Biography
Dr Jessica Walton is an ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (Deakin University). She specialises in issues related to transnational adoption, identity, multiculturalism, intercultural relations and racism.
Jessica's doctoral research examined transnational adoption and Korean adoptees’ embodied experiences of identity and belonging. She has published a book on this research with Routledge, titled, Korean adoptees and Transnational Adoption: Embodiment and Identity.
Her current projects include an ethnographic study of intercultural school partnerships focused on South Korean and Australian children’s experiences of on-line intercultural exchanges (ARC DECRA), and a collaborative international project on 1.5/2nd generation Koreans and Korean adoptees in Australia and New Zealand (Academy of Korean Studies). She is currently also a chief investigator on an ARC Discovery project about how diasporic young people think about and express their digital citizenship in secondary school classes and in their everyday social media use (https://youthdigitalcitizenship.com/the-project/).
Jessica is an Associate Editor (Culture, Power and Education) for Q1 journal, Journal of Intercultural Studies. She also convenes the Oceania Ethnography and Education Network (https://oeenetwork.wordpress.com/).
Read more on Jessica's profileResearch interests
identity, belonging, racism, transnational adoption, intercultural relations
Affiliations
American Anthropological Association
Australian Anthropological Society
The Australian Sociological Association
Korean Studies Association of Australasia
Teaching interests
identity, racism, intercultural relations, qualitative research methods
Conferences
Selected presentations:
Walton, J. 2018. ‘Critically reflecting on intercultural understanding: Empathy, respect and responsibility’. Invited talk for the International Education Division in the Victorian Department of Education and Training’s Intercultural Champions Professional Learning Pilot Project. 6 August.
Walton, J. 2018. ‘‘We laughed because those kids laughed’: Friendship and connection via and on-line classroom exchange program’. Youth Futures: Connection and Mobility in the Asia Pacific, ADI Deakin University, November.
Walton, J. 2017. ‘‘Korea…it’s not really actually an Asian country’: Australian children’s experiences of a global learning school partnership program’. American Anthropological Association, Washington, D.C., November-December.
Walton, J. 2017. ‘Distant friendship: Playful cross-cultural interactions among Australian and Korean students in global on-line collaborative learning exchanges’. Oxford Ethnography and Education Conference, University of Oxford, September.
Walton, J. 2016. ‘Difficult issues, difficult conversations: Teacher-student talk’. Invited speaker for the Asia Education Foundation Summer School: Leading Intercultural Capability. January & May.
Walton, J. McFadzean, M., Molloy, J., Jones-Rizzi, J. and Moses Y. 2016. ‘Really making a difference? Measuring impact in schools’. American Alliance of Museums Conference, Washington, D.C., USA, May.
Walton, J. 2015. South Korean multiculturalism? Understanding children’s everyday experiences in South Korean schools. World Congress for Korean Politics & Society, Gyeongju, South Korea, August.
Awards
Faculty of Education and Arts Postgraduate Research Publication Prize, University of Newcastle (2009)
Australian Network of Student Anthropologists (ANSA) Postgraduate Travel Grant (2008)
Phi Beta Kappa Society for academic excellence (2004)
Projects
2019-2022 Fostering Global Digital Citizenship: Diaspora Youth in a Connected World (Australian Research Council Discovery Project) - CIB.
2016-2019 Navigating difference: Children’s everyday intercultural encounters in Australia and South Korea. (Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award) - Sole CI.
2016-2019 A study of Koreans in Australia and New Zealand: The rise of a new generation and the (post-) communal lives of today and tomorrow (Academy of Korean Studies) - CI.
2015 Examining everyday experiences of inter-ethnic relations in South Korea (Deakin University Central Research Grant) - Sole CI.
2012-2015 Using museums to counter racism and increase acceptance of diversity among young people. (Australian Research Council Linkage) - RF.
Publications
Racism in Australia: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
J Ben, A Elias, A Issaka, M Truong, K Dunn, R Sharples, C McGarty, J Walton, F Mansouri, N Denson, Y Paradies
(2022), Vol. 11, Systematic Reviews, C1
Jessica Walton
(2021), Melbourne, A6
Asian Australians' experiences of racism during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Alanna Kamp, Nida Denson, Rosalie Atie, Kevin Dunn, Rachel Sharples, Matteo Vergani, Jessica Walton, Susan Sisko
(2021), Geelong, Vic., A6
Embodying Multiple Selves: Korean Australian Adoptees' Experiences of Being and Belonging
Jessica Walton
(2020), pp. 21-43, Adoption and multiculturalism : Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific, Ann Arbor, Mich., B1
J Walton
(2020), Vol. 43, pp. 835-853, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
J Walton
(2020), Vol. 51, pp. 195-211, Anthropology and education quarterly, Chichester, Eng., C1
Introduction: everyday multiculturalism in/across Asia
J Walton, A Harris, K Iwabuchi
(2020), Vol. 43, pp. 807-815, Ethnic and racial studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Asian Australian identities: embodiments and inhabitations
M Chakraborty, J Walton
