Eurovision and Australia: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Down Under

by Chris Hay, Jessica Carniel

Overview

This book investigates Australia’s relationship with the Eurovision Song Contest over time and place, from its first screening on SBS in 1983 to Australia's inaugural national selection in 2019. Beginning with an overview of Australia’s Eurovision history, the contributions explore the contest’s role in Australian political participation and international relations; its significance for Australia’s diverse communities, including migrants and the LGBTQIA+ community; racialised and gendered representations of Australianness; changing ideas of liveness in watching the event; and a reflection on teaching Australia’s first undergraduate course dedicated to the Eurovision Song Contest. The collection brings together a group of scholar-fans from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives — including history, politics, cultural studies, performance studies, and musicology — to explore Australia’s transition from observer to participant in the first thirty-six years of its love affair with the Eurovision Song Contest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030200572
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	07/26/2019
Edition description:	1st ed. 2019
Pages:	287
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Chris Hay is Lecturer in Drama at the University of Queensland, Australia. As a Eurovision fan, he identifies as the love child of Cezar Ouatu and Petra Mede.

Jessica Carniel is Senior Lecturer in Humanities at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She is a passionate advocate for bangers over ballads.

Table of Contents

1.“Good evening, Europe — good morning, Australia”: an Introduction.- 2. Australia and the Eurovision Song Contest: a Historical Survey.- 3. The Politics of Diversity and Participation.- 4. Indigenous Representation at the Eurovision Song Contest: a Quintessentially Australian Identity.- 5. Gender-Bending or Gender-Straightening? Australia and the ESC at the Intersections of Gender, Sexual Orientation and Ethnicity.- 6. Sounds like Australia? Listening to Australia’s Eurovision Song Performances.- 7. Australia in Eurovision: the View from Europe.- 8. Euro-visions from Down Under: multicultural community preferences and the national broadcaster, SBS.- 9. Lessons Learned: Teaching European Studies in Full Eurovision.- 10. Our Aussie Divas: Interrogating Australian Identity through Audience Reactions to Australia’ s Eurovision Entrants.-11. “It Really Makes You Feel Part of the World”: Transnational Connection for Australian Eurovision Audiences.- 12. Pyjama Fandom: Watching Eurovision from Down Under.- 13. Eurovision — Australia Decides: a Conclusion.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“In an age when Australia increasingly sees itself as a country defined by its location in Asia, this book reminds us that Australia’s relationship to Europe remains culturally and historically profound. Through a multifaceted investigation of Australia’s engagement with the Eurovision Song Contest, this wonderful edited collection shows us how ‘Europe’ remains a crucial reference point for Australians of very diverse backgrounds, pointing to the complexities of the nation’s cultural identity in the 21^st century.” (Distinguished Professor Ien Ang, Western Sydney University, Australia)

“For anyone who wonders why Australia is in the Eurovision Song Contest, this expert collection of essays explores the diverse cultural and historical dynamics of this antipodal relationship. But that’s only half the story: how Eurovision is in Australia reveals the continent’s multiculturalism born of immigration, its indigenous First Nations people, and its close bonds with Asian nations. A timely and insightful study of the song contest’s far-reaching connections even as globalism is everywhere in question.” (Ivan Raykoff, Associate Professor of Music, The New School, USA)