Research projects and scholarships

Deakin University is seeking expressions of interest from potential Indigenous PhD candidates seeking to undertake research into Indigenous representation in design practice. This ARC scholarship position will see the successful Indigenous candidate align their research with the broader aims of the established research team who are examining the effectiveness of the Australian and International Indigenous Design Charter documents. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to develop their own research project as they work with the research team to examine Australian and Canadian practice-based design case studies and interrogate the process undertaken to build ethical relationships between practitioners, stakeholders, and Indigenous Knowledge.

The research outcomes are envisaged to provide significant benefits such as increased Indigenous representation, strengthening relationality methodologies and new methods, and the development of resources to engage appropriately with Indigenous Knowledge. An expected outcome of this research is to enhance Indigenous presence in professional creative practice and to facilitate greater international collaboration between practice-based researchers. Applicants for this PhD candidature should have a demonstrated background in cultural studies, social sciences, design anthropology, or a creative practice discipline which could include communication design or architecture.

Expressions of interest are sought for a PhD scholarship focused on historical Aboriginal objects in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria’, and more generally, on how art museums in Australia engage with ‘ethnographic’ objects. Students and professionals in the fields of anthropology, history, art history, cultural heritage, museum studies, and related fields are encouraged to apply. Indigenous applicants are preferred however non-Indigenous applicants will also be welcomed.

The candidate will be supervised by Associate Professor Tiffany Shellam and Professor Gaye Sculthorpe, leading scholars in history and museum studies at Deakin, in association with Dr Myles Russell-Cook, Senior Curator Indigenous Art, National Gallery of Victoria.

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Expressions of interest are sought for a PhD scholarship for candidates interested in undertaking research that engages Aboriginal communities in the production of new knowledge about under-studied Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander collections in museums. Candidates with established community and museum relationships are particularly encouraged to apply. Indigenous applicants are preferred, however, non-Indigenous candidates will also be welcomed.

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Expressions of interest are sought for a PhD scholarship attached to Dr Jason Gibson’s DECRA project ‘After the Return: Understanding Re-engagements with Aboriginal Collections.’

This project involves research into the history of Indigenous cultural collections and their contemporary uses. The candidate will develop new critical histories of key Australian ethnographic/anthropological collections, interrogate the complex intercultural exchanges between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in this process, and analyse the production of cultural knowledge over time. Students and professionals in the fields of anthropology, history, art history, archaeology, cultural heritage, museum studies, and related fields are encouraged to apply. Indigenous applicants are preferred however non-Indigenous applicants will also be welcomed.

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