ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET

UTS: FACULTY OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

SUBJECT NUMBER & NAME 976001 Foundations in International Studies
NAME OF STUDENT Sophia Liu
STUDENT ID NUMBER 13938612
STUDENT EMAIL 13938612@student.uts.edu.au
STUDENT CONTACT NUMBER 0426831088
NAME OF TUTOR Catia De Piccoli
DUE DATE Friday 26th March before 12:00 am
ASSESSMENT ITEM NUMBER/TITLE Assessment 1: Mapping our world

Academic staff may use plagiarism detection software (such as Turnitin) for checking student work or
when plagiarism is suspected. The Turnitin system verifies the originality of your work, checking for
matching text on the web, through electronic journals and books, and in a large database of student
assignments from around the world. For further information see the UTS website at
https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/support/helps/self-help-resources/using-turnitin.

 I confirm that I have read, understood and followed the advice about academic integrity at
http://www.gsu.uts.edu.au/policies/student-rights-and-responsibilities-policy.html
 I am aware of the penalties for plagiarism. This assignment is my own work and I have not
handed in this assignment (either part or completely) for assessment in another subject.
 If this assignment is submitted after the due date I understand that it will incur a penalty for
lateness unless I have previously had an extension of time approved and have attached the
written confirmation of this extension.
Please provide details of extensions granted here if applicable:

 Tick here to indicate you understand and have complied with the above.
Date: 25/03/2021
https://maphub.net/sobariu/Map

The perennial act of interweaving different cultures within the diverse community of Australia creates
insightful relationship between contextually different individuals. However, it is this relationship I
believe that connects us to the world on a micro level. Inevitably, the result of migration,
transculturation and multiple contact-zones over the years ultimately imbued the outlook of Revesby
with the ‘international’. It has exposed me to disparate international autonomies through different
sites and the rich heritage of indigenous culture, enriching my international experience with new
knowledges and perceptions.

With the overlapping of abundant cultures, the ‘international’ has become more conspicuous to me.
My heightened awareness enabled my perception of the international cultures in the world to be
influenced. This process of an influential change to the cultural mindset due to the ‘transmutations of
culture’ can be referred to as ‘transculturation’ (Ortiz, 1995). Particularly, Revesby’s Golden Pavilion
Restaurant exemplifies this concept through serving traditionally made luscious Chinese cuisine in a
western environment. However, the migration of Chinese culture and tradition is most propelling in
its infrastructural design of ancient China, elucidating its authentic adherence to their ideologies.
Being an Australian-born-Chinese and embodying limited interaction with my home country, the
scrutiny in the design establishes a blurred line between the traditional essence of Chinese culture and
the diverse customers, including me, that possess unfamiliarity with their tradition. Additionally, the
GKR Karate Dojo also depicts ‘transculturation’ through not only the exposure of Japan’s traditional
combat sport, but also the gradual change in its methodology. This particular Karate Dojo has a ‘less
dynamic and more systematic’ approach to Karate that traditionally belonged to the ‘official
security/military professional circle’ in the 1400s (Cohen, 2017). With significant emphasis on ‘both
character and physical development in a safe, fun and encouraging environment’ (GKR, 1984), this
transcultural change made me realise how the international exposure to contrasting environments can
indeed impact the sport’s methodology to fit the needs and expectations of different cultures.

Contact-zones are most accentuated in areas where a myriad of cultures encounters at one place,
establishing an opportunity for me to significantly enhance my comprehension about the international
outlook on Revesby. The Lucky Asian Supermarket entails the large diversity of ingredients mustered
together from different parts of the world. This exemplifies the unifying nature of cultures and creates
a palpable ‘contact-zone’ (Pratt, 1991) between me, Australians, and the international products.
Another example is Sri Guru Singh Revesby Gurdwara, in which last year, they ‘appealed to women
within the community to perform all religious services to mark International Women’s day’(SBS,
2020). This profoundly encapsulates the contact-zone between contextually different women by
enabling inclusivity despite incongruent religions. The important highlight of equality enables me to
appreciate the ‘international’ of Revesby in promoting egalitarianism. Contact-zone is also prominent
during the study of a language at primary schools, such as Revesby South Public School. However,
while in Revesby, ’51.2% of people only spoke English at home’, ‘other languages spoken at home
included Arabic 10.0%, Vietnamese 6.4%, Mandarin 5.4%, Cantonese 4.1% and Greek 3.0%’ (ABS,
2016). Thus, we are encouraged to engage with the linguistic and cultural diversity in societies. This
was fundamental to my experience with the ‘international’ as it allowed me to maintain an authentic
experience in learning the connections between language and culture. It also drove my passion in
learning Japanese as my third language, developing a penchant for their culture as well, hence why I
am willing to carry it through my studies in International Studies.
Despite the cultural evolution Revesby has experienced, it is also essential to remind ourselves the
pre-colonial history and where it all began. The Bidjigal’s, a clan group of the coastal Dharug people
of Sydney region, once abided in Revesby, to which they would gather along the Salt Pan Creek for
either celebratory purposes or daily necessities. However, learning that the deculturation of
Indigenous community’s culture is what led to the booming international community now makes me
realise that it is necessary to recognise the native owners of Revesby. We are still ‘living in a maze of
contact-zones’ with not only the fragmented culture of the Indigenous community, but also the
indelible history of ‘the transcultural spaces of imperial and colonial encounters’(Pratt, 2008).
Ultimately, my personal relationship with Revesby has amplified during this assignment in
understanding the contrast between its pre-colonial and the settler colonial society.

Ultimately, the unification of different cultures has instilled me with profound insights into the
international outlook of Revesby through this assignment.
REFERENCE

ABS. (2016) 2016 Census QuickStats. Revesby. Australian Bureau of Statistics.

https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/
SSC13355#:~:text=In%20the%202016%20Census%2C%20there,up%201.0%25%20of
%20the%20population.

Cohen, I. (2017) Karate Uchina-di: Okinawan Karate: An Exploration of Its Origins and
Evolution. Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. (US)

GKR. (1984) About GKR. GKR Karate, Karate for everyone.

https://www.gkrkarate.com/about-gkr/

Ortiz, F. (1995 [1940]) The social phenomenon of ‘transculturation’ and its importance. In
Cuban counterpoint: Tobacco and sugar, trans. H. De Onís (pp. 97-103). Duke University
Press. This is the English translation of the short description by Fernando Ortiz in his 1940
Spanish-language original, Contrapunteo cubano del tabaco y el azúcar.

Pratt, M. (1991). Arts of the Contact Zone. Profession, 33-40. Retrieved March 19, 2021,
from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25595469

Pratt, M. L. (2008). Introduction: criticism in the contact zone. In Imperial eyes: travel
writing and transculturation (2nd ed., pp. 1-12). Routledge

Singh, MP., Talwar, R., & Arora, A. (2020) Women take over all religious services at Sydney
Sikh temple on International Women’s Day. SBS.
https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/women-take-over-all-religious-services-at-
sydney-sikh-temple-on-international-women-s-day