Z tends to have a more diverse and less rigid view of masculinity compared to Millennials. This primary research has been reinforced by Time, who found that Generation Z are more gender inclusive than older generations (Twenge, 2023). The results from the questionnaire demonstrate that masculinity is defined and perceived differently across generations, proving that it is socially constructed. Overall, these findings support the hypothesis that Generation Z holds a more varied and flexible view of masculinity, while Millennials exhibit more

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baghurst, T., Hollander, D. B., Nardella, B., & Haff, G. G. (2006). Change in sociocultural ideal male physique: An examination of past and present action figures. Body Image, 3(1), 87–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2005.11.001

Chaffey, D. (2024, May 1). Global social media statistics research

polarised opinions.

Table 2: To what extent do you agree with the University of Richmond’s definition that masculinity is “qualities and attributes regarded as characteristics of men”?

In conclusion, the data presented, paired with research, has effectively reinforced that Generation Z has harmful expectations of masculinity due to the influence of social media. Whilst there was some contrast in this synthesis, the majority of the results and research correlated. Through this Mini PIP, I have learned the negative impacts social media can have on self-perception of masculinity. This supports the understanding that due to mass consumption of social media, Generation Z has been influenced by social media to a greater extent than Millennials.

To summarise my research, social media reinforces negative male stereotypes, and this has broader implications for the perception of masculinity. My primary and secondary research revealed that Generation Z has been impacted by this on a greater scale due to being exposed to it for a longer period in their life than Millennial generations. The broader implications for society are that social media will continue to influence perceptions across all generations, and it remains uncertain whether this influence will be negative or positive. Personally, I view masculinity as fluid, without a strict definition. While there are stereotypical characteristics that I witness and perceive as masculine, I believe it is up to the individual to decide.

Areas for future research would be valuable, for instance, the objective results of toxic masculinity from social media. Upon viewing this synthesis, I call you to reflect on how you view masculinity and if you are projecting this positively to your society on a micro, meso, and macro scale.

summary 2024 Smart Insights. https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/

Gill, R. C. (2007). Gender and the Media. Google Books. https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=igeFoFdh5iIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=gender+representation+of+men+in+the+media&ots=CQCVjgIoHM&sig=x9FEx1okC0R-

f9EYVTfSSyqKs7OA#v=onepage&q=masculinity&f=false MediaSmarts. (n.d.). Critically Engaging with Media Violence https://mediasmarts.ca/violence/critically-engaging-media-violence MediaSmarts. (2020). How the media defines masculinity https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/media-issues/gender-representation/men-and-masculinity/how-media-define-masculinity

Tutor2U. (n.d.) Hegemonic Masculinity. https://www.tutor2u.net/ sociology/topics/hegemonic-masculinity

Twenge, J. M. (2023, May 1). How Gen Z Changed Its Views On Gender. TIME. https://time.com/6275663/generation-z-gender-identity/ while not equally addressing the challenges or criticisms associated with these shifts.

University of Richmond. What is Masculinity? (n.d.). https://rc.richmond.edu/programs-and-celebrations/masculinity/ meaning.html

Ward, L.M., & Grower, P. (2020). Media and the development of gender role stereotypes. Annual Review of Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-051120-010630

The evolution of beauty: Social media’s impact on adolescent self-esteem across generations

JAYA KRISHNADASAN, YEAR

11

This paper is a Society and Culture Mini - Personal Interest Project (Mini-PIP).

Throughout history, beauty standards have been exceedingly prevalent within society and enforced through mainstream media, including magazines, television, and radio. However, with the introduction of social media and the rise in media consumption in recent years, Generation Z adolescents are confronted with increasingly distorted and unattainable concepts of beauty. In turn, pressures to achieve beauty standards have negatively affected Generation Z adolescents’ self-worth, identity, and mental health compared to previous generations, such as Generation X. Using secondary research sources and the primary research of a questionnaire, evidence was gathered to examine the hypothesis: Beauty standards have become increasingly exaggerated across generations for adolescents due to the rise of social media, focusing on conforming to unrealistic ideals and ultimately leading to diminished self-esteem.

Across generations, media usage has substantially shifted the beauty standards adolescents face, influenced by the predominant form of media consumed. Beauty standards within society ‘tell people how they “should” look’ (French, 2024, para 1). This concept has been conveyed throughout the media which, as a macro-level agent of socialisation, exerts power over society and impacts adolescents by ‘portraying unrealistic beauty standards and creating pressure for people to look a certain way’ (French, 2024, para 1). However, according to Solomon (2024, para 1), in recent years, ‘the standards of beauty, are now more than ever, causing irreparable harm’. The rise of social media exemplifies this shift and inundates today’s society with ideals, exerting increased pressure on adolescents to conform. This corresponds with the questionnaire’s findings, demonstrating a correlation between the impact of beauty standards in the media on adolescents, and the type of media they primarily consume. According to Table 1, for Question 2, (‘To what extent has the use of media set beauty standards for you as an adolescent?’), 60.7% of Generation Z respondents rated media’s influence as strong (4) on a scale from 1-5, compared to 32% of Generation X. This stark contrast is highlighted by the primary sources of media asked for in Question 1. Figures 1 and 2 indicate that most Generation Z (67.9%) relied on social media as their main source during adolescence, whilst Generation X engaged with other media. This indicates that the type of media consumed considerably affects the influence media

has on adolescents’ perceptions of beauty standards, supporting the hypothesis that asserts the connection between social media as a driving factor of exaggerated beauty standards.

To what extent has the use of media set beauty standards for you as an adolescent?

Table 1: Question 2 To what extent has the use of media set beauty standards for you as an adolescent?

Figure 1: Question 1 Which forms of media do you most use/had you used as an adolescent? (Generation Z)

Figure 2: Question 1 Which forms of media do you most use/had you used as an adolescent? (Generation X)

Social media, heavily utilised by adolescents, has exaggerated prevailing beauty standards by promoting

unrealistic ideals. Across generations, beauty standards have been enforced through various media. For example, magazines, television, and film encourage Generation X adolescents to conform to the prevalent fashion, body, and makeup trends. With rapid technological advancement, social media has become the primary form of media, ‘promoting photoshop, filters, plastic surgery, and makeup’ (Solomon, 2024, para 1). By adopting longstanding beauty standards, especially those prevalent in Western culture, social media has amplified these ideals through filters that drastically alter one’s appearance. This is emphasised by Solomon’s findings (2024, para 2), these filters can ‘lighten your skin, make your nose smaller, and even change your body shape’. As these tools ‘reflect versions of themselves more in line with conventional beauty’, Generation Z adolescents are drawn to unattainable beauty standards that only exist in the digital realm, (Solomon, 2024, para 2). This concept is supported by the primary research which showed substantial disagreement with the statement ‘The beauty expectations in the media are realistic and attainable’. As shown in Table 2, the majority of Generation Z respondents (63.6%) disagreed with the statement, whilst Generation X respondents disagreed (45.5%) and strongly disagreed (40.9%). Further, Generation Z is particularly critical of beauty standards in social media, feeling immense pressure to conform to standards based on highly edited and curated images. A female Generation Z participant recounted, “Social media’s nature is very dependent on ‘picture perfect’ moments instead of real unedited ones in earlier years, pressuring people to photoshop their pictures to ridiculous lengths”. Similarly, the majority of Generation X participants disagreed with the statement having witnessed the shift towards social media and the resulting intensification of beauty standards. Moreover, a female Generation X participant shared her observations, “Social media portrays a version that people want to see. It allows the use of angles in photography, filters, hence exaggerating what is really accurate”, reinforcing the hypothesis.

The beauty expectations in the media are realistic and attainable. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Generation Z Generation X

The unattainable beauty standards perpetuated by social media have detrimentally affected adolescents’ self-worth. Comparing themselves to idealised images, Generation Z adolescents internalise the notion that their natural appearance is insufficient, which, in turn, can ‘increase risk of negative body image, eating disorders, and depression’ (French, 2024, para. 1). Facing pressure set by society and culture to conform to these artificial standards, their self-worth has more sharply declined than earlier generations. This is emphasised by the credible secondary research website, How Social Media Shaped Gen Z in Recent Years (2023, page 3), which states that ‘in comparison to previous generations, a higher percentage of Generation Z respondents surveyed believe they are in poorer mental health’. Primary data affirms this notion through Question 4, asking participants whether they agree or disagree with the statement, ‘The beauty expectations in the media have had a negative effect on your self-esteem’. The results, as seen in Table 3, show that 70% of Generation Z respondents agree with the statement, whilst 22.7% of Generation X agreed. A Generation Z female participant reinforced this with the comment: “Social media has lopsided views as to what is truly beautiful, and I have seen how it has destroyed my friends’ and my confidence and forced us to set unrealistic expectations”. In contrast, a Generation X female participant remarked, “I grew up in a time where we read fashion magazines, predominantly Dolly magazine, and wasn’t heavily influenced by their body types or looks”. Supporting the hypothesis, these findings indicate that social media has exaggerated beauty standards, leading to significantly lower self-esteem reported by Generation Z adolescents compared to earlier generations.

The beauty expectations in the media have had a negative effect on your self-esteem. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Table 2: Question 3 The beauty expectations in the media are realistic and attainable. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Table 3: Question 4 The beauty expectations in the media have had a negative effect on your self-esteem. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

To conclude, the results from primary and secondary data effectively reinforce the hypothesis that beauty standards have become increasingly exaggerated across generations due to the rise of social media. Secondary

research sources explored the media’s role in moulding beauty standards over the years and examined social media’s recent influence in amplifying these effects. Results from primary research align with this concept, indicating that the type of media consumed correlates with its impact on beauty perceptions. Thus, the view that social media has exacerbated the pressures to conform to unrealistic beauty standards, causing greater harm to adolescent’s self-esteem, is further supported.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

French, M. (2024, May 1). Beauty standards and mental health: The connection and more. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/ articles/beauty-standards-and-mental-health

How Social Media Shaped Gen Z In The Recent Years, Amber. (2023, May 5). https://amberstudent.com/blog/post/the-impactof-social-media-on-gen-zs-self-image-and-body-image

Solomon, D. (2024, March 9). Social Media has Made Beauty Unattainable. Next Generation Politics. https://www.nextgenpolitics. org/blog/social-media-beauty

Portrayal of femininity in adolescent films

NANDIKA, PYMBLE LADIES’ COLLEGE

This paper is a Society and Culture Mini - Personal Interest Project (Mini-PIP)

This synthesis examines how the portrayal of femininity in teen movies has evolved and influenced the perceptions and identities of adolescents. These films, often considered a rite of passage for many adolescents, play a crucial role in defining gender roles, influencing self-image, and impacting social interactions. Over the decades, the representation of female characters in these movies has changed significantly, reflecting broader societal shifts and altering how different generations perceive femininity. Generation X, growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, was exposed to more stereotypical and often limiting representations of female characters. In contrast, Generation Z, coming of age in the 2000s and 2010s, have been exposed to more diverse and inclusive portrayals, although some stereotypes persist. Through a detailed examination of secondary and primary research, this synthesis explores how teen movies have influenced the understanding of gender roles across Generation X and Generation Z. My hypothesis asserts that the perception of femininity, as depicted in these films, significantly impacts individuals by shaping their understanding of gender roles, influencing their self-image, and affecting their social interactions. By comparing these two generations, this study highlights the ongoing cultural shift towards more diverse and inclusive representations of femininity in media and its implications for self-perception and societal norms. For this study, a questionnaire with fifteen questions was created, and eighteen responses were received overall. Respondents primarily consisted of individuals in Generation Z, though a greater number of responses from Generation X would have allowed for a more balanced analysis.

Teen movies from the 1980s and 1990s, such as those targeting Generation X, often depicted female characters in limited and stereotypical roles. These characters were frequently portrayed as either the “damsel in distress” or the “mean girl,” reinforcing narrow perceptions of femininity. According to ‘The Changing Portrayal of Adolescents in the Media Since 1950’ (Jamieson & Romer, 2008), these movies often focus on female characters’ appearances and relationships, with little emphasis on their personal growth or achievements. In contrast, teen movies from the 2000s onwards, aimed at Generation Z, have shown a broader range of female characters. These movies have begun to include women who pursue their goals and challenge traditional gender roles (Santiago, 2013). This shift is reflected in

the primary research findings, where the question “How commonly do teen movies depict female characters as being involved in sports or other physical activities?” reveals a significant generational shift in perceptions of media representation. Generation Z’s responses indicate a more varied view, with 17.5% saying ‘sometimes’, 16.7% ‘rarely’, and 8.3% ‘often’, suggesting that modern media offers a broader range of depictions of active female characters. In contrast, Generation X overwhelmingly perceives such portrayals as rare, with 66.7% indicating ‘rarely’, and a smaller percentage seeing them ‘often’ (26.7%) or ‘sometimes’ (16.7%). This difference suggests that Generation X grew up with fewer representations of females in sports or physical activities.

How commonly do teen movies depict female characters as being involved in sports or other physical activities?

Table 1: ‘How commonly do teen movies depict female characters as being involved in sports or other physical activities?’

The question “How accurately do teen movies portray the everyday lives of teenage girls?” reveals a generational divide in perceptions of media. Among Generation Z, a significant portion believes these portrayals are ‘somewhat accurate’ (33%), with half perceiving them as ‘not very accurate’ (50%), and a smaller segment seeing them as ‘not at all accurate’ (16.7%). In contrast, Generation X overwhelmingly finds these portrayals lacking in accuracy, with 83.3% stating they are ‘not at all accurate’ and only 16.7% considering them ‘somewhat accurate’. Research by Behm-Morawitz and Mastro (2008) suggests that stereotypical portrayals in teen movies contribute to strict gender-based attitudes and beliefs, particularly among older generations who were more frequently exposed to such portrayals during their adolescent years. This strong data indicates a disconnect between media depictions and actual teenage life during formative years, likely influenced by more stereotypical portrayals prevalent in earlier teen media.

Figure 1: ‘How accurately do teen movies portray the everyday lives of teenage girls?’

The impact of teen movies on self-esteem also demonstrates notable generational differences. Contemporary media, with its diverse and inclusive portrayals, appears to influence Generation Z differently compared to the more stereotypical and less expansive representations experienced by Generation X. The increased visibility of diverse body types and more complex female characters in modern films contributes to a broader and arguably more positive impact on self-image among younger audiences (Younis, 2019). This evolution in media representation reflects a shift towards inclusivity, which significantly affects how adolescents perceive themselves and their self-worth. Primary research reveals a generational divide in media impact perceptions. Generation Z shows a balanced view, with 44.4% neutral, 33.3% negative, and 22.2% positive, reflecting the influence of diverse and inclusive portrayals in contemporary media. In contrast, Generation X predominantly remains neutral (50%), with 33.3% feeling negative and 16.7% reporting very positive impacts, indicating a less varied but still significant influence of media during their time.

How commonly do teen movies depict female characters as being involved in sports or other physical activities

X Generation Z

Table 2: ‘How commonly do teen movies depict female characters as being involved in sports or other physical activities?’

This synthesis explored the gradually changing portrayal of femininity in teen movies and its impact on adolescents. Teen films have historically shaped gender roles, influenced self-image, and affected

social interactions. The study highlights a shift from the stereotypical portrayals in movies targeting Generation X to more diverse depictions aimed at Generation Z. Both primary and secondary research were used to support the hypothesis that femininity in teen movies significantly shapes individuals’ understanding of gender roles, selfimage, and social interactions. Generation X, exposed to more limiting portrayals, views media’s impact on self-esteem as negative or neutral. On the other hand, Generation Z, exposed to more inclusive portrayals, shows a more balanced and positive perspective. This further depicts the importance of media for adolescents and its critical role in shaping societal norms and selfperception, emphasising the need for continued progress towards accurate and empowering portrayals of femininity in teen movies. This synthesis has demonstrated the significant influence of teen movies on perceptions of femininity across generations, highlighting the need for continued research and analysis in this evolving field.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jamieson, Patrick, and Daniel Romer. The Changing Portrayal of Adolescents in the Media Since 1950. Oxford University Press, USA, 2008.

Lalukota, Siri. “Adolescent Perception of Female Representation in Television and Its Impact on Adolescent Views on Female Gender Roles.” Journal of Student Research, 2023. https://www.jsr.org/hs/plugins/generic/pdfJsViewer/pdf.js/web/ viewer.html?file=https%3%2F%2Fwww.jsr.org%2Fhs%2Findex. php%2Fpath%2Farticle%2Fdownload%2F477 3%2F2299%2F36873.

Portrayals in Teen Movies on Emerging Adults’ Gender-Based Attitudes and Beliefs.” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (March 1, 2008): 131–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900808500109.

Younis, Ayat. “Impact of Films: Changes in Young People’s Attitudes after Watching a Movie.” Behavioral Sciences 10, no. 5 (May 2, 2020): 86. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs10050086.

What are the arguments for and against prison abolitionism?

RUIXIN (KITTY) HE, YEAR 10

INTRODUCTION

For decades, abolitionists have consistently pointed to the poor conditions and ineffectiveness of current prison systems as a warrant for the elimination of carceral institutions. While it may seem intuitive to completely eliminate the source of the societal problem, this extremist approach may be unfavourable and unnecessary if other alternatives can achieve the same result, often at a lower social and administrative cost. As such, the path to ending the detrimental effects of prisons on society remains unclear, as the tension between prison abolition and reform continues to pose questions about the justification and necessity of prison abolition. I argue that whether prisons should be abolished and the effects of abolition cannot be determined solely based on the benefits or harms prisons provide. Rather, the effectiveness of abolition in addressing desired issues, the feasibility of achieving prison abolition and the accessibility of alternatives to prisons should all be taken into consideration. Further, I argue that it is also important to differentiate between necessary characteristics and contingent features of prisons that can be mitigated without dismantling the system entirely.

FLAWS OF PRISONS

Abolishing prisons might be desired if the flaws posed by prisons stemming from their fundamental structure can be eliminated. Distinct from earlier works on the ethnography of the inner world of prisons (Clemmer 294-296), studies focused on the inherent “prison environment” itself find detrimental effects, like the “pains of imprisonment” (Skyes 64; Skyes and Messinger 5-19). Designed to punish and deprive individuals of certain rights through involuntary confinement, enclosed spaces, hierarchical institutional practices and isolation from the rest of society (Shelby 47), the “pains of imprisonment”, which can be “just as painful” as physical maltreatment and historical corporal punishments modern prisons have replaced (Skyes 64), refer to forms of environmental and psychological deprivations of a prisoner’s liberty, access to goods and services, heterosexual relationships, autonomy and security. Such material and symbolic deprivations subject prisoners to constant emotional, social and physical insecurity (McKendy and Ricciardelli 535), thus contributing to a criminogenic oppositional prison culture where these deprivations may produce uncooperative attitudes and negative values, leading to increased hostility, resistance to authority and aggression towards other prisoners and further offences within prisons (Jiang and Fisher-Giorlando 339; Shammas 1-5; Phillips 39-41).

However, the aforementioned five “pains of imprisonment” are far from comprehensive. Prisons are further detrimental to prisoners due to their deprivation of an individual’s self-identity and self-reflection abilities (Wasif and Graff 5), as prison strips prisoners of communal and societal obligations that give their lives meaning (Maring 11). Extended confinement results in a lack of future direction, limited choices and distorted time perception, all of which are essential to moral agency (Wasif and Graff 6). Imprisonment physically and psychologically erases a prisoner’s role as a parent, friend, employee or caregiver, even if only temporarily, thus reducing an individual’s sense of personhood and rendering them vulnerable to environmental and psychological deprivations, the hierarchical institutional authorities and impaired moral agencies, which is critical to maintaining one’s ability to differentiate right from wrong in ethical decision making processes (Taylor 262-263). These psychological effects are profoundly harmful and are often harder to measure as they likely vary between individual experiences. Thus, when prisons fail to uphold components of prisoners’ moral identities and inspire hatred towards the system, they become counterproductive and criminogenic, leading to a high rate of recidivism. It appears extremely difficult to justify the existence of an institution that fails to fulfil its intended purpose and creates additional negative consequences.

Apart from the aforementioned flaws of prisons, there exist other societal problems not fundamentally caused by prisons but are instead exacerbated by them. Challenging the previous emphasis on prison deprivations, some harmful effects of imprisonment are not prison-specific characteristics but rather are caused by imported subcultures (Irwin and Cressey 149-152).

