Intimacy and Violence in Anglo Pacific Rim settler colonial societies. Violence and intimacy were both fundamental to the formation of settler colonial societies, yet we know surprisingly little of how they were connected. Through a large-scale collaboration of leading scholars, this project aims to produce the first transnational analysis of intimacy and violence as key, intertwined vectors in the development of settler societies across the colonial Anglophone Pacific Rim. Drawing out connectio ....Intimacy and Violence in Anglo Pacific Rim settler colonial societies. Violence and intimacy were both fundamental to the formation of settler colonial societies, yet we know surprisingly little of how they were connected. Through a large-scale collaboration of leading scholars, this project aims to produce the first transnational analysis of intimacy and violence as key, intertwined vectors in the development of settler societies across the colonial Anglophone Pacific Rim. Drawing out connections between the broad-scale dynamics of colonial rule and the violent and intimate domains of its implementation on the ground, the project aims to generate new comparative insights into the development of colonial settler cultures and create enhanced understanding of their legacies for western settler democracies today.Read moreRead less
The Construction of Race and Racial Identity at the Antipodes of Empire, 1788-1840. The view that Australia was always a racially based society, pursuing racial policies to the detriment of indigenous Australians and our Asian neighbours, is subject to rancorous national debate. Polemical assertion by high profile journalists that race was never a driving force in Australian history is not conducive to understanding complex history, nor are derogatory attacks on historians helpful in explaining ....The Construction of Race and Racial Identity at the Antipodes of Empire, 1788-1840. The view that Australia was always a racially based society, pursuing racial policies to the detriment of indigenous Australians and our Asian neighbours, is subject to rancorous national debate. Polemical assertion by high profile journalists that race was never a driving force in Australian history is not conducive to understanding complex history, nor are derogatory attacks on historians helpful in explaining the past to our neighbours. Whether colonial Australia was a race-based society remains to be established. With indigenous uncertainty over the demise of ATSIC and rising antagonism among our Islamic neighbours, there is need, as never before, for dispassionate scholarship to provide a complex interpretation of Australia's past.Read moreRead less
A cultural history of food safety from Singapore. This project aims to trace how ordinary people’s thinking about food safety has changed over time; from this, we can investigate food safety techniques and practices by government and industry. In studying Singapore, which has always imported nearly all food, the project expects to generate new lessons from Singapore's history that may widely apply in an era of globalisation and contemporary food system complexity. Benefits of the project include ....A cultural history of food safety from Singapore. This project aims to trace how ordinary people’s thinking about food safety has changed over time; from this, we can investigate food safety techniques and practices by government and industry. In studying Singapore, which has always imported nearly all food, the project expects to generate new lessons from Singapore's history that may widely apply in an era of globalisation and contemporary food system complexity. Benefits of the project include assisting food exporters and other food safety stakeholders in Australia to better understand the origins and complexity of food safety thinking.Read moreRead less
Historical Records of Australia. To re-vitalize the research base of early Australian history by resuming the research, editing and publication of Historical Records of Australia, Series III and also to initiate, in similar form, the research, editing and publication of Historical Records of Australia Series I (Despatches and Documents relating to New South Wales), with the aim of completing Historical Records of Australia in approximately 60 volumes. The expected outcome will be to establish a ....Historical Records of Australia. To re-vitalize the research base of early Australian history by resuming the research, editing and publication of Historical Records of Australia, Series III and also to initiate, in similar form, the research, editing and publication of Historical Records of Australia Series I (Despatches and Documents relating to New South Wales), with the aim of completing Historical Records of Australia in approximately 60 volumes. The expected outcome will be to establish a new research base for the writing and interpreting of 19th century Australian history as well as completing the objective of the original founder of the series, Frederick Watson, who in 1914 observed that "history in its truest form can be founded only on a careful and studied examination of the records themselves".Read moreRead less
Everyday Obligations: Households and Economic Change in the British Isles 1650-1850. The project will develop scholarship about the history of family and households in the British Isles during industrialisation and associated changes. The resulting published work will advance our knowledge of the social implications of demographic change; the relationship between people and environment; the impact of industrialisation on demography as well as the micro-economies of past households and families. ....Everyday Obligations: Households and Economic Change in the British Isles 1650-1850. The project will develop scholarship about the history of family and households in the British Isles during industrialisation and associated changes. The resulting published work will advance our knowledge of the social implications of demographic change; the relationship between people and environment; the impact of industrialisation on demography as well as the micro-economies of past households and families. An innovative aspect will be the use of Australian historical sources, particularly for Van Diemen's Land, to cast light on the history of Britain before 1850.Read moreRead less
