What's On at UWA

The annual Isabelle Lake Memorial lecture is an initiative of the Equal Opportunity Commission of Western Australia in partnership with the University of Western Australia. Isabelle was a young trans rights activist and former UWA student and transitioned shortly before she sadly passed away from leukaemia aged 21 in 2012.

Each year we honour her work, achievements and commitment to equality and inclusion through the Isabelle Lake Memorial lecture – further information is attached.

This is a free public event.

“I wish I still played” is a chorus oft heard by those who make music. But recent scientific evidence has demonstrated that you take your music experience with you for your entire life. From a better connected brain, better numeracy and literacy, and increased physical development, we now know that music is one of the best activities you can undertake. Come and hear about the astounding superfood – music!

A public lecture by Stacia Gordon, Associate Professor, University of Nevada-Reno.

The Himalayan mountain belt began to form as a result of the collision of India with Asia ~50 million years ago. This mountain belt continues to grow today, and has resulted in the largest mountains on Earth. As the Himalaya has grown taller, it also has grown deeper. At depth (~40 km below Earth’s surface), pressures and temperatures are so great as to begin to melt and ductilely deform rocks that were originally at the surface of India and Asia. These rocks form the base or the roots of the Himalayan mountain belt. Across the Himalaya, some of the rocks that were buried to these great depths have since been exhumed back to the surface. Tiny, but very rugged minerals extracted from these exposed rocks represent time capsules that preserve a record of the thermal, chemical, and temporal evolution of Himalayan rocks from burial to exhumation.

In this lecture Dr Gordon will trace this evolution through the Bhutanese Himalaya, describing how the tiny crystals reveal the role of melting, deformation, major fault systems, and erosion in the evolution of the mountain belt. The data collected from the active Himalaya are crucial for understanding ancient mountain systems where much of the record of their evolution has been erased.

Dr Gordon is a UWA Robert and Maude Gledden Senior Visiting Fellow.

Contemporary Martu rarely harvest grass seeds but inadvertently foster patches of grass when they burn to hunt burrowed monitor lizards, demonstrating that grass seeds need only be by-products, rather than intended crops, of firestick farming. Nonetheless, repeatedly setting hunting fires in the same area creates mosaics of seed and small game patches that, in the past, ensured that grass seeds were reliably available whenever small game hunting success was poor and distances between hunting patches long. Such circumstances were most likely during the Mid Holocene when ENSO climatic variability reduced the water sources that could support foraging. I suggest that prolonged occupation around those isolated sources that remained triggered both the emergence of anthropogenic fire mosaics and fuelled population growth, leading to seed-based foraging economies. Evidence of Pleistocene seed milling likely accommodated seed distributions created in fire regimes other than the mosaic burning conducted by Martu today, and should have been organized differently than their Late Holocene successors.

Music and performance are universal human social activities, yet their ephemerality means they are often invisible in the material record. Even venues associated with performance are quickly repurposed for other uses.The heritage of music and performance is specifically tied to cities and towns, like Nashville, Memphis, Liverpool, Glasgow, and Hollywood. Likewise, Perth and Fremantle comprise a musical metropolis, albeit much of it underground and existing within specific sub-cultures. Recent archaeological work at the Artillery Drill hall in Fremantle provided a priceless chance to investigate a place with a significant link to music and performance. Although first constructed in 1895 as a military building, the Hall was also used throughout the 20th century as a social space, hosting balls, performances and concerts. The Drill Hall was eventually repurposed as the music venue the Fly-By-Night Musicians Club in the early 1980s, and lasting as such for over 30 years. This seminar investigates the Artillery Drill Hall as a social space specifically linked to music and performance and investigates the importance of the musical heritage of Perth. It also investigates how doing archaeology is a highly performative process.

This public event, hosted in collaboration with the Australia Korea Business Council of Western Australia (AKBCWA) and the Australia - Korea Business Council (AKBC) will examine the current political climate in the Korean Peninsula. Perth USAsia Centre CEO Professor L. Gordon Flake together with the National Leader of Deloitte's Korea Services Group, Mr Young Yu, will share their insights as they explore the diplomatic, security, and business implications of the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, former President of South Korea, the assassination of Kim-Jong Nam and North Korea's ballistic missile programme. Growing instability within Northeast Asia and the upcoming Presidential Election in South Korea are two reasons why this is an event not to be missed for anyone who wants to understand what is happening on the Korean Peninsula

Nigel Farage’s Brexit, Donald Trump’s presidency and Pauline Hanson’s comeback to Australian politics have all been labelled examples of populism. What was unthinkable a few years ago has become a reality. The revival of nationalism, xenophobia, economic and political isolationism and the mistrust of the elites appealed to many voters disappointed with traditional politics. The media has compared the new realities to the rise of National Socialism in Europe in the 1930s. However, a truly global perspective that includes the rise of populism in non-Western societies has received less attention. If the analogy to the 1930s is right but the scale of the populist phenomenon is bigger, are we heading for a global conflict that is greater than WWII? What can ordinary citizens do? In this public forum and Q&A, scholars from the University of Western Australia will discus the causes, current forms and possible consequences of populism in Australia, France, India, Indonesia, Turkey, the UK and the USA.

