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The central media classification question is: by whom or at what age should this cultural form or object be consumed?

Project team

About the project

‘Media Classification Systems: An International Comparative Study’ examines historical and current approaches to this question in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. This site provides an introduction to those histories, including the ways that new technologies, particular texts and genres, influential individuals and organisations, and the international circulation of culture and policy have constantly updated the governmental practice of media classification.

The histories represented on this site are necessarily partial given the international scope. They also reflect various emphases across the project itself, including available archives, academic literature, access to regulatory institutions, and our interests and expertise. Information is organised chronologically, and can be viewed by nation or according to other categories we have deemed useful for representational clarity: media, government, and event.

The national frame is effective for representing this history, however our content should indicate the significance of international relationships and forms of cultural exchange to changing ideas about young people, media, and governing relations between the two. We encourage experimentation with the available tabs to establish comparisons between national contexts, governmental approaches, and media. We also welcome feedback about possible additions, questions of historical fact, and further suggestions for research.

Project team

An Australian Research Council Discovery Grant from 2016-2018 funds this project. The research team includes the following people:

Catherine Driscoll
Chief Investigator
Department of Gender and Cultural Studies, The University of Sydney
Liam Grealy
Project Manager
Department of Gender and Cultural Studies, The University of Sydney
Rachel Cole
PhD Candidate
Department of Gender and Cultural Studies, The University of Sydney
Morgan Richards
Digital Designer
The Design Embassy
Bin Wang
Research Assistant
Department of Gender and Cultural Studies, The University of Sydney
Australia Classification Branch
Partner Investigator
British Board of Film Classification
Partner Investigator
Kirsten Cather
Partner Investigator
Department of Asian Studies, The University of Texas
Fu Yongchun
Partner Investigator
Zhejiang University
Mayra Gomes
Partner Investigator
Departamento de Jornalismo e Editoração, Universidade de São Paulo
Monika Mehta
Partner Investigator
Department of English, Binghamton University

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