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Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200208
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$265,000.00
Summary
Universities and Postwar Recovery 1943-57. This project aims to investigate the impact and transformative effect of the university education-led recovery in postwar Australia from 1943 to 1957. It will do so by undertaking a collective biographical survey of 6,500 ex-service men and women university graduates funded under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme. It expects to generate new knowledge in the area of Australian history, especially the history of war repatriation, the develop ....Universities and Postwar Recovery 1943-57. This project aims to investigate the impact and transformative effect of the university education-led recovery in postwar Australia from 1943 to 1957. It will do so by undertaking a collective biographical survey of 6,500 ex-service men and women university graduates funded under the Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme. It expects to generate new knowledge in the area of Australian history, especially the history of war repatriation, the development of the professions and the history of higher education. Expected outcomes include understanding the qualities of an education-led recovery and the worth of public investment in higher education. Benefits include increased research capacity in 20th century Australian history.
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Cancer culture: understanding anti-cancer campaigns in Australia. How do we change culture to improve public health? This project investigates the history of Australian anti-cancer campaigns to understand the nexus between science, advocacy, policy and behavioural change. The campaigns of Cancer Council Victoria modified government policy, pushed Australia into international prominence in public health research and translation, and influenced behaviour. The project seeks to analyse the deploymen ....Cancer culture: understanding anti-cancer campaigns in Australia. How do we change culture to improve public health? This project investigates the history of Australian anti-cancer campaigns to understand the nexus between science, advocacy, policy and behavioural change. The campaigns of Cancer Council Victoria modified government policy, pushed Australia into international prominence in public health research and translation, and influenced behaviour. The project seeks to analyse the deployment of such campaigns, the socio-cultural and political context that allowed them to leverage policy change, and their connection to life-saving behaviours. Distilling elements of success and failure will better inform advocates and governments in preventing cancer and other diseases through future health promotion.Read moreRead less
Remaking the British world after 1815. This project aims to examine the pivotal role of commissions of inquiry in reforming law throughout the British Empire from 1815–1840. Using traditional methods and digital tools, this project will investigate the design, instantiation and impact of inquiry on colonial law, the imperial constitution and the mechanisms of imperial governance across the empire. The outcomes will include enhancement of our understanding of law reform, the historical functions ....Remaking the British world after 1815. This project aims to examine the pivotal role of commissions of inquiry in reforming law throughout the British Empire from 1815–1840. Using traditional methods and digital tools, this project will investigate the design, instantiation and impact of inquiry on colonial law, the imperial constitution and the mechanisms of imperial governance across the empire. The outcomes will include enhancement of our understanding of law reform, the historical functions of commissions of inquiry, and the legacy of British imperial rule throughout the world.Read moreRead less
Aftermaths of War: Violence, Trauma, Displacement, 1815-1950. This project aims to investigate the cultural, social and psychological aftermaths of wars between 1815 to 1950 from a comparative, transnational perspective. By connecting the displacement of people, the brutalization of warfare and the trauma associated with it, this study will offer a broader and more complex understanding of the experience of civilians and combatants in the wake of armed conflicts. In so doing, it will challenge t ....Aftermaths of War: Violence, Trauma, Displacement, 1815-1950. This project aims to investigate the cultural, social and psychological aftermaths of wars between 1815 to 1950 from a comparative, transnational perspective. By connecting the displacement of people, the brutalization of warfare and the trauma associated with it, this study will offer a broader and more complex understanding of the experience of civilians and combatants in the wake of armed conflicts. In so doing, it will challenge traditional periodizations which delineate between periods of war and peace, and seek to uncover the profound legacies of war not just within but beyond nation states. This will prompt a re-evaluation of our understanding of what constitutes warfare and its aftermaths.Read moreRead less
Sexual ageing in the history of medicine, 1774-2018. This project aims to provide an account of the different historical periods in changing medical concepts of menopause, andropause and the 'critical age' since the end of the eighteenth century. Understanding how questions of ageing and sexuality have changed across history will help to nuance our current understandings, relevant to an increasing number of people in ageing populations. This project will provide an integrative history of the nex ....Sexual ageing in the history of medicine, 1774-2018. This project aims to provide an account of the different historical periods in changing medical concepts of menopause, andropause and the 'critical age' since the end of the eighteenth century. Understanding how questions of ageing and sexuality have changed across history will help to nuance our current understandings, relevant to an increasing number of people in ageing populations. This project will provide an integrative history of the nexus of modern concepts about sexual aging. It will combine rigorous consultation of overlooked historical sources with consultation of current scientific evidence. Outcomes of the project will be aimed at historical readers, but also at clinicians and the general public.Read moreRead less
