Dr Anh Nguyen Austen
Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences
Areas of expertise: community-based research and advocacy; refugee and migration history; digital diaspora studies; cultural diversity in education and museum collections
Email: Anh.Nguyen.Austen@acu.edu.au
Location: ACU Melbourne Campus
I have a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from Bryn Mawr College, a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School, and PhD in History from the University of Melbourne. Prior to joining ACU, I worked with native title land rights in Victoria, legal aid in Boston, and HIV/AIDS research in Nigeria. I am currently an Honorary Research Associate with Museums Victoria and the Founding Editor of the Digital Diaspora Studies Book Series with Routledge.
My work includes teaching global studies and interdisciplinary co-designed research and program development. My speaking engagements and workshops include teaching migration history using game design, storytelling for advocacy, and promoting post-traumatic growth of refugees and migrants in civic engagement, entrepreneurship, activism, and the Artes. I welcome collaborations with schools and non-profits to co-create community-based, high impact, interdisciplinary projects for local and public history engagement. Organisations that I have collaborated with include the Cobargo Bushfire Resilience Centre, Free to Feed, Kid’s Own Publishing, Viet Nam Family Search, Professional Migrant Women’s network, and VietSpeak.
Curriculum Vitae
Select publications
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Nguyen Austen, A. (2023). Vietnamese Migrants in Australia and the Global Digital Diaspora: Histories of Childhood, Forced Migration, and Belonging, Routledge
- Green, S., Nguyen Austen, A., Kandasamy, N. (2024) “Refugee livelihood perspectives: Post-traumatic growth in histories of Vietnamese, Bosnian, and Tamil Refugees in Australia,” Journal of Refugee Studies, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feae012
- Choi, J., Tomsic, M., Nguyen Austen, A. (2023). “Refiguring Refugee Resistance and Vulnerabilities: Hazara Community Publishing in the Australian Resettlement Context,” Journal of Intercultural Studies, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2023.2259816
- Nguyen Austen, A. and McFadzean, M. (2023). “Attache Case”: Refugee Art and Contemporary Perspectives on Migration, Museums Victoria Collections, https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/17538
- Damousi, J., Nelli, F., Nguyen Austen, A., Toffoli, A., & Tomsic, M. (2022). “Forced Migration, Oceanic Humanitarianism, and the Paradox of Danger and Saviour of a Vietnamese Refugee Boat Journey”, The Historical Journal, 65(2), 505-526. DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X21000595
- Nguyen Austen, Anh (2022). Aung Saw Lim (Man Man) - Nauru & Manus Island Detainee, 2010-2018, Museums Victoria Collections, https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/16584
Public engagement
- “Women's Migration Stories Through History”, Interview with Richelle Hunt, ABC Radio, The Conversation Hour, 8 March 2024
- “Attache Case,” Exhibition, Immigration Museum, March 7, 2024
- “A Daring Escape from Vietnam, and a Brilliant Career”, Interview of Anh Nguyen with Richard Fiddler, ABC Radio, The Conversation, 20 June 2022
- “Refugees, Art, Activism,” Melbourne Museum Public Lectures, 17 June 2023
- “Refugees, Museums and the Digital Diaspora,” Melbourne Museum Public Lectures, 18 June 2019
- “Celebrate International Migrants Day,” Melbourne Immigration Museum, December 18, 2019
- ‘Applied Game Design & Migration History,’ workshop for Masters of Primary and Secondary Education at School of Education and School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, August, 2018
- “Reunion,” short film animation about Vietnamese refugees in diaspora reconnecting with each other on Facebook. Collaborative project with School of Historical and Philosophical Studies and Victorian College of the Arts faculty of animation, film, fine arts and music, University of Melbourne, February, 2018
