Monsoon extremes, environmental shifts, and catastrophic volcanic eruptions: quantifying impacts on the early human history of southern Australasia. The coincidence of a long, diverse Australasian human history with Earth's greatest climate systems presents the Australian and Indonesian communities with unrivalled opportunities for scientific discovery. Our study will improve understanding of global climate change, environmental shifts, volcanic catastrophes, and their role in early human disper ....Monsoon extremes, environmental shifts, and catastrophic volcanic eruptions: quantifying impacts on the early human history of southern Australasia. The coincidence of a long, diverse Australasian human history with Earth's greatest climate systems presents the Australian and Indonesian communities with unrivalled opportunities for scientific discovery. Our study will improve understanding of global climate change, environmental shifts, volcanic catastrophes, and their role in early human dispersal, and extinction, in Australasia. The significance of the results will extend to the modern world, where human behaviour modifies, and is modified by, climate and environment. Integration of research strengths in Australia and Indonesia will contribute to an improved bilateral relationship in science, education, and training, and engage the public in the excitement of scientific discovery.Read moreRead less
Indigenous peoples, the British Empire, and self-government for the Australian colonies. This study enhances our understanding of the foundations and representative functions of Australian democratic institutions, especially as they concern Indigenous-settler-missionary-imperial relationships. In drawing out the connections between two major questions for Australian history and modern society - democracy and Indigenous dispossession - the project will contribute deeper historical knowledge to cu ....Indigenous peoples, the British Empire, and self-government for the Australian colonies. This study enhances our understanding of the foundations and representative functions of Australian democratic institutions, especially as they concern Indigenous-settler-missionary-imperial relationships. In drawing out the connections between two major questions for Australian history and modern society - democracy and Indigenous dispossession - the project will contribute deeper historical knowledge to current public debate about Indigenous policy past and present. It will also illuminate the importance of understanding Australian history in broad transcolonial and transnational contexts and enhance the contribution of Australian historians to imperial, missionary, and comparative settler-society histories.Read moreRead less
Producing Biodiversity: A History of Science in Australia's Desert Lands. Biodiversity conservation is regarded by most people as desirable, but its historical and cultural aspects are poorly understood. It is not just about scientific understanding of animals and plants, but also a matter of practice and negotiation. People and places are changed through conservation and these changes in turn shape the ways nature is imagined and managed. Producing Biodiversity documents historical and contempo ....Producing Biodiversity: A History of Science in Australia's Desert Lands. Biodiversity conservation is regarded by most people as desirable, but its historical and cultural aspects are poorly understood. It is not just about scientific understanding of animals and plants, but also a matter of practice and negotiation. People and places are changed through conservation and these changes in turn shape the ways nature is imagined and managed. Producing Biodiversity documents historical and contemporary initiatives in biodiversity management on six very different pastoral properties on the margins of the Australian desert. We provide a long-term perspective on national and local conservation imperatives in different eras, and explore how they affect pastoral, Aboriginal and scientific communities.Read moreRead less
A Social History of Australian English. This is a study of the development of attitudes towards Australian English in the period 1788 to 2000. It will demonstrate the significance of the growth of Australian English as a marker of national identity in the nineteenth century, the suppression of Australian English in the first half of the twentieth century, and the acceptance of Australian English in the second half of the twentieth century. The completed study, in the form of a book, will lead to ....A Social History of Australian English. This is a study of the development of attitudes towards Australian English in the period 1788 to 2000. It will demonstrate the significance of the growth of Australian English as a marker of national identity in the nineteenth century, the suppression of Australian English in the first half of the twentieth century, and the acceptance of Australian English in the second half of the twentieth century. The completed study, in the form of a book, will lead to a new understanding of the role Australian English has played in Australia's social, political, and cultural history.
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The role of piano music, and the piano manufacturing industry in Australia's cultural history. This project aims to re-examine Australia's cultural heritage through a study of the history of the piano. The study will research the Australian piano manufacturing industry; the piano roll recording industry and a significant group of pianist composers.