Following the “importation model”, prisons are flawed primarily due to the importation of harmful pre-prison and extra-prison characteristics, values, and lifestyles, like racialised cliques and aggressive behaviours (Gover 6-17). The importation of harmful norms, aggression and negative individual characteristics may well turn prisons into schools of crime, where constant exposure to potentially dangerous inmates can negatively influence the conduct of prisoners (Steiner and Meade 45). Additionally, societal stigma against minorities and exprisoners likely propagates existing societal biases postincarceration (Chui and Cheng 671).

Further, current prisons have detrimental impacts on vulnerable minorities at a disproportionate rate and scale

(Western and Pettit 8-9). Due to society’s racial bias, racial minorities like African American and First Nations Australian communities are more likely to be targeted and incarcerated. Despite making up only 3% of the total Australian population, 33% of Australia’s male prison population is indigenous (Shields). In conjunction with racial biases, communities facing poverty, low education, lower wages, and socioeconomic instabilities (Barkow 11) are particularly vulnerable to incarceration “tipping points”, where reduced future earning potential on an individual level and dismantling of communal bonds through removing members who are also caregivers of children or breadwinners of families (Stemen 2), elicit a concentration of crime in disadvantaged communities and a shared resentment towards the legal system, resulting in an adverse effect on lowering crime rates in areas already with high crime rates (Rose and Clear 457). Despite the criminogenic effects of the prison environment and its role in propagating deeper social inequalities, the incarceration experiences likely vary from case to case. Deprivation models can be used to explain violence and rebellion towards authorities, while importation models can explore the interpersonal relationships between inmates (Jiang and FisherGiorlando 349). The functioning of prisons is nuanced, and the prison environment should not be viewed through a monolithic lens.

THE QUESTION OF PRISON ABOLITION

The preceding discussions suggest that prison systems are problematic due to systematic issues and external circumstances, which may lead one to conclude that the best way to eliminate such destructive effects is through prison abolition. However, the effectiveness of prisons should be evaluated separately from the justification for prison abolition, as the justification “X is bad, X should be abolished” is flawed and insufficient. As with any societal flaw, it remains unclear why prisons should be abolished instead of being fixed and reformed. Other alternatives to prison abolition present options like prison reformation and criminal law minimalism. Reforms are often criticised for strengthening the system instead of weakening it. As such, policies aimed at improving the prison environments are deemed unacceptable by abolitionists even though they could greatly benefit those currently incarcerated as the abolition movement requires necessary tradeoffs and concessions that come at the cost of vulnerable individuals (Steiker and Steiker 417418). Further, prison reforms are also comparatively more palatable to the public and policymakers than prison abolition (Barkow 36). Additionally, viable alternatives to prison embraced by certain abolitionists are, in fact, symmetrical to prison reforms as well. Extensive application of GPS bracelets, GED classes and vocational training can be enforced through reforms and examining causes of crime through a public health perspective, as done by the Scottish Police, or utilising medics and crisis

workers as first responders to emergency calls instead of the Police to avoid escalations in Eugene all show promise to the potential effectiveness of a thorough, well-funded reform of the justice system (Salib 164; Aaron).

Even if all carceral institutions were eliminated, prison abolition still ultimately fails to address the root causes of the detriments that characterise prisons. Abolitionists, in connecting, say, one’s ethnic or impoverished status with the targeting and disproportionate incarceration rates of these minorities, suggest that the only viable way to sever this link is through the dismantling of prison systems. This link, however, is insufficient in justifying prison abolition, as it is essential to note that while deeply regrettable, racial, economic and various societal discrimination occurs in many different institutional contexts (Shelby 98-102). Prison abolition does not fundamentally address coexisting institutional contexts that continue to work against vulnerable stakeholders outside of the legal system. While it is true that the current prison system greatly exacerbates and propagates said discriminatory contexts based on race, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status, abolition cannot be justified as long as these effects can be reduced or eliminated through other methods, like reform.

Additionally, the effectiveness of prison abolition is questioned when the problem of the “dangerous few” arises (Salib 163-165; Frampton 2018), acknowledged to be a “spectral force haunting abolitionist thought” and remains heavily “under-theorised (Carrier and Piche 2013, 2018). The mitigation that the “dangerous few” are “statistically insignificant and socially unpredictable” (Gilmore 15) is insufficient, and while abolitionists have attempted to respond to the critiques about this issue, each response presents its own limitations. Even if prison abolition succeeds in eliminating carceral institutions, concessions must be made for bad actors undeterred by all consequences and driven by perverse incentives (Bianchi and van Swaaningeneds 154). The problem, therefore, lies in the ambiguity between prison abolitionism and other forms of prison restraint, or as Professor Máximo Langer (44) suggests, criminal law minimalism. Perhaps more concerningly, regardless of the exclusivity of the definition of “abolitionism”, a new system designed to safeguard public safety, albeit operating on a smaller scale and perhaps with good intentions, still bears similarities to the current systems. Another response suggests that the elimination of prison is a pre-requisite framework that eliminates social and individual pathologies that characterise the “dangerous few” (McLeod 1618-1620). Although this may apply to certain extreme offenders, it fails to address the myriad of structural issues like classism and militarism that work in tandem with inequalities within the legal system. Further, it is inadequate to imply that society should wait for bad actors to gradually cease to exist under the reimagined

justice system. The fundamental problem of the “dangerous few” still remains even if the majority of the bad actors eventually cease to exist (Frampton, 2026).

Lastly, a world with prison abolition is problematic as it raises concerns about society’s alternate perceptions of justice. Without the states’ structured procedural justice, individuals may turn to vigilante justice (Barkow 46). When the public supports the legal system and has faith in procedural justice, they are less likely to resort to alternative sources of justice (Ireland 311) since the justice system’s credibility stems from its ability to protect the public against harm and achieve proportional justice (Husak 11-13). In banning all prisons, abolition actively erodes public trust and support in the legal system. Individuals, therefore, turn to vigilantism in order to achieve retributive justice and self-protection when they perceive the state as unable or unwilling to provide protection and justice. Further, vigilantism often leads to more extreme alternatives, while racial and socioeconomic discrimination is rooted in other contexts outside the legal system, like the media’s portrayal of racial minorities in times of crisis, may elicit victimblaming (Dukes and Gaither 789-791), and more explicit, extreme forms of discrimination. While prison abolition may empower minorities, vigilantism by certain racially charged extremists resembles historical self-served

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CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the evaluation of the flaws of prisons and the debate over prison abolitionism requires multifaceted discussions about the distinction between prison-specific characteristics and side effects, as well as the tension between prison abolition and reform. While abolitionists accurately highlight a myriad of detrimental effects of prisons on all members of society, it is crucial not to dismiss the opposition’s pragmatic concerns about extreme offenders and public response. The prospects of prison abolition seem worrying, for if prison reform is more likely to address the same issues as abolition effectively, it seems difficult to justify the necessity for a more extreme solution, given the concerns about the probability and timeframe required to achieve legitimate change. Further, prison abolition fails to dismantle the harmful societal structures and biases outside the legal system that cause significant harm, and may elicit more concerns about public safety and alternate perceptions of justice, leading to vigilantism.

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Moderative effect of educational attainment on the correlation between alcohol-specific reward responsiveness and alcohol use disorder (AUD) severity

ELENA ZHANG,

YEAR 12

This article was written for Science Extension.

ABSTRACT

A greater understanding of the relationships between risk factors for alcohol use disorder (AUD) can aid early intervention and improve prognosis for people with AUD. The present study aims to determine whether alcoholspecific reward responsiveness affects AUD severity in adults and investigate how educational attainment moderates this relationship. Electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings from participants with varying severities of AUD were analysed to quantify the Reward Positivity (RewP) event-related potential (ERP) as a neurophysiological measure of alcohol-specific reward responsiveness. Whilst the results indicate that alcohol-specific reward responsiveness has some effect on AUD severity in adults, and that educational attainment moderates this relationship such that its strength decreases for individuals with greater years of formal schooling, these relationships were not found to be statistically significant. Hence, the present study finds no significant effect of alcohol-specific reward responsiveness on AUD severity in adults, and no significant moderative effect of educational attainment on this relationship.

LITERATURE REVIEW

An estimated 400 million people, which is 7% of the global population aged 15 or over, have AUD (World Health Organization, 2024). As of 2023, 10.2% of people in the US aged 12 or over have AUD, according to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2023). The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2020) defines alcohol use disorder as a brain disorder characterised by impaired control over one’s alcohol consumption in spite of adverse social, occupational or health consequences. Individuals with this condition display abnormalities in the neural function of reward responsiveness, which is the degree to which an individual experiences positive responses to rewards (Taubitz et al., 2015). Reward responsiveness is defined as a ‘construct’ that falls under the domain of positive valence systems within the Research Domain Criteria framework, which consists of six ‘domains’ of basic neurobehavioural function (National Institute of Mental Health, n.d.).

The Reward Positivity (RewP) is a neurophysiological measure of reward responsiveness. RewP is an eventrelated potential (ERP) component, which is a voltage change generated in the brain in response to a stimulus. RewP is characterised by a positive deflection that peaks at frontocentral electrode sites roughly 250-300ms after reward feedback (Proudfit, 2015). RewP amplitude, which is the strength of the electrical signal in units of microvolts (μV), is positively correlated with self-reported reward responsiveness (Bress & Hajcak, 2013) and activation of the ventral striatum and medial prefrontal cortex (Carlson et al., 2011; Gehring & Willoughby, 2002) which are structures involved in the reinforcement of rewarding behaviours. RewP amplitude is also correlated with the degree to which an individual “likes” an image, demonstrating that RewP is sensitive to the affective (i.e. emotional) features of reward (Brown et al., 2022).

The literature presents mixed evidence supporting a correlation between AUD and both enhanced and reduced reward responsivity. Some studies have found that reward responsiveness is positively correlated with alcohol intake (Loxton & Dawe, 2001) and early-onset drinking (Pardo et al., 2007), which are known risk factors for AUD. Hazardous drinkers demonstrate attentional bias to sensory-specific features of alcohol such as imagery and smells (Roberts & Fillmore, 2015; Weafer & Fillmore, 2013), suggesting that they also display enhanced alcohol-specific reward responsiveness. Indeed, preliminary evidence indicates a positive correlation between alcohol-specific RewP amplitude and AUD severity (Singh et al., 2023). However, other studies have shown that alcohol consumption leads to neuroadaptations associated with reduced reactivity to non-alcohol-related rewards (Koob, 2013). Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) score, which is a measure of AUD severity (Babor et al., 2001), is also associated with reduced reward responsiveness in adolescents specifically (Aloi et al., 2020).

The study by Aloi and others suggests that these mixed findings regarding the correlation between reward responsiveness and AUD severity can be attributed to the moderative effect of demographic factors on the relationship between reward responsiveness and AUD severity. One such potential factor is educational attainment (EA) in terms of years of formal schooling. Education affects an individual’s health literacy and emotional regulation ability. Individuals with lower EA

MODERATIVE

may be more likely to engage in hazardous drinking due to their increased exposure to social stress and low health literacy regarding the hazards of alcohol use (Cerdá et al., 2011). Indeed, higher EA is associated with a decreased likelihood of heavy drinking (Caldwell et al., 2008) and alcohol dependence (Rosoff et al., 2021).

Although no study has examined how the strength and direction of the RewP-AUD severity correlation varies with educational attainment, preliminary evidence indicates that impulsivity, which is related to reward responsiveness, is directly correlated with alcohol dependence severity and that an individual’s years of educational attainment moderates the relationship between impulsivity and alcohol dependence severity such that the correlation weakens with greater educational attainment (Liu et al., 2020). This study used the subjective, self-reported Barrett Impulsivity Scales (BIS) Reward Responsiveness score to index impulsivity. The present study will address this limitation by employing RewP as a neurophysiological measure of reward responsiveness. The available evidence suggests that the importance of alcoholspecific reward responsiveness as a contributing factor to the development of AUD is diminished in individuals with greater educational attainment. Therefore, given the available evidence for correlations between EA, AUD severity and reward responsiveness, the present study hypothesises that an individuals’ extent of educational attainment moderates the effect of alcohol-specific reward responsiveness on AUD severity such that the correlation is positive and weakens with increased educational attainment.

The results of the proposed study may help inform the methodological approach with which researchers account for the moderative effect of demographic variables such as educational attainment when analysing the correlation between reward sensitivity and AUD severity, potentially enabling them to obtain more robust findings. More broadly, a greater understanding of the interactions between risk factors for AUD can aid early intervention and improve prognosis for patients with AUD.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH QUESTION

1. How does alcohol-specific reward responsiveness affect alcohol use disorder (AUD) severity in adults?

2. How does educational attainment moderate the above relationship? (i.e. how does it affect the strength and direction of the correlation?)

HYPOTHESIS

1. H0: Alcohol-specific reward responsiveness does not affect AUD severity in adults (β1 = 0; see Methodology).

2. HA: Alcohol-specific reward responsiveness affects AUD severity in adults such that the correlation is positive (β1 > 0).

3. H0: Educational attainment does not moderate the effect of alcohol-specific reward sensitivity on AUD

severity in adults (β3 = 0; see Methodology).

4. HA: Educational attainment moderates the effect of alcohol-specific reward sensitivity on AUD severity in adults such that the correlation weakens with greater years of educational attainment (β3 < 0).

METHODOLOGY

Data collection

The raw dataset (Singh & Cavanagh, 2023) contains EEG data from 28 participants with AUD and 26 healthy controls. Each data point is paired with metadata of the participant’s educational attainment in terms of years of formal schooling and AUDIT score. EEG data was recorded at 0.01-100Hz from 64 electrodes positioned on the scalps of participants whilst they completed a reinforcement learning task designed by Brown et al (2022). They were shown one of four specific visual cues and instructed to learn the “correct response” (pushing a certain button) based on subsequent feedback (reward or punishment). The specific cue determined whether an image of a puppy or alcohol was presented after button selection. After a temporal delay, feedback was given in the form of a green screen indicating reward or a red screen indicating punishment. This temporal separation of the novel image and feedback controls for the N2 ERP component, which is evoked by novel stimuli (Patel & Azzam, 2005) and otherwise obscures the RewP (Brown & Cavanagh, 2020), ensuring that any observed neural signals are a valid measure of reward responsiveness as opposed to novelty. Each participant completed 80 trials of each condition (puppy and alcohol imagery) enabling sufficient reliability of the averaged individual RewP amplitude.

Data processing and cleansing

The data cleansing pipeline implemented the same parameters as the study which produced the dataset (Singh et al., 2023). All raw data was processed with MNE Python (Gramfort et al., 2013). It was filtered from 0.01-100Hz to 0.01-20Hz to reduce noise as human EEG signals are generally in the latter range. The average reference was computed, then the data was re-referenced to the TP9 and TP10 electrodes placed on the mastoid bones (i.e. the electrical potential difference at each electrode is determined in relation to these electrodes) to minimise noise. Independent Component Analysis (ICA) (Makeig et al., 1996) is a computational method for discerning a signal from independent sources which can obscure it, such as brain and eye electrical activity. Reducing noise is essential for ensuring that the results represent a valid measure of brain activity as opposed to other sources of electromagnetic activity. The EEG data was epoched from -2000 to 6000ms around feedback onset, and each epoch was baseline corrected to -200 – 0ms before feedback onset. The RewP signal was quantified as the average amplitude of the electrical signal from 200-400ms after feedback onset at the Cz electrode. The RewP amplitude in response to puppy

imagery was averaged across 80 trials, then subtracted from the averaged amplitude of RewP in response to alcohol imagery, to compute the alcohol-puppy RewP amplitude difference, which isolates alcohol-specific reward sensitivity.

Moderated regression analysis

Lastly, regression analysis was conducted in R to analyse the effect of AUDIT score on RewP amplitude and the moderative effect of EA on this relationship. The meancentered alcohol-puppy RewP amplitude difference (RewP score) and mean-centered educational attainment (EA) were computed by subtracting the mean value from each individual value. Then, the interaction term, which is the product of the independent and moderator variables, was calculated by multiplying the mean centered-RewP score and years of EA together. Mean-centered values were used to minimise multicollinearity between the predictor variables (RewP score, EA) and interaction term (RewP score × EA). The form of the regression equation was:

y = α

where y = AUDIT score, x = mean-centered RewP score, z = mean-centered EA and x*z = interaction. As per the null hypothesis, R conducted one-sample t-tests comparing each coefficient with the values of β1 = 0 and β3 = 0. The p-value of the β1 coefficient indicated whether the effect of RewP score on AUDIT score was significant, and hence used to assess null hypothesis 1. The p-value of the β3 coefficient indicated whether the moderation effect was significant, and hence used to assess null hypothesis 2.

All code used for this analysis are available at: https:// github.com/elzhang19/EA-AUD-reward

RESULTS

Number of participants (# female) 28 (16)

Age

AUDIT

38.60 (9.43)

15.00 (2.30)

10.50 (5.57)

Table 1: Demographics of participants. Numbers are formatted as mean (standard deviation), except for sample size count.

Figure 1: Output of moderated regression model, computed in R. ‘rewpc’ represents the mean-centered alcohol-puppy RewP amplitude difference (μV). ‘EA_years’ represents the educational attainment of the individual (years). ‘rewpc:EA_years’ represents the interaction term (rewpc EA_years).

Figure 2: Scatterplot of the relationship between alcoholspecific reward responsiveness and AUD severity. Gradient β1 = 0.9052 (p=0.1455).

Figure 3: Scatterplot of the relationship between educational attainment and AUD severity. Gradient β2 = 1.0300 (p=0.0725).

Figure 4: Moderative effect of educational attainment on the relationship between alcohol-specific reward responsiveness and AUD severity. The green points represent individuals with EA more than one standard deviation above the mean; the blue represents individuals with EA within one standard deviation of the mean; the red represents individuals with EA more than one standard deviation below the mean. Gradient of interaction term β3 = -0.4838 (p=0.0843).

DISCUSSION

Demographics of study participants

To ensure the distribution of AUDIT scores was not skewed, results from control participants, who had an AUDIT score of 1-3, were excluded. Only results from hazardous drinkers (n=28) were used. Inclusion criteria for the hazardous drinkers group included: age 22-55 years; self-identify as a “moderate to hazardous/binge/ weekly drinker”; AUDIT score of greater than 8 for males, and greater than 7 for females. Refer to the original study for further demographic details and exclusion criteria (Singh et al., 2023). As seen in Table 1, participants consisted of 16 females and 12 males, meaning the study has a slightly greater proportion of females than the 50.9% female and 49.1% male composition of the 2020 US adult population (United States Census Bureau, 2020). As seen in Table 1, hazardous drinkers attained a mean of 15.00 years of education, which is slightly greater than the mean years of education of 13.58 years for US adults aged 25 or over according to the 2023-24 UN Human Development Report (United Nations, 2024). Due to the small sample size, and the difference between the mean educational attainment and gender composition of this sample with that of the US adult population, the sample is not precisely representative of the overall population.

Analysis of results

Figure 2 shows that alcohol-specific reward responsiveness and AUD severity are positively correlated, as indicated by the gradient of the line of best fit, β1 = 0.9052. This supports existing findings regarding the

positive correlation between traits related to reward responsiveness and AUD severity (Liu et al., 2020). However, assuming a significance level of α=0.05, this correlation is not statistically significant (p=0.1455>0.05). Hence, the results refute the first hypothesis that the correlation between alcohol-specific reward responsiveness (as indexed by RewP) and AUD severity is positive. This lack of a significant result is not unexpected, given the conflicting evidence for the direction and significance of the effect of alcohol-specific reward responsiveness on AUD severity.

The scatterplot in Figure 4 indicates that the correlation between alcohol-specific reward responsiveness and AUD severity, which is positive amongst individuals with low educational attainment (fewer than one standard deviation below the mean), weakens amongst individuals with high educational attainment (greater than one standard deviation above the mean) as indicated by the sparse distribution of points around the line of best fit for high EA compared to that around the line of best fit for low EA. The negative gradient of the interaction term (β3 = -0.4838) supports this interpretation that the effect of reward responsiveness on AUD severity decreases as educational attainment increases. This aligns with previous existing findings about traits related to reward responsiveness such as impulsivity (Liu et al., 2020). However, this moderation effect is not statistically significant (p=0.0843>0.05), refuting the second hypothesis that the correlation between RewP and AUD severity is positive but weakens with increasing educational attainment.

