Drought Stories
Here you can encounter the stories our researchers in their various fields are uncovering about how drought is culturally experienced, through its representations in artworks and poetry, oral histories and media reports, graphs and archives of all kinds. These Drought Stories offer bite-sized tasters of our research as it unfolds, signposting emerging themes and directions.
Historical
By examining the history of drought, we seek to better understand the way taken-for-granted notions of drought have come into being over time: the interests they have served or overlooked, the voices they have foregrounded or silenced, their impact on environmental management, policies, economic and domestic life, the ways they have changed and how they might be different. As part of our historical research, we are examining newspapers, manuscripts such as letters and diaries and conducting oral history interviews with residents of each region.
Literary
Poetry, fiction and drama have illuminated Australian cultures of drought. They provide new ways of understanding parched environments and dry places, presenting challenges and insights for contemporary readers. The project brings locally produced and read literature (particularly newspaper poetry and fiction) together with wider global creative responses to drought and water stress.
Visual
Exploring artistic and visual responses to dry seasons, along with other sources, we aim to reveal the changing meanings of drought. We will also consult with curators at local museums and galleries, to identify representations of drought in their collections. Our research and interviews will be used by the artists-in-residence to develop place-based responses to drought.
Media
Poetry, fiction and drama have illuminated Australian cultures of drought. They provide new ways of understanding parched environments and dry places, presenting challenges and insights for contemporary readers. The project brings locally produced and read literature (particularly newspaper poetry and fiction) together with wider global creative responses to drought and water stress.
Scientific
Droughts have been extensively studied by Australian weather and climate researchers for over a century: what causes droughts, how they end, why some last for many years while other don’t, and what climate change is doing to their severity and intensity. We stand on this mountain of existing knowledge and make use of newly recovered weather observations as well as state of the art datasets to examine how the objective identification of droughts relates to cultural and social experiences.