Dr Jim Wafer

Dr Jim Wafer

Honorary Senior Lecturer

School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci

Career Summary

Biography

I am an anthropologist with a specialisation in the sub-fields of anthropological linguistics and anthropology of religion. I have published on Australian Aboriginal languages, religions of the African Diaspora (in particular Brazil), Islam, and queer theory and politics. My current research interest entails a reconstruction of the texts composed in the Hunter River-Lake Macquarie language by Lancelot Threlkeld in the early 19th century.

Research Expertise
Australian Indigenous languages, with a focus on those of NSW in general and of the Hunter River-Lake Macquarie region in particular.

Collaborations
I am a member of the Endangered Languages Documentation, Theory and Application group at the University of Newcastle.


Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, Indiana University - USA
  • PhD (2nd Qual), Indiana University - USA
  • Bachelor of Arts (Honours), University of Newcastle
  • Diploma in Education, Newcastle College of Advanced Education
  • Master of Arts (Religious Studies), Indiana University - USA
  • Master of Arts (Anthropology), Indiana University - USA

Keywords

  • Australian Indigenous Languages

Languages

  • Portuguese (Fluent)

Awards

Research Award

Year Award
2013 Murray Chapman Award
Unknown
2011 Murray Chapman Award
Unknown
1992 Victor Turner Prize in Ethnographic Writing
Unknown
1990 Esther L. Kinsley Prize
Unknown
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Publications

For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.


Book (4 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2017 Wafer J, Turpin M, 'Recirculating songs: revitalising the singing practices of Indigenous Australia' (2017)
2010 Wafer J, 'The Taste of Blood Spirit Possession in Brazilian Candomble' (2010)
2008 Wafer JW, Lissarrague A, 'A Handbook of Aboriginal Languages of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory' (2008) [A1]
2000 Wafer JW, Southgate E, Coan LF, 'Out in the Valley: Hunter Gay and Lesbian Histories' (2000) [A3]
Show 1 more book

Chapter (15 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2017 Vaarzon-Morel P, Wafer JW, ''Bilingual time' at Willowra: the beginnings of a community-initiated program, 1976-1977.', 35-48 (2017) [B1]
2017 Skinner G, Wafer JW, 'A checklist of colonial era musical transcriptions of Australian Indigenous songs', 360-404 (2017) [B1]
2017 Wafer JW, 'Introduction: everything got a song', 1-42 (2017) [B1]
2017 Wafer JW, 'Ghost-writing for Wulatji: incubation and "re-dreaming" as song revitalisation practices', 187-244 (2017) [B1]
2016 Wafer JW, 'Why Waway? The Proctor map and the getting of song in New South Wales.', 287-303 (2016) [B1]
2015 Wafer JW, Hodge D, 'Select bibliography', 280-298 (2015)
2015 Wafer JW, 'Don't talk about sex in public - it's Newcastle', 271-278 (2015) [B1]
2014 Wafer JW, 'Placenames as a guide to language distribution in the Upper Hunter, and the landnám problem in Australian toponomastics', 57-81 (2014) [B1]
2010 Wafer JW, Lissarrague AS, 'The Kuringgai puzzle: Languages and dialects on the NSW Mid Coast', 626, 145-158 (2010) [B1]
2000 Wafer JW, '"Uncle Doreen's Family Drag Album: A Reading of Hunter Valley Social History from a Gay Man's Perspective"', 9-202 (2000) [B1]
1997 Wafer JW, 'Muhammad and male homosexuality', 87-104 (1997)
1997 Wafer JW, 'Vision and passion: The symbolism of male love in islamic mystical literature', 107-131 (1997)
1996 Wafer JW, 'Out of the closet and into print: sexual identity in the textual field', 261-273 (1996)
1996 Wafer JW, 'After the field', 259-272 (1996)
1994 Wafer JW, Dunn/Holland W, Fletcher M, Hodge D, Milera EJ, Saunders R, 'Peopling the empty mirror: the prospects for lesbian and gay Aboriginal history', 1-62 (1994)
Show 12 more chapters

Creative Work (2 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2013 Wafer JW, 'Newcastle Dreaming', 116-139 (2013) [J2]
2013 Wafer JW, Askin X, 'Keep NEwcastle Weird', i-155 (2013)

Journal article (3 outputs)

Year Citation Altmetrics Link
2011 Wafer J, Carey HM, 'Waiting for Biraban: Lancelot Threlkeld and the 'Chibcha Phenomenon' in Australian Missionary Linguistics', Language and History, 54, 112-139 (2011) [C1]
DOI 10.1179/175975311X13134155635310
Citations Scopus - 8Web of Science - 1
2004 Ostenfeld SA, Wafer JW, Woodgate KB, 'Queer Studies: Where but Here?', Inter-Cultural Studies, 4, 9-18 (2004) [C1]
1990 Wafer JW, Santana HR, 'Africa in Brazil: cultural politics and the Candomblé religion', Folklore Forum, 23, 98-114 (1990)
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Grants and Funding

Summary

Number of grants 4
Total funding $16,947

Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.


20021 grants / $3,000

Queer Studies: Out from the Centre, from 29 to 30 October 2002, Noah's on the Beach$3,000

Funding body: University of Newcastle

Funding body University of Newcastle
Project Team Dr Shane Ostenfeld, Dr Jim Wafer, Dr Kenneth Woodgate
Scheme Conference Establishment Grant
Role Investigator
Funding Start 2002
Funding Finish 2002
GNo G0182152
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON Y

20011 grants / $4,947

Handbook of Aboriginal Languages of New South Wales$4,947

Funding body: Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies

Funding body Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies
Project Team Dr Jim Wafer
Scheme Research Grant
Role Lead
Funding Start 2001
Funding Finish 2001
GNo G0181593
Type Of Funding Aust Competitive - Commonwealth
Category 1CS
UON Y

19961 grants / $4,000

The development of a gay and lesbian community in Newcastle and the Hunter region.$4,000

Funding body: University of Newcastle

Funding body University of Newcastle
Project Team Dr Jim Wafer
Scheme Project Grant
Role Lead
Funding Start 1996
Funding Finish 1996
GNo G0175702
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON Y

19951 grants / $5,000

The changing relations between social structure and practice in the remote Aboriginal community of Tjukurla.$5,000

Funding body: University of Newcastle

Funding body University of Newcastle
Project Team Dr Jim Wafer
Scheme Project Grant
Role Lead
Funding Start 1995
Funding Finish 1995
GNo G0174946
Type Of Funding Internal
Category INTE
UON Y
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Dr Jim Wafer

Position

Honorary Senior Lecturer
School of Humanities, Creative Ind and Social Sci
College of Human and Social Futures

Contact Details

Email james.wafer@newcastle.edu.au
Link Google+
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