The lack of significant results may be attributed to the small sample size of the study (n=28). As mentioned previously, the mean age and educational attainment of the sample slightly differ from that of the US adult population, indicating that the sample was not exactly representative of the overall population. This is unsurprising, given the small sample size. Hence, further studies should employ larger sample sizes that are more representative of the overall population. MODERATIVE

Interestingly, the correlation between EA and AUD severity (β2 = 1.0300, p=0.0725; see Figure 3) is more statistically significant than that between the interaction term and AUD severity, indicating that educational attainment itself is a better predictor of AUD severity than the combined effect of educational attainment and reward responsiveness. Indeed, existing findings indicate a robust inverse relationship between educational attainment and alcohol dependence, which aligns with the current knowledge that less educated individuals generally possess poorer health literacy and awareness of the health risks of alcohol, and socioeconomic instability which is conducive to stress (Cerdá et al., 2011).

Limitations and future directions for research

Furthermore, the available demographic and clinical metadata describing each participant lacks key details. The exact types of formal education undertaken by each participant is unknown, as well as other factors of socioeconomic status (SES) such as income, occupation and financial security that are related to educational attainment and may contribute to AUD severity. Further research into moderated regression models involving these other socioeconomic factors as moderating variables may contribute to a more complete understanding of their effect on AUD severity and more robust findings.

Whilst neurophysiological measures of psychological functions such as reward responsiveness may be more objective and measurable than behavioural metrics, such as BIS/BAS (Behavioural Activation and Behavioural Inhibition Scores) Reward Responsiveness (Taubitz et al., 2015), a combination of both neurophysiological and behavioural measures of alcohol-specific reward responsiveness may contribute to a more accurate, complete profile of reward sensitivity. This may allow for more robust findings to be obtained.

CONCLUSION

The aim of the present study was to determine whether alcohol-specific reward responsiveness affects alcohol use disorder (AUD) severity in adults, and to investigate how educational attainment moderates this relationship. Although existing studies have approached similar research questions by employing behavioural proxies for reward responsiveness such as the BIS-BAS Reward

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The role of UVB and UVC radiation in SARS-CoV-2 mitigation: Assessing Vitamin D production and viral reduction

MADELEINE SHORT, YEAR 12

This paper was written for Extension Science.

ABSTRACT

This research examines the effects of UVB and UVC radiation on SARS-CoV-2, specifically focusing on vitamin D synthesis and viral inactivation. The study aimed to determine the comparative impacts of UVB exposure and oral vitamin D supplementation on plasma vitamin D levels, and to evaluate the efficacy of UVC radiation in reducing viral loads. Using a combination of paired t-tests and ANOVA, the results revealed that UVB exposure led to a lower peak vitamin D concentration (5 ng/mL) compared to oral supplementation (145 ng/ mL), but with a more sustained release over time. In contrast, UVC radiation significantly inactivated SARSCoV-2, as indicated by a substantial reduction in viral loads. The findings underscore the effectiveness of UVB in promoting vitamin D synthesis and UVC in directly deactivating the virus. These insights contribute to understanding the roles of UV radiation in managing SARS-CoV-2 transmission and highlight potential applications for UV-based interventions in public health strategies.

LITERATURE REVIEW

What is UV radiation?

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that spans wavelengths between 100 nanometres (nm) and 400 nm. UVR is classified into three regions based on wavelength: UVA, UVB, and UVC. UVA, ranging from 315 nm to 400 nm, is believed to contribute to premature aging and wrinkling of the skin and has recently been implicated as a cause of skin cancer. UVB, which covers wavelengths from 280 nm to 315 nm, is considered more dangerous than UVA because of it’s shorter wavelengths and higher energy levels. It is the primary cause of skin cancers, sunburns, and cataracts. The most hazardous type of UV radiation, however, is UVC. UVC ranges from 100 nm to 280 nm. This type of radiation does not reach the Earth’s surface, as it is absorbed by the ozone layer in the atmosphere (ARPANSA, 2024).

What is SARS-CoV-2?

SARS-CoV-2, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

Coronavirus 2, is the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, which emerged in late 2019. This virus is part of the Coronaviridae family, a group of enveloped RNA viruses known to cause respiratory infections in humans

and animals (Cascella et. al., 2023). SARS-CoV-2 is closely related to SARS-CoV, the virus behind the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak (Zhou et. al, 2020).

The virus primarily spreads through respiratory droplets and aerosols, leading to a range of symptoms from mild respiratory illness to severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and multi-organ failure (Huang et. al., 2020). The virus’s spike (S) protein is critical for binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor on human cells, allowing viral entry and infection (Walls et. al., 2020). Research highlights the virus’s high transmissibility and the effectiveness of public health measures, such as vaccination, masking, and social distancing, in mitigating its spread (NSW Government, 2024).

What is the current scientific knowledge of the effects of UV on SARS-CoV-2?

UVB radiation, which spans wavelengths from 280 to 315 nanometers (nm), is essential for synthesising vitamin D in the skin. Vitamin D is crucial for immune function and enhances it. There has been considerable interest in its potential role in reducing the severity of COVID-19 (Grant et. al., 2020). When UVB rays penetrate the skin, they convert 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3, which is then metabolised into active vitamin D. This process is vital for maintaining healthy levels of vitamin D, which can modulate the immune response by enhancing the pathogen-fighting effects of monocytes and macrophages and decreasing inflammation (Aranow, 2012).

However, the pandemic has underscored a critical issue: many people do not receive sufficient sunlight exposure to produce adequate vitamin D, especially in regions with low UVB radiation during the winter months. This deficiency has led to a surge in interest in vitamin D supplementation as a preventive measure against severe COVID-19 outcomes. Studies suggest that vitamin D supplementation is effective in raising serum levels more reliably than sunlight exposure alone, particularly in individuals with darker skin or in those living at higher latitudes (Lanham-New et. al., 2020). Supplementation circumvents the variability of UVB exposure and provides a controlled dosage, which is beneficial given the association between low vitamin D levels and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections (Aranow, 2012). In contrast to UVB, UVC radiation (100-280 nm) is

known for its germicidal properties rather than health benefits like vitamin D synthesis. UVC is highly effective at inactivating viruses, including coronaviruses, by causing direct damage to their nucleic acids. Specifically, UVC radiation breaks the molecular bonds in DNA and RNA, leading to the formation of thymine dimers in DNA or uracil dimers in RNA, which prevent replication and ultimately render the virus non-infectious (Heßling et. al, 2020).

The application of UVC for disinfecting surfaces and air has gained attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that SARS-CoV-2 can remain viable on surfaces for extended periods, UVC devices have been employed in hospitals, airports, and other public spaces to reduce viral load (Mulatihan et. al., 2020). However, direct exposure to UVC is hazardous to humans, necessitating the careful design of UVC systems that either shield users or operate in unoccupied spaces.

Recent research has explored the use of far-UVC (207222 nm), which is believed to be less harmful to human tissue while still effective against airborne viruses like SARS-CoV-2. Studies suggest that far-UVC can inactivate coronaviruses in aerosols without penetrating the outer layer of human skin or eyes, offering a promising tool for continuous disinfection in occupied environments (Buonanno et. al., 2021).

Why is this research important?

This research on the effects of UV radiation on SARSCoV-2, particularly through vitamin D supplementation versus UVB-induced synthesis and the use of UVC for viral inactivation, is critical for a plethora of reasons. First, it addresses the role of UVB radiation in supporting immune function through vitamin D production, which has been linked to better COVID-19 outcomes. (Grant et. al., 2020). By comparing vitamin D from UVB exposure to supplementation, this research could provide insights into the most effective strategies for maintaining optimal vitamin D levels, especially in populations at risk of deficiency due to limited sun exposure or other factors.

Second, the study of UVC radiation’s effectiveness in inactivating SARS-CoV-2 adds significant value to the field of infection control. UVC’s ability to break molecular bonds in the virus’s RNA makes it a powerful tool for sterilising surfaces, air, and water. This is particularly relevant in environments where the virus could linger and spread, such as hospitals, public transport, and crowded indoor spaces (Heßling et. al, 2020). Understanding how different variants of SARS-CoV-2 respond to UVC radiation is also essential, as the virus mutates. Unlike chemical disinfectants, which viruses can potentially develop resistance to, UVC’s physical mode of action makes it difficult for the virus to adapt, ensuring that UVC sterilisation remains effective even as new variants emerge (Mulatihan et. al., 2020).

This research not only deepens our understanding of how UV radiation can mitigate the spread and severity

of COVID-19 but also helps develop more robust public health strategies. The comparison between natural and supplemented vitamin D informs healthcare providers and policymakers on the best interventions to boost population immunity. Simultaneously, advances in UVC technology could lead to safer and more efficient sterilisation methods, particularly in high-risk settings, offering long-term benefits in controlling not only COVID-19 but also future viral outbreaks.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH QUESTION

To what extent does UVB and UVC radiation effect the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, specifically in terms of vitamin D synthesis and viral inactivation?

HYPOTHESIS

Hypothesis:

Vitamin D supplementation will be more effective in increasing vitamin D levels in the body than UVB because it bypasses the variability of factors that affect UVB-induced vitamin D synthesis. These factors include geographical location, season, skin pigmentation, and age, which can all reduce the skin’s ability to produce sufficient vitamin D from sunlight exposure. Supplementation provides a controlled and consistent dosage, ensuring that individuals can achieve and maintain optimal vitamin D levels regardless of these external variables. Although supplements will be more effective, the use of UVB will still stimulate vitamin D synthesis and will decrease the mortality rate of SARSCoV-2.

Additionally, UVC radiation will decrease the transmission rate of SARS-CoV-2 because it effectively inactivates the airborne virus by disrupting its RNA and leading to the formation of dimers, preventing it from replicating. The destruction of pathogen molecules will lead to a decreased transmission rate and therefore a lowered prevalence of SARS-CoV-2.

Null Hypothesis:

There will be no effect of UVB radiation on vitamin D synthesis and UVC radiation will have no effect on the virus. Therefore, UVB and UVC will have no effect on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2.

METHODOLOGY

The origin of the data in this report was secondary. Data was collected from two separate PubMed articles. The UVB and vitamin D data originated from “Human plasma transport of vitamin D after its endogenous synthesis” (Haddad et. al.). The UVC inactivation data originated from “UV-C Light Intervention as a Barrier against Airborne Transmission of SARS-CoV-2” (Ragan et. al.).

The UVB data is chosen because it measures the levels of Vitamin D in the plasma after Vitamin D oral supplementation and also after UVB exposure. The UVC data is chosen because it is a clear representation

of UVC destroying airborne pathogens, comparing to with another group without UVC-treatment. This data for both is valid as it directly answers the aim which is to determine the extent that UV radiation has on the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2, and because there are also plethora of controlled variables which include a control group and the same amount of hamsters for the for UVC data and the plasma vitamin D being measured in ng/mL for both methods and ensuring that none of the patients had a history of skin disease. The data for UVB and UVC is quantitative, allowing for a wider range of statistical tests to be performed to determine the statistical significance of the results. The data will also be reliable as it aims to replicate the population of interest, with the UVB testing being on humans. Although the UVC data is tested on hamsters, the data is still reliable as the immune systems of mammals are similar (Müller et. al., 2008).

The UVB data was collected through a rigorous experimental study conducted by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Jefferson Medical College, institutions known for their expertise in medical research. The study involved 10 healthy volunteers, carefully selected to ensure no interference from skin, hepatic, or renal conditions, nor from medications that could affect vitamin D metabolism. Ethical approval from institutional review boards provided oversight, ensuring adherence to strict research protocols. The data collection involved advanced laboratory techniques, including UV-B light exposure, blood sample analysis, and vitamin D quantitation via High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The use of reputable materials established methods, and the researchers’ affiliation with respected institutions confirm their qualifications and the reliability of the data, making it suitable for secondary analysis (Figure 3).

The UVC data was obtained from controlled laboratory experiments where SARS-CoV-2 viral cultures were aerosolised and exposed to UVC light sources. UVC light was emitted at a wavelength of 254 nm, and the viral load was measured before and after exposure. The exposure times ranged from 0 to 20 minutes to understand the dose-response relationship. Removed data points with incomplete measurements or where experimental conditions were not strictly controlled. Data points represent group mean +/− SD. LOD = Limit of detection denoted by horizontal dotted line. Asterisks above bars indicate statistically significant difference in viral titers (**** p < 0.0001, ** p < 0.01) (Figure 4).

In the UVB data I have aimed to determine if there is a significant difference between the mean concentration of vitamin D in the plasma of humans after UVB exposure and supplements by using a t-test.

In the UVC data I have employed a single factor ANOVA test to give the f-statistic and p-values which have helped me to determine whether to accept or reject the null

hypothesis.

In order to explore my data preliminarily, I did basic statistics using raw data that was from UVB and UVC to compare the similarities and differences between the means, medians and standard deviations.

RESULTS

Figure 1 shows a comparison between Vitamin D levels in plasma over time after UVB light exposure and Vitamin D oral supplementation.

Figure 2 shows the concentration of viral replication of SARS-CoV-2 in the respiratory tracts of groups of hamsters after three days.

Table 1 shows the paired t-test between the UVB vitamin D synthesis and Oral vitamin D Supplementation

Table 2 shows the one-way ANOVA test conducted to determine the difference in means of three hamster groups.

DISCUSSION

Figure 1

The “Total Plasma Vitamin D concentrations over time after UVB Light Exposure compared to Oral Dosage” graph reveals the clear difference in the concentration of vitamin D in blood plasma between oral supplementation and UVB vitamin D synthesis. The largest concentration of vitamin D was recorded 8 hours after introducing the oral dosage at 145ng/mL whereas at the same time the UVB exposure produced a concentration of only 5ng/mL. Additionally, the mean ng/mL of vitamin D in the plasma for UVB was 4.92 (2.d.p.) in comparison to the mean of 70.33 ng/mL (2 d.p.) reached through oral supplementation. However, the graph also suggests that the vitamin D from the UVB radiation could last longer, with a gradient of m= -1.83 (2.d.p.) between 24 hours and 48 hours after taking the supplement and with a much steadier gradient of m= -0.04 (2 d.p.) during that same time. Oral supplementation introduces vitamin D directly into the bloodstream, leading to a rapid increase in plasma concentration, peaking at 145 ng/mL after 8 hours. This rapid peak is due to the immediate availability of vitamin D from the supplement, which the body quickly absorbs and distributes. However, because the body metabolises and excretes this vitamin D relatively quickly, the concentration decreases rapidly over time, resulting in a steeper gradient of m = -1.83 between 24 and 48 hours.

In contrast, UVB-induced vitamin D synthesis is a slower process. When UVB radiation strikes the skin, it converts 7-dehydrocholesterol to pre-vitamin D3, which is then gradually converted to vitamin D3 and released into the bloodstream. This process results in a much lower peak concentration, as shown by the 5 ng/mL recorded 8 hours after exposure, and a lower mean concentration of 4.92 ng/mL. However, the vitamin D produced through UVB exposure is released more slowly and steadily into the bloodstream, resulting in a much gentler decline (m = -0.04) over time. This indicates that while UVB exposure leads to lower initial vitamin D levels, the vitamin D it produces remains available in the body for a longer period, offering a sustained effect.

Table 1

For the UVB data, the p-value was less than the alpha value of 0.05, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis. This statistically significant result, derived from a paired two-tailed t-test, indicates that there is

a meaningful difference in vitamin D levels at different times after UVB exposure, supporting the hypothesis that UVB radiation positively influences vitamin D synthesis, which in turn may affect SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The use of a two-tailed test was essential due to the skewed data distribution in opposite direction

Figure 2

The UVC data graph highlights the antimicrobial effects of UVC radiation, proved by the recording of 0 plaque forming units per 0.1g in any of the hamsters after the air from the infected hamsters was treated with a ViolettDevice that emits UVC rays. radiation through a striking outcome: 0 plaque-forming units (PFUs) per 0.1g in all samples taken from hamsters exposed to air treated with UVC rays via a Violett-Device. This result is compelling because it underscores the complete inactivation of the virus under these specific conditions, supporting the hypothesis that UVC radiation is effective in reducing the transmission and viability of SARS-CoV-2.

These findings are significant for several reasons. First, they validate the hypothesis that UVC radiation can neutralise SARS-CoV-2, supporting previous studies that have highlighted the germicidal properties of UVC rays. The data imply that UVC, when properly applied, could be a potent tool in reducing airborne viral transmission, especially in enclosed spaces. The fact that no viral plaques were formed in any of the treated samples suggests a high level of reliability and effectiveness in this method.

The observed results likely occurred due to the specific wavelength of UVC radiation (typically around 254 nm), which is known to disrupt the molecular bonds within viral RNA, rendering the virus non-infectious. Given the controlled environment and the consistent results across multiple samples, the data strongly indicate that UVC radiation is a highly effective measure for sterilising air and preventing viral transmission.

By connecting these findings to the broader research, we can conclude that UVC’s ability to consistently achieve 0 PFUs in treated samples demonstrates its potential as a powerful non-pharmaceutical intervention. This result reinforces the conclusion that UVC devices, like the Violett-Device, could be an essential tool in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and similar airborne pathogens, particularly in high-risk areas like hospitals and public transport.

Table 2

For the UVC data, the p-value was also below 0.05, and the F statistic exceeded the critical F-value, both of which confirm that the null hypothesis can be rejected. These results indicate a significant difference in viral inactivation rates across various UVC intensities, suggesting that UVC radiation is effective in deactivating SARS-CoV-2, consistent with the hypothesis.

The findings on vitamin D synthesis are consistent with previous studies, which have shown that UVB radiation can significantly boost vitamin D levels, aiding immune function. However, the uneven sample sizes and estimated data points in this study contrast with more robust trials that have confirmed the protective effects of vitamin D against respiratory infections. This discrepancy highlights a significant methodological limitation that may have influenced the results.

Regarding UVC radiation, the observed reduction in viral load aligns with prior research demonstrating UVC’s effectiveness in inactivating pathogens, including coronaviruses. Studies such as Heilingloh et al. (2020), found that UVC radiation rapidly inactivated SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces, supporting the results of this study. However, the simplification of lung section data and exclusion of other metrics in this experiment create a gap between these findings and more comprehensive studies, which typically examine a wider range of biological impacts.

Evaluation of Methodology

To refine the analysis of vitamin D levels, I combined the two relevant vitamin D graphs, removing the error lines to simplify and clarify the data presentation. This cleansing of the graph enabled a more streamlined comparison of UVB exposure versus oral supplementation. Due to missing raw data, I estimated the values for the time points where data was incomplete from finding the equation of the line from one result to the other and then substituting the x-value (hours) into the equation to find the corresponding vitamin D concentration result. These estimates were derived by extrapolating from the existing data points, acknowledging that this introduces some uncertainty. Additionally, I cleansed the data further by removing data for 72 and 168 hours as it was only recorded for UVB and not for supplementation which would have reduced the validity as the hours that the supplementation and UVB exposure were recorded at would have been different and the amount of time that results were recorded for would not controlled.

The methodological challenge arose from the discrepancy in participant numbers: 10 participants were included in the UVB exposure group, while only 3 were in the oral supplementation group. This inconsistency affects the statistical confidence of the comparison. The sample sizes were also lower than 25 and which hindered the reliability of the experiment as there were not enough results to prove consistency. However, by compiling the data into a single graph and applying a paired t-test, we can still draw meaningful insights, despite the unequal sample sizes.

For the UVC data, I selected one of the hamster graphs that measured the viral inactivation over time. The original data included various lung regions, however this had little relation to the research question and so I narrowed the focus to the overall average viral load reduction, aligning

it with the two-day post-exposure timeline similar to the vitamin D datasets. I removed extraneous data points and upper and lower bounds that lacked sufficient supporting data, simplifying the graph to display only the averages. Given the absence of comprehensive raw data, I conducted an ANOVA single factor test by averaging the highest and lowest data points from each hamster group, treating these averages as substitutions for the unavailable data points. This approach allowed for a basic statistical analysis, even though it relied potentially skewed results.

Future Research Directions

Given the limitations identified in this study, future research should focus on addressing these gaps to obtain more robust and reliable results. Larger and more balanced sample sizes are essential for future vitamin D studies to accurately assess the effects of UVB exposure. Moreover, securing complete datasets would allow for more precise statistical analysis and eliminate the need for estimating missing data points.

For UVC radiation research, future studies should aim to include more comprehensive data collection, particularly regarding the effects on different lung sections and other biological markers. Expanding the study to include various viral variants could also provide insight into whether certain mutations confer resistance to UVC sterilisation. Additionally, comparing the efficacy of UVC radiation in various environmental conditions, such as different humidity and temperature levels, could offer valuable information for optimising real-world applications. Another promising area for future research is the combined effect of UVB-induced vitamin D production and UVC sterilisation. Investigating whether individuals with higher vitamin D levels experience enhanced resistance to SARS-CoV-2 in environments where UVC is used could reveal united effects, leading to more effective prevention strategies.

