Demanding the Impossible: Utopianism in Philosophy, Literature and Science Fiction. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our re ....Demanding the Impossible: Utopianism in Philosophy, Literature and Science Fiction. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our reseach will be the relationship between culture, ecology and utopia or dystopia. Much of our work will be quite deliberately oriented towards the future possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society.Read moreRead less
Exploration and Nation: the Cultural Impact of Exploration Literature from the Cook Voyages to the 'Novara' Circumnavigation. This comparative analysis of the cultural impact of the Cook voyages and the lavishly state-sponsored "Novara" expedition will improve our understanding of the international entanglements that affected the course of our history. Examining the broad cultural impact of publications about Pacific exploration will offer valuable new insights into the cross-fertilisations betw ....Exploration and Nation: the Cultural Impact of Exploration Literature from the Cook Voyages to the 'Novara' Circumnavigation. This comparative analysis of the cultural impact of the Cook voyages and the lavishly state-sponsored "Novara" expedition will improve our understanding of the international entanglements that affected the course of our history. Examining the broad cultural impact of publications about Pacific exploration will offer valuable new insights into the cross-fertilisations between colonisation and the formation of 19th-century nation states. A detailed study of how European nations employed the publication industry in their competition for colonial control will illuminate the conflicts over the boundaries of nation and empire and enhance the understanding of prominent issues in Australian humanities research.Read moreRead less
Demanding the Impossible: Utopianism in Philosophy, Literature and Science Fiction. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our re ....Demanding the Impossible: Utopianism in Philosophy, Literature and Science Fiction. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our reseach will be the relationship between culture, ecology and utopia or dystopia. Much of our work will be quite deliberately oriented towards the future possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society.Read moreRead less