Be transported from the everyday in our free lunchtime concert series, featuring the finest musical talent locally, nationally and within the School.

Darkened Descent by Intercurrent

Ashley Smith (clarinets), Louise Devenish (percussion) and Emily Green-Armytage (piano) with guest Adam Tan (percussion).

Darkened Descent explores the ominous yet pensive combination of bass clarinet, percussion and piano as handled by composers on opposite sides of the globe. The warm earthy blends of John Luther Adams are set against the music of award-winning Western Australian composer Lachlan Skipworth, including the new work Intercurrent commissioned for this program.

An immersive listening experience like no other.

Entry is free, no bookings required.

Now in its third season, Fridays@Five is the ideal way to kick-start your weekend! Each session offers a unique musical experience to delight all music lovers, from young artist led concerts to informal musical drinks on the famous grassy knoll, behind the scenes workshops to lectures and masterclasses. Join us each week for a delightful musical surprise!

Entry is free, no bookings required

The exceptional ability of young emerging artists and their passion for music will always create an extraordinary experience for concertgoers. In 2017 four outstanding orchestral and choral concerts will feature Western Australia’s finest young musicians.

The exceptional ability of our young emerging artists is celebrated as three young performers compete in the finals of the prestigious VOSE Concerto Competition. To complete the program the UWA Symphony Orchestra will be joined on stage by the Symphonic Chorus of UWA and talented school choristers to present Stravinsky’s masterpiece Symphony of Psalms.

VOSE Memorial Prize Finalists Nielson Concerto for Flute and Orchestra - Megan Barbetti (Flute) Abe Prism Rhapsody - Jet Kye Chong (Marimba) Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 - Jeremy Garside (Cello)

Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms

Tickets Standard $25 Concession $20 Friends of UWA School of Music $18

Website Bookings: www.perthconcerthall.com.au Phone Bookings: Perth Concert Hall Box Office 9231 9999 In Person: Perth Concert Hall Box Office Mon – Fri 9.00am – 5.00pm

Interested in learning about multi-modal feedback? Now is the time!

Research indicates that written, audio and video feedback on assessments results in a positive impact on engagement, performance and overall perception of the unit and its coordinator.

In this session you will have the opportunity to:

*examine how feedback methods intersect with UWA’s new assessment policy,

*review the results of some recent Australia studies investigating the provision of multi-modal feedback on staff and students,

*learn more about how the Centre for Education Futures strategic “Shooting Stars” Initiative aims to enable staff to adopt new feedback methods, and

*explore possible workflows for integrating audio and video with written feedback, enabling you to provide more feedback in less time.

Register for this event via the Eventbrite link below.

No one knows what the unexpected election of Donald Trump will mean for the broadly conceived Asia-Pacific region. What we do know, however, is that it is likely to be very different from what has gone before. At the very least it will draw a line under Obama’s ‘Pivot’ to Asia and to specific initiatives like the Trans Pacific Partnership. The familiar basis of US regional engagement that has been in place for half a century may be replaced by a more ‘transactional’ approach to foreign policy that places ‘America’s national interest’ ahead of all others. This presentation considers what this may mean for East Asia in particular by considering some of the deeply integrated geopolitical and geo-economic dynamics that currently drive regional relations, but which seem to have been given little consideration by the incoming administration.

Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia (BIIP) is a fear triggered by blood, an injury,or by receiving an injection or other invasive medical procedure. People with BIIP vary in their reactions and may feel disgust, nausea, dizziness or even faint.

The Robin Winker Clinic will be running a group treatment program for BIIP under the supervision of Associate Professor Carmela Pestell. It will run for 7 two-hour sessions as well as an initial assessment and a follow-up session.

Through this program, individuals will work in a supportive, confidential environment to challenge their fears and learn coping strategies for anxiety and to prevent fainting or feelings of disgust.

Our last sale sold out before 2pm. Any remaining plants will be sold on Friday 26th May at 12 - 2pm. We have a large selection of succulents as well as exotics, natives and herbs. Most plants will be $3-$5 with most herbs less. It is cash only and bring your own bag/box if possible. All proceeds will be spent on the grounds of UWA.

CMSS Religion, State and Society Seminar Series:

"The Saudi State as an Identity Racketeer"

Although substantial research has examined the Saudi state’s symbiosis with the Islamic revivalist movement commonly known as ‘Wahhabism’, few studies have considered how the dynamics of state formation underpin this relationship. This paper argues that a continuous and circular political logic lies behind the Saudi state’s patronage of the revivalist movement since 1744 and proposes a four-stage model that explains how and why the regime has maintained its support for the revivalist movement over such a prolonged period. The presentation first outlines the model, then presents a detailed analysis of its persistent presence in the development of Saudi state authority in order to highlight the recurrent manner by which the state often has constructed the spiritual concerns of revivalists to counter challenges to its authority, a pattern demonstrated most recently during the Arab Spring and the war in Yemen. The effects of this model will continue to shape the decisions, policies and perceptions of the Saudi political elite for the foreseeable future.

