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Academia

Academic Blergh

I’ve decided to set up a new academic blog for me to ruminate on the big questions I grapple with in my studies and, in the future, my work. I chose the title ‘Blergh’ from one of my favourite TV shows, 30 Rock. For a blog that will mesh my interests in academia, pop culture, […]

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Content Analysis Discourse Analysis Literature Review Research Methods The Simpsons

Content Analysis Revisited

I’ve noticed what might be called a ‘long-tail‘ of search referrals from people looking for information on content analysis. As a result, I’ve decided to write up my experiences with content analysis in some detail in this post. For a brief primer on what content analysis actually is, please see this Wikipedia page. My introduction […]

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Academia Media

Television and the Nation

While buzzing around the University of Wollongong website yesterday, I came across this little news story talking about the role of television in constructing ideas about the nation. The story talked about a seminar at UOW today titled ‘Television, Popular Memory and the Nation’, which is very similar to the topic of my honours thesis. […]

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Media

If Fairfax Falls, What of Rural Papers?

The extraordinary developments at Fairfax have been well-covered throughout the Australian media and blogosphere. In particular, the Jonathan Green on The Drum, Andrew Jaspan in The Conversation and Eric Beecher in Crikey are very good articles, full of insight and context. But, if Fairfax falls, what will become of rural and regional papers? Or, perhaps […]

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Academia Media

Embiggening Our Understanding

In his seminal work Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson wrote of the ways nations are constructed – of the common symbols and artefacts that define peoples within national borders. Equally potent are the symbols used to define others within those borders, or to signify they are outsiders. It is the symbols used in The Simpsons to […]