This inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary project seeks to examine the emerging idea of 'transformation' and understand the associated models of change which are being developed in relation to it. The project will identify and assess the impact of transformations in politics, culture, and society. The role of media in provoking, supporting and representing such changes - for example, art and art history, cinema and film, literature and poetry, music, newspapers, and television and radio - will also be explored.


The project will critically engage with a number of core themes;

  • dissolution, liberation, reconstruction; political, and economic rejuvenation
  • invasion, resistance, revolution
  • coalitions, governments, social reform, and the presentation of political agendas
  • state control of media
  • the place of street drama, posters, graffiti
  • the importance of land
  • education, student rebellions, and the role of the intelligentsia
  • cultural revolutions: status of women, feminism, sexual freedom; representations of gender, ethnicity, sexuality; pornography
  • exposure of labour issues
  • cultural difference and otherness
  • international confrontation
  • the impact of globalisation
  • third world issues
  • medical and social issues in film
  • role of religion and religious institutions
  • role and influence of the United States
  • influence of new technologies and access to data
  • the role of the law and legal processes
  • market economies

Related themes will also be identified for development and exploration. Out of our deliberations it is anticipated that a series of related cross context research projects will develop.