Dr. Ben Rich focuses his research on Middle Eastern affairs, political violence and international relations. He researches Saudi affairs, military policy and power politics in the Persian Gulf, as well as a range of topics relating to terrorism and insurgency.

Livelihoods, Fire Regimes, and Novel Ecosystems in Indigenous Australia

We are currently experiencing what Elizabeth Kolbert calls the planet's sixth great extinction. Australia represents the largest contributor to the mammalian component of this catastrophe. This presentation explores extinction processes in the most remote parts of Australia’s Western Desert with analyses of ecological interactions mediated in Aboriginal livelihoods. I investigate contemporary and historic relationships among invasive species, disturbance regimes, and Aboriginal land use, especially those associated with patterns of anthropogenic fire and their role in facilitating fundamental trophic interactions. These analyses suggest that, especially with increasingly variable climatic conditions, the efficacy of conservation and habitat restoration throughout much of the arid zone will likely depend on land management prescriptions modelled on Indigenous fire regimes.

Investigating Dingaal Seascapes on the Great Barrier Reef, Far North Queensland

Jiigurru or Lizard Island is a continental island on the Great Barrier Reef 250km north of Cairns and 30km from the mainland. The archipelago of islands forming an arc between Jiigurru and Cape Flattery on the mainland are traditionally owned by Dingaal people. The island is tightly enmeshed in a long and complex history of trade and exchange along the western margin of the Coral Sea which remains poorly understood. Dingaal country has also been at the centre of a sometimes violent recent history extending from Cook’s visit in 1770 and including the death of Mary Watson in 1881 and subsequent retributive killings. A richly storied cultural landscape including Dingaal histories, stone arrangements, shell middens, rock art and 19th and 20th century sites allow us to begin to engage with aspects of these histories in association with Dingaal. Here we outline preliminary results of a new phase of archaeological research on Lizard Island that commenced in 2012.

The period following the Second World War saw a massive increase in fishing effort, particularly in the 1960s. However, crashes due to this overfishing began to be reflected in global catch trends in the 1970s, and intensified in the 1980s and 1990s. In response, the industrialised countries of the Northern Hemisphere (where over fishing-induced catch declines appeared first) moved their effort toward deeper waters, and toward the south, i.e., to the coasts of developing countries, and beyond into the southern hemisphere, all the way to Antarctica. Now, in the second decade of the 21st century, the global expansion of fisheries is completed, and the real global catch, which is much higher than officially reported, peaked in the late 1980s and is now rapidly declining. In parallel, the collateral damage to marine ecosystems and biodiversity continues to increase. Several factors act to prevent the public in developed countries from realising the depth of the crisis fisheries are in, notably the increased imports by developed countries, of seafood from developing countries. Also, the misleading perception that aquaculture can substitute for declining catches is widespread. In some countries, notably the U.S., stocks are being rebuilt, but elsewhere, the failure to respond creatively to these clear trends bode ill for the next decades. Indeed, the effects of global warming (productivity declines in the tropics, widespread disruptions at high latitudes), which have been increasingly felt in the last decades, will strongly impact fisheries and global seafood supply.

A public lecture by Professor Daniel Pauly, fisheries expert and marine conservationist

In this public lecture, Professor Pauly takes a historical look at fisheries, and comments on the current challenges of global food security.

The period following the Second World War saw a massive increase in fishing effort, particularly in the 1960s. However, crashes due to this overfishing began to be reflected in global catch trends in the 1970s, and intensified in the 1980s and 1990s. In response, the industrialised countries of the Northern Hemisphere (where overfishing-induced catch declines appeared first) moved their effort toward deeper waters, and toward the south, i.e., to the coasts off developing countries, and beyond into the southern hemisphere, all the way to Antarctica.

Now, in the second decade of the 21st century, the global expansion of fisheries is completed, and the real global catch, which is much higher than officially reported, peaked in the late 1980s and is now rapidly declining. In parallel, the collateral damage to marine ecosystems and biodiversity continues to increase. Several factors act to prevent the public in developed countries from realising the depth of the crisis fisheries are in, notably the increased imports by developed countries, of seafood from developing countries. Also, the misleading perception that aquaculture can substitute for declining catches is widespread. In some countries, notably the U.S., stocks are being rebuilt, but elsewhere, the failure to respond creatively to these clear trends bode ill for the next decades. Indeed, the effects of global warming (productivity declines in the tropics, widespread disruptions at high latitudes), which have been increasingly felt in the last decades, will strongly impact fisheries and global seafood supply.

Join Maïa Ponsonnet, from the University of Sydney, as she explores compassion in Indigenous languages. A number of Indigenous languages in the Top End display a highly conventionalised intonation contour that is used in emotionally tinted contexts relating in particular to compassion.

Be transported from the everyday in our free lunchtime concert series, featuring the finest musical talent locally, nationally and within the School.

Under the direction of Dr Jonathan Fitzgerald, the UWA Guitar Studio perform a selection of works for solo, duo and ensemble in this intimate free concert.

Entry is free, no bookings required.