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Power on a pedestal: How architecture creates, reinforces, and reflects power structures in the legal system
Get PDFArchitecture—the language of buildings—is a language of both beauty and function. Architecture creates, reinforces, and reflects power structures. It is both a form of art and a physical control. This paper seeks to explore the influence of architecture in the legal context by comparing the architecture of the High Court of Australia and the United States Supreme Court. Through their design and construction, each court tries to invoke certain ideologies and mythologies that justify and legitimise the role of the judiciary in our society as ‘impartial’ arbitrators. This paper reviews several architectural features of each court, explains how those architectural features contribute to the creation and maintenance of the aforementioned ideologies and mythologies, and then reflects on the utility of making such representations to society at large. Importantly, the paper explores more than just the symbology of the courts’ various ornamentation and artworks; instead, it looks to the meaning imparted by the structure of the buildings themselves, focusing the locus of research not on the courtroom but the court as a whole
An implication of cognitive conjointment: From individual to dividual conceptions of self
Get PDFThere is a long tradition of individualism in philosophical conceptions of self. My aim in this paper is to demonstrate that we ought to consider a departure from conceiving of selves in a strictly individual fashion. The extended mind thesis forms the theoretical basis for this claim. This thesis allows for the possibility of cognitive conjointment, wherein two people share (to some degree) cognitive processes. This possibility, so I shall argue, undermines the individualism presupposed by most conceptions of self. Taking the bundle theory of self as my starting point, I demonstrate that cognitive conjointment results in a degree of self conjointment. To account for this possibility, I formulate a dividual conception of self which is compatible with bundle theory and has the added benefit of accounting for cases of ‘split brain’ patients. As cognitive conjointment seems to lead to self conjointment in other theories of self, I suggest that we ought to consider dividual conceptions of self
Finding the ‘other Germany’: Analysing the contested legacy of resistance to Nazism from within the Third Reich
Get PDFHailing from long before the rise of the Third Reich, the concept of a so-called ‘other Germany’ is increasingly used to describe acts of resistance against Nazism undertaken by German individuals. Yet among the tussle of political agendas, a pendulum-swinging change in resistance historiography, and the rise of postwar mythology, the memory and legacy of such resistance has remained contested and incomplete. This paper distinguishes the common threads which link the fractured resistance landscape into one cohesive ‘other Germany’, demonstrating how acts of German resistance—irrespective of their limited effectiveness—maintained a moral and sociocultural legacy which prevailed well after the Second World War and the fall of the Third Reich.
By evaluating the various categorisations by which ‘resistance’ has been understood, the paper first utilises historiographical discourse to devise a multifaceted classification framework. When applied to historical examples, the framework assists in constructing a cohesive picture of German resistance. The second section pinpoints the true legacy of German resistance, accounting for the limited effectiveness of such efforts in light of the obstacles faced by resistors. Incorporating historiographical analysis, it pinpoints how the ‘other Germany’ was a tangible reality which remained faithful to the nation’s prewar moral tradition, and served a valuable role in preserving Germany’s non-Nazi national identity during the postwar era
Insight into suffering: The roles of testimony in exposing child abuse in immigration detention
Get PDFCentral to the objective of most human rights inquiries is the uncovering of incidents of widespread harm, which may then be interpreted according to human rights principles and disseminated to the public in the form of written reports. In this context, testimonies that are firsthand accounts of the traumatic event not only possess significant evidentiary value, but also an advocative and affective capacity. By examining the testimonial narratives of individuals in immigration detention, as documented in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s report, The Forgotten Children: National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention 2014, this paper argues that testimony in the context of human rights is used as a source of evidence, a tool for advocacy, and an affective device. Through these three roles, testimony legitimises the findings of human rights reports by not only granting them the value of truth, but also by capturing the attention of the public and evoking empathy through expressions of suffering
Looking at Political, Societal, and Cultural Changes in 20th Century China Through Analysing Chinese Names
Get PDFThis essay explores the complexities and subtleties behind traditional and twentieth century Chinese names. In Chinese culture, the process of name formation involves a careful consideration of immediate personal, societal and cultural contexts. Whilst highly individualistic on a micro level, when analysed on a macro level, Chinese names reveal telling trends that reflect the changing political, cultural and social landscapes of twentieth century China
Some Notes on a Party
Get PDFThe colour of an invitation can dictate the strength and contour of a gathering
TOTEM
Get PDF‘TOTEM’ is a work that was influenced by times in New Zealand and being immersed in the diversity of Maori culture, as well as developing my own style. Stained glass is also significant in the work with the bold strokes and the spaces in between filled with vibrant colour
Sexual violence and colonial anxieties in Australian literature: A comparison of John Hillcoat’s The Proposition and Kim Scott’s Benang: From the Heart
Get PDFThe perpetration of sexual violence against both European and Indigenous women by white settlers has remained an unspeakable yet looming presence in recollections of the Australian frontier, and in representations of the frontier in Australian literature and art. Indeed, sexual violence throughout Australian history has often been intertwined with race relations and solidifying racial and gender distinctions, and consequently has reflected colonial anxieties over both masculinity and power. John Hillcoat’s 2005 film The Proposition and Kim Scott’s 1999 novel Benang: From the Heart both serve as works of historical fiction that draw attention to the relationship between the frontier, frontier violence, and sexual violence. Both texts investigate how the success of the fledging Australian nation—via the achievement of a culturally and racially pure nation that served as an embodiment of British ideals and values—was heavily intertwined with colonial masculinity, hence sexual violence both endorsed and threatened said idealised success. These works depict sexual violence as an expression of colonial anxieties regarding hegemonic masculinity, with female bodies represented as a means through which to exert said masculinity via the subjugation of the female ‘Other’, with race subsequently playing a vital role in whether said violence is criminalised or endorsed. By engaging with contrasting notions of race and the female body, both texts render sexual violence in Australian history speakable, as it should be
‘Fame and Character’ Requirements: Productive or Persecutive?
Get PDFFor an aspiring lawyer to be admitted to practice in Australia, they must satisfy admission requirements regarding their ‘fame and character’ (FAC). The purpose of FAC requirements is to protect the public and maintain high standards in the legal profession. However, these requirements have been criticised for failing to achieve these aims. This article will seek to address and, as far as possible, settle this debate. I will first outline the current nature of FAC requirements, and then discuss the ways in which FAC requirements can ideally achieve their purpose. I will counterbalance this with a consideration of the practical limitations preventing this potential from being fulfilled. Ultimately, this assessment will conclude that to some extent, FAC requirements protect the public and uphold the standards expected in the legal profession. However, this extent is limited by deficiencies in the practical assessment and application of these requirements. These deficiencies must be remedied if FAC requirements are to continue playing an important role in safeguarding the integrity of the legal profession