Development and application of the Uranium-series method for dating ancient rock engravings. Radiocarbon dating has been used to establish the age of relatively recent Australian rock art, but the ages of ancient engravings cannot be measured beyond the limit of this method. Comparative radiocarbon and uranium-series assays will be made on pairs of test samples collected from natural mineral deposits at engraving locations constrained by the ages of lakes, lava flows, sedimentary deposits or ic ....Development and application of the Uranium-series method for dating ancient rock engravings. Radiocarbon dating has been used to establish the age of relatively recent Australian rock art, but the ages of ancient engravings cannot be measured beyond the limit of this method. Comparative radiocarbon and uranium-series assays will be made on pairs of test samples collected from natural mineral deposits at engraving locations constrained by the ages of lakes, lava flows, sedimentary deposits or ice. Using test samples with independent and radiocarbon age controls will give confidence in the uranium dating approach for reliably measuring the ages of similar coatings associated with ancient carvings and exposed rock surfaces throughout the world.Read moreRead less
Unsettling Histories: Australian Indigenous Modes of Historical Practice. This investigation of indigenous Australian historical practices seeks to find fresh perspectives and constructive methods of collaboration and historical innovation. By extending Nabokov's work on American Indian ?ways of history?, this trans-national project explores multi-dimensional and -sensory modes of historical delivery. These include visual, musical, material culture, museum and 'traveling through country' mediums ....Unsettling Histories: Australian Indigenous Modes of Historical Practice. This investigation of indigenous Australian historical practices seeks to find fresh perspectives and constructive methods of collaboration and historical innovation. By extending Nabokov's work on American Indian ?ways of history?, this trans-national project explores multi-dimensional and -sensory modes of historical delivery. These include visual, musical, material culture, museum and 'traveling through country' mediums. Outcomes include a major book, exhibition briefs and collections papers, significant historical exchange meetings, content for a television series and website. Collaborative research between academic and community-based experts and performers will provide new understandings of indigenous history and signal future directions for rethinking historical practices.Read moreRead less
Contexts of Collection- a dialogic approach to understanding the making of the material record of Yolngu cultures. The research project will make people aware of the collaborative nature of the material record of Yolngu societies that has been made over time by the participation of researchers, collectors, filmmakers and Yolngu people themselves. It will demonstrate the ways in which digital technology can be used as an integral part of a research process to produce outcomes that can be made acc ....Contexts of Collection- a dialogic approach to understanding the making of the material record of Yolngu cultures. The research project will make people aware of the collaborative nature of the material record of Yolngu societies that has been made over time by the participation of researchers, collectors, filmmakers and Yolngu people themselves. It will demonstrate the ways in which digital technology can be used as an integral part of a research process to produce outcomes that can be made accessible to a wide range of different users. It will help people understand the complex historical processes that have resulted in the present museum and archival record and facilitate their use.Read moreRead less
The contribution of South Asia to the peopling of Australasia. This project focuses on the human fossil record from three regions critical to understanding the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Australia is crucial in view of its diverse array of "gracile" and "robust" human remains of Late Pleistocene/early Holocene age. Equally important are South and Southeast Asia as they lined the tropical route between Africa, our species' Late Pleistocene homeland according to the Out of Africa theory ....The contribution of South Asia to the peopling of Australasia. This project focuses on the human fossil record from three regions critical to understanding the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Australia is crucial in view of its diverse array of "gracile" and "robust" human remains of Late Pleistocene/early Holocene age. Equally important are South and Southeast Asia as they lined the tropical route between Africa, our species' Late Pleistocene homeland according to the Out of Africa theory, and Australia. Osteological and archaeological evidence of the selection pressures that operated on earlier hunter-gatherers will be employed to explain the observed patterns of morphological evolution throughout the study region.Read moreRead less
Judith Anderson 1897-1992: Voice and Emotion in the Making of an International Star. Australian-born Dame Judith Anderson was considered one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century. Renowned for her thrilling voice and portrayal of deep emotion and illicit sexuality and power, she influenced how women looked, spoke, and felt from the early 1920s through her roles on Broadway and in Hollywood films. This biography will preserve and make accessible a valuable part of our cultural heritage ....Judith Anderson 1897-1992: Voice and Emotion in the Making of an International Star. Australian-born Dame Judith Anderson was considered one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century. Renowned for her thrilling voice and portrayal of deep emotion and illicit sexuality and power, she influenced how women looked, spoke, and felt from the early 1920s through her roles on Broadway and in Hollywood films. This biography will preserve and make accessible a valuable part of our cultural heritage. It will give Australians and Americans a better understanding of the two-way cultural relationship between their two countries. It will help place Australian scholarship at the cutting edge of historical research on twentieth century auditory culture.Read moreRead less