Linguistic individuation in the plays of Shakespeare and his peers, 1576-1599. The question of how differently each speaker or writer uses language is important in everything from plagiarism to the definition of artistic genius. The project makes Shakespearean drama before 1600 a definitive test case of this wider problem of individuality in language. Australians are inheritors of the Western tradition of individual self-determination and self-expression; the project will help clarify one of the ....Linguistic individuation in the plays of Shakespeare and his peers, 1576-1599. The question of how differently each speaker or writer uses language is important in everything from plagiarism to the definition of artistic genius. The project makes Shakespearean drama before 1600 a definitive test case of this wider problem of individuality in language. Australians are inheritors of the Western tradition of individual self-determination and self-expression; the project will help clarify one of the main assumptions behind this tradition. Australia is also an inheritor of the English-language culture of which Shakespeare is a key element, and the project will enrich the understanding of this culture through new light on his beginnings.Read moreRead less
Dreams: A Cultural History, 1840-1940. This project will produce a groundbreaking history of the emergence of the dream as a fundamental aspect of identity in the period 1840-1940, when the contours of modern psychology were being dramatically transformed. By tracking the vital relationship between an emerging science of the mind and the rapidly evolving cultural arts in this crucial period, this project will ensure Australia's place at the forefront of innovative interdisciplinary research acro ....Dreams: A Cultural History, 1840-1940. This project will produce a groundbreaking history of the emergence of the dream as a fundamental aspect of identity in the period 1840-1940, when the contours of modern psychology were being dramatically transformed. By tracking the vital relationship between an emerging science of the mind and the rapidly evolving cultural arts in this crucial period, this project will ensure Australia's place at the forefront of innovative interdisciplinary research across the humanities and sciences. The enduring popular and scholarly fascination with dreams will stimulate broad discussion about an area of psychic life that continues to inform the relationship between a science of the mind and everyday cultural life.Read moreRead less
Minds, Bodies, Machines: a cultural and intellectual history of technologies in the 21st century. This project benefits the intellectual and cultural life of the nation by establishing a unique dialogue between the I.T. community and University researchers in the humanities and social sciences. Using an
interdisciplinary methodology to explore technologically-driven social change across a period of more than two hundred years, the project will generate new and fresh ways of thinking about emerg ....Minds, Bodies, Machines: a cultural and intellectual history of technologies in the 21st century. This project benefits the intellectual and cultural life of the nation by establishing a unique dialogue between the I.T. community and University researchers in the humanities and social sciences. Using an
interdisciplinary methodology to explore technologically-driven social change across a period of more than two hundred years, the project will generate new and fresh ways of thinking about emerging areas of intense debate and controversy, such as humanoid robotics and artificial intelligence. The dialogue we propose will foster an environment of enhanced innovation, one in which knowledge translates directly and indirectly into social and economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Noise, Technology, Literature. 21st century life is pervaded by fears of sensory and information overload, the deafening interference of data generated by a digitalised global economy, as well as the literal noise of everyday life. These fears transcend national boundaries, connecting the experiences of contemporary Australians to a common global experience. It is this inter-connected trans-national history of the profound impact of noise on our lives that this project will begin to chart. Stre ....Noise, Technology, Literature. 21st century life is pervaded by fears of sensory and information overload, the deafening interference of data generated by a digitalised global economy, as well as the literal noise of everyday life. These fears transcend national boundaries, connecting the experiences of contemporary Australians to a common global experience. It is this inter-connected trans-national history of the profound impact of noise on our lives that this project will begin to chart. Stretching back to the nineteenth century and into the present, this project is necessarily collaborative and ambitious in its engagement not only with ideas of noise as they are discussed within the confines of academia but also in the broader community. Read moreRead less
The transition from print to electronic textuality in the scholarly editing of Australian literature: practice and theory. Scholarly editions of Henry Lawson's While the Billy Boils and colonial poet Charles Harpur's Complete Poems will afford access to authenticated texts of classic works of Australian literature. The editions complete the Academy Editions of Australian Literature series, a long-term project of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. The analysis of versions will allow a newl ....The transition from print to electronic textuality in the scholarly editing of Australian literature: practice and theory. Scholarly editions of Henry Lawson's While the Billy Boils and colonial poet Charles Harpur's Complete Poems will afford access to authenticated texts of classic works of Australian literature. The editions complete the Academy Editions of Australian Literature series, a long-term project of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. The analysis of versions will allow a newly informed study of the works. The Academy Editions series makes a staged transition to electronic delivery with these editions. The new methodology will lay the groundwork for future projects, and the text-authentication method may have further application. The State Library of New South Wales website will make fruits of the scholarship available to a wider public.Read moreRead less