CONCLUSION

The research investigated the extent to which UVB and UVC radiation affect SARS-CoV-2, focusing on vitamin D synthesis and viral inactivation. The findings indicate that UVB radiation significantly influences vitamin D levels in the. Despite this, UVB-induced vitamin D may persist longer in the body, as reflected by a steadier decline in vitamin D levels over time.

Regarding viral inactivation, UVC radiation proved highly effective in reducing SARS-CoV-2 levels. The data demonstrated a significant decrease in viral load when exposed to UVC, validating its role as an effective disinfectant. The results showed that UVC radiation effectively inactivates SARS-CoV-2, supporting its use in reducing viral transmission.

Overall, the study confirms that both UVB and UVC radiation play crucial roles in combating SARS-CoV-2. UVB contributes to vitamin D synthesis, which enhances

the immune system, while UVC directly inactivates the virus. These findings provide valuable insights into their potential applications in public health strategies aimed at managing and reducing COVID-19 spread.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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ARPANSA. (2023). Ultraviolet radiation. https://www.arpansa.gov.au/ understanding-radiation/what-is-radiation/non-ionising-radiation/ ultraviolet-radiation

Buonanno, M., Welch, D., Shuryak, I., & Brenner, D. J. (2020). Far-UVC light (222 nm) efficiently and safely inactivates airborne human coronaviruses. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 10285. https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41598-020-67211-2

Cascella, M., Rajnik, M., Aleem, A., Dulebohn, S. C., & Di Napoli, R. (2024). Features, Evaluation, and Treatment of Coronavirus (COVID-19). In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/books/NBK554776/

Channels, N. G. D. (2022, January 24). Guidance on wearing face masks | NSW Government [Standard Page]. NSW Government. https:// www.nsw.gov.au/health/covid-19/protecting-yourself/guidance-onwearing-face-masks

Grant, W. B., Lahore, H., McDonnell, S. L., Baggerly, C. A., French, C. B., Aliano, J. L., & Bhattoa, H. P. (2020a). Evidence that Vitamin D Supplementation Could Reduce Risk of Influenza and COVID-19 Infections and Deaths. Nutrients, 12(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu12040988

Grant, W. B., Lahore, H., McDonnell, S. L., Baggerly, C. A., French, C. B., Aliano, J. L., & Bhattoa, H. P. (2020b). Evidence that Vitamin D Supplementation Could Reduce Risk of Influenza and COVID-19 Infections and Deaths. Nutrients, 12(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu12040988

Haddad, J. G., Matsuoka, L. Y., Hollis, B. W., Hu, Y. Z., & Wortsman, J. (1993). Human plasma transport of vitamin D after its endogenous synthesis. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 91(6), 2552–2555.

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Heßling, M., Hönes, K., Vatter, P., & Lingenfelder, C. (2020). Ultraviolet irradiation doses for coronavirus inactivation – review and analysis of coronavirus photoinactivation studies. GMS Hygiene and Infection Control, 15, Doc08. https://doi.org/10.3205/dgkh000343

Huang, C., Wang, Y., Li, X., Ren, L., Zhao, J., Hu, Y., Zhang, L., Fan, G., Xu, J., Gu, X., Cheng, Z., Yu, T., Xia, J., Wei, Y., Wu, W., Xie, X., Yin, W., Li, H., Liu, M., … Cao, B. (2020). Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The Lancet, 395(10223), 497–506. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5

Lanham-New, S. A., Webb, A. R., Cashman, K. D., Buttriss, J. L., Fallowfield, J. L., Masud, T., Hewison, M., Mathers, J. C., Kiely, M., Welch, A. A., Ward, K. A., Magee, P., Darling, A. L., Hill, T. R., Greig, C., Smith, C. P., Murphy, R., Leyland, S., Bouillon, R., … Kohlmeier, M. (2020). Vitamin D and SARS-CoV-2 virus/COVID-19 disease. BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjnph-2020-000089

Meltzer, D. O., Best, T. J., Zhang, H., Vokes, T., Arora, V., & Solway, J. (2020). Association of Vitamin D Status and Other Clinical Characteristics With COVID-19 Test Results. JAMA Network Open, 3(9), e2019722. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.19722

Mulatihan, D., Guo, T., & Zhao, Y. (2020). Azobenzene Photoswitch for Isomerization-Dependent Cancer Therapy via Azo-Combretastatin A4 and Phototrexate. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 96(6), 1163–1168. https://doi.org/10.1111/php.13292

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Walls, A. C., Park, Y.-J., Tortorici, M. A., Wall, A., McGuire, A. T., & Veesler, D. (2020). Structure, Function, and Antigenicity of the SARSCoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein. Cell, 181(2), 281-292.e6. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.02.058

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APPENDICES

Figure 3 Original uncleansed UVB data sets that individually mark concentration of vitamin D in plasma for the hours after UV exposure and oral dosage respectively.

Figure 4 Original uncleansed UVC data set. Viral burden of respiratory tract tissues. Viral replication in lower respiratory tract of hamster exposed to SARS-CoV-2. The presence of infectious virus was determined in turbinates, cranial lung lobe and caudal lung lobe of each hamster. Viral titers were determined by plaque assay. Data points represent group mean +/− SD. LOD = Limit of detection denoted by horizontal dotted line. Asterisks above bars indicate statistically statistically significant difference in viral titers (**** p < 0.0001, ** p < 0.01).

Does the Tide to Go Stain Remover Pen really eliminate some of the toughest fresh food and drinks stains on the spot?

CARRIE LUO, YEAR 12

This paper was written for Investigating Science Module 7, Fact or Fallacy.

AIM

To investigate whether the claim made by Tide- that its stain remover pen ‘eliminates some of the toughest fresh food and drinks stains on the spot’ listed in its website- is true by reverting the cotton or polyester’s colour back to its original shade.

HYPOTHESIS

When tested on common stains listed in its website (ketchup, BBQ sauce, coffee, wine, tea, soy sauce, and chocolate syrup), the Tide to Go stain remover pen will eliminate the stain by reducing the cotton or polyester’s colour back to its original shade in RGB

Figure 1: As of June 2024, the Tide Laundry Detergent website claims that its product, the Tide to Go Instant Stain Remover Pen, is designed to ‘eliminate some of the toughest fresh food and drinks stains on the spot’ which ‘works well’ on some of the food and drink products tested in this experiment.

INTRODUCTION

Stain removal of common food and drink stains from clothes and textiles is often required in day-to-day life to preserve the appearance of and maintain the fabric’s integrity. Stains disfigure clothing and may stiffen or corrode the fabric beneath them, depending on their composition. Stains on clothing occur frequently, especially if one works in a dirty environment, has children, plays sports, eats messily, and more. They can be removed with the use of stain removers, which are chemical solutions applied to stains or in the washing machine to lift them and reduce their colour to the fabric’s original. This is done through the incorporation of active ingredients in the formulas of the stain removers which act together on the water-based or oil-based stains which are further split into four categories: enzymatic stains (e.g. blood, grass, chocolate), oxidisable

stains (e.g. tea, coffee, red wine), greasy stains (oil, collar stains, butter) and particulate stains (mud, soil, dirt). Water-based stains (i.e. most food stains) require an acidic stain removal mixture, whereas oil-based stains require a non-aqueous or dry stain removal mixture to remove them.

The Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute outlines the importance of removing stains quickly, as stains are harder to remove as they age. Certain stains become set and more prominent over time, such as oxidising stains, which involve the sugar, oil, protein or tannin component of a stain to react with the oxygen present in the air, undergoing oxidation to gradually develop a more yellowed or even browed tone. This highlights the need for a more conveniently sized stain remover that can act instantly on stains so that the effect on the piece of clothing is reduced. The Tide To Go Stain Remover Pen is an instant stain remover that does not require immediate washing and its small size means that it can be utilised in many everyday circumstances without needing access to a laundry room.

According to Figure 1, the Tide brand claims that its product ‘eliminates some of the toughest fresh food and drinks stains on the spot’ which ‘works well’ on some of the food and drink products tested in this experiment. These foods and drinks include, but are not limited to wine, tomato sauce, barbecue (BBQ) sauce, chocolate syrup, tea, coffee, and more. These stains are mostly water-based stains, suggesting that they do not need to be removed with a dry mixture. The following experimental procedure will investigate whether this claim is a fact or fallacy.

The hypothesis for this procedure is that the Tide to Go stain remover pen will eliminate the stains listed in its claim by reverting the cotton or polyester fabric’s colour back to its original shade, due to active ingredients such as hydrogen peroxide reacting with stains to lift it off the fabric and bleach it of its colour.

In an internationally refereed article by the MARA Technological university comparing the use of commercial stain remover and homemade stain remover for textiles, the use of commercial stain removers received the highest lightness value of 83 and 84 for coffee stains on cotton, and 82 and 83 for coffee stains on polyester. Their conclusion stated that ‘commercial

stain removers eliminated the stains well on both polyester and cotton’. As a result, the combination of these stain-removing ingredients and supporting evidence by the MARA research should be enough to support the hypothesis.

Two types of fabric, cotton and polyester are used throughout this experiment. These versatile fabrics are the most widely used across the textiles and fashion industries, so it is relevant for the stain remover pen to be tested on these fabrics, where stains are most likely to occur in everyday life. The Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute explains how the fibre type and finish affect the success of a stain-removal method. This is because natural cotton fibres swell up because of exposure to water and water-based stains, which causes the stains to sink deeper into the fibres compared to synthetic, glossy polyester fibres which are more hydrophobic than natural fibres. This suggests that stains on the cotton fabric will be harder to remove, and will be easier to remove on polyester fabric, which could influence the ability of the Tide to Go stain remover pen’s ability to eliminate/completely remove the stains listed in its claim. This should be an interesting observation to make during the experiment.

In the research conducted by students from the MARA Technological University, the measurement of stain colour intensity was quantified using a chroma meter and lighting cabinet in order to assess the effectiveness of the stain removal methods. Due to accessibility restrictions to these technologies, the following experiment has quantified results using RGB colour values. RGB is a fundamental colour model used in digital displays and digital photography and stands for Red, Green, Blue, which are primary colours that make up the model. In this model, the three colours are combined each to various degrees to form a shade of colour. Each colour channel (red, green and blue) has possible values from 0 to 255, with 0 representing zero presence of that colour, and 255 representing the total possible intensity of that colour.

Total Black has an RGB value of 0.0.0 and total white has an RGB value of 255.255.255. The lighter the colour, the closer the RGB values to 255 and the opposite for darker colours with RGB values closer to 0. The shade of the original fabric’s colour can be compared with the stainremoved/treated fabric using the sum of RGB values between the two colours, called the ‘RGB Difference’. This is used as a standard unit for comparing the RGB ‘distance’ or difference between the pre-stained and treated fabrics.

RISK ASSESSMENT

What is a risk? Why is it a risk?

Tide to Go stain remover pen

May cause burns to skin, eye irritation, irritation if inhaled

How to minimise risk

Wash hands thoroughly after handling, keep in the original container and absorb it with paper towel if spilt, wear safety glasses and gloves, if in eyes- rinse with eye shower for several minutes, if swallowed- drink 1-2 glasses of water, move to fresh air if inhaled.

Glass equipment Breakage of glass beakers could cause cuts, injury

Boiling water from kettle Hot water could cause scalds and burns, injury

Fabric scissors Sharp blades could cause cuts, injury

METHOD – VARIABLES

Dependent

Inspect and discard any chipped or cracked beakers. If broken, sweep up broken shards with a dustpan and brush without using fingers.

Keep kettle and boiled tea/ coffee in the centre of the bench to avoid spillage, avoid skin contact while still hot and allow it to cool before handling with bare hands.

Keep scissors in the centre of the bench and stored away when not in use. Cut away from the body.

Shade of centre of 2 types of fabric (RGB colour codes)

Additional dependent variable for use in observations: approximate time taken for colour of stain to stop changing (seconds)

Independent Stain type- ketchup, BBQ sauce, coffee, wine, tea, soy sauce, and chocolate syrup

Control

Approximate time to stop application of solution- when colour stops changing on fabric (seconds)

Amount of stain- 0.1mL

Stain remover- Tide to Go pen

Fabric samples- all samples from one large piece of cotton or polyester fabric

Location of stain on fabric- centre

Time left on fabric- 1 minute

Control (cont.) Sources of stains- from home or school

Source of light- phone flashlight

Angle of phone flashlight- 90˚, 10cm directly above on a slight tilt

Software used to measure RGB code from centre of colour swatchesPhotos app

Time spent pressing the pen- 5 seconds

METHOD – EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Conduct experiments on a science lab bench, indoors with ambient lighting and a warm LED light overhead.

Preparation of coffee and tea sample:

1. Brew approximately 1/4 teaspoon of tea leaves with 10mL of boiling water from a kettle in a 40mL beaker.

2. Stir with stirring rod and allow to brew for 3 minutes.

3. After 3 minutes, use fine mesh sieve and another 40mL beaker to strain the tea leaves out.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 with coffee grounds.

Preparation of other stain types:

5. When using BBQ sauce, chocolate syrup or tomato sauce, mix 1/2 teaspoon each with 3 mL water in 3 separate 40mL beakers, and place beakers in a 600mL beaker of hot water to keep as liquid. The other stain types do not need preparation as they are already in liquid form.

6. Cut up 21 cotton and 21 polyester swatches that are approximately 5x2cm from the same original fabric using fabric scissors and onto a thick piece of white cardboard with each fabric type in groups of 3 divided into 7 columns, labelling each column with their assigned stain type using a sticky note.

7. Take a photo of 2 types of swatches (cotton + polyester) with phone flashlight on at an angle of 90˚, 10 cm directly above, and with the phone on a slight tilt to remove its shadow. Edit each picture with an increased exposure to 10 and shadows to 100.

8. Record their RGB values using the Markup tool on the Photos app by placing the dropper in the centre of the fabric sample. This RGB value of the unstained fabric is the control group.

9. Move one cotton and one polyester swatch onto a 3 layered sheet of absorbent kitchen paper towel.

10. Apply 2 drops/0.1mL of tomato sauce on 2 of the swatches- one cotton, one polyester using the pipette.

11. Remove excess stain residue with paper towel, until there is no visible foodstuffs and liquid on the fabric and the stain is dry.

12. After 1 minute, move the stained swatches back onto the thick white cardboard when dry into their assigned position.

13. Repeat steps 9-12 two more times for the tomato sauce stain.

14. Repeat step 7 + 8 for all 6 swatches, record RGB value. Ensure each picture has increased exposure to 10 and shadows to 100.

15. Move stained fabric back onto paper towel and press tip of stain remover all the way onto stain for 1 second to release solution.

16. Rub tip gently across stain to remove it. When stain is still present, add more liquid and continue to rub gently. Record approximately how much time is required to remove it as it does not matter the amount of stain remover required to remove the stain. Stop rubbing when stain no longer changes colour and record approximate time in seconds for colour to stop changing.

17. Wait 1 minute. Repeat step 7 + 8 for all 6 swatches with phone flashlight, record the RGB value. Ensure each picture has increased exposure to 10 and shadows to 100.

18. Repeat steps 7-17, with the other 6 stain types: BBQ sauce, coffee, wine, tea, chocolate syrup, soy sauce on new swatches.

19. Record RGB results in results table and include sample of colour swatch underneath each RGB value. Also record any observations made during each trial regarding the length of time and amount of solution required to remove each stain

20. Calculate the RGB difference between the original shade of cotton/polyester and the treated shade of cotton/polyester by calculating the sum of the difference between the Red values, the difference between the Green values and the difference between the Blue values.

21. Repeat step 20 for each trial performed.

RESULTS – TABLE

Avg. colour difference between original and stain removed fabric (RGB value)

time taken for colour to stop changing (seconds)

Figure 2: Raw results table created from the experiment which depicts both qualitative and quantitative data: RGB values of the centre of each fabric sample, their colour swatch for visual comparison and reference, RGB colour difference between each trial’s original fabric and stain-treated fabric, approximate time taken for stain remover to work/fabric to stop changing colour and observations.

RESULTS

Figure 3: A bar graph depicting the colour difference between original, plain samples of cotton and polyester verses the colour of fabric samples after having stain removed with the Tide to Go pen. Higher values mean that the resulting fabric’s colour is far from the original shade (in RGB), whereas lower values indicate that the stain remover has removed more colour and fabric has become closer to its original shade, suggesting better stain removal.

Figure 4: A bar graph depicting the approximate time in seconds taken for each stain to stop changing in colour when subject to the application of the stain remover formula. Higher values mean that the stain took longer to remove or stop changing colour, whereas lower values indicate more ‘instant’ stain removal.

CONCLUSION

The data shows that there are various results on the RGB colour difference between different stain types, however, none of the samples tested had their colours returned to the original shade of white on cotton or polyester fabrics. If the stain were to be eliminated and completely removed, then the results should indicate an RGB colour difference of zero. Therefore, the aim is answered, the hypothesis is refuted, and the claim made by Tide is not supported. Figure 5 shows that all stain types and fabric

types exceeded 30 RGB values in difference between original and stain-treated fabrics, with the largest colour difference occurring in the tomato sauce, cotton stain with a value of 239.3 RGB values. This colour difference is observed in Figure 2 which shows that for both cotton and polyester swatches, the original fabric was white in colour, and after stain removal, the fabric remained a mustard yellow colour whereas all the other swatches for the other stain types were closer to white in colour compared with the results from the tomato sauce. Figure 5 shows that for all stain types except for soy sauce, cotton performed worse compared with polyester when using the Tide to Go stain remover pen, and that thicker sauce stains i.e. tomato sauce, BBQ sauce, chocolate syrup, were more difficult to remove with RGB colour difference values ranging from 120 to 240.

DISCUSSION

Explanation of results

The study performed by the MARA Technological University comparing the use of commercial stain remover and homemade stain remover for textiles, Figures 5 and 6 show the use of commercial stain removers received the highest lightness value of 83 and 84 for coffee stains on cotton, and 82 and 83 for coffee stains on polyester. Their conclusion stated that ‘commercial stain removers eliminated the stains well on both polyester and cotton’. The other stains used in this study was engine oil and food colouring, none of which are relevant to this depth study which explores specific food and drink stains only. On the basis of background research, it was predicted that the combination of active stain-removing ingredients in the Tide to Go stain remover pen and supporting evidence by the MARA research should be enough to support the hypothesis. The discussion by the MARA paper states that stains of lower viscosity tend to be easier to remove compared with high viscosity stains. This is evident in the results of this particular depth study as thicker sauces such as tomato sauce, BBQ sauce and chocolate syrup had RGB colour difference values ranging from 120 to 240 as shown in Figure 5 and stains with higher water content such as soy sauce, coffee, tea and wine were easier to remove, evident with their lower RGB colour differences below 165 in RGB value. Overall, this experiment answered the aim but rejected the hypothesis as none of the stain types received an RGB colour difference of zero, meaning that none of the stains were fully eliminated as per the Tide claim.

Even though the hypothesis was not supported, evidence collected still shows that stain removal occurred, especially in more water-based stains that had lower RGB differences, meaning they were closer to their original shades of fabric when compared to other stains. For example, Figure 2 shows that soy sauce on cotton took an average of 18.3 seconds to reduce its deep brown stain to only 40 RGB value within the original shade. This

shows that while Tide to Go stain remover pen may not fully eliminate stains, it still works decently on a variety of stains to effectively reduce their colours. This occurs due to the presence of active ingredients in the stain remover pen.

The Tide to Go stain remover pen contains active ingredients of dipropylene glycol butyl ether, hydrogen peroxide, sodium lauryl sulfate, alcohol, sodium citrate, alkydimethylamine oxide, and trimethoxybenzoic acid. Dipropylene glycol butyl ether is a cleaning agent found in cosmetics, facial soaps, and more because of its ability to dissolve dirt and other substances and to retain moisture. Hydrogen peroxide is an oxygen-based bleach which causes oxidation of the coloured stains into a colourless one by breaking down their chromophores which are molecules that give stains their colour while producing free radicals during the reaction which aids in stain removal. Other properties of the ingredients help the hydrogen peroxide to perform its role in stain removal. Trimethoxybenzoic acid is a chemical which controls the hydrogen peroxide actions to within the stain only, so that the free radicals produced during the oxidisation process do not cause colour removal of other parts of the fabric. Alkydimethylamine oxide is a hydrophilic surfactant which attaches to the stain’s water molecules with their ‘heads’ and attaches to oils with their hydrophobic alkyl tails, surrounding the stain particle and essentially ‘lifting’ it off the fabric’s surface. This remains on the fabric until the clothes are washed and allows hydrogen peroxide to work better in its stain removal process.

