Gender, power and identity in the early modern Nassau family. Our family identities shape our experiences of relationships, support structures, and interactions in broader communities around us but how do gender and power relationships affect expressions of family identities? Our project uses a case study of the early modern Nassau-Orange family, whose extensive and diverse sources include letters, art, architectural precincts, naming patterns, and even colonial endeavours. The word and colour o ....Gender, power and identity in the early modern Nassau family. Our family identities shape our experiences of relationships, support structures, and interactions in broader communities around us but how do gender and power relationships affect expressions of family identities? Our project uses a case study of the early modern Nassau-Orange family, whose extensive and diverse sources include letters, art, architectural precincts, naming patterns, and even colonial endeavours. The word and colour orange today symbolise Protestantism and the Dutch worldwide as a result of this pivotal family's self-presentation in the early modern period. We will produce monographs, PhD thesis, and research training in an international humanities team led by Australian researchers. Read moreRead less
A Cultural History of the Body in Modern Japan. This project will focus on a cultural history of the body in Japan from the late nineteenth century to the present. This study will go beyond previous theorisations of the body, by looking at the development of Japanese modernity through analysing cultural representations of embodied experiences and embodied practices. In addition to considering questions of sex, gender, sexuality and reproduction, the project will also focus on the classed, racial ....A Cultural History of the Body in Modern Japan. This project will focus on a cultural history of the body in Japan from the late nineteenth century to the present. This study will go beyond previous theorisations of the body, by looking at the development of Japanese modernity through analysing cultural representations of embodied experiences and embodied practices. In addition to considering questions of sex, gender, sexuality and reproduction, the project will also focus on the classed, racialised and ethnicised dimensions of bodily experience. It will consider the body at work, the body in leisure, the body as the medium of violence, and the embodied experiences of globalization.Read moreRead less
Continuities and change in the history of European women's letter-writing. This project will enhance Australia's strong international reputation for cutting-edge work in European history. At a time when questions about communication, self-representation and personal life are of such very great interest, both academically and more generally, this project offers the possibility of bringing academic scholarship closer to issues that are of general interest to the wider community. There is also cons ....Continuities and change in the history of European women's letter-writing. This project will enhance Australia's strong international reputation for cutting-edge work in European history. At a time when questions about communication, self-representation and personal life are of such very great interest, both academically and more generally, this project offers the possibility of bringing academic scholarship closer to issues that are of general interest to the wider community. There is also considerable national benefit in the innovative approach that this project proposes, which offers a new model for collaborative research in the humanities.Read moreRead less
Girls, Empowerment, and Markets in Education: A History of The Mac.Robertsons Girls' High School. With its centenary approaching, the school wants to evaluate its past. In cooperation with RMIT, the writing of a school history can produce three important outcomes. As historian in residence, the doctoral scholar can provide focus for self reflection by the school community. As social history, the work can fill a significant gap in the understanding of publicly funded education in Australia. As co ....Girls, Empowerment, and Markets in Education: A History of The Mac.Robertsons Girls' High School. With its centenary approaching, the school wants to evaluate its past. In cooperation with RMIT, the writing of a school history can produce three important outcomes. As historian in residence, the doctoral scholar can provide focus for self reflection by the school community. As social history, the work can fill a significant gap in the understanding of publicly funded education in Australia. As contribution to policy, it can address two continuing debates: about the place of selective state schools in a national system of education, and about the dynamics of single sex schools, and the education of girls more generally.Read moreRead less
Raising and Solving New Questions in China's Late-Imperial Demographic History, and their Economic and Environmental Implications. Examining China's premodern demographic history shows that age-specific rates of births and deaths are a crucial element usually missing in reconstructing the local histories needed to refine nationwide generalizations. They also raise unanticipated questions, relating for example to diet, stress, and disease . The extensive data on ?virtuous women? in local gazettee ....Raising and Solving New Questions in China's Late-Imperial Demographic History, and their Economic and Environmental Implications. Examining China's premodern demographic history shows that age-specific rates of births and deaths are a crucial element usually missing in reconstructing the local histories needed to refine nationwide generalizations. They also raise unanticipated questions, relating for example to diet, stress, and disease . The extensive data on ?virtuous women? in local gazetteers, never previously utilized, show wide local variations in expectancy of life. The project will determine parts of this spatial pattern, and that of fertility where information is systematic enough. These findings will be interpreted by integrating them with the local histories of women's experiences. Read moreRead less
Indigenous leaders: lawful relations from encounter to treaty. This project aims to draw together history, law and the creative arts to recover, make visible and make accessible the continuous traditions of Indigenous people’s leadership in conducting lawful relations in Victoria. The project aims to develop methods of translating these encounters and their insights. The intended outcomes should shape critical deliberations on the future of non-Indigenous Australia’s legal and social relationshi ....Indigenous leaders: lawful relations from encounter to treaty. This project aims to draw together history, law and the creative arts to recover, make visible and make accessible the continuous traditions of Indigenous people’s leadership in conducting lawful relations in Victoria. The project aims to develop methods of translating these encounters and their insights. The intended outcomes should shape critical deliberations on the future of non-Indigenous Australia’s legal and social relationships with its First Peoples, particularly regarding treaty-making.Read moreRead less
Scalded memory: violence, gender and the Irish, 1169-1923. The history of the Irish at home and abroad from the medieval period has been extraordinarily violent. While historians have studied wars and rebellions in terms of heroic political narratives, there has been no systematic analysis of what a poet has termed Ireland's 'scalded memory?: the meanings of violence in the lives of ordinary Irish women and men. This project will undertake an extremely ambitious interrogation of violence and ge ....Scalded memory: violence, gender and the Irish, 1169-1923. The history of the Irish at home and abroad from the medieval period has been extraordinarily violent. While historians have studied wars and rebellions in terms of heroic political narratives, there has been no systematic analysis of what a poet has termed Ireland's 'scalded memory?: the meanings of violence in the lives of ordinary Irish women and men. This project will undertake an extremely ambitious interrogation of violence and gender in Ireland and the Irish diaspora. It will promote collaboration between Irish and Australian universities, provide training for a PhD student and help foster Irish Studies in Australia. Read moreRead less
Judith Anderson 1897-1992: Voice and Emotion in the Making of an International Star. Australian-born Dame Judith Anderson was considered one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century. Renowned for her thrilling voice and portrayal of deep emotion and illicit sexuality and power, she influenced how women looked, spoke, and felt from