Tibet's rivers in the Anthropocene: history and present trajectories. This project aims to produce a multifaceted history of the eastern Tibetan Plateau's rivers, focusing on the increasing human impacts during the Anthropocene. It will combine data from archival, cultural and oral sources in multiple languages with the results of scientific studies of river flow, water quality, and sediment, ice, and tree-rings analysis. The project will produce both historical narratives and graphic representa ....Tibet's rivers in the Anthropocene: history and present trajectories. This project aims to produce a multifaceted history of the eastern Tibetan Plateau's rivers, focusing on the increasing human impacts during the Anthropocene. It will combine data from archival, cultural and oral sources in multiple languages with the results of scientific studies of river flow, water quality, and sediment, ice, and tree-rings analysis. The project will produce both historical narratives and graphic representations that model past land and water usage. The results of the project will underpin environmental policy for this hydrologically and ecologically crucial region, including the development of a paradigm of care based on the region's indigenous cultural resources.Read moreRead less
The meritocratic moment in West Germany, Singapore, and Japan. This project aims to investigate the history of meritocratic ideas in West Germany, Singapore and Japan. The project will generate new knowledge on the ways in which democratic societies built political legitimacy after World War II by analysing the history of education reforms. Expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of the historical conditions which promote social cohesion in modern societies. This project should provide ....The meritocratic moment in West Germany, Singapore, and Japan. This project aims to investigate the history of meritocratic ideas in West Germany, Singapore and Japan. The project will generate new knowledge on the ways in which democratic societies built political legitimacy after World War II by analysing the history of education reforms. Expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of the historical conditions which promote social cohesion in modern societies. This project should provide significant benefits by fostering social and educational policy-making which enhances the political legitimacy and stability of parliamentarian democracies in Australia and around the world.Read moreRead less
Repatriation and release of Japanese war criminals 1946-1958: Southeast Asia, Japan and the Great Powers. Japanese war criminals held in Southeast Asia were repatriated and released in Japan from the late 1940s. Releases were negotiated between Japan and the nation that had convicted the prisoner. The project provides new understandings of the emergence of Southeast Asian states in regional diplomacy and of Japan's re-emergence as a regional power.
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
Asia-Pacific philanthropies: transnational diaspora networks, anti-colonial nationalism, and the emergence of modern Chinese philanthropy, 1850-1949. China's philanthropy sector now boasts the highest rate of growth in the world. China's leaders are searching for appropriate models to ensure donations get to the people who need them most. What can Australians contribute to this discussion? This project shows how early Chinese-Australian pioneers helped to shape modern philanthropy in China.
Disaster, human suffering and Colonial photography. This project aims to investigate how photography shaped modern understandings of disaster. During the period modern European empires were at their most expansive, they became increasingly interventionist in indigenous environments and societies. The project will use rich but largely neglected sources from colonial Indonesia (c.1840-1950) to study how images of human suffering in different disaster contexts evolved since the invention of photogr ....Disaster, human suffering and Colonial photography. This project aims to investigate how photography shaped modern understandings of disaster. During the period modern European empires were at their most expansive, they became increasingly interventionist in indigenous environments and societies. The project will use rich but largely neglected sources from colonial Indonesia (c.1840-1950) to study how images of human suffering in different disaster contexts evolved since the invention of photography. Understanding how and why European expansion shaped modern ideas about disasters, and how photography has developed to communicate human suffering, is expected to benefit community and scholarly awareness of environmental disaster, war and their effects.Read moreRead less
Peking opera, epitheatre and writing in nineteenth-century Beijing. Employing the neglected 'flower-guide' booklets of nineteenth-century Beijing, this project explores the role theatre-based popular literature played in the formation of the capital city's emerging public sphere. Establishing epitheatre as a new field, it opens new horizons in the history of modern China, social history and literary criticism.
Submerged Histories: Memory Activism in Indonesia and the Netherlands. This project aims to investigate the recent emergence of joint Indonesian and Dutch activism to demand recognition of submerged and marginalised cases of historical violence, economic exploitation and racism. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the interdisciplinary field of memory studies by discovering the motivations, strategies and future plans of these unique forms of collaboration. Expected outcomes of thi ....Submerged Histories: Memory Activism in Indonesia and the Netherlands. This project aims to investigate the recent emergence of joint Indonesian and Dutch activism to demand recognition of submerged and marginalised cases of historical violence, economic exploitation and racism. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the interdisciplinary field of memory studies by discovering the motivations, strategies and future plans of these unique forms of collaboration. Expected outcomes of this project include new insights into how these activists are affecting change in public institutions such as museums and setting trends in global social movements. This should provide significant benefits for understanding how memory activism is changing complex multi-ethnic societies.Read moreRead less
The fate of the artisan in revolutionary China: tailors in Beijing, 1930s-1960s. This study of tailors and garment production in mid-twentieth century Beijing explores the effects of Communism on the city's foremost handicraft industry and its practitioners, shedding light on the history of a state, society and industry which were to become surprisingly important to Australia.
The political dynamics of Deng Xiaoping's leadership of China, 1979-1992. This project examines a crucial stage in the transformation of China from a backward socio-economic situation to a dynamic economic and political power. Deng Xiaoping was the most significant figure in this transformation, but the political dynamics of his leadership are imperfectly understood. This study will correct those misunderstandings.