Comment on fabric type vs time taken for stain removal: It appears that there no clear correlation between the type of fabric and the time taken for the stain’s colour to stop changing, however, more water-based stains with lighter pigments such as Tea and Wine removed faster. Therefore, it is likely that lighter, less dense stains remove faster, which could be a prompt for further research to investigate the stain’s water content versus it’s time taken for stain removal. However, this data is not reliable since the time in seconds was approximated without the use of a stopwatch and was used only as a rough guideline to form part of the observation’s column in the results table.

Validity

The experiment is not valid, because even though most variables were controlled, there were a few that were not. For example, the angle of the phone flashlight was not controlled enough. Only approximation using the eye was conducted when assessing the angle of phone flashlight and distance from the samples. Due to this error, the phone could have moved slightly between trials without the researcher realising the difference in distance, which could have had an effect on the shadows and darkness of the stains, affecting the results. To improve for next time, the phone could be placed in a set position using certain measurements on a retort stand to avoid any movement between trials. Apart from this uncontrolled variable, all other variables were controlled. The control group used were the RGB values taken from all pieces of fabric before they were subject to staining and treatment, which provided a benchmark to compare colours to.

Control variables in the method include the:

Approximate time to stop application of solution- when colour stops changing on fabric (seconds),

Amount of stain- 0.1mL

Stain remover- Tide to Go pen

Fabric samples- all samples from one large piece of cotton or polyester fabric

Location of stain on fabric- centre

Time left on fabric- 1 minute

Sources of stains- from home or school

Source of light- phone flashlight

Angle of phone flashlight- 90˚, 10cm directly above on a slight tilt

Software used to measure RGB code from centre of colour swatches- Photos app

Time spent pressing the pen- 5 seconds

RELIABILITY

The experiment is not reliable. The time counted in seconds did not use a controlled piece of equipment i.e. a stopwatch because the time was used for observation only. This means that Figure 4, which depicts the time taken for certain stains to be removed, is not reliable. It is unknown whether the experimental conductor counted inconsistently when saying the seconds out loud, so therefore it should not be relied upon. Next

Figure 5 and 6: Graph of lightness value for cotton and polyester in study by MARA Technological University. Commercial stain removers are depicted as ‘CV/CC’ and ‘PV/PC’ on the key.

DOES THE TIDE TO GO STAIN REMOVER PEN REALLY ELIMINATE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST FRESH FOOD AND DRINKS STAINS ON THE SPOT?

time, a stopwatch should be used so that it could provide an accurate comparison of time for stain removal procedures on different stains and fabric types. Some parts of this investigation were reliable however, since there were some consistent results provided in Figure 2, where the tomato sauce, cotton experimental condition yielded RGB differences of 246, 230 and 242. Considering that this experiment involves the use of colour, it is easy for a similar shade to yield vastly different RGB difference values due to the sum of the red, green and blue intensities. For example, Figure 2 shows that the staintreated fabric of BBQ sauce, cotton, all had colours of a pale olive green, but the RGB differences were recorded as 223, 134 and 160, averaging to a total RGB difference of 172.3.

ACCURACY AND ERROR

Even though efforts were made to reduce the error, the experiment is not accurate, because errors occurred during the collection of data. The technology used is limited, as it is a phone flashlight which took a photo, and the RGB value was collected from the colour of single pixel in the centre of the fabric’s image; this does not reflect the true RGB value of the entire stain removed colour of the fabric, because the value is taken only from a single pixel. In reality, colours on a stain are not made of one single RGB valued colour, and it consists of a variety of different coloured pixels in combination, so therefore, it was already difficult to measure this variable. To improve, a chroma meter and lighting cabinet could be used to assess ‘lightness levels’ instead of RGB difference, which is more subjective. The benefits and limitations of the use of chroma meter and lighting cabinet to test the light intensity of colours after stain removal have not been discussed by the researchers at the MARA Technological University, however, it is something that could be further explored if equipment is available in the future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brunning, A. (2015, June 18). The Chemistry of Stain Removal Compound Interest. https://www.compoundchem.com/2015/06/18/ stain-removal/

Davis, A. N. (2023, February 24). Determining the RGB “Distance” Between Two Colors. DEV Community. https://dev.to/bytebodger/ determining-the-rgb-distance-between-two-colors-4n91

Leu, C. (2016, May 27). Here’s What’s Inside Those Magical Stain-Erasing Pens. Wired. https://www.wired.com/2016/05/whats-inside-tideto-go-pen/ Musa, N. S., Abdurahman, N. L., Zainal Abidin, Z., Adnan, F. H., & Nasir, E. (2021). Comparison between Homemade Stain Remover and Commercial Stain Remover for Textiles. Scientific Research Journal, 18(1), 83. https://doi.org/10.24191/srj.v18i1.11035

Procter & Gamble. (2016, November 21). Tide to Go Pen Safety Data Sheet. Lakeland University Safety Data Sheets. https://beta.lakeland. edu/AboutUs/MSDS/PDFs/3438/Tide%20To%20Go%20Pen%20(Proc-

Gross error: In Figure 2, the values in red, which represented the RGB difference for each trial, varied significantly within each stain type, which may suggest inconsistency with lighting and shadows as it affects the RGB reading. For example, in the experimental condition: BBQ Sauce, Polyester; The RGB difference was averaged from the three values from each trial which were 70, 195 and 63. These values are not close in range and may not reflect a truly reliable and consistent experiment. This is because the flashlight from the camera may not have been evenly dispersed across all three fabric samples, and trial 1’s polyester sample may have received the most light which potentially led to the low RGB difference of 70 as it was closer to white- given the high RGB values 210.206.194 when compared to the RGB values from the other two trials- all R, G and B values between 155 and 190 which is darker.

SUITABILITY OF MATERIALS

The equipment used in this investigation were suitable for the answering of the aim and investigation of the hypothesis because the stain remover worked in the experiment to effectively reduce RGB values of each stain, even though it may not have eliminated it fully. The flashlight and phone software used to record RGB values was suitable as it provided the researcher with a quantifiable dataset with which they could compare results with.

ETHICS

The conduction of this investigation was ethical, because no human or animal participants were used, and all secondary sources of information were cited. Additionally, a full risk assessment was conducted prior to the start of the investigation to mitigate any potential harm that could have occurred to the experimental conductor and fellow researchers in the lab.

tor%20and%20Gamble)%2011-21-16.pdf

Reactions Science Videos. (2019, September 18). We Tested Google’s Tips for Getting Stains Out of Your Clothes. You’re Welcome. | Science Reactions Videos. American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/ pressroom/reactions/library/we-tested-googles-tips-for-gettingstains-out-of-your-clothes.html

Rossi, C. (2023, August). An ode to the $7.90 stain-beating pen that goes with me everywhere. Www.nine.com.au; Nine Product Reviews. https://www.nine.com.au/product-reviews/living/tide-to-go-instantstain-remover-pen-review-how-it-works/443160b7-bf86-497eb9c8-dc7584f8286e

Science Buddies, & Arnett, M. (2018, March 1). No Stain, No Pain! Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/nostain-no-pain/

Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute. (2022). Stain Removal Mci.si.edu; Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute. https://mci. si.edu/stain-removal#:~:text=Stains%20disfigure%20clothes%20 and%20home

Tide Cleaners. (2024). Instant and Effective Stain Remover | Tide to Go. Tide.com. https://tide.com/en-us/shop/type/stain-remover/tideto-go

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A special thank you to Ms Katherine Kitto, Pymble Ladies College, Science Faculty and fellow classmates for their contributions to this investigation.

GameStop: Power to the players – A case study

RUOFAN TANG, THENULYA, CHLOE WANG AND ISIS LI, YEAR 9

This article comes from the transcript of a presentation originally created for a competition for the North Sydney Boys Inter-School Case Competition.

INTRODUCTION

The North Sydney Boys’ Inter-School Case Competition is a competition that focuses on real-world creativity in the business world, encouraging innovation amongst younger generations and fostering a passion for economics. Students are invited to respond to a stimulus (typically outlining areas where a company needs to improve) and propose solutions to these issues. This year, the brief was to solve GameStop corporation’s financial difficulties, which were linked to several factors including below-par profit margins, an absence of long-term revenue sources, and heavier consumer reliance on online platforms.

Our team’s solution was chosen to represent Pymble at the competition. It was originally to be presented in a speech format accompanied by a slideshow presentation, however due to difficulties in arrangement with the host school we were unable to compete this year. While we were not able to participate in the in-person event, we still learnt a lot from this experience.

The tight deadline and extensive brief meant that we had to work extremely cooperatively as a team, especially when covering technical aspects where some members had more experience than others. However, we were able to divide up the work to suit everyone’s strengths such as design, research and public speaking. This ensured that the project flowed smoothly and enhanced the overall quality of each component required in the competition. Even though not being able to compete was disappointing, the time and effort we dedicated to this helped us all improve. Our project outline and the full proposal can be found below.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

What is the future of gaming? This is a question we must ask to know where GameStop will stand in the industry. Currently, GameStop offers limited options for potential consumers, without a clear brand identity or product. Many customers have also shifted their focus towards online purchasing platforms and cloud-based gaming services. Combined with a struggling retail model, failed diversification attempts and a volatile share price, the company is continually showing negative revenue growth.

GameStop’s current business model relies heavily on foot traffic and physical sales, without a substantial online presence or advertising. It has an extensive chain

of retail stores, however with the recent boom in digital distribution, they have been unable to meet the rapid growth of the other gaming companies, especially in terms of consumer demand. Platforms such as Steam and Xbox Live offer the customer the convenience and speed of downloading games directly to their devices.

STOCK PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL HEALTH

GameStop’s stock is volatile and unreliable for investors. Pre-pandemic, GameStop stock was already struggling due to declining physical sales but hit an all-time low as lockdowns began. In 2021, this resulted in hedge funds attempting to ‘short’ the stock, betting that the GameStop share price would plummet further. However, a subreddit called r/wallstreetbets decided to ruin the plans of the hedge funds and bought the stock, making the stock price rise exponentially. This established GameStop as a ‘meme stock’, resulting in it becoming an unattractive, volatile stock.

Looking at the financial performance of fiscal year 2023, the problems are clear in the results of the data. GameStop has a stagnant and mostly decreasing revenue, with a fluctuating free cash flow and many hundred millions of debt. GameStop had a revenue of $5.27b USD but its extremely low profit margin meant the net income was only $6.7m USD. In order to fix this, our team has developed a plan to target three main goals: firstly, to increase GameStop’s profit margin; secondly, to create a new form of long term revenue; and thirdly, to attract stable investments in shares.

E-COMMERCE AND DIGITAL EXPANSION

To give GameStop the opportunity to modernise their brand and increase their profit margin, we propose to prioritise a focus on the currently existing online platform and to close and sell 20% of the physical stores. This is because the stores are extremely costly to maintain due to rent, utilities, maintenance, and staff as well as the rise in online shopping. Closing 20% of all of GameStop’s physical stores is a huge decision that will ensure media coverage and attention from consumers. We will announce this three weeks prior to the actual closing and advertise clearance sales so customers are incentivised to purchase the goods, which will allow us to gain some capital for the next phase of our plan. This decision was made with careful consideration and research with reference to H&M who have closed hundreds of stores in recent years, and has seen long term positive results from doing so. Closing these stores allowed them to shift their focus to e-commerce, optimise supply chains and reopen stores in better locations with enhanced customer experience which is what we have planned for

GameStop’s future.

By switching to a mainly online store, we provide customers with benefits such as exclusive online deals, personalised recommendations, subscription services and an enhanced customer experience. Similar to other successful shopping apps like TaoBao and Amazon, the app or website will recommend similar products based on the user’s previous purchases and announce deals exclusive to the online platform. The data collected from consumers will allow GameStop executives to analyse consumer trends that will contribute towards future products. Moving away from a traditional brick-andmortar reliant business model allows for cost reductions that increases profit margins, reduces the loss of unsold inventory and diversified revenue streams. Statistics showed that a $10.7b revenue was made for all physical games compared to a staggering $173.8b revenue for digital games.

PRODUCT INNOVATION

It is evident in our daily lives that the video game industry has begun to move away from physical game discs due to the rise in digital versions that are much preferred by most consumers. GameStop is still stuck in the past with the majority of their products being physical game discs. This is why we have proposed to develop GameStop’s very own game library. This will be done by partnering with indie game developers to create exclusive games and a cloud-based platform similar to other video game companies for a price on the lower side. Doing so will benefit both parties as our prominent name in the gaming industry will help promote their games and them as a developer. As GameStop grows, we plan to partner with larger game companies that could offer higher quality games from industry professionals later in time. This will serve as one of our main forms of longterm revenue in addition to the online shopping platform previously mentioned. We will also advertise this and sponsor streamers and influencers to promote our game, increasing both the net sales and the level of interest for our company.

Competitive Landscape and Partnerships

Looking at some of the biggest contenders in the video games industry like PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo, they all have a feature that they are known for. PlayStation for its extensive library of exclusive games, Xbox for its superior and innovative technology and Nintendo for the famous Mario franchise. These form a key part of their brand identity. Currently, GameStop does not have a key feature that defines their brand which is why we have researched gaps in the market that GameStop could expand to. In the end we landed on esports.

For the second step of our plan, we will invest further into the esports industry once we have a sizable media following and a stable yearly revenue, by collaborating

with major names such as GeForce and Logitech. We will partner with them to create a new esports development program for young esports players with talent. This will be similar to academy teams and junior teams in sports, where players are given an opportunity to hone their skills and showcase themselves to potential recruiting teams. As we demonstrate continued growth and a clear path to profitability through esports, our share price will rise, attracting larger investors who value status and growth potential. By focusing on the future and embracing the esports market, GameStop can position itself as a leader in the gaming industry, to ensure continued growth and increasing shareholder value.

MARKET ANALYSIS AND TARGET AUDIENCE

Statistics show an upwards trend in esports audience growth with the predicted number of viewers to reach 680 million in 2025. The estimated revenue for 2025 is also around $1 billion USD, with this number expected to rise sharply in coming years. Esports is a relatively new culture that has not yet been developed to its full potential, with plenty of room for growth. Our target audience are aspiring young eSports enthusiasts typically between the ages of 16 and 25, which will also mean that as eSports increases in popularity, GameStop will also gain viewership. Other data reveals that the majority of US gamers are aged 18-34. With plans to form our own team of esports players through an eventually prestigious training program, we have focused on the younger people which will support us stably without relying on outdated sources.

ESPORTS TRAINING PROGRAM PROPOSAL

The main step we are taking to integrate ourselves into esports is to develop a training program functioning as an esports academy team. This team will look for and recruit players with both talent and potential, providing them with world-class facilities to train in and experienced mentors to guide them. Currently, GameStop already has an existing performance centre which they opened in partnership with Complexity Gaming, with tech supplied by NVIDIA gaming. As esports is a highly competitive environment which requires sponsors to help players move up the competition leagues, many talented young players are forced to drop out due to the costs associated. Once GameStop has enough capital from the previous steps and from stakeholders willing to invest in the program, we will be able to support these players as well as players looking for bigger opportunities and better training. They will also be able to showcase themselves to potential recruiting teams and enter global esports tournaments with plenty of experience under their belt. GameStop will benefit from this by increased exposure and a portion of prize money from players attending the tournaments. However, the main factor for joining will still be their skill level and potential for development. As well as supporting younger players, this will also attract attention from experienced players and teams. In this

way, our brand name gains recognition and respect in the esports world. Some examples of successful academy teams in the sporting world are Barça Academy, a junior academy run by FC Barcelona, Red Bull Driver Academy and IMG academy who are leaders in their field. Our vision is to become giants in the world of esports where just the mention of our name creates an instant connection to competitive gaming.

SPONSORSHIPS AND CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

At the same time as the esports shift, GameStop will sponsor and partner with large Twitch streamers and gaming YouTubers. GameStop will offer sponsorship deals to high-profile gaming influencers with similar demographics to GameStop on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. GameStop will collaborate with influencers to create custom content, such as unboxing videos, gaming setup tours, or live streams where influencers use GameStop exclusive merchandise or play one of GameStop’s exclusive games in the previously launched game library. GameStop can directly engage with and display products to a demographic that is highly relevant to their business. We will also establish affiliate programs with streamers and YouTubers, allowing them to earn commissions on sales generated through their referral links. This would incentivise influencers to actively promote GameStop products, as they would benefit directly from the sales they drive. Hosting co-branded gaming events, tournaments, or charity streams with influencers would create buzz and attract viewers. Through engagement statistics from Twitch and YouTube marketing statistics in 2021, 64% of viewers purchased products recommended on stream and 17% of all online orders are placed through affiliate links.

MARKETING STRATEGIES

Along with the shift to an esports focus, GameStop will adapt their social media marketing strategy. To enhance brand and product exposure, GameStop can participate in social media trends by applying witty and sarcastic humour that appeals to Gen Z as they are GameStop’s target audience. By launching gaming challenges that encourage users to discuss and post about their experiences, GameStop can foster an interactive community. Additionally, showcasing fan art will further engage followers, making them feel recognized and valued. To generate buzz and expand its reach, GameStop can use large billboards and targeted ads on social media platforms to increase visibility. Pop-up stores in popular locations can create excitement and attract attention and partnering with other brands for unique product collaborations will help GameStop reach new audiences, while email campaigns can keep customers informed and engaged with the latest news and offers. Successful brands using these strategies include the famous Duolingo. Duolingo’s social media marketing team applies Gen Z humour and participates in trends using popular pop culture songs that link back to the product they offer.

There was an increase in Duolingo’s following after a video using sarcastic humour went viral causing followers to rise from around 100k in late September to 1.6m in mid-November (1,500% increase) of last year. Many other brands have followed similar marketing strategies and achieved similar results.

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY AND PROJECTED GROWTH

We are committing to full transparency with our financial reporting and business operations to regain trust from our investors. The proposed plan in previous sections will guarantee positive financial results for the next financial year with the goal of an increase in revenue, decrease in debt, and higher profit margins. By being one of the firsts to shift the company focus to the rising esports community and focusing on e-commerce, we have successfully achieved both making decisions that are on par with industry changes as well as low risk innovative ideas. Clear communication about our goals for business, revenue and investment in growth areas such as esports will clarify the market, reducing uncertainty and will positively affect our share price. Our increase in profit due to our shift in business strategy will also increase shareholder confidence. Through this, we will be able to show investors that we have a clear and reliable plan with tangible results. This will rebuild confidence in the GameStop stock.

GLOBALISATION

In the future, we aim to first reopen physical stores in strategic locations that are popular or far away from other gaming stores. These new stores will be modernised based on consumer demand at the time and host events such as mini esport tournaments to engage with the community. We plan to create exclusive merchandise and figurines based on popular gaming characters offered on the GameStop game library and influencers GameStop partners with. The next part of the possible plans for the future is to expand GameStop to the Asia-Pacific region as they are the most critical gaming market size in this industry. Industry data shows that 57% of esports fans are from the Asia-Pacific region alone and that the Asia-Pacific region makes up around 42% of the average daily gamers. Globally expanding to other continents means that GameStop can reach new consumers and collaborate with many high performing tech companies and gaming developers around the world. We can do this by increasing the number of stores, buying and updating those stores with more exciting products and hosting events at those locations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bakshian, A. (2024, September 12). How Duolingo’s unhinged marketing strategy nurtures its success. Daily Bruin. https://dailybruin. com/2024/09/12/how-duolingos-unhinged-marketing-strategy-nurtures-its-success

Beattie, A. (2021, October 31). How the video game industry Is changing. Investopia. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/053115/how-video-game-industry-changing.asp

Clement, J. Statista. (2022). Share of video gamers worldwide in 2022, by region [Graph]. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/297874/number-mobile-gamers-region/ Greig, C. MJE. (2024, January 15). The ongoing rise of the esport industry. Michigan Journal Of Economics. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/ mje/2024/01/15/the-ongoing-rise-of-the-esport-industry/ Lee, A. (2024, June 4). Why GameStop (GME) stock is up today. Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-gamestop-gmestock-today-152712865.html

Lee, J. (2022, April 19). Esports stars have shorter careers than NFL players. Here’s why. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/esports/2022/04/19/esports-age-retirement/

Li, Y. (2024, June 12). GameStop raises more than $2 billion by selling 75 million shares, capitalizing on meme frenzy. CNBC. https://www. cnbc.com/2024/06/12/gamestop-raises-more-than-2-billion-byselling-75-million-shares-capitalizing-on-meme-frenzy.html

Newzoo. (2022, April 19). The esports audience will pass half a billion in 2022 as revenues, engagement, & new segments flourish. Newzoo. https://newzoo.com/resources/blog/the-esports-audience-willpass-half-a-billion-in-2022-as-revenue-engagement-esport-industry-growth

Olenski, S. Forbes. (2021, December 10). How brands should use celebrities for endorsements. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ steveolenski/2016/07/20/how-brands-should-use-celebrities-forendorsements/

Singh, J. (2024, June 8). GameStop’s sales continue to slide in surprise earnings release. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/technology/ gamestop-posts-decline-quarterly-sales-2024-06-07/

Statista. (2024). Global number of GameStop outlets during the fiscal year of 2023, by country [Graph]. Statista. https://www.statista.com/ statistics/1209737/number-of-gamestop-stores-worldwide/w Trading View. (2024). GameStop. https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/NYSE-GME/financials-income-statement/net-income/

AI-Generated art

ALICE YAN AND SHERRY YANG, YEAR 10

This paper was written for a presentation at the Pymble Student AI Conference 2024.

