The Uses and Abuses of Digital Spaces: A Gendered Perspective
Is there a meaningful difference between online and offline hate speech? Is trolling a gendered activity? Has hashtag activism (e.g. #MeToo; #SayHerName) successfully progressed women’s liberation? Do words and images (e.g. online comments and memes) harm internet users, or merely hurt or offend them? How should we understand specific digital communities’ roles in shaping the contemporary men, women, and/or persons beyond the binary? What should we make of online discourses that denigrate people of different genders? Is digital abuse on the basis of gender inevitable?
Two $3000 scholarships are available to students undertaking Honours in Humanities in 2022 ($1,500ea per semester) to conduct independent research about gender-hostile speech supervised by Dr Louise Richardson-Self. Each student will consider one of the above questions, or a closely related question developed in consultation with Dr Richardson-Self, as the subject of their Honours Thesis.
To be eligible, students must have achieved a Distinction-average or above in a relevant major at an Australian University. This study can be undertaken in face-to-face, mixed, or wholly online modes.
The project will be primarily supervised by Dr Louise Richardson-Self aligned with her Australian Research Council-funded project investigating hate speech against women online. Depending on the student’s disciplinary background, a suitable secondary supervisor may also be involved in the project.
n 2019 Dr Richardson-Self was awarded a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award from the Australian Research Council to support her research project Hate Speech Against Women Online: Concepts and Countermeasures (DE190100719). She is seeking to supervise up to two Honours students whose major research thesis will explore one of the above dot-point questions with particular emphasis on the role and impact of gender in this domain.
Eligibility
Available to students commencing Humanities Honours in Semester 1, 2022, in the College of Arts, Law and Education, specialising in Philosophy or Gender Studies. Students will need to satisfy the Honours entry requirements of the relevant discipline, to be discussed with the Honours Coordinator.
Ongoing Eligibility: To retain this award, recipients are required to achieve a minimum Pass result in all units studied each semester.
Apply
On application, students should submit a brief proposal (maximum 500 words) which states their nominated research question and explains how they would approach this research, or why this area of research appeals to them considering their disciplinary background.
Number of awards
2
Amount of Each Award
$3,000
Duration
One year
Application Closing Date
31 January 2022
