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
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
Strategic Friendship: Anglo-German Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region. This project aims to investigate the untold history of Anglo-German cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region through hitherto neglected German archival materials. These materials point to thriving and thick webs of mutual assistance in cultural, scientific, economic, military and political affairs that successfully weakened local sovereignty but ended abruptly with World War One. The project expects to produce a new history ....Strategic Friendship: Anglo-German Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region. This project aims to investigate the untold history of Anglo-German cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region through hitherto neglected German archival materials. These materials point to thriving and thick webs of mutual assistance in cultural, scientific, economic, military and political affairs that successfully weakened local sovereignty but ended abruptly with World War One. The project expects to produce a new history challenging century-long Anglophone understandings of Anglo-German antagonism in the Asia-Pacific region. Its benefits include providing new knowledge of the history of great power relations in the Asia-Pacific region and establishing an improved historical framework for understanding strategic cooperation in our region.Read moreRead less
Regency Romanticism: Ireland, Britain and Australia, 1788-1848. This project aims to produce an interdisciplinary and transnational history of Regency culture, focusing on how Regency culture connected Ireland, Britain and Australia. It seeks to explore the relationship between the Regency and Romanticism in ways that advance the innovative approach for which Australian Romantic studies is internationally renowned. Exploring intersections between people, print media, sociable practices, architec ....Regency Romanticism: Ireland, Britain and Australia, 1788-1848. This project aims to produce an interdisciplinary and transnational history of Regency culture, focusing on how Regency culture connected Ireland, Britain and Australia. It seeks to explore the relationship between the Regency and Romanticism in ways that advance the innovative approach for which Australian Romantic studies is internationally renowned. Exploring intersections between people, print media, sociable practices, architecture and visual representations, the project aims to provide a revisionary account of Regency Romanticism as a movement of contradictory energies and innovations, and as an initiatory model of global modernity that anticipates features of the mediatised culture of fashion, sociality and spectatorship of today.Read moreRead less
Jane Austen and maternal disinheritance: The Leigh family archive. This project aims to research Jane Austen’s (1775-1817) mother’s family, the Leighs. Family relationships are central to Austen’s novels, but little is known about the women of her own family. The Leighs left extensive archival materials pertaining to their history, which Austen scholars have largely ignored. This project will use detailed archival research to recover and reposition the Leigh family in Austen biography, and read ....Jane Austen and maternal disinheritance: The Leigh family archive. This project aims to research Jane Austen’s (1775-1817) mother’s family, the Leighs. Family relationships are central to Austen’s novels, but little is known about the women of her own family. The Leighs left extensive archival materials pertaining to their history, which Austen scholars have largely ignored. This project will use detailed archival research to recover and reposition the Leigh family in Austen biography, and read Austen’s juvenilia and novels as informed by and contributing to this history. The project aims to better understand the influence of family history on Jane Austen’s novels, contributing to our knowledge of British women’s literature and history.Read moreRead less
Western Australian Legacies of British Slavery . This project aims to bring Australia into the global history of slavery by exploring the legacies of British slavery in Western Australia. Through developing innovative methods for biographical research and digital mapping, it will trace the movement of capital, people and culture from slave-owning Britain to WA, and produce a new history of the continuing impact of slavery wealth in shaping colonial immigration, investment, and law. Expected outc ....Western Australian Legacies of British Slavery . This project aims to bring Australia into the global history of slavery by exploring the legacies of British slavery in Western Australia. Through developing innovative methods for biographical research and digital mapping, it will trace the movement of capital, people and culture from slave-owning Britain to WA, and produce a new history of the continuing impact of slavery wealth in shaping colonial immigration, investment, and law. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced capacity to build international disciplinary collaborations, new research methods, and a major national online exhibition. Benefits include a radically new perspective on Australian history and abolition in the present, with major public outcomes.Read moreRead less
Empire of Emergency: Martial Law and the British Empire, 1700-1865. Emergency powers are of enormous importance in the twenty-first century. Empire of Emergency aims to explain a core aspect of their development by exploring the history of martial law in the British Empire. It aims to show how martial law proliferated in British colonies after 1760, becoming a ubiquitous tool, not only for quelling colonial rebellion, but for managing disorder in difficult hinterlands in colonies as disparate as ....Empire of Emergency: Martial Law and the British Empire, 1700-1865. Emergency powers are of enormous importance in the twenty-first century. Empire of Emergency aims to explain a core aspect of their development by exploring the history of martial law in the British Empire. It aims to show how martial law proliferated in British colonies after 1760, becoming a ubiquitous tool, not only for quelling colonial rebellion, but for managing disorder in difficult hinterlands in colonies as disparate as Honduras and New South Wales. Using traditional research methods and new tools of digital analysis, this project expects to enhance our understanding of the complex relationships among violence, law, humanitarianism and liberalism that underpinned British imperial ideology at a crucial time in global history. Read moreRead less
Words and Their Consequences: Freedom of Expression in Britain, 1960-1979. This project plans to use contests over obscenity and racism as lenses to understand changes in freedom of expression in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s. What was the purpose of free speech? How did the liberty to write and read relate to ideas about personal autonomy? What effects do words have on those who read or hear them? Working with previously untapped archival material on regulating obscene publications and the ....Words and Their Consequences: Freedom of Expression in Britain, 1960-1979. This project plans to use contests over obscenity and racism as lenses to understand changes in freedom of expression in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s. What was the purpose of free speech? How did the liberty to write and read relate to ideas about personal autonomy? What effects do words have on those who read or hear them? Working with previously untapped archival material on regulating obscene publications and the passage of legislation against racial vilification, the project aims to provide a new history of the theory and practice of freedom of expression in modern Britain.Read moreRead less
The emotional register of liberal culture in the long nineteenth century. This project aims to advance our understanding of liberal culture, a concept central to the humanities and to modern social and political discourse. It will address the problem of liberalism's perceived rationalism by investigating the role of emotion as a core characteristic of liberal culture during its formation and subsequent development over the course of the long nineteenth century. The project will focus on periodic ....The emotional register of liberal culture in the long nineteenth century. This project aims to advance our understanding of liberal culture, a concept central to the humanities and to modern social and political discourse. It will address the problem of liberalism's perceived rationalism by investigating the role of emotion as a core characteristic of liberal culture during its formation and subsequent development over the course of the long nineteenth century. The project will focus on periodicals as a vital medium for the cultivation and dissemination of progressive liberal ideas and values, as well as for the expression and discussion of the emotions. The project will benefit scholars in political, literary, and cultural studies and contribute to current debates in Australia about liberal culture and its sustainability.Read moreRead less
Precarious accounts: money, sex and power in the industrial revolution. This project aims to provide a historical perspective on contemporary debates around the uses of self-tracking technologies. The project expects to generate new knowledge on how practices for quantifying the self relate to significant social and economic change, from the industrial revolution, through to measuring the systems of big data that now shapes the world. It does so using a case study of Gilbert Innes, a banker know ....Precarious accounts: money, sex and power in the industrial revolution. This project aims to provide a historical perspective on contemporary debates around the uses of self-tracking technologies. The project expects to generate new knowledge on how practices for quantifying the self relate to significant social and economic change, from the industrial revolution, through to measuring the systems of big data that now shapes the world. It does so using a case study of Gilbert Innes, a banker known for his sexual exploitation of women and obsessive book-keeping. The expected outcome is a history of how accounting shaped identity and morality in the nineteenth century. Through improving our understanding of how quantification practices shape society, this research supports their effective use today.Read moreRead less