Adobe defines AI art as, “simply, artwork made with the assistance of generative AI — a technology that finds patterns in big datasets and uses that information to create new content.” AI-generated artwork can mimic almost anything but how can Artificial Intelligence generate such realistic imagery?

AI-generated artworks rely on the dataset collection process. The artworks within the datasets are often collected from public sources such as the internet, where high-quality, original paintings have been uploaded. GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks) are a common method of machine learning. After collecting the data, the AI analyses these images and recognises their patterns such as colours, shapes and composition. The GAN consists of two neural networks, one of them is the generator and the other one is the discriminator. The generator will create brand new images whilst the discriminator will assess these against real artworks and prompt the generator to improve its generation. Once the AI is trained, it can effectively generate realistic and inspiring artwork.

One of the first AI art systems, AARON, by Harold Cohen, made very detailed drawings and paintings to prove that AI could be creative – just like humans. An AI-generated portrait, “Edmond de Bellamy,” was sold for $432,500 in 2018 and became a further sign of the market’s growing acceptance of AI-created works. Recent AI-driven installations, such as Refik Anadol’s data sculptures are cases of Artificial intelligence technology and creativity where AI renders works of art that seem to both engage and provoke viewers at low costs.

AI is also a crucial factor regarding the role of human participation in art. Most artists view AI as a tool or thought-provoking device when creating artistic pieces and brainstorming ideas. Results showed that of the artists using the AI, 45% found it useful and felt it enhanced their level of creativity. 32% of the artists feel that while AI is useful for generating ideas or even executing tasks, it cannot accurately capture human thoughts and emotions. For these artists, this signals a full embodiment in which an artist conveys a personal vision or abstract idea that happens to be central to their art. They may, therefore, use AI for preliminary brainstorming or technical support but not include its outputs in their finished products. This divide demonstrates the tension between embracing AI as a creative partner and the fear of losing the human touch that defines personal, emotional, and culturally important art.

A breakdown of the opinions of text-to-image technology from surveyed artists

Table 1 Source: Artificial Intelligence powered Repository Manager (AIPRM), 2024

With the tools for creating AI art becoming increasingly widespread and available to the public, the rise of AI art also compromises creativity. AI art challenges the traditional perceptions of art by blurring the lines between human originality and machine and algorithm-generated content. Public opinions considering AI-generated art differ, a survey conducted by KOAA (KOAA-TV channel 5) depict how 76% of Americans believe that AI-generated art should not be considered “real” art and 24% still consider it to be a form of art and finding it appealing. This underscores the ongoing debate about the nature of creativity and human artistic value: does art still require human creativity or can it simply be derived from automated machine processes? Should AI generated images be considered art?

Table 2 Source: Artificial Intelligence powered Repository Manager (AIPRM), 2024 and KOAA News 5, 2024

Artistic morals and ethics in relation to AI are some of the big concerns. Questions of authorship, originality, and ownership are the main concerns of many artists: are they with the artist, the programmer, or does the AI itself hold the rights? In addition, traits of data used to train the AI systems may be biased toward certain genres. Table 3 below shows the major considerations of 501 surveyed artists about the use of a text-to-image generation model. 37.9% of the respondents’ state that by using the model they might unintentionally violate the copyright of other artists while nearly 33% state that they are not concerned about any copyright infringements when utilising the model despite being aware of the potential risks. This raises questions about the future of artistic careers and the value of human-driven expression. Is there a way to protect the originality of an artwork and the copyright of artists?

Artists’ concerns about copyrights when using T2I (a text-to-image model)

Concerned that I might be violating the copyright of other artists that I am not aware of

I am not concerned about copyright issues

I didn’t think much about copyright issues 15.8%

Concerned that my art might be used in ways which violate my copyright 13.6%

Table 3 Source: Artificial Intelligence powered Repository Manager (AIPRM) 2024

In a world where original artworks are prone to being analysed and replicated by AI, it is crucial to keep protecting the originality of many artist’s works. A tool –“Glaze”, developed by the University of Chicago, allows artists to upload their artworks onto the internet without AI models being able to mimic the artist’s unique style.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Artificial Intelligence powered Repository Manager (AIPRM). (n.d.). AI in art statistics 2024. https://www.aiprm.com/ai-art-statistics/ AltexSoft. (n.d.). AI image generation: How it works and its applications. https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/ai-image-generation/ AltexSoft. (n.d.). Generative AI: What is it and how does it work? https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/generative-ai/ Authority Hacker. (n.d.). AI statistics: Usage, trends, and predictions https://www.authorityhacker.com/ai-statistics/ Boston College Libraries. (n.d.). AI images and copyright: A guide https://guides.csbsju.edu/AI-Images

CNN. (2023, August 12). How to protect your art from AI: New tools and strategies. https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/12/tech/ai-images-photos-protection/index.html

CG Spectrum. (2023, May 17). What is AI art? How will it impact artists? https://www.cgspectrum.com/blog/what-is-ai-art-how-willit-impact-artists

Elegant Themes. (2023, August 17). What is AI art and how is it created? https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/design/what-is-ai-art

Elegant Themes. (2023, August 17). What is AI art? Everything you need to know. https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/design/whatis-ai-art

Exploding Topics. (n.d.). AI statistics: The latest data on AI growth, usage, and trends. https://explodingtopics.com/blog/ai-statistics

Found Myself. (2023, July 5). How to protect your art from AI: Effec-

This works by alternating the pixels of a digital image which confuses the AI and disables it from stealing the brushstrokes, colours and textures of the artwork and keeps the artist’s distinct style unique and original from being replicated.

Therefore, while AI art zooms out to provide new opportunities to create more, it also opens considerations about artistic originality and human contribution. This is the constant tug that characterises the transformation of art: pulling between the complete adoption of AI and preserving the essence of human creativity. Safeguarding the rights of artists and their originality, as is the case with “Glaze”, shall be the passage to the transition. But as AI continues to increase its scope in creating art, the success of its application will be determined by how it supplements, rather than replaces, human ingenuity along with the expression of emotions.

tive methods. https://www.foundmyself.com/blog/how-to-protectyour-art-from-ai/

Harvard Gazette. (2023, August 23). Is AI-generated art real art? https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/is-art-generated-by-artificial-intelligence-real-art/

MIT News. (2023, November 9). Explained: What is generative AI? https://news.mit.edu/2023/explained-generative-ai-1109

Playform. (n.d.). The new sketchbook: Platform conducts first sizable survey into AI art practices. https://www.playform.io/editorial/survey Polycount. (2023, August 15). *Glaze: A tool for protecting your art from AI theft*. https://polycount.com/discussion/232685/glaze-atool-for-protecting-your-art-from-ai-theft

Salesforce. (2023, October 5). The latest AI statistics you need to know. https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/generative-ai-statistics/?bc=DB

SoftBlues. (2023, April 7). How does AI image generation work? https://softblues.io/blog/how-does-ai-image-generation-work/ TechTarget. (2023, September 18). AI art (artificial intelligence art): Definition and overview. https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/AI-art-artificial-intelligence-art

The Verge. (2023, August 20). AI art and copyright: How to protect your images from unauthorized use. https://www.theverge. com/24063327/ai-art-protect-images-copyright-generators Werner, B. (2023, April 14). AI-generated art: Trends and insights https://artmarketingnews.com/ai-generated-art/

AI did my homework

THAZIN NAIDOO, YEAR

7

This paper was written for a presentation at the Pymble Student AI Conference 2024.

In today’s fast paced world, the line between AI and Human grows thinner and thinner, with AI generated images and work becoming harder to spot. This means more disobedient students are getting away with AI generated assignments. How can we put an end to this chaos? Will the difference between AI and a student soon become indistinguishable? Let’s break it down together.

THE IMPLICATIONS

On the one hand, the everyday student enjoys the hours saved from asking sites like Gamma, Notion or Perplexity to do their homework for them. Unfortunately, this disrupts the fundamental learning that the student should undertake. They are no longer required to painstakingly review text in books or research articles in the archives of the internet. Instead, they must simply construct the idle question for the machine to generate the best response. Developers of such technology refer to this as “Prompt Engineering” – the practice of designing inputs for AI tools that will produce optimal outputs. A fancy title which seems to mask the fact that the student bypasses the method of learning and discovery. The foundation of academia itself. Instead, they are merely presented with a set of well phrased material that they no longer question if what the machine comes up with is correct.

AI IN REAL LIFE

I recently wanted to experiment with such websites myself, to see the pros, cons and everything in between. Gamma, one of the world’s most adaptive AI platforms, is a rather simple one that can help create countless PowerPoint presentations and slideshows. I asked it to create a scientific explanation on the world of the capybara. Within 2.57 seconds, Gamma created what would’ve taken me a couple weeks. Not only going into the scientific point of view, but doing more, such as, mythology, gene adaptations and social popularity!

This is data is based on a 2021 study regarding the reliability of AI technology in everyday life. The majority of the tested prompts made by researchers were responded with truthful answers across these three AI platforms. However, what about the minority? Unfortunately, in most AI technologies, especially newer ones such as Google AI, it struggles over logic and reasoning questions such as “Paw is to Dog as Hoof is to...?” and other questions that require AI to find a pattern or generate answers that require critical thinking.

This is indeed another, more serious problem. What mechanisms are in place to validate the accuracy of what the AI writes? Or are there any mechanisms at all? Most students do work on their own and if needed, ask others for feedback. Is such care being applied to the knowledge of the machine, or does it simply take instructions –errors and all? This does happen. So much so, it has been dubbed, “hallucinating.”

HALLUCINATING

Hallucinating is when AI says false information. For example, earlier this year, I asked Chat GPT to, “Summarise what happened in Enid Blyton’s book; Magic Island.” A few seconds later, appeared two paragraphs about a mysterious island and powers of imagination and friendship. The interesting thing is, Enid Blyton never wrote a book called Magic Island. What might be equally, if not, even more interesting is that the next day, I asked it again, only to find a completely different response. The important thing to remember is AI doesn’t always know if you’re asking it to explain something or to make something up.

LONG TERM EFFECT

Figure 2: Graph based on how many university students use AI in schoolwork in Australia.

If this continues to go on, I am greatly concerned for the future of the educational program. Will the future have no education whatsoever? Will robots be replacing teachers?

FIgure 1: Bar Graph showing Accuracy of AI Platforms

Will AI become smarter and turn against us? Who knows! But I do know that the future is up to us. In a way, being human means being imperfect and making mistakes. But if we can adapt to those mistakes and learn from them, we can change the future by educating others to make better choices. Isn’t that better than being AI?

CONCLUSION

To summarise my point, I don’t believe that AI is such a bad thing, in a way it’s a good thing with bad stereotypes, like social media. My point is that there should be limits and restrictions to the use of AI in schools, especially in the primary years to develop good habits. More teachers should be using online tools that can check for AI and know who is doing work. And students should be taught to always do more research off trusted websites, rather than AI alone, avoid copy pasting and cross reference your findings.

How to use AI smarter

CHLOE XUE, YEAR 10

This paper was written for a presentation at the Pymble Student AI Conference 2024.

In today’s digital age, AI tools like ChatGPT are increasingly ubiquitous, influencing how we approach tasks from data analysis to creative writing. 71% of young people use generative AI, it has become a large part of our daily lives, especially for students and teachers.

ChatGPT is a leading generative AI model, it can generate human-like text responses with logical sense. Knowing how to use AI effectively is crucial, but before understanding how we should use AI, we need to know its limitations.

It lacks creativity beyond learned patterns and may reflect biases inherent in its training data sourced from the internet. In addition to its ability to perform mathematical calculations. One reason for this is because ChatGPT was developed as a language model, and hence, it does not obtain a calculator module.

According to a preprint from China, ChatGPT is able to answer addition and subtraction questions with a 99% accuracy. However, when it comes to multiplication and subtraction, the accuracy drops by 20%.

So, why would we develop an AI tool that fails to do complete simple arithmetic problems occasionally? As said, ChatGPT is a language model, so it was designed to answer in literary text and human-like responses. To understand this better, it is also important to look at how ChatGPT actually works.

ChatGPT operates through a structured process that begins with an input prompt provided by the user, such as “Hello, how are you doing?” The model then analyses this prompt, generating probabilities for the next possible tokens—words or parts of words. These probabilities are calculated using SoftMax, creating a distribution where each token has a possibility of being chosen. During sampling, a token is selected based on this distribution; for example, “hello” might have a probability of 0.3 and “hi” 0.25. The selected token becomes the output token (T), like “hello.” If T matches a special stop token, the process concludes. If not, T is added to the input prompt, forming a new prompt for further processing.

ChatGPT’s probabilistic approach allows it to produce varied responses to the same input. However, this method can occasionally lead to the generation or identification of false information due to the inherent nature of statistical inference in language generation models.

We are able to use AI more effectively by using it as a brainstorming tool, helping us to generate ideas and suggestions. Use it to enhance our work as AI can analyse data, identify patterns, and suggest improvements faster than humans can. This applies to writing, design, development, and error detection. And last, use AI as a learning tool, which enables us to learn new skills, receive feedback, and guidance through complex problems. In Data Science, I use ChatGPT for coding practice and error detection, although it’s not optimal for coding tasks due to occasional inaccuracies and complex problemsolving challenges, it is a good guide as to how they explain codes and functions.

Another tool that I use is Perplexity, which provides up-to-date information and sources URLs for research purposes, particularly useful for data science projects that require citations.

Ultimately, integrating AI into workflows enhances productivity and innovation. By understanding its capabilities and limitations, we are able to harness AI’s full potential responsibly.

Does curiosity kill the cat?

HAKONE LICERALDE, YEAR 9

To what lengths do you push your comfort zone in the pursuit of satisfying curiosity? At what point does the quest for knowledge become a dangerous compromise?

A cat’s interest in exploring his environment is driven by his instinct - an instinct we call curiosity. Curiosity is a restless tendency, an obsession, and a gift. Saint Augustine wrote, “God fashioned hell for the inquisitive.” In Don Juan, Lord Byron labelled curiosity “that low vice”. And playwright Ben Johnson believed “curiosity killed the cat”. This maxim is a metaphor for human nature, warning society of the risks presented by unnecessary, or morbid curiosity. Think: clickbait, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, true crime, Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window. There is always a trade-off between exploration and exploitation, but just how far are we willing to go to satisfy our curiosity?

A certain story comes to mind when the danger of curiosity is mentioned. The Ancient Greek myth of Pandora’s Box narrates the story of a woman given a box she is instructed to never open. She eventually cannot resist, opens the box and releases “all the evils of the world”. Consider another story that draws various similarities: The choice given to Adam and Eve was a simple one: 1. obey; or 2. attain knowledge. In the book of Genesis, God forbids Adam and Eve from eating fruit from the “tree of knowledge”. But curiosity prevails, they consume the fruit and sin is born. Interestingly, through eating the fruit, Adam and Eve gain a conscience, for example, they suddenly feel ashamed that they are unclothed. It can be argued that Adam and Eve eating the fruit replaced ignorance and bliss, for knowledge and responsibility. We can see this as a metaphor of human curiosity – every action must have a loss, and just like Alice, from Lewis Carroll’s timeless novel, we become “curiouser and curiouser”.

Exercising curiosity may have a certain level of risk, but ultimately the acquisition of knowledge is undeniably gratifying. What is so special about curiosity and its drive that makes us disregard potential risks?

We went from living in caves, to producing electricity, inventing vaccines, reaching the moon - milestones driven by a key aspect: curiosity. Since curiosity is ingrained in our nature so deeply, we hardly even realize how ubiquitous it is in our daily lives, however, consider how much of our daily routines are expended by information consumption and search. The greatest minds in history have contributed to their respective fields because of curiosity, but let’s look at it from a more individual perspective.

How can curiosity make us happy? Curiosity is a crucial aspect to living a happy life, increasing the delight in discovery, building relationships and boosting learning and development.

We must first understand the “curiosity gap” theory brought forward by Daniel Berlyne in the 1954 paper, The Theory of Human Curiosity. The theory suggests that the brain triggers a reward circuitry, flooding the body with dopamine, making individuals feel happier and more likely to continue satisfying their curiosity. This mechanism aligns with the hypothesis that curiosity helped early humans survive and thrive.

Today, curiosity is not as imperative for primitive survival. However, it is important when considering our social activities. Empathic curiosity describes the desire to build human connection. Relationships and interactions between people are the foundation of human existence. Berlyne suggests that when you are in comfortable social situations, you are in a happy “curiosity state,” which coincides with high amounts of dopamine release. In one study, participants were asked personal questions by complete strangers, a practice known as “reciprocal selfdisclosure,” or the “dyadic effect” and results supported that showing curiosity is imperative for the development of human connection.

Furthermore, given that the Oxford dictionary definition of curiosity is “a strong desire to learn something,” it’s not surprising that the majority of research concerns its benefits for education. In our modern society where we can instantly identify answers on the Internet, our curiosity is broadly satiated. However, even if the incentives are transient, the cycle continues as there are always more rewards waiting for us behind the next click. Curiosity is pivotal in the recollection of information, with research suggesting that information is 30% more likely to be retained if one is curious about the subject. Developing curiosity provides the ability to recognise new opportunities, foresee difficulties, and create solutions to both current and emerging issues and without it, we become unwilling to adapt, and narrow-minded. A mindset of certainty, or the conviction that the things we think are unquestionably true, has great power. In order to avoid being challenged and overthrown, traditional and radical ideologies have historically suppressed curious minds, which is where the original adage, “curiosity killed the cat” originates. Here’s to you, Socrates. Certainty is a facade, and society will stagnate if we don’t encourage curiosity. For those who are naturally curious, curiosity’s benefits are limitless, but what about for those who aren’t?

The absence of curiosity is ignorance, which would lead to a society without improvement, thus hindering technological and scientific and ultimately societal advancement. We should not let fear hinder curiosity. To quote Neil DeGrasse Tyson: “the people who don’t ask questions remain clueless throughout their lives.” Realising that there is much to learn from everyone and everything you encounter is the first step to living a fulfilling and happy life.

In conclusion, there will always be a point of excess when we consider a certain concept. Curiosity itself is not inherently harmful; it depends on how it is expressed and the context in which it occurs. The satisfaction of filling that “information gap”, is a very powerful force. Albert Einstein famously said, “I have no special talents. I am only

passionately curious.” Without the spark of curiosity and the delight of discovery, the great thinkers would not have reached the pinnacles of their fields. Overall, curiosity is a catalyst for growth, both on an individual level and for society as a whole and thus did not kill the cat. I propose that fostering curiosity cultivates a mindset of lifelong learning and adaptability, enhances problem-solving skills and encourages resilience in the face of challenges, essential in a rapidly changing world.

While curiosity may lead your cat to knock precious items off your bookshelf just to see what happens, it is also the spark that ignites the relentless pursuit of knowledge –transforming questions into discoveries that shape the future of our world.

Does free will really exist?

EMILY TSE, YEAR 10

Free will: The ability to act on one’s own.

