Dr John Postill, Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow

VISUAL: Dr John Postill, Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, School of Media and Communication. RMIT University logo

VISUAL: Dr John Postill, Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow, School of Media and Communication talking to camera standing outside the RMIT building with large glass windows.

John: Well I'm interested in people I'm calling freedom technologists and by freedom technologists I mean hackers, geeks, journalists, particularly online journalists, lawyers who work on technology issues, ie people who combine an ...

VISUAL: Dr John Postill sitting at a desk in an office in front of two computer screens. Camera then pans to one of the computer screens.

John: ... interest in technology with an interest in politics or political activism, and how they're collaborating.

VISUAL: Dr John Postill standing outside a building with large glass windows.

John: I want to look at the connection between that and new forms of protest ...

VISUAL: A black and white image of a Spanish protest being held somewhere with several people holding a large banner. Camera pans to show the men and women in the protest, some raising their arms and chanting.

John: ... and civic engagement, how citizens in countries like Indonesia, Spain and organisations such as ...

VISUAL: An image of Anonymous (group) webpage is shown. Then another webpage of WikiLeaks and another of some Latest Releases is scrolled through quickly.

VISUAL: Another image of the black and white Spanish protest is shown with men and women chanting and raising hands with banners. The camera pans to two men chanting and raising hands. Then we are shown the image of lots of people, most with banners from the same protest.

John: ... Anonymous, wikiLeaks, global voices, which is a collective of bloggers, for example, and actual events happening on the ground in different countries.

VISUAL: Image of John and another person sitting at a desk. Camera pans down to show a computer screen.

VISUAL: Dr John Postill standing outside a building with large glass windows.

John: The way I'm going to conduct the research, I always work anthropologically, I combine ethnographic research which is participant observation and events that ... and everyday life that's taking place while you're there, I combine that with a historical approach.

VISUAL: Dr John Postill and a lady sitting at a desk talking. Camera then pans to the lady who is talking to Dr Postill.

John: It has to be very immersive. There are two aspects to this; one aspect is actually being there physically ...

VISUAL: We see Dr John Postill sitting at a desk sketching.

John: ... on the ground. In addition to interviewing people you try ...

VISUAL: Dr John Postill and another lady walking up stairs and outside the RMIT building. We then follow them into the grounds of the university.

John: ... and, in some cases shadow people with their permission of course you take part in their everyday lives. You also do work online and you find out what people are doing online. You participate as well. If, say, for example ...

VISUAL: We are shown a close up image of a Twitter thread on a tablet screen.

John: ... there's a Twitter thread, you take part in that discussion as well, you identify ...

VISUAL: Dr John Postill standing outside a building with large glass windows.

John: ... yourself as a researcher, make connections, make relations online as well.

VISUAL: Dr John Postill walking along a corridor walking away from the camera then close up image shown.

John: Oh yes, you always affect ... as a participant, you affect the processes that you're studying that goes with the territory.

VISUAL: Dr John Postill talking to the camera outside the RMIT building with large glass windows.

John: To me, what's really interesting about the current situation, is that internet activists who three or four years ago would've turned their back against the mainstream media are now thinking, well we need to engage with the mainstream media and we need to engage with a political establishment, with the political institutions.

VISUAL: Dr John Postill talking to another lady at RMIT in a walkway between two buildings.

John: Here at RMIT, we have a very high concentration of ethnographers who work on digital media questions ...

VISUAL: Dr John Postill standing outside RMIT building with large glass windows.

John: ... ie people who, like me, do qualitative research which entails participating in people's lives, understanding what people actually do with digital media out there, and this is organised around ...

VISUAL: Dr John Postill standing outside the RMIT glass building with another building showing in the reflection of the glass. He then looks down and smiles to the camera.

John: ... the digital ethnography research centre.

VISUAL: Dr John Postill standing in front of a building with large glass windows.

John: It's a vibrant research culture. Partly, I think, 'cause it's new, it's happening now ...

VISUAL: Dr John Postill walking outside the RMIT building looking straight ahead.

John: ... the research culture where you have the opportunity to shape it, to bring your own contribution to it.

VISUAL: Dr John Postill standing outside the RMIT building with large glass windows.

John: I feel privileged to have got the VC Fellowship. Yes, I think I've found a home here at RMIT, because it's got a really dynamic research culture. It's right next door to Indonesia. Melbourne is a great city ...

VISUAL: Camera swings around the outside of RMIT building to show Dr John Postill standing looking at the camera.

John: ...and it's really international.

VISUAL: Dr John Postill standing outside the RMIT building with large glass windows.

John: At the moment I couldn't imagine myself being anywhere else.

VISUAL: This video features footage from the documentry (sic) "Excellent, Revulsivo. Importante". by Proyecto15mmcc, available under a Creative Commons Atrribution license. Available on the 15m.cc website www.15m.cc/p/english. RMIT University logo.

VISUAL: Find out more at www.rmit.edu.au/research/research-fellowship-schemes. RMIT University logo.

VISUAL: RMIT University. www.rmit.edu.au

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