Reorienting the Mobile: Australasian Imaginaries |
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| Authors: | Gerard Goggin |
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| Institution: | Journalism and Media Research Centre , University of New South Wales , Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Abstract: | In this paper, I approach the question of mobiles in Asian countries by considering the case of Australia. I do so by way of a preliminary inquiry that seeks to explore the intersection between the emergence of mobiles in Australia with transformations in that country's sense of its relationship with Asia. First I discuss the history of the mobile phone in Australia, noting some important uses and representations that formed part of its social shaping. Second, I explore mobiles and the paradoxes of multiculturalism, and also how digital technologies became central to political culture and identity debates in Australia in the early to-mid 1990s. Third, I look at some important moments in the social shaping of text messaging, in which questions of cultural difference were decisive. Finally, I offer concluding remarks about future research on mobiles in Australia and how they are tied into Asian identities. |
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| Keywords: | Asia Australia identity media culture mobiles race technology |
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