Migrants, Television & Australian Stories

Migrants, Television and Australian Stories: A New History

Kate Darian-Smith, Sue Turnbull, Sukhmani Khorana and Kyle Harvey

TO BE LAUNCHED BY PEARL TAN 

Please join the authors for the launch of this pioneering new study of migration and television in Australia, to be launched by Pearl Tan.

Migrants, Television and Australian Stories: A New History examines the intertwined histories of television and migration in Australia, told from the perspectives of migrants who worked in the screen industry and the many more who watched television. Their stories demonstrate how Australia’s growing cultural diversity has challenged conventional representations of ‘Australianness’ on television, and how ongoing advocacy has supported the growing inclusivity of multiple narratives and diverse experiences on screen.

The first comprehensive Australian study of migrants and television, this book considers the ways multicultural audiences have experienced the small screen over seven decades. This new history takes us to digital screen production and consumption today, exploring how Australians of many diasporas engage with the global network of screen content in the twenty-first century. It is essential reading for media professionals, advocates, students and those interested in the intersections between media, cultural diversity and the nation.

‘An invaluable and insightful examination of how far we’ve come in showcasing our stories and communities, and a reminder of how far we’ve yet to go.’ – Benjamin Law, writer and broadcaster

‘A pioneering study of the parallel stories of media and migration in modern Australia.’ – Professor Bridget Griffen-Foley, Macquarie University 

‘This important book has provided us with much needed new perspectives from which to investigate the intersection of migration, television, identity and belonging within the cultures of everyday life.’ – Emeritus Professor Graeme Turner, University of Queensland

RSVP ESSENTIAL

Pearl Tan is a multi-hyphenate creator in the audio and screen industries. She is the Discipline Lead in Directing at AFTRS. Pearl is completing her PhD in Creative Practice at UNSW, researching the experience of diverse creatives in the screen industry. As part of her PhD, she released a fictional podcast entitled Diversity Work which has won multiple awards at the Webby Awards, New York Festivals Radio Awards, Signal Awards and more.

Kate Darian-Smith is a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne and President of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. A historian and interdisciplinary scholar, Kate has published widely on the histories of social and cultural change in Australia, including in the areas of migration, media, children, memory studies, oral history and cultural heritage. 

Sue Turnbull is a Senior Professor of Communication and Media at the University of Wollongong. She has published extensively on media audiences and television and her most recent book with Marion McCutcheon is Transnational TV Crime: From the Nordic to the Outback (Edinburgh University Press, 2024). 

Sukhmani Khorana is a Scientia Associate Professor in the School of Arts and Media at UNSW. She is the external co-lead of the Migration, Im/mobility and Belonging research theme at the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies, University of Sydney. Sukhmani has published extensively on media diversity, mediated emotions and refugee narratives.

Kyle Harvey is a historian based in Melbourne. His research explores culture, media and social change in Australia and the United States, and he has published widely on television history, migration, social movements and radical thought. Kyle is the author of American Anti-Nuclear Activism, 1975-1990 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).