(2020), Vol. 41, pp. 667-676, Journal of intercultural studies, Abingdon, Eng., C1
The politics of conditional citizenship in South Korea: an analysis of the print media
D Hundt, Jessica Walton, Soo Lee
(2019), Vol. 49, pp. 434-451, Journal of contemporary Asia, Abingdon, Eng., C1
J Walton
(2019), Vol. 14, pp. 1-15, Ethnography and Education, London, Eng., C1
J Walton, J Webster
(2019), Vol. 14, pp. 259-263, Ethnography and Education, London, Eng., C1
'I am Korean': contested belonging in a 'multicultural' Korea
J Walton
(2018), pp. 93-115, Interrogating belonging for young people in schools, Basintstoke, Eng., B1
Whiteness and national identity: teacher discourses in Australian primary schools
J Walton, N Priest, E Kowal, F White, Y Paradies, B Fox
(2018), Vol. 21, pp. 132-147, Race ethnicity and education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Beyond 'getting along': understanding embodied whiteness in educational spaces
J Walton
(2017), pp. 59-71, The relationality of race in education research, Abingdon, Eng., B1
'You are not born being racist, are you?' Discussing racism with primary aged-children
N Priest, J Walton, F White, E Kowal, B Fox, Y Paradies
(2016), Vol. 19, pp. 808-834, Race ethnicity and education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Towards reflexive ethnicity: museums as sites of intercultural encounter
J Walton, Y Paradies, F Mansouri
(2016), Vol. 42, pp. 871-889, British educational research journal, London, Eng., C1
Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours Exhibition Evaluation Report
J Walton, Yin Paradies, Emma Kowal, Fethi Mansouri, Naomi Priest, Margaret Kelaher, Moya McFadzean, Carolyn Meehan, Jan Molloy, Linda Sproul
(2016), Melbourne, Vic., A6
Fostering intercultural understanding through secondary school experiences of cultural immersion
J Walton, Y Paradies, N Priest, E Wertheim, E Freeman
(2015), Vol. 28, pp. 216-237, International journal of qualitative studies in education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
Encountering the 'other': interpreting student experiences of a multi-sensory museum exhibition
P Schorch, J Walton, N Priest, Y Paradies
(2015), Vol. 36, pp. 221-240, Journal of intercultural studies, Oxford, Eng., C1
Feeling it: Understanding Korean adoptees' experiences of embodied identity
J Walton
(2015), Vol. 36, pp. 395-412, Journal of intercultural studies, London, Eng., C1
Talking culture? Egalitarianism, color-blindness and racism in Australian elementary schools
J Walton, N Priest, E Kowal, F White, K Brickwood, B Fox, Y Paradies
(2014), Vol. 39, pp. 112-122, Teaching and teacher education, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
N Priest, J Walton, F White, E Kowal, A Baker, Y Paradies
(2014), Vol. 43, pp. 139-155, International journal of intercultural relations, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, C1
'It depends how you're saying it': the conceptual complexities of everyday racism
J Walton, N Priest, Y Paradies
(2013), Vol. 7, pp. 74-90, International journal of conflict and violence, Bielefeld, Germany, C1
Identifying and developing effective approaches to foster intercultural understanding in schools
J Walton, N Priest, Y Paradies
(2013), Vol. 24, pp. 181-194, Intercultural education, Abingdon, Eng., C1
J Walton
(2012), Vol. 11, pp. 443-454, Social policy & society, Cambridge, England, C1-1
J Walton
(2009), pp. 1-15, Other people's children: adoption in Australia, Melbourne, Vic., B1-1
Funded Projects at Deakin
Australian Competitive Grants
Navigating difference: Children's experiences in Australia and South Korea
Dr Jessica Walton
ARC DECRA - Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
- 2019: $27,137
- 2018: $109,505
- 2017: $139,645
- 2016: $137,062
Fostering Global Digital Citizenship: Diaspora Youth in a Connected World
Dr Amelia Johns, Dr Jessica Walton, Dr Gilbert Caluya, Prof Anita Harris
ARC - Discovery Projects
- 2021: $42,800
- 2020: $58,000
- 2019: $56,000
Other Public Sector Funding
Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS)
Prof Michele Grossman, Prof Fethi Mansouri, Prof Shahram Akbarzadeh, Prof Anita Harris, Dr Vanessa Barolsky, Dr Amanuel Elias, Prof Greg Barton, A/Prof Anna Halafoff, Dr Vivian Gerrand, Prof Amanda Keddie, Prof Yin Paradies, Dr Matteo Vergani, Dr Jessica Walton, Prof Chad Whelan, Dr Ana-Maria Bliuc, Dr Philippa Collin, Dr Hass Dellal, Dr Nida Denson, Prof Kevin Dunn, Dr Liam Magee, Dr Liam McGarty, A/Prof Amanda Third, Dr Michael Ungar, Dr Sherene Idriss
- 2019: $1,824,753
- 2018: $1,065,362
Industry and Other Funding
A Study of Koreans in Australia and New Zealand: The Rise of a New Generation and the (Post-)Communal Lives of Today and Tomorrow
A/Prof David Hundt, Dr Jessica Walton
- 2018: $28,292
- 2017: $28,131
- 2016: $31,929
Other Funding Sources
Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS)
Prof Michele Grossman, Prof Fethi Mansouri, Prof Shahram Akbarzadeh, Prof Anita Harris, Dr Vanessa Barolsky, Dr Amanuel Elias, Prof Greg Barton, A/Prof Anna Halafoff, Dr Vivian Gerrand, Prof Amanda Keddie, Prof Yin Paradies, Dr Matteo Vergani, Dr Jessica Walton, Prof Chad Whelan, Dr Ana-Maria Bliuc, Dr Philippa Collin, Dr Hass Dellal, Dr Nida Denson, Prof Kevin Dunn, Dr Liam Magee, Dr Liam McGarty, A/Prof Amanda Third, Dr Michael Ungar, Dr Sherene Idriss
- 2022: $77,203
- 2020: $163,325
- 2019: $112,204
Supervisions
Jehonathan Ben
Thesis entitled: Ambivalent Motions: Eritreans Working Pursuits and Intercultural Connections in Melbourne
Doctor of Philosophy, School of Humanities and Social Sciences