Dr Hedda Askland

Biography

I have been employed as a tutor, instructor and researcher at the University of Newcastle since 2006. I currently work as a Research Associate at the School of Architecture and Built Environment, where I have been employed in a research capacity since completing my PhD in July 2009. Since January 2010, I have been working as the Project Manager of the ALTC project Assessing Creativity: Strategies and Tools to Support Teaching and Learning in Architecture and Design. This project explores the question of creativity as it relates to design and architecture education and aims to develop a conceptual framework for understanding creativity in the context of design.

I hold a Candidata Magisterii (Can.Mag.) degree from the University of Bergen, Norway, majoring in social anthropology, and a Masters of Social Science and a PhD (Sociology/Anthropology) from The University of Newcastle, Australia. I am a past recipient of the highly competitive L. Meltzers Høyskolefond (2001, 2002) and the Commonwealth Government funded International Research Scholarship, and in 2007 I won The University of Newcastle School of Humanities and Social Science Publication Prize. For my PhD, I conducted an ethnographic study of East Timorese living in Australia, specifically focusing on how political unrest and national crisis affect exiles’ experiences of self, community and nation. Both my past and present research have been published in book chapters, international refereed journals, and presented at international conferences.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy, University of Newcastle, 2010
• Master of Social Science, University of Newcastle, 2005

Research

Research keywords

• Anthropology
• Assessment practice
• Creativity
• Design
• Diaspora
• East Timor
• Ethnography
• Exile
• Identity and belonging
• Narrative
• Nationalism
• Refugees and asylum seekers
• Teaching and learning

Research expertise

My research background is in the field of social and cultural anthropology. Through my postgraduate studies (Master of Social Science (research) and PhD) I have explored issues related to migration, diaspora, exile, home, community, identity and belonging. Whereas my Master thesis considers the question of a particular group of young East-Timorese exiles in the immediate aftermath of the Indonesian occupation and explores the impact of the Australian Government's immigration policies on the situation of this particular group of asylum seekers, my PhD focuses on issues related to the broader diasporic community. The PhD thesis, entitled 'East Timorese in Melbourne: Community and Identity at a Time of Political Unrest in Timor-Leste', considers how political unrest and national crisis affect exiles’ experiences of self, community and nation. It is an ethnographic study of East-Timorese expatriates’ lives after the realisation of independence in East Timor that aims to improve the understanding of the ways in which expatriates and diaspora communities experience and relate to violence and radical political change in their home country.

As is suggested by the topics of my postgraduate studies, my key professional interests surround issues related to refugees, exile, human rights, democracy, conflict resolution, development, and political, social and cultural change. Through my research, I have gained an in-depth understanding of complex issues related to nationbuilding, migration, immigration policy, communal structures, violence and unrest, and challenges related to policy and practice in developing countries. In conjunction, through my studies I have developed a strong interest in the question of ethnographic field research and, more particularly, methodological and ethical issues related to doing research in volatile communities and with vulnerable groups.

I currently work as part of an interdisciplinary team on an ALTC project that explores the question of creativity in the context of design and architecture education. This project considers the question of creativity in architecture and design and questions how creativity, as an aspired learning outcome of the design disciplines, can be assessed. My transfer from anthropology to the discipline of architecture and design has led to a growing interest in the emerging field of design anthropology, and one of my new research interests is the interplay of socio-cultural structures and design.

Collaboration

As part of my work at the School of Architecture and Built Environment, I have worked in a research team with members from a number of universities, including: RMIT University, Deakin University, the University of Tasmania, Monash University, and Queensland University of Technology. I have also worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team based at the University of Newcastle, which includes the disciplines of anthropology, indigenous studies, architecture, construction management, architectural history and design.

Languages

• English
• Norwegian

Fields of Research

Centres and Groups

Centre