Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
My research covers Cultural Anthropology, Art and Anthropology, Historical Anthropology, Museum Studies, Gender Studies and Religious Studies/ Pilgrimage Studies. I have done done fieldwork in West Papua (Jayapura area), the North Moluccas (Ternate), Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby, Madang, Collingwood Bay and Bougainville) and Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal-Marau area). Using gender as an analytical tool to unravel issues of identity and power, I have focused on the changing gender dynamics of barkcloth art among the Maisin people in Collingwood Bay and the interplay between religious identity, ideology and violence/ conflict in Ternate and Papua New Guinea. Most recently, I am looking at the interplay between faith and eco-conflict (tensions surrounding logging and mining) and the impact of climate change on indigenous art productions in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville and in Collingwood Bay, Papua New Guinea.
ART-Ethnography:
I am the convenor of the ART-Ethnography Lab The aim of the lab is to look at, and create work situated at the intersection of art and ethnography, with a particular focus on: a. collaborating with artists, b. creating art projects that are the result of ethnographic research, and c. working with artists who use ethnography in their work.
Teaching:
At MQ, I have convened various units, including Law and Development (ANTH330) and Pacific Cultures (ANTH300). I also covened ANTH225, the PACE unit of the Department of Anthropology, which had a strong focus on doing ethnography in museum and corporate (organisational) settings. I also convened ANTH3024 'Doing Ethnography', and I am currently convenor of ANTH2002 'Illness and Healing across Cultures'.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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ART-Ethnography Research Lab
Hermkens, A., Davis, R., Yalcinkaya, C., McLauchlan, L., Simpson, A., Decottigny, L., Lloyd, J. & McLean, J.
7/09/22 → …
Project: Research
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Faith in Development: Religion, Gender and Resource Extraction in PNG
19/11/21 → 18/11/26
Project: Research
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MQRSG: Rising Seas and drowning Cultures? Climate change and barkcloth art among the Maisin people of Papua New Guinea.
Hermkens, A., Seri, L. & Sem, G.
1/01/20 → 31/12/24
Project: Other
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Ideologies of Faith and the Quest for Peace and Development in Bougainville (Papua New Guinea)
1/01/18 → 31/01/20
Project: Research
Research Outputs
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Being in Time and Place: collaborative exhibition at the Gosford Regional Gallery
Hermkens, A-K., Courts, K., McCoy, C. & Farley, M., May 2025Research output: Non-traditional research output › Exhibition
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Bougainville wants independence. China's support for a controversial mine could pave the way
Hermkens, A-K., 2 Jun 2025, The Conversation. Academic rigour, journalistic flair.Research output: Contribution to Newspaper/Magazine/Website › Article
Open AccessFile6 Downloads (Pure) -
Editorial
Timmer, J. & Hermkens, A-K., Apr 2025, In: Australian Journal of Anthropology. 36, 1, p. 5-7 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial
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Rising seas-drowning cultures: the environmental and cultural complexity of climate change
Hermkens, A-K., Leon, J., Barker, J. & Seri, L., 15 May 2025, In: npj Climate Action. 4, p. 1-3 3 p., 49.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/opinion › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
Christian temporalities: living between the already fulfilled and the not yet completed
Hermkens, A-K. (ed.), Coleman, S. (ed.) & Tomlinson, M. (ed.), 2024, Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. 244 p. (Contemporary Anthropology of Religion)Research output: Book/Report › Edited Book/Anthology › peer-review
Activities
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Connecting through Clay The Social Life of a Papua New Guinean Cooking Pot
Anna-Karina Hermkens (Speaker)
16 Apr 2025Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Artist Tour on Campus
Anna-Karina Hermkens (Organiser)
21 Mar 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Organising a conference, workshop or event series
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The Australian Journal of Anthropology (Journal)
Anna-Karina Hermkens (Editor in chief)
15 Mar 2024 → …Activity: Peer-review and editorial of research outputs › Editorial work
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Podcast Christian Temporalities: Living between the Already Fulfilled and the not yet Completed
Anna-Karina Hermkens (Speaker), Matthew Tomlinson (Speaker) & Simon Coleman (Speaker)
24 Aug 2024Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Contemporary art of PNG Women: Engendering Barkcloth among the Maisin of Papua New Guinea
Anna-Karina Hermkens (Speaker)
31 Aug 2023Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
Press/Media
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anthroprospective: In-Conversation-with-Anna-Karina-Hermkens
3/10/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities