February 16 – 18, 2014
By Alexander Corwin
On Sunday,
February 16, we returned to Brisbane from our respective research trips. I
visited Byron Bay in New South Wales with three other students. We had an
amazing time; the town is stunningly beautiful and very laid back. We were able
to get a lot of research done while enjoying the majestic scenery—a win in my
book!
As a group, we
cannot wait to explore Brisbane. The city roughly resembles Portland with its
large central river and many bridges. The ethnic food we have enjoyed in West
End, the same neighborhood the GED office is located in, has been delectable. I
have twice visited a small Greek taverna called The Little Greek. Their style
of cooking and warm hospitality reminds me of my Greek grandmother, my Yia-Yia,
and all the times she prepared traditional Greek meals for me as a child.
On Monday, we
commenced classes in Brisbane. Our first lecture concerned women’s roles in
contemporary Australia, along with a brief history of early female settlers and
convicts. Females were outnumbered 6:1 during the first few decades of English
settlement in Australia. Female convicts and settlers were infamous for being
promiscuous and sexually active. That is largely the case however, because some
women had to negotiate their place in convict settler society using their
sexuality as means of survival. Sexuality was one of the few things these women
actually had control over, and thus some used it to their advantage. This theme
vaguely echoes sentiments voiced much later in the second wave feminist
movement of the 1960s and 1970s, especially by Australian Germaine Greer. In The Female Eunuch, Greer asserts that
the nuclear family represses women sexually, rendering them powerless eunuchs.
To Greer, sexual liberation is the key to women’s liberation. We also learned
about the first wave of feminism in Australia, which achieved female suffrage
in federal elections in 1902, long before 1920, when American women had
suffrage in federal elections.
Our second
lecture on Monday covered Australian environmental history since European
settlement. We discussed the initial British attitudes toward the continent and
their futile attempts to transform the landscape into something more
reminiscent of England. We then explored Australia’s history of land use and
extensive exploitation, beginning with the enormous sheep trade in the early
1830s all the way to contemporary issues with agro-business and factory
farming. Lastly, we briefly covered the rise of Suburbia in Australia, which closely
mirrored the post-war de-urbanization trend that America experienced during the
1950s.
I constantly
find it interesting how similar Australia is to America. Sometimes, I find
myself walking down the street and falling into a daydream thinking I am back
in the States. While Australia usually follows in America’s economic footsteps,
the States should take a cue from Australia on their progressivism on social
issues. Gun control is a non-issue here and many Australians are appalled by the
relaxed gun laws in the United States, especially considering the insanely high
incidences of school and mass shootings. Their tobacco laws are also better:
cigarettes are taxed significantly higher here and packs cannot be openly
displayed in stores. Also, packs now feature pictures of the health horrors caused
by smoking. A similar piece of legislation failed to pass in my home state of
NY, even though studies clearly prove that not having cigarettes visible behind
store counters truly cuts down on minors smoking.
A few other
observations: Australians have mandatory paid vacations, enjoy longer maternity
leave, and many jobs even offer paternity leave. More Australian cities have
bike share programs than their American counterparts. Last but certainly not
least, healthcare: while our system is on its way to being fixed, there is much
work to do. Australians have enjoyed great state-provided healthcare for years
now, and America is only starting to catch up.
Well, those are my humble reflections!
Best,
Lex
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