This is a monthly update about the Evolution of Cultural Diversity Initiative (ECDI) activities and upcoming events.
News
Traditional cyclone architecture sheds light on generations-old customary governance structures in Erromango, Vanuatu
ECDI PhD Scholarship recipient Anna Naupa has been collaborating with her island community on Erromango in southern Vanuatu on a traditional architecture initiative, as part of her ongoing fieldwork on traditional systems of engaging and peace-making as forms of vernacular diplomacy.
Erromango’s traditional cyclone shelter, the nimo norop, is not only a key structure for protecting community members during severe weather, but also holds traditional knowledge of customary governance systems in the architectural design. As part of Anna’s fieldwork, she has assisted with the documentation of traditional ecological resources and architectural design used in construction. The latter assigns specific terminology that is embodied by specific community members who enact roles in accordance with associated responsibilities along kastom roads (paths of relationality).
Anna recently co-produced a documentary about nimo norop with the Erromango Cultural Association, a grassroots cultural heritage organistion she has supported for 16 years as a volunteer adviser. The documentary was launched at the National Museum of Vanuatu in May 2024 and can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yule9KMFpUU
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Outreach
SYNAPSE
Upcoming SYNAPSE Seminars:
- 19 Sep – Adults, children and how languages diversify – register via Eventbrite
- 3 Oct – Pathways (in)to Australia – register via Eventbrite
The seminar series will be held monthly in-person and via zoom. All available seminars for registration can be found on our Eventbrite collection.
Previously recorded seminars are available on our YouTube channel.
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Weekly Walk-in Coding and Statistics Clinic
Are you stuck with a coding problem, confused about a statistical procedure, or just want to talk through some technical aspects of your research? The Model Behaviour quantitative working group is opening a dedicated space where you can get one-on-one support for coding and statistical problems and help you through the technical aspects of your research, with a focus on research in CHL and CASS.
We are here to help with:
- Coding problems, with a particular focus on R & Python, such as:
- How to organise and structure your scripts
- How to wrangle data into a required format
- Statistical design, analysis, and interpretation.
- How to plan your statistical analysis
- How to interpret the summary of a multi-level or linear regression model
- Visualisation of data and results
- Other common coding-related tools like Git and Github, LaTeX, bash
Sessions are held in the Engma Room 3.165, H C Coombs Building, on Thursdays between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Help is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
No formal registration is required, but we encourage you to send us a note in advance if you are planning to come to ensure we have enough time to see everyone.
For more details contact samuel.passmore@anu.edu.au (CHL), anton.malko@anu.edu.au(CASS), or wolfgang.barth@anu.edu.au (CASS)
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Funding opportunities
Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP)
The ELDP provides grants for the documentation of endangered languages globally. ELDP especially welcomes applications from documenters from language communities, local scholars and students from the country where the language is spoken/signed, as well as collaborative and interdisciplinary projects. There are no restrictions on nationality or host institution, language documenters of any nationality to undertake projects in any part of the world with our funding.
Grant types on offer:
– Small Grants (SG): up to 10,000 Euros for up to 12 months
– Individual Graduate Scholarships (IGS): support for PhD students for up to 36 months, including a stipend for living expenses (no salary and no tuition) and fieldwork expenses
– Individual Postdoctoral Fellowships (IPF): support for early career scholars for up to 24 months, including salary and fieldwork expenses, up to 250,000 Euros
– Major Documentation Projects (MDP): any project over 10,000 Euros, lasting up to 36 months, for a maximum of 300,000 Euros
– Legacy Materials Grants (LMG): up to 10,000 Euros to support the digitization and archiving of existing analogue language recordings is at risk of loss or damage
Application form must be submitted by 1st October and support statements must be submitted online by 15th October.
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Seminars, Workshops, Conferences
Language Documentation and Archiving 2024 (LD&A 2024)
4-6 Sept 2024, Berlin and Online
ELAR (the Endangered Languages Archive) and PARADISEC (the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures) are excited to announce the second Language Documentation and Archiving conference with the theme “Recent Advances in Language Documentation and Archiving”, which will take place in Berlin and online from 4-6 September 2024. The deadline to submit abstracts is 1 April, 2024. More information here
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IMMERSIA, CHL ANU
9-20 Sept 2024
ECDI’s September SYNAPSE seminar will be part of the CHL IMMERSIA event in September. For more information about the event, see here: https://immersia.anu.edu.au/
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Publications
Herbert, A. V., Haberle, S. G., Flantua, S. G. A., Mottl, O., Blois, J. L., Williams, J. W., George, A., and Hope, G. S.: The Indo-Pacific Pollen Database – a Neotoma constituent database, Clim. Past Discuss. [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-44, in review, 2024.
Spriggs, M. 2024. Putting the involvement of Indigenous Australians back into Indigenous Australian archaeology. Australian Archaeology. 90 (1): 109-111. https://doi.org/10.1080/03122417.2024.2317577
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Evolution of Cultural Diversity 