Cirrus@Austlit

'Unpredictability is one of humankind’s most treasured traits. We believe unpredictability to be the lifeblood of hope, the core of belief, the substance of our psyches, the unfulfilled potential that exists in each one of us. We therefore celebrate unpredictability as predictably as we seek it out. We want unpredictability to be a personal and communal trait that always measures us favourably against machines and against nature. Elements of the predictable (the cyclical, the quantifiable, the repetitive and the habitual) simply make machines and wild nature inhuman. To be human, alternatively, is to be unpredictable. It is in unpredictability that human love is thought to dwell, and in unpredictability where it thrives. The extraordinary strength of a love, the resilience of a love, the emerging love, born where it could not be expected to be found, the love between polar opposites, the love not unsettled by onerous circumstance, the love that overcomes distance or challenges time, the love that is uniquely, individually, idiosyncratically expressed. Our attraction to each of these is evidence of our belief in the importance and power of human unpredictability.' (Introduction)

'There exists much literature on the student and doctoral candidate relationship across the disciplines. However, there is a gap in understanding this crucial dynamic in the context of creative practices, and an even more pronounced gap interrogating the supervisor to candidate dynamic when a student is conducting life-writing involving personal trauma. Despite this, more and more universities are opening their doors to these types of research projects. In 2014, a final year doctoral candidate in life-writing and her supervisor conducted a mini research project about their experience of supervision. The crux of their investigation hinged on the relatively nuanced requirements of supervision when the candidate is writing about personally traumatic themes in their dissertation. By combining their analysis of their real experiences as supervisor and candidate, and pre-existing academic thought on both the requirements of supervision and the differing needs of post-trauma students, the authors seek to contribute to the growing canon within the creative practices on supervisor/candidate relationships, as well as the relatively fraught ethics of the commodification of life experiences within tertiary institutions.' (Publication abstract)

This article takes a case study approach, using the adaptation in America of Vanishing Point into musical drama. It discusses the suitability of a verse novel for adaptation, provides context about American musical drama and focuses on shows that break new ground through dealing with challenging social and psychological material. Vanishing Point treats a young woman’s struggle to overcome anorexia and bulimia. The article explores music and emotion in drama and concentrates on the composer’s, director’s and poet’s interpretations of how music and lyrics shape the production’s affect. These ‘emic’ perspectives strengthen the case study methodology.' (Publication abstract)