Modernism, cosmopolitanism and consumer culture. This project aims to investigate the department store as a significant site for the transnational dissemination of modernism and cosmopolitanism in the first half of the 20th century. Through a primary focus on Sydney, with comparative studies of Tokyo and New York, the project expects to advance important knowledge of the department store’s vital role in driving new forms of creative engagement, consumer knowledge and social interaction that shap ....Modernism, cosmopolitanism and consumer culture. This project aims to investigate the department store as a significant site for the transnational dissemination of modernism and cosmopolitanism in the first half of the 20th century. Through a primary focus on Sydney, with comparative studies of Tokyo and New York, the project expects to advance important knowledge of the department store’s vital role in driving new forms of creative engagement, consumer knowledge and social interaction that shaped the aspiring cosmopolitan city. The expected outcomes include an understanding how the department store enhanced the public's engagement with modernism. This will benefit current initiatives using the arts to revitalise commercial and urban space.Read moreRead less
Homelessness and the homeless people: an Australian history. This project aims to analyse understandings of and practices for homeless people in their shifting contexts to explore the changing profile and experience of people who were homeless, including the women, young people and Indigenous people. Australia will be used as a case study. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the long history of modern homelessness. The expected benefits will be both in public policy and in improving ....Homelessness and the homeless people: an Australian history. This project aims to analyse understandings of and practices for homeless people in their shifting contexts to explore the changing profile and experience of people who were homeless, including the women, young people and Indigenous people. Australia will be used as a case study. The project expects to generate new knowledge of the long history of modern homelessness. The expected benefits will be both in public policy and in improving the quality of life and workforce participation of people who are homeless or at risk of becoming so.Read moreRead less
Russian Immigrants and Anti-Communism in Cold War Australia, 1946-1966. The project explores the experience of Russian immigrants in Australia during the Cold War. It examines the ambiguity and complexity of what it meant to be Russian at a time of heightened anti-Soviet and anti-Communist sentiment, when ‘Red’ and ‘Russian’ were often equated, and when ASIO took a keen interest in the Russian migrant community. The project will generate new knowledge in the fields of immigration and politics, b ....Russian Immigrants and Anti-Communism in Cold War Australia, 1946-1966. The project explores the experience of Russian immigrants in Australia during the Cold War. It examines the ambiguity and complexity of what it meant to be Russian at a time of heightened anti-Soviet and anti-Communist sentiment, when ‘Red’ and ‘Russian’ were often equated, and when ASIO took a keen interest in the Russian migrant community. The project will generate new knowledge in the fields of immigration and politics, by exploring the factors that influence political activism for newly arrived migrants and diasporas. Expected outcomes of the project include a deepened knowledge of Australia’s Cold War and immigrant politics, and important benefits for Australian understanding of migrants who carried significant political baggage.Read moreRead less
Shop Talk: Department Stores, Shoppers and Consumer Capitalism, 1945-2025. This project aims to provide a deeper understanding of shopping and its significance in everyday Australian life by using oral history interviews with shoppers, workers and managers who have engaged with department stores since 1945. This project expects to produce the first history of the country’s post-war department stores. Expected outcomes include new, more nuanced perspectives of shopping and the challenges affectin ....Shop Talk: Department Stores, Shoppers and Consumer Capitalism, 1945-2025. This project aims to provide a deeper understanding of shopping and its significance in everyday Australian life by using oral history interviews with shoppers, workers and managers who have engaged with department stores since 1945. This project expects to produce the first history of the country’s post-war department stores. Expected outcomes include new, more nuanced perspectives of shopping and the challenges affecting the retail sector via a range of publications, international collaborations, and an archive of oral history recordings. This should provide significant benefits to researchers examining the retail sector, to Australians working in retail, and to ordinary Australians, whose stories will be placed on the historical record.Read moreRead less
Suharto's enablers? Social complicity in the Indonesian killings of 1965-66. This projects aims to revolutionise understandings of civilian involvement in the most critical and bloody turning point in modern Indonesian history, the 1965-66 killings, and to transform the evidence base for Indonesian history-writing. By accessing critically endangered and never before used survivor community archives, the project will examine the complicity of civilians in the killings and how the violence shaped ....Suharto's enablers? Social complicity in the Indonesian killings of 1965-66. This projects aims to revolutionise understandings of civilian involvement in the most critical and bloody turning point in modern Indonesian history, the 1965-66 killings, and to transform the evidence base for Indonesian history-writing. By accessing critically endangered and never before used survivor community archives, the project will examine the complicity of civilians in the killings and how the violence shaped modern Indonesian national identity and moral consciousness. It will further generate a new, centralised archive of these preserved materials and compile new oral history interviews with the remaining witnesses to these pivotal events.Read moreRead less