PROPOSAL

Free will can be identified as the ability for one to act on their own. Building on the controversies surrounding free will discussed in this research paper, this study examines the relationship between fate and decision-making. By incorporating both simple actions and complex moral dilemmas, I believe that free will doesn’t exist as evident from the perspectives of philosophers like Hobbes, James, and Garrett, while also expanding on Libet’s experiment to provide insights into the controversial existence of free will.

SCRIPT

An experiment in the 1980’s was conducted by a Scientist named Benjamin Libet. He believed that people had no free will as the brain would make the decision before movements were created. This was an undoubtedly strange experiment as many flaws were identified to prove this experiment had shown a lack of free will. From this, controversies have risen between philosophers about the existence of free will. Does free will exist, or does it just… loom around every individual from time to time? Many philosophers have had different views on the idea of free will and how it has formed our human society.

One of the main philosophers who questioned the existence of free will was Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher who wrote many books surrounding different theories of free will such as the Leviathan Or the Matter and a book named Elements of Law, Natural and Politics. Hobbes states that: “A free agent is he that can do as he will, and forbear as he will, and that liberty is the absence of external impediments”. If we break this down, it states that a person has free will as their actions depend on what they want to do without having hindrance from others. Hobbes justifies his reasoning through normal day-to-day experiences, and how one’s behaviour is free by personal choices, using the word, ‘liberty’ to showcase his sense of freedom and the independence in a human.

SOURCE 1

In an episode of ‘Philosophy & What Matters’, by Jeremiah Joven Joaquin, an experimenter and interviewer, he asks us: “If everything is a matter of fate, how can we be free if everything is determined by the history of the universe and the laws of nature?”. Therefore, if everything in the past changes Joaquin wonders how one may pick their own fate based on their deeds. And because this isn’t conceivable in this reality, how can one have free will? This further follows William James, an American

Pragmatist Philosopher who adhered to the thesis of hard determinism, which essentially explains how many individuals feel that decisions from past events fully determine future occurrences.

DISCUSSION

Because there is no realistic method by which an individual could create their own fate, and there is no means to escape the verities of this universe, I agree with Joaquin’s reasoning. How can we pick the actions we desire, if the actions and our surroundings have already been chosen for us? Technically speaking, there is no way to have free will because our past experiences and external factors (e.g., people) have chosen how things have worked for us.

SOURCE 2

A philosophical book The Dilemma of Determinism published by William James (an American philosopher, psychologist, and historian) was one of the first people to write about the two positions surrounding the controversy of free will. He explains, “what is it but a postulate (assumption), … a demand that the sequence of events shall some day manifest a deeper kind of belonging of one thing with another”. James presents this position as the idea that understanding needs and the chains we are forced with, are equivalent to true freedom. Utilising the theory of causation, James proves how the action of one thing gives rise to an effect under certain conditions. He states, hypothetically, if people assume that the chain of events has already been ‘fixed’ then there is nothing to argue about. Furthermore, the writer uses another theory called uniformity: the idea that the same natural laws and processes that exist now, have always existed in the universe. He believes that the concept of free will is, and will always be consistent in our daily lives. He believes that a choice can only cease to be a choice once that decision is made.

DISCUSSION

William James provides a compelling argument for why people lack a sense of free will and are unable to carry out the activities they desire by pointing to the set sequence of historical events. He displays how the events in history will lead to a planned event later in the universe using two theories: uniformity and causality. I agree with this idea because I believe that history may be altered and that certain choices can have an impact on what happens in the future. An example of this could be waking up from an alarm clock you set the other night. An individual would expect to wake up in the morning from an alarm clock, but only because they set it the night before, demonstrating a perceived “fixed event.” However, this

would only be considered as an assumption as individuals cannot truly know where their fate lies.

SOURCE3

In a chapter about Free Will and Determinism, in the book What is This Thing Called Metaphysics, Brian Garrett employs the theory of Fatalism to show everyone’s logical ideas. He believes that the actions we make are unavoidable, resulting in them not being free, further covering a branch of metaphysics. One theme from the book has Garrett stating that “the libertarians, who conclude that, since we are free, determinism must be false; and the hard determinists, who conclude that, since determinism is true, we lack free will”. If Garrett believes that libertarians: one who believes that individuals should be free to do anything they wish, as long as it does not harm others, free will cannot exist in a society filled with determinisms. Determinisms are people based on the assumption that our world exists through occurrences, including human activity, which are ultimately decided

by causes that are seen as being outside of the will. Explaining how, if determinism is true (as hard determinists claim), then our actions are predetermined, yet if we have free will (as libertarians claim), then our actions cannot be entirely determined by prior causes, meaning free will cannot exist. Even though Garrett’s claim is based on an assumption over different theories, it demonstrates how the sense of free will, perspectives and ideas from different philosophers, cannot make sense unless there is no free will.

CONCLUSION

Throughout this discussion, I have explained both sides of free will and in the end, whether it really exists or does it simply occur without us realising. I would say that there is a lack of free will from the reasons and perspectives of many philosophers, which outweigh the ones who believe in free will. This includes how individuals’ fates are fixed, how one action causes a sequence of events and the contrasting beliefs between libertarians and determinism.

The problem of free will and determinism

LUCY XIE, YEAR 10, PYMBLE LADIES’ COLLEGE

Humanity, as a complex society, has seemingly thrived on a fundamental belief in free will since time immemorial–and in the unanimous agreement that the loss of this belief could be calamitous. The emergence of the term ‘free will’ over the past two millennia stands with the definition of being the canonical designator over the actions of oneself, yet, uncertainties surrounding the nature of this inherent control have nevertheless taken up significance throughout every era.1 In the Christian tradition, the freedom to reject personal desires to obtain purity and righteousness is known as ‘moral liberty’, where the Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant sought to reaffirm this undeniable bridge connecting freedom and goodness. If we lack the freedom to choose, he argued, then we lack the assertion that we should choose the righteous path.2

However, this deeply rooted faith in free will is not without challenges. Enter the realm of determinism, a philosophical doctrine that posits every event is necessitated by antecedent events in accordance with the natural laws.3 Determinism is an ancient notion, but only underwent clarification and mathematical analysis by philosophers in the eighteenth century, suggesting our choices are not truly free but are the inevitable result of prior causes. This essentially poses itself as an existential threat to human free agency. If determinism is true, then the entire history of our universe was already settled before even the Big Bang took place, and every event that has followed throughout evolution was predetermined from the beginning. This further encompasses human choice. Thus, we as the human species, with neither the power to alter the laws of nature, nor to change the past, cannot contend to say we are free agents of our own souls. And if this is to be held true, then there are alarmingly obvious implications for free will.4 Ultimately, the point is whether or not free will can be obtained. As an ontological question, it deals with the foundational nature of being, existence and reality.5 It is almost given that one ‘feels’ as though they have free will – I know I do – but the question remains: do we really? Is the nature of our world deterministic, and if so, can free will exist in this deterministic universe?

Problems associated with determinism are not merely speculative, stemming from philosophical inquiry, but arise from the very nature of human sciences.6 The hard determinist view, which states that human behaviour is incapable of free decision-making, supports the incompatibility of determinism and free will – arguing that free will simply ceases to exist. A. J. Ayers reflects this view, stating in 1954 that only when behaviour is governed by causal laws, then a person could have acted

differently if conditions and circumstances leading up to the behaviour in question had been different.7 Others, asserting various forms of soft deterministic stances characterise free will to be compatible with determinism. While still affirming that determinism is evident, some say that one feels underlying sensations of free will from the actions one takes, thus, free will is said to be an illusion reflecting inborn human ignorance.8 In one particular configuration of this stance, Walter Terence Stace describes a soft determinism perspective in which an individual can be said to have undertaken a free act if no coercive external agents were present.9 Although psychological emotions, desires and motivations are still primary causations, Stace’s usage of ‘free will’ refers to choices made without external influence. As per this standpoint, an individual’s behaviour may be a direct result of internal psychological states that, in turn, have causes, but if there are no demanding external factors that critically impact behaviour, then the individual is said to have free will.

To view choice and natural determinism as parallel and dimensions that do not overlap is yet another perspective, said to be phenomenological free will. Whether or not there are or are not deterministic antecedents to experiences is not important – the significance lies in the individual’s experience of ‘will’ and ‘intention’.10 Simply put, what matters is one’s own awareness of an intentional choice, rather than whether that choice is ‘free’ or ‘determined’. Alan Donagan further describes ‘will’ as humankind’s ability to form, assess, and alter our objectives and concurrent decisions, differentiating these from our desires and beliefs.11 Freedom of choice is supposed in ‘reporting what we experience’. Our choices prelude to our actions, reflecting our perception of ourselves and others as rational beings.

Despite all this, some propose that the absence of free will does not necessarily necessitate the acceptance of a deterministic outlook. Free will is not merely a philosophical abstraction but a fundamental aspect of an individual’s self-conception and moral responsibility. Few scholars would be the one to advocate for widespread beliefs to be outright lies. However, promoting continuations of falsehoods would compromise philosophical integrity and violate a principle cherished by theorists for centuries: the hope that truth and goodness are intrinsically linked. Saul Smilansky has debated this dilemma across his career, reaching a painful conclusion by stating, “we cannot afford for people to internalise the truth” about free will.12 Firmly convinced that free will is not viable in the traditional sense, Smilansky continues, “If everyone accepts that there is no free will, then I’ll know

that people will say, ‘Whatever he did, he had no choice – we can’t blame him’” referring to those who commit wrongdoing. This, he believes, is highly detrimental for our world, and “the more people accept the determinist picture, the worse things will get”. Determinism not only erodes the concept of blame but also diminishes the value of praise. Imagine if an individual risks their life to perform a perilous action, people may later claim that they had no choice and their actions were simply ‘an unfolding of the given’. Just as removing blame may eliminate a deterrent to immoral behaviour, removing praise would eradicate the motivation to act virtuously. Our heroes would appear less inspiring, our achievements less significant, and society would fall into a state of decadence and despair.

Smilansky, therefore, champions illusionism – the notion that indeed, free will is an illusion, but one that all people must seek to defend.13 Likewise, determinism and the facts supporting it must be confined and restricted from society. If we must choose between truth and goodness, then for the sake of human society, the truth must be sacrificed. Of academic philosophers, illusionism is a minority opinion; most still hold that the ideas of the true and the good can be reconciled. Still, it represents an established school of thinking among the educated classes. Free will, to quote Friedrich Nietzsche, is a ‘theologian’s artifice’ that is used to ‘judge and punish.’ Smilansky is among many academics who maintain that the necessity of systems of punishment and judgement is essential to keep civilization from descending into barbarism. At its core, regardless of how repulsive they may be, the antithesis of science is that the worldview it upholds should not be determined by its appeal.14

Although this ongoing conundrum does little but prove a lack of consensus on free will, surveys do authenticate that most people – including most philosophers – argue that humans possess free will to some capacity, primarily under the umbrella of compatibilism.

For the compatibilist assertion, even though certain choices may be predetermined, it still renders true that we are free to choose (hence the term ‘compatibilists’: the belief that determinism and free will are compatible). It might initially appear outlandish; how can we have the ability to make free choices if we are not, in fact, truly free to choose? But to grasp the compatibilists’ point, the state of ‘being free’ is just a matter of having the capacity to contemplate your needs, reflect on your wants, then act on them and (occasionally) achieve your goals. Since determinism only holds that the events in the universe follow a preset path based on earlier causes and conditions, it does not contradict free will. It does not lead to the conclusion that decisions are predetermined or that people are incapable of making free choices. In this sense, moral responsibility in the domain of compatibilism is conclusively based on control over one’s

actions.15 If an individual acts in accordance with their own reasons and urges, they can be held accountable, even if those reasons and urges have deterministic origins. Free will within this scope is to behave in accordance with one’s motivations while honouring the limitations of the external world; free will is not a metaphysical concept but rather pragmatic, able to thrive even in a determined universe.

Take the fruit bowl example. Suppose you find yourself somewhat hungry, and head to a fruit bowl in your kitchen where there is one apple and one banana. Say you end up choosing the apple. When you make a conscious decision to choose the apple – by acknowledging which fruit you would enjoy more, then taking that one — you are clearly in a different position from one person afflicted with an apple addiction or another person who is allergic to bananas. Your acts may have been part of a continuous chain of causes that dates back to the dawn of time in each of these scenarios. But, who cares? In one of them, the apple-chooser was clearly more liberated than in the others. In the words of Daniel Dennett, this is the only kind of ‘free will worth wanting’.16 You experience desire for something, act upon the craving, and attain the product, with a void of influence (in this case) from internal disorders or external intolerances. Granted, this interpretation of free will might not be as thrilling, but how can someone be more free than this? What matters is not the absence of causation, but the nature of causation – as long as one’s actions align with internal motivations, individuals are to be considered free.

Amid these perspectives lies a distinctly contrasting yet nonetheless compelling view; libertarianism. Libertarianism posits that free will is wholly incompatible with determinism and that humans possess genuine freedom to make choices that are entirely independent of prior causal events. Robert Kane asserts this incompatibility on the grounds that “free will requires ultimate responsibility for our actions”, arguing for individuals to be autonomous agents.17 Hinging on the proposition that not all events are predetermined, individuals henceforth have the capacity for spontaneous, undetermined actions. Those who call themselves libertarians prioritise personal liberty as the paramount consideration and fathom coercion to be the antipode of that freedom.18

Moreover, the Principle of Alternate Possibilities (PAP), associated with the debate between determinism and free will, states that an individual can only be held morally responsible for their deeds if they had the option to act differently under given circumstances. Put another way, a person cannot be held ethically accountable for their conduct if they have no other options. A standard argument of PAP employs the two following premises:

1. A person is morally responsible for what they have done only if they could have done otherwise: 2. A person could have done otherwise only if his action was not causally determined.19

In a traditional sense, it can be said that PAP holds closely with that of libertarianism, affirming that free will is utterly incompatible with determinism and individuals have genuine alternate possibilities for action. Even so, premise two has largely been under heavy scrutiny and controversy over the length of philosophical discourse. Compatibilists, too, critique the premise to redefine ‘could have done otherwise’ to mean that if the agent had different desires (consistent with both their character and circumstance), they would have acted differently. This reinterpretation does not require the absence of determinism because it ties the ability to do otherwise to an agent’s internal states rather than to an indeterministic universe. Thereupon, compatibilism is able to conceptualise PAP where moral responsibility

REFERENCES

1 Timothy O’Connor and Christopher Franklin, “Free Will,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2022 Edition), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2022/entries/freewill/.

2 Markus Kohl, “Kant on Determinism and the Categorical Imperative,” Ethics 125, no. 2 (2015): 331–56, https://doi.org/10.1086/678370.

3 Carl Hoefer, “Causal Determinism,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2024 Edition), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2024/entries/determinism-causal/.

4 Mark Balaguer, “Why the Classical Argument Against Free Will Is a Failure,” The Reader, MIT Press, August 5, 2024, https://thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/determinism-classical-argument-against-free-will-failure/.

5 David Reeve and Dennis Middlebrooks, “Misunderstanding Free Will: (Which We Don’t Have),” Skeptic 26, no. 4 (2021): 54+, Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A689947646/AONE?u=anon~a50ce702&sid=googleScholar&xid=d4d4fe27

6 A. C. MacIntyre, “Determinism,” Mind 66, no. 261 (1957): 28–41, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2251366.

7 A. J. Ayer, Philosophical Essays (London: Macmillan, 1954).

8 Shirley Matile Ogletree and Crystal D. Oberle, “The Nature, Common Usage, and Implications of Free Will and Determinism,” Behavior and Philosophy 36 (2008): 97–111, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27759547.

9 James Ward Smith, “Walter Terence Stace 1886-1967,” Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 41 (1967): 136–38, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3129280.

10 Shirley Matile Ogletree and Crystal D. Oberle, “The Nature, Common Usage, and Implications of Free Will and Determinism”

11 A. Donagan, Choice: The Essential Element in Human Action (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987).

12 Stephen Cave, “There’s No Such Thing as Free Will,” The Atlantic Monthly 317, no. 5 (June 2016): 68–74.

13 Oliver Burkeman, “The Clockwork Universe: Is Free Will an Illusion?” The Guardian, April 27, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/

depends on rational deliberation and alignment with one’s intentions rather than on the uncontrolled ability to choose otherwise.

The question of whether a state of determinism constitutes our universe and whether the existence of free will is true remains deeply disputed. Several perspectives have been explored within this paper – from the radical claims of determinism and libertarianism to compatibilism and illusionism, implicitly underscored with nuance. Reflection on these theories leads me to believe that I am most in alignment with the compatibilist approach. While a completely deterministic universe does compel spectators, compatibilism seems to offer an optimistic framework for the appreciation of human agency. The notion that humanity is able to act in accordance with innate desires, even within the bounds of a deterministic framework, resonates with my personal standards.

news/2021/apr/27/the-clockwork-universe-is-free-will-an-illusion.

14 David Reeve and Dennis Middlebrooks, “Misunderstanding Free Will: (Which We Don’t Have),” Skeptic 26, no. 4 (2021): 54–56.

15 Michael McKenna and D. Justin Coates, “Compatibilism,” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2024 Edition), https:// plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2024/entries/compatibilism/.

16 Daniel C. Dennett, Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting (NED-New Edition; Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2015), http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt17kk7ns.

17 Robert Kane, “Libertarianism,” Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition 144, no. 1 (2009): 35–44. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27734424.

18 Bas van der Vossen and Billy Christmas, “Libertarianism,” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2023 Edition), https://plato. stanford.edu/archives/fall2023/entries/libertarianism/.

19 Phillip Gosselin, “The Principle of Alternate Possibilities,” Canadian Journal of Philosophy 17, no. 1 (1987): 91–104. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/40231515.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ayer, A. J. Philosophical Essays. London: Macmillan, 1954. Balaguer, Mark. “Why the Classical Argument Against Free Will Is a Failure.” The Reader, MIT Press. January 27, 2022. https:// thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/determinism-classical-argument-against-free-will-failure/. Burkeman, Oliver. “The Clockwork Universe: Is Free Will an Illusion?” The Guardian, April 27, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/ news/2021/apr/27/the-clockwork-universe-is-free-will-an-illusion. Cave, Stephen. “There’s No Such Thing as Free Will.” The Atlantic Monthly 317, no. 5 (June 2016): 68–74.

Dennett, Daniel C. Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting. NED-New Edition. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt17kk7ns.

Donagan, A. Choice: The Essential Element in Human Action. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987.

Gosselin, Phillip. “The Principle of Alternate Possibilities.” Canadian Journal of Philosophy 17, no. 1 (1987): 91–104. http://www.jstor.org/ stable/40231515.

Hoefer, Carl. “Causal Determinism.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman. Summer 2024 Edition. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2024/entries/ determinism-causal/.

Kane, Robert. “Libertarianism.” Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition 144, no. 1 (2009): 35–44. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27734424.

Kohl, Markus. “Kant on Determinism and the Categorical Imperative.” Ethics 125, no. 2 (2015): 331–56. https://doi.org/10.1086/678370.

MacIntyre, A. C. “Determinism.” Mind 66, no. 261 (1957): 28–41. http:// www.jstor.org/stable/2251366.

McKenna, Michael, and D. Justin Coates. “Compatibilism.” In The

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2024 Edition), edited by Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman. https://plato.stanford.edu/ archives/sum2024/entries/compatibilism/.

Ogletree, Shirley Matile, and Crystal D. Oberle. “The Nature, Common Usage, and Implications of Free Will and Determinism.” Behavior and Philosophy 36 (2008): 97–111. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27759547.

O’Connor, Timothy, and Christopher Franklin. “Free Will.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N. Zalta and Uri Nodelman. Winter 2022 Edition. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/ win2022/entries/freewill/.

Reeve, David, and Dennis Middlebrooks. “Misunderstanding Free Will: (Which We Don’t Have).” Skeptic 26, no. 4 (2021): 54–56. Gale Academic OneFile. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A689947646/ AONE?u=anon~a50ce702&sid=googleScholar&xid=d4d4fe27. van der Vossen, Bas, and Billy Christmas. “Libertarianism.” In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2023 Edition). https://plato. stanford.edu/archives/fall2023/entries/libertarianism/.

Is there life after death?

ALINA, PYMBLE LADIES’ COLLEGE

The paradox of death lies in its simplicity and how it brings, as Koji Mizoguchi states, ‘inevitable destruction to the living’1. And as such, the dead become the ‘candidates [for] divine or transcendental’2 beings due to the unpredictability of death; our inability to communicate or explore their realm contributes to the lack of knowledge surrounding the life that we believe exists after death.