Bowers of Bliss: Literary and Cultural Representations of Luxury in Early Modern England, 1580-1630. Luxury consumption is now commonplace in western societies including our own. It is also the subject of intense moral and ethical debate and part of an international discussion about human well-being. Our desire to consume has a long and complex history which is elucidated by early modern representations of luxury and by their recourse to enduring myths, symbols and rituals, still associated with ....Bowers of Bliss: Literary and Cultural Representations of Luxury in Early Modern England, 1580-1630. Luxury consumption is now commonplace in western societies including our own. It is also the subject of intense moral and ethical debate and part of an international discussion about human well-being. Our desire to consume has a long and complex history which is elucidated by early modern representations of luxury and by their recourse to enduring myths, symbols and rituals, still associated with luxury today. As a credit-based society addicted to luxury consumption, Australia is part of an ongoing global discussion about consumption, morality and society: this project will expand our contribution to that debate, while also furthering our own understanding of a concept whcih continues to evoke both fear and fascination.Read moreRead less
Journalism on the Move: The Special Correspondent and Victorian Print Culture. This project brings the 'special correspondent' into critical focus as an important journalistic role in Victorian print culture and thereby recovers a significant part of Australia's cultural inheritance. Two of the 'specials' who form a focus for my study visited Australia and wrote about it; and the nineteenth-century debates that surrounded their highly popular, descriptive style of journalism continue today in co ....Journalism on the Move: The Special Correspondent and Victorian Print Culture. This project brings the 'special correspondent' into critical focus as an important journalistic role in Victorian print culture and thereby recovers a significant part of Australia's cultural inheritance. Two of the 'specials' who form a focus for my study visited Australia and wrote about it; and the nineteenth-century debates that surrounded their highly popular, descriptive style of journalism continue today in controversies surrounding the relationship between fact and fiction in Australian print culture. My project will bring these hitherto neglected connections to light and strengthen Australia's standing within the expanding international field of research in Victorian periodicals and newspapers.Read moreRead less
The medieval town imagined: representations of urban culture in medieval literature. As the size and number of towns in north-west Europe expanded from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries, the cultural response to economic and social changes produced by urbanisation was articulated in literary texts. The project aims to examine ways in which towns and urban culture are represented in medieval English, Welsh and French literature, foregrounding the attitudes constructed by the texts towards town ....The medieval town imagined: representations of urban culture in medieval literature. As the size and number of towns in north-west Europe expanded from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries, the cultural response to economic and social changes produced by urbanisation was articulated in literary texts. The project aims to examine ways in which towns and urban culture are represented in medieval English, Welsh and French literature, foregrounding the attitudes constructed by the texts towards towns, townspeople and the impact of the urban economy. The resulting monograph and database of references will provide new evidence for the competitive relationships between feudal nobilities and emerging urban elites.Read moreRead less
ARC Research Network for Early European Research. The Network offers a dynamic resource for enhancing Australian research into the culture and history of Europe between the fifth and nineteenth centuries. Through a programme of dedicated conferences and symposia, new digital resources, publications, and specialist postgraduate mentoring, Network management will mobilise existing strengths to build up national and international research partnerships in key emerging areas of scholarly enquiry. The ....ARC Research Network for Early European Research. The Network offers a dynamic resource for enhancing Australian research into the culture and history of Europe between the fifth and nineteenth centuries. Through a programme of dedicated conferences and symposia, new digital resources, publications, and specialist postgraduate mentoring, Network management will mobilise existing strengths to build up national and international research partnerships in key emerging areas of scholarly enquiry. The Network will coordinate large-scale cross-disciplinary investigations, strengthen links with cultural heritage institutions and organizations, and nurture the next generation of researchers. It will make innovative use of digital infrastructure to manage communication and to disseminate results.Read moreRead less
Metaphor and Mind: Literary Texts, Cultural Transmission, and How We Think about the Mind. This project will make a significant contribution to national and international research on both literary language and the mind. Its wide applicability will boost Australia's international reputation in interdisciplinary research. The project is also of more general public interest in that it probes why, despite major advances in scientific understanding, we are as likely as Chaucer and Shakespeare were to ....Metaphor and Mind: Literary Texts, Cultural Transmission, and How We Think about the Mind. This project will make a significant contribution to national and international research on both literary language and the mind. Its wide applicability will boost Australia's international reputation in interdisciplinary research. The project is also of more general public interest in that it probes why, despite major advances in scientific understanding, we are as likely as Chaucer and Shakespeare were to describe the mind as 'wandering' or as a compartmentalised storehouse. In providing a new perspective to the study of the mind and metaphor, this project will reposition current debate about language use and cultural memory and contribute to knowledge of fundamental, wide-ranging relevance. Read moreRead less