Dr Benito Cao

Biography/ Background

I was born in Galicia, a region of Spain situated on the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula. I studied politics at the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), and moved to Adelaide in 1996, where I completed Honours in 1998 and graduated as Doctor in Philosophy in 2008. I have been teaching politics at the University of Adelaide since 2002. I love going to the cinema and playing sports. I watch films as often as possible and I play indoor soccer every week in a team called McHever. I also like watching television. Some of my favourite programs are: Four Corners (ABC), Insiders (ABC), Dateline (SBS), Foreign Correspondent (ABC) and World News (SBS). Some of my favourite series are: Boston Legal, American Dad, The Sopranos, The IT Crowd, Yes Minister, Red Dwarf, Black Adder, and Seinfeld. The best ever tv series: The Wire. I am currently watching True Blood. I love food, wine, sport and cinema, including Adelaide Film Festival. Cheers!

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy (2008) - The University of Adelaide (Australia)

Doctoral Thesis: “White Hegemony in the Land of Carnival:

The (Apparent) Paradox of Racism and Hybridity in Brazil”.

 

• Bachelor of Arts [Honours - First Class] (1998) - The University of Adelaide (Australia)

Honours Thesis: “Africa Lost in Transit:

The Social Imaginary of Africa in Current Western Cinema”.

 

• Bachelor of Arts (1996) - The University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

Awards & Achievements

Executive Dean's Prize for Excellence in Teaching                                  2011
               Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
               Institution: The University of Adelaide (Australia)
Nominee to The Unijobs Lecturer of the Year Award                            2010
               6th Top Lecturer from The University of Adelaide
               http://www.lectureroftheyear.com.au/winners list
Faculty Prize for Excellence in Teaching [Early Career]                          2010
               Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
               Institution: The University of Adelaide (Australia)
DR Stranks Postgraduate Travelling Fellowship                                     2001
               Institution: The University of Adelaide (Australia)
University of Adelaide Scholarship (UAS)                                     1998-2001
               Institution: The University of Adelaide (Australia)
Scholarship Award for Departmental Collaboration                   1995-1996
               Institution: Ministry of Education and Science (Spain)

Teaching Interests

I have a special interest in the study and teaching of politics (not to be confused with wishing to become a politician), but I am interested in all fields of Social Sciences and the Humanities.

 

I have been teaching since 2002. I began as a tutor at the University of Adelaide but have since then worked also at UniSA and Flinders University. Over the years I have taught many courses: Introduction to International Politics, Introduction to Comparative Politics, The Comparative Politics of Leadership, The State of the World, Post-Cold War International Relations, The Ethics of War and Peace, and Politics, Power & Popular Culture at The University of Adelaide; Governance and Citizenship in Australia, Political Economy and Social Policy, Society and Culture, Studies in Family, The Individual in Society, and Social Analysis and the Human Services at the University of South Australia; and Social Policy at Flinders University.

 

I have also given guest lectures on topics such as: gender, racism, the media, the family, social work and NGOs, Africa on film, the ethics of war, and politics in Brazil.

 

In 2011 I will teach Citizenship and Globalisation (Semester I) and The Ethics of War and Peace (Semester II), at the University of Adelaide.

Research Interests

• Nation and State, Nationalism, and Multiculturalism;
• (Post)Colonialism, Modernisation and Globalisation;
• Racism, Ethnic Relations, and the Politics of Identity;
• Power, Politics and Popular Culture (Cultural Studies);
• Development, Global Governance and Democratisation;
• Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. 

Publications

Review Essay: Race Matters in Brazil. Social Identities, Vol. 17, No. 5 (2011), pp. 709-716.

White Hegemony in the (Re)Birth of Brazil. Humanities Research, Vol. 27, No. 1 (2011), pp. 35-57.

Descubrimiento como Ideología: El Descubrimiento de Asia en el Humanismo Portugués. [Discovery as Ideology: The Discovery of Asia in Portuguese Humanism]. In Coloquio Internacional: O Humanismo Latino e as Culturas do Extremo Oriente. Treviso: Fondazione Cassamarca (2006), pp. 33-53. [published in Spanish]

Africa Lost in Transit: The Representation of Africa in European Imagination. In Actas del Congreso Africa Camina. Barcelona: LISA & Generalitat de Catalunya (2006). [published in cd-rom]

Professional Associations

• NTEU (National Tertiary Education Industry Union)
• AIIA (Australian Institute of International Affairs)
• AILASA (Association of Iberian & Latin American Studies of Australasia)

Community Engagement

I was an active member of the Goodwood Community Bank Steering Committee that led to the establishment of a community bank in Goodwood (City of Unley, Adelaide) in 2004. The closing of the last of three major-bank branches made people in the community very upset and opened the way for the establishment of a community bank. It took lots of hours of hard community work to get the project off the ground, but we got there in the end, and now the residents of Goodwood not only have a bank in the area … we have our own local community bank.

 

This is the link to the homepage of the Goodwood Community Bank Branch:

http://www.goodwoodalive.com.au/goodwood-community-bank-branch-bendigo-bank-shop-436.html

 

Entry last updated: Monday, 17 Oct 2011