Australian Public Intellectual [API] Network

Network Scholars

Rethinking Australian Studies in Japanese Universities: Towards a New Area Studies for a Globalising World

Allan Patience and Michael Jacques
we can no longer think and act as if only the local matters, as if we owe solidarity only to those within our own city or state. (Kofi Annan)The vital importance of making Australia better known — more coherently understood, more profoundly appreciated — in the Asia-Pacific region could not be more salient at this time. Australia is still the victim of its lingering reputation in Asia as a ‘white dominion’ arrogating middle power pretensions to itself, laying claim to a deputy’s role on behalf of the USA. Philippines Senator Ralph Recto’s riposte in response ...
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Network Review of Books

The Wings of Angels: A Memoir of Madness (2004)

Reviewed by Bianca Ferguson in the March 2005 issue.
The Wings of Angels is a remarkable collection of poetry, the fifth from award-winning Sandy Jeffs. At once lyrical, satirical, serious and light it encompasses a broad range of themes from madness to materialism to God's body odour. It is remarkable for it functions on many levels, it is deeply profound, wonderfully glib, and hilariously witty all at once without being pretentious or over-written. It is, as a whole, what I can only describe as 'chaste' poetry. It is virginal, real frank. The blurb reads 'Not since Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton has anyone written so candidly about madness'. ... read more.

Globalisation: Australian Regional Perspectives (2004)

Reviewed by Matthew Lamb in the August 2004 issue.
It is the 'buzz-word of our times', as Bob Hawke calls it, in his foreword to this collection of essays; 'one of those terms which everyone uses but one which is difficult to define precisely', says contributor, Mervyn Lewis; the 'fuzzy concept', says Dennis List, another contributor; it 'is used so widely and routinely', says the editors, Shanahan and Treuren, in the introduction, 'that it has lost much of its meaning. It is used almost as a clich�, a word virtually without meaning, containing as it does as many perspectives and interpretations as its user wishes.' Again, Bob Hawke: 'There is ... read more.

Reluctant Saviour: Australia, Indonesia and the independence of East Timor (2004)

Reviewed by Damian Grenfell in the February 2005 issue.
It has been more than five years since Australian-led intervention in East Timor. Following the 30 August vote for independence in 1999, both the Indonesian military and militias destroyed much of the physical and social infrastructure of East Timor. In September an international military force, largely made up of Australians, finally entered to prevent further violence. Answering to key questions on the nature of this intervention is Reluctant Saviour, a short polemically-styled text by Clinton Fernandes. With Australia finally taking a political and military lead to secure East Timor from ... read more.

A Museum of Space (2004)

Reviewed by Andrew Johnson in the April 2005 issue.
In a previous book, What the Painter Saw in Our Faces (Five Islands Press, 2001) Boyle addressed an abiding question about the nature and power of the work of art. In a number of ekphrastic poems (poems that discuss, or represent visual works of art), including a long title poem, Boyle mused on the question of whether the work of art can preserve us against loss and the steady march of time, or in fixing an image foreshadows death. Museum of Space approaches the question from a slightly different angle: instead of the visual image, these poems are concerned mainly with the operations of ... read more.

Not Happy, John: Defending Our Democracy (2004)

Reviewed by Eve Vincent in the September 2004 issue.
Did you hear the one about the barbeque invite list? Margo Kingston tells it that, in October 2003, Prime Minister John Howard hosted a private function at the Lodge at the public's expense. The guest of honour? George Bush, President of the United States. The stated purpose of the gathering? So that Bush -- in the midst of a rushed and highly ritualised visit to Australia -- would have a chance to meet and chew prawns with 'a cross-section of the Australian community who had each made a contribution to Australia in different ways'. The rub? Howard personally selected the invitees: a ... read more.

The Vocal Citizen: Labor Essays 2004 (2004)

Reviewed by Michael Alexander de Percy in the May 2005 issue.
Reinvigorating politics through citizen participation is a key focus of The Vocal Citizen. A collection of essays and speeches by fifteen academics and policy practitioners, edited by Glenn Patmore, this book outlines useful approaches to address public distrust of democratic institutions and cynicism towards politics. Not surprisingly, centre-left political themes dominate the essays, with many contributors focusing on 'universal citizenship in a good society' as an effective philosophical model to empower citizens in political decision making. Neo-liberal policies and market forces are ... read more.

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