Profit and Loss: The commercial trade in Indigenous human remains. This project will be the first to investigate the global commercial trade in Indigenous human remains. It will employ a multi-disciplinary approach involving history, economic anthropology, economic history, and data science. The project will generate new knowledge about the 19th century global marketplace in Australian Indigenous human remains, and will reveal whether and how these are involved in the trade’s modern manifestati ....Profit and Loss: The commercial trade in Indigenous human remains. This project will be the first to investigate the global commercial trade in Indigenous human remains. It will employ a multi-disciplinary approach involving history, economic anthropology, economic history, and data science. The project will generate new knowledge about the 19th century global marketplace in Australian Indigenous human remains, and will reveal whether and how these are involved in the trade’s modern manifestations from 1950 to the present. The project will uncover an unknown history, assist repatriation practice, provide information to help reduce the modern trade, and contribute to truth-telling as a precondition of healing and reconciliation.Read moreRead less
Intergenerational Transmission of Inequality. There is a growing interest in the ways in which biological and socioeconomic heritage can shape vulnerabilities to disease. Once viewed as primarily a product of recent conditions such as lifestyle choices, it is now evident that health outcomes can also be shaped by intergenerational mechanisms. Analysis of these in current populations is impractical given the considerable time it would take for a prospective study to unfold. The analysis of histor ....Intergenerational Transmission of Inequality. There is a growing interest in the ways in which biological and socioeconomic heritage can shape vulnerabilities to disease. Once viewed as primarily a product of recent conditions such as lifestyle choices, it is now evident that health outcomes can also be shaped by intergenerational mechanisms. Analysis of these in current populations is impractical given the considerable time it would take for a prospective study to unfold. The analysis of historical populations, however, presents an opportunity to circumvent this obstacle. Using data for male and female convicts and their descendants, this project seeks to determine the extent to which disadvantage experienced by one generation impacted on the life expectancy of those that followed.Read moreRead less
Extinction, Survival, Resurgence: Indigenous and colonial histories. This project aims to investigate the histories of Indigenous communities deemed extinct by Europeans in the wake of settler colonisation but who maintain they have survived with renewed cultures. With a focus on Tasmania and Newfoundland, Canada, the project examines archival material alongside the lived experiences of Indigenous communities to advance understandings of extinction and survival at a time of rapid environmental c ....Extinction, Survival, Resurgence: Indigenous and colonial histories. This project aims to investigate the histories of Indigenous communities deemed extinct by Europeans in the wake of settler colonisation but who maintain they have survived with renewed cultures. With a focus on Tasmania and Newfoundland, Canada, the project examines archival material alongside the lived experiences of Indigenous communities to advance understandings of extinction and survival at a time of rapid environmental change. Outcomes include enhanced capacity to build collaborations with international first nation communities, institutions and researchers. New digital tools making historical materials accessible to Indigenous Australians and cultural institutions will significantly benefit cultural and language renewal.Read moreRead less
Cistercian Nuns in England c.1150-1550AD: A Gendered History of a Monastic Institution. This project re-writes the history not just of the previously ignored medieval Cistercian nun but of the medieval Cistercian monastic institution more broadly. Using English Cistercian women as case studies, it will produce two major breakthroughs. First, it will demonstrate that the history of the Cistercian religious order looks very different when analysed with issues of gender to the fore. Second, it will ....Cistercian Nuns in England c.1150-1550AD: A Gendered History of a Monastic Institution. This project re-writes the history not just of the previously ignored medieval Cistercian nun but of the medieval Cistercian monastic institution more broadly. Using English Cistercian women as case studies, it will produce two major breakthroughs. First, it will demonstrate that the history of the Cistercian religious order looks very different when analysed with issues of gender to the fore. Second, it will reconfigure our understanding of this classic monastic institution according to the principles of centre-periphery relations. Both outcomes produce new strategies for creating histories of marginalised groups that are not premised on the histories of the dominant groups.Read moreRead less
The impact of solitary confinement on convicts, 1817-1853. This project aims to explore the impact of solitary confinement on the health and well-being of 72,500 convicts transported to Australia between 1817 and 1853. It will do so by linking detailed life course histories for these men and women to psychiatric admission data for Tasmanian 19th century institutions. The project results will inform policy as well as increasing on-line access to Australia's UNESCO Memory of the World registered c ....The impact of solitary confinement on convicts, 1817-1853. This project aims to explore the impact of solitary confinement on the health and well-being of 72,500 convicts transported to Australia between 1817 and 1853. It will do so by linking detailed life course histories for these men and women to psychiatric admission data for Tasmanian 19th century institutions. The project results will inform policy as well as increasing on-line access to Australia's UNESCO Memory of the World registered convict records. The project outcomes will help to contextualise the risks associated with different types and rates of solitary confinement exposure.Read moreRead less