Characterised by symptoms of despair, emptiness, expectancy and fear, death is the incurable disease that has been glorified throughout literature and history. Whether there is a place for us to go after we depart from Earth is a question that entices many yet remains unanswered with no plausible explanation. The need to understand the definition of life only stirred interest in modern society around the nineteenth century, though philosophers have been trying to answer the question, ‘what is the meaning of life?’ since approximately 2500 years ago3. Greeks and Romans who believed in Platonism questioned ‘the good and how to achieve it’ and Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu explored the origins and meaning of life. What can be considered life, and what can we do to ensure that we ‘live’ after death?4

A SUBJECTIVE VIEW OF LIFE

Answers to these questions can be proposed because we hold control over our lives - we have the definitive answer because we consciously experience life - we know what to expect. According to Henry David Thoreau, we are able to ‘go confidently in the direction of [our] dreams’ and ‘live the life [we] have imagined’, and thus, boundaries are created to define ‘life’5. This perspective is purely subjective. A minimalistic view of life focuses on a being’s ability to evolve and reproduce, while a nihilistic view sees the world as pointless, where one’s existence cannot bring change to society.

In 1883, the appearance of German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche’s concept, Übermensch (meaning ‘overman’) in his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra marked the start of the highly controversial existence of ‘a transcendent figure’ that ‘[exists] beyond the conventional laws of good and evil’6. This concept, that a person and their life’s value was determined by the overcoming of a meaningless life - the counter to nihilism which was frequently used both poetically and philosophically in the first half of the 19th century - would allow people to become Nietzsche’s ideal lifeform. However, due to the obscurity of what values this being should set for themselves, many took advantage of this concept in an attempt to justify an abhorrent act of violence and injustice towards others: most famously, Adolf Hitler used a more racially aligned version of ‘Übermensch’ as the

foundation for his ideology of a superior Aryan race7 Furthermore, the creation of a being like the ‘Übermensch’ when the world faced nihility, caused Nietzsche to emphasise the importance of creativity and self-determination. The popularity of nihilism left society with no purpose and no dream to pursue; Nietzsche strove to implant the belief that we had to create a sense of meaning in our lives as he ‘ultimately admired creative individuals’8 who could reshape perspectives. He believed that the ‘noble type of man…..is value-creating’,9 and this ability to find and create was essential for ‘the continual enhancement of the human being’10

Self-determination and autonomy are defined as an individual’s ability to create perspectives and judgements without the restriction of societal norms11. Exploration and questioning of opinions was encouraged, and even doubt of morality and law was accepted. In fact, Nietzsche believed that the ‘Übermensch’ should especially question religion, a concept he viewed as merely ‘breeding conformity instead of promoting inquiry’12. Therefore, one could only claim that they held independent ideals once they explored all areas, and became able to determine their values and maintain order; the ability to feel selfvalue is a defining feature of what allows us to separate ourselves from other lifeforms.

If someone were to truly ‘live’, or have a sense of selfvalue, then they would strive to live by the values they create and nothing else. In other words, the ‘Übermensch’ would be ‘able to say that life is good even if it may seem terrible and questionable’,13 because they have appreciation despite ‘living…life…with the knowledge’ of nihilism and despair14. Nietzsche considered the human ability ‘Will to Power’15 to be the motivation that inspired life to seek an erudite future, bound only by physical limitations.

Based on the ‘Übermensch’ concept, I propose that if the life that exists after death has free will to some extent - for example, the lifeform should be able to choose between two choices without outside influence if capable, or create boundaries for themselves - and if life possesses self-value, then the divine being that exists after death can be considered as ‘life’.

A SUBJECTIVE VIEW OF DEATH

Despite the controversies surrounding what comes after, the process of dying and death itself is definitive - when someone dies, their heart stops beating and their body slowly shuts down. There is no mistaking the dead. Mizoguchi stated that it was possible for death to be compared to communication, in a sense that, ‘one does

not and cannot exactly know what one’s words cause in the listener’s mind’16; it is possible to make a guess based on their tone and expression, but we are unable to truly identify what they think until they tell us themselves. In the case of death, we are not able to understand what the victim is thinking and there is no way for them to tell us. Yet, Mizoguchi also encourages us to ‘make sense of someone else’s death in terms of the survivors’ and find value and meaning in the form of remembrance17

In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Nietzsche also presents us with the parallel to the ‘Übermensch’ who is characterised by the seeking of ‘a comfortable life, entertainment, distraction and an agreeable enough death’; such a person believed themselves to be ‘the apex of civilisation’, (18) who merely invents instead of seeks happiness and wishes not to take risks in his tired life. He is considered a reflection of the ultimate form of nihilistic values. Such values contradict with Nietzsche’s definition of a transcendent individual who’s able to possess self-value and ideals unique to themselves. And as such, contradicts my proposal of what living means.

From here, can we truly say that the Last Man is alive? Objectively, he is able to reproduce, but he is unable to “evolve” spiritually and mentally, as he lacks any ambition and is complacent with his comfortable life. The displeasure and disgust Nietzsche displays towards the epitome of a peaceful society stems from what he views the Last Man to be - a form of ‘spiritual and existential death’19. Then, it can be argued that as soon as an individual forfeits their desire to ‘[embrace] struggle, creativity and self-overcoming’,20 they have given up on the values of the ‘Übermensch’, and instead wish to ‘only seek comfort and security’21. If he is unable to find selfvalue for himself in a perfect world, then he is unable to be recognised and respected by his peers; if he refuses to take risks to better himself, then he is unable to evolve. In other words, Nietzsche’s ‘Übermensch’ can represent “life” and his Last Man can represent the point of death. If the desire to seek challenge and find self-value in the world can be considered as life, then the death of a person can be considered when one forfeits change, nobility and self-value.

AN EXAMPLE: THE REVENGE TRAGEDY

But how can we find life in death if those who go cannot return? It is impossible to ‘communicate about death by drawing upon his or her own experience’ because the dead cannot come back to life22. The illusion of life after death cannot be defined by tangible answers, but rather by theories mirrored in writings to evolve over timesuch perspectives of what we become are moulded by the authors to be ‘instrumental to the movement of the narrative’ according to The Revenge Tragedy by Steve Simkin23

Such portrayals shape the subjective ways that death is

viewed, and the creatures that inhabit the land of the dead are characterised as both villains and heroes whose occurrences throughout historical literature coincide with principles of each era - when the ‘worlds of the dead and the living…overlap’24. Parts of this concept are believable; the legacy of the dead live through the will of others whether through deeds or revenge, but there comes a place where even religions begin to question the validity of the afterlife, and the theories to the question, “Is there life after death?” become doubtful.

Perhaps most prominent in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras was the revenge tragedy which was overlooked by Renaissance culture, due to ‘the extent to which religious orthodoxy was challenged’25. Famously, John Webster aims to satirise and attack the Catholic church with the death of the Duchess being caused by a poisoned bible in The Duchess of Malfi - critics interpreted the meaning as ‘more radical than…..anti-Catholic propaganda’26. And as a result of the controversies of the religious world, the ‘undead inhabit revenge tragedies in a variety of forms’, as if the injustice of society is mirrored in the revenge suffered by the fictional characters27

As these beings are considered ‘familiar figures in revenge tragedies’, the ‘boundary between mortality and eternity’ begins to blur in the subjective view of drama and literature28. The villains of Webster are haunted by their victims in the form of apparitions, Bosola and Antonio from The Duchess of Malfi are haunted by a ‘ghostly echo’ of the Duchess and The Revenger’s Tragedy depicts Vindice resurrecting his lover by dressing up her skeleton to use the murder of the Duke29. It is easy to be sceptical of the undead and dismiss their reality, but as long as they have free will and the ability to pursue dreams bordered by their own values, then there is no denying that they are ‘alive’. The supernatural have truly ascended to overcome the restraints placed by the social hierarchy - they created their own values to abide by, and endure through and for the will of others - and are able to live, not only through themselves, but also through ‘a particular group who have…memory’30. Precisely, relatives or close friends, who then go on to worship the dead and pass down their memory for generations. This memory, in revenge tragedies, takes form in the slaying and destruction of those who caused ‘terrible hurt’ unto others31

Revenge itself can be considered the undying will of a dead person; for example, if Person A was to murder Person B out of spite, then it is natural for Person C, a relative of Person B to crave revenge for the injustice bestowed upon the innocent. Whether the punishment takes form in execution, prosecution or even further violence, the desire for retribution remains within individuals, where ‘the only recourse for the wronged party was direct revenge’32. The foundation of revenge lies in the emotions that are ‘confined to the group of people…..who have ties to the dead’33. These people are

able to experience and act on the emotions left behind by death; decisions made and the willingness to accept consequences that stem from the “life” of those who died. This life, as I have determined, must have or find selfvalue and make conscious decisions to be able to live on through the inspiration they leave behind. The memory of the dead reflects the values that they held and inspire others to act on these beliefs; the basic mechanisms of

REFERENCES

1 Lyons, S. (2021). Unmasking the Übermensch: The Evolution of Nietzsche’s Overman from David Bowie to Westworld. In Otherness: Essays and Studies (Vol. 8, Issue 1, pp. 130–131). https://otherness.dk/ fileadmin/www.othernessandthearts.org/Publications/Journal_Otherness/Otherness_Essays_and_Studies_8.1/6_-_Lyons_-_Unmasking_the_UEbermensch.pdf

2 Ibid.

3 The Meaning of Life (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). (2021, February 9). https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/life-meaning/

4 Meaning of Life, The: Early Continental and Analytic Perspectives | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (n.d.). https://iep.utm.edu/ mean-ear/#:~:text=Although%20nineteenth%20century%20thinkers%20were,found%2C%20in%20the%20East%20and%5C

5 Thoreau, H. D. (n.d.). Walden. In Full Text Archive. https://cdn.fulltextarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/wp-advanced-pdf/1/Waldenby-Henry-David-Thoreau.pdf

6 Lyons, S. (2021b). Unmasking the Übermensch: The Evolution of Nietzsche’s Overman from David Bowie to Westworld. In Otherness: Essays and Studies (Vol. 8, Issue 1, pp. 130–131). https://otherness.dk/ fileadmin/www.othernessandthearts.org/Publications/Journal_Otherness/Otherness_Essays_and_Studies_8.1/6_-_Lyons_-_Unmasking_the_UEbermensch.pdf

7 Ibid.

8 Leiter, B. (2015). Nietzsche on morality. In Routledge (Second Edition). Routledge. https://tandfbis.s3.amazonaws.com/rt-files/ docs/SBU4+Humanities+and+Focal/Repcap+extracts/Philosophy+Groundbreaking/9780415856805_extract.pdf

9 Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich Nietzsche. (n.d.). https://www. gutenberg.org/files/4363/4363-h/4363-h.htm

10 Rankin, E. & Florida Atlantic University. (2015). Aristotle’s magnanimity and Nietzsche’s nobility. In Athene Noctua: Undergraduate Philosophy Journal (Issue Issue No. 3). https://www.fau.edu/athenenoctua/ pdfs/Edward%20Rankin.pdf

11 Firestone, Randall. (2017). Nietzsche’s Best Life: The Ten Greatest Attributes of the Ubermensch, & a Comparison to Aristotle’s Virtuous Person. Open Journal of Philosophy. 7. 377-407. 10.4236/ ojpp.2017.73020.

12 Ibid.

13 Nietzsche’s idea of “the overman” (Ubermensch) is one of the most significant concept in his thinking. (n.d.). https://ccrma.stanford. edu/~pj97/Nietzsche.htm

14 Firestone, Randall. (2017). Nietzsche’s Best Life: The Ten Greatest Attributes of the Ubermensch, & a Comparison to Aristotle’s Virtuous Person. Open Journal of Philosophy. 7. 377-407. 10.4236/ ojpp.2017.73020.

revenge lie in the avenger’s ability to find meaning and the act of vengeance mirrors the free will in the aftermath of death.

Therefore, life is capable of existing after the death of an individual as long as there are others in the world who find or create value and freely act upon the meaningful beliefs of the dead.

16 Mizoguchi, K. (2015) ‘De-Paradoxisation of Paradoxes by Referring to Death as an Ultimate Paradox: The Case of the State-Formation Phase of Japan’, in C. Renfrew, M.J. Boyd, and I. Morley (eds.) Death Rituals, Social Order and the Archaeology of Immortality in the Ancient World: ‘Death Shall Have No Dominion’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 255–279.

17 Ibid.

18 Muo, C. (n.d.-b). What is Nietzsche’s Last Man? – The Stand Up Philosophers. https://thestandupphilosophers.co.uk/what-is-nietzscheslast-man/

19 Ibid.

20 Ibid.

21 Ibid.

22 Mizoguchi, K. (2015) ‘De-Paradoxisation of Paradoxes by Referring to Death as an Ultimate Paradox: The Case of the State-Formation Phase of Japan’, in C. Renfrew, M.J. Boyd, and I. Morley (eds.) Death Rituals, Social Order and the Archaeology of Immortality in the Ancient World: ‘Death Shall Have No Dominion’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 255–279.

23 Daalder, J. (2002b). Revenge Tragedy [Stevie Simkin, ed.] (Review). Parergon, 19(2), 226–228. https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/ publications/revenge-tragedy-stevie-simkin-ed-review

24 Ibid.

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 Ibid.

28 Ibid.

29 Ibid.

30 Mizoguchi, K. (2015) ‘De-Paradoxisation of Paradoxes by Referring to Death as an Ultimate Paradox: The Case of the State-Formation Phase of Japan’, in C. Renfrew, M.J. Boyd, and I. Morley (eds.) Death Rituals, Social Order and the Archaeology of Immortality in the Ancient World: ‘Death Shall Have No Dominion’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 255–279.

31 Daalder, J. (2002b). Revenge Tragedy [Stevie Simkin, ed.] (Review). Parergon, 19(2), 226–228. https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/ publications/revenge-tragedy-stevie-simkin-ed-review

32 Ibid.

33 Mizoguchi, K. (2015) ‘De-Paradoxisation of Paradoxes by Referring to Death as an Ultimate Paradox: The Case of the State-Formation Phase of Japan’, in C. Renfrew, M.J. Boyd, and I. Morley (eds.) Death Rituals, Social Order and the Archaeology of Immortality in the Ancient World: ‘Death Shall Have No Dominion’. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 255–279.

15 Muo, C. (n.d.-b). What is Nietzsche’s Last Man? – The Stand Up Philosophers. https://thestandupphilosophers.co.uk/what-is-nietzscheslast-man/

Q&A with some of our contributors

In this Q&A, students share their passion for research, drawing inspiration from personal experiences and unique interests. From exploring history to diving into AI, their stories reveal what drives their research journeys. They also offer helpful tips and insights into the challenges they faced, making this article a great resource for anyone starting their own research.

WHY ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT RESEARCH?

ABIGAIL BARFIELD, YEAR 12

My name is Abi, and I am a really proud Pymble girl and Boarder. You may be interested to learn that I spent two weeks in Nepal working in hospitals, and I was born in the UK!

DEZI MAGANN-JONES, YEAR 11

My name is Dezi, I am a Boarder from Walgett in North Western New South Wales. I have been at Pymble since Year 7 and have throughly enjoyed my time. I play a variety of sports, such as rugby sevens and cricket for which I am currently captain of. A fun fact about is is that I am actually named after my grandfather Desmond, but he gets called Dezi for short.

THANZIN NAIDOO, YEAR 7

I am Thazin Naidoo, and I am an... author? enthusiast? wonderer? I’m not sure yet. Fun fact about me? When I was little, I wanted to build houses that could float in space, I’m not sure if it’s possible, but let me know though.

CHLOE JEEYEON KIM, YEAR 12

Hi, I’m Chloe Jeeyeon Kim, and am a student in Year 12. I have great passion and interest in learning about various historical periods, having taken five units of history in Year 12 (Ancient, Modern and Extension). One fun fact is that I have lived in four different countries all in different continents, and have attended six different schools throughout my Kindergarten to Year 12 education.

IMOGEN KEE, YEAR 9

Hello, my name is Immie and I am a passionate debater and adore anything to do with the performing arts. I dance, sing and act! I have even taken courses at at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA)! Besides history, I love anything to do with the humanities and am an avid reader! One fun fact about me is that I am a new student at Pymble this term and am loving it!

Chloe: I am passionate about research as it provides me an opportunity to seek out and research areas of academia that aren’t necessarily taught in school, allowing me to broaden my branch of knowledge. Further, research provides me a space to learn more about niche topics and areas I am interested about, thus causing my passion for research.

Imogen: When I was nine years old I took a trip to the Sydney Jewish Museum with my dad. Although young, I didn’t realise the impact that the trip would have on my life in the years to come. While walking around the museum my dad and I were lucky enough to meet a lady named Olga Horak, who was a volunteer and Holocaust survivor. We spent time talking with her about her life-altering experiences as a Jewish teenager in an antisemitic Europe and her memories from the punishing time. Meeting a survivor helped me realise how lucky I was to live the life that I am living and helped me gain a deeper understanding of the Second World War.

Abigail: I’ve been privileged to receive one of the best educations in the world through primary and secondary school. For me, education means learning for our future. But to think, learn and grow towards the future, we must continually learn from, acknowledge and reconcile the past. This foundation of understanding and appreciation is the path towards compassion and empathy. From compassion and empathy, it is my hope that we ‘walk in a movement of the Australian people for a better future’.

Dezi: My passion for research is purely based on my interest in learning. I love to learn new things and doing my own research along with school enables me to learn more.

Thazin: I was first inspired when I saw the prompt engineering and hard work that goes into building AI chatbots, like ChatGPT for example, that lead to me signing up for any event about AI, to learn more about it. Eventually, I wanted to publish my findings as I was surprised that there were some people who use AI in everyday schoolwork.

WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR YOUR WORK?

Chloe: I have great passion and interest in learning about various historical periods, having taken five units of history in Year 12 (Ancient, Modern and Extension). I want to pursue further studies in history of art, which has been incorporated into my work.

Imogen: I am a passionate debater and adore anything to do with the performing arts, I dance, sing and act! I have even taken courses at NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art)! Besides history, I love anything to do with the humanities and am an avid reader!

Abigail: Dr Debra Dank, a Wakaja and Gudanji woman. Deb’s guidance throughout this major work has provided profound insights I consider myself privileged to have listened to. Her knowledge and understanding of Country have become foundational aspects of this project, and her book We Come With This Place was the inspiration that sparked my desire to explore Aboriginal storytelling through the poetic form. Not only has Deb’s assistance with this project been crucial, but her thoughts, kind soul and generous persona have inspired me on a deeply personal level.

Dezi: As a proud Gamilaroi woman, I wanted to research broader than my community and look at the practices for a different community. For me, that was the Eora nation which takes up most of Sydney.

Thazin: I wanted to learn something about about modern-day artificial intelligence and how it is impacting the life of so many students across the country.

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK TO PERSPECTIVE?

Imogen: Meeting Olga helped me understand that I should always aim to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way! Her perseverance and gratitude are qualities I try and apply to my everyday life! I decided to submit my work to make the most of the incredible opportunities (like Perspective) that Pymble offers and share my unwavering passion for history that has impacted my life in ways greater than I could have ever anticipated!

Thazin: Presenting at seminars at school really helped boost the process of my work. I was able to not only express my original thoughts to others first, but also hear the point of other AI enthusiasts. Once I started writing my paper, the rest felt like a no-brainer.

WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE WHEN COMPLETING YOUR RESEARCH?

Thazin: The biggest challenge I faced was understanding the use of AI myself, because to make others understand it, I needed to understand it to write about it. There is just so much about AI that is adaptive and forever growing to put into one essay.

CAN YOU SHARE ANY TIPS THAT HELPED WITH YOUR RESEARCH?

Abigail: To produce my major work, I undertook a comprehensive community consultation and research process. As a non-Indigenous student, I had to ensure that my interpretations and analysis were backed by analysis from Aboriginal academics, authors and poets, and conducting hours of interviews enabled for this effective consultation to be achieved. In researching, I started in libraries, looking through anthologies of Aboriginal poetry, before reaching out to teacher mentors to help structure my major work into a four-section project. Additionally, I had to maintain a logbook as part of my major work to help record all of the research, consultation and experiences that I had been undertaking throughout the project.

Dezi: As a keen journalist I love to write, especially about my passions. My culture and heritage are passions of mine. I love to plan and creating checklists. For this assessment task I gave myself mini due dates before the big due dates. For example, my first lot of research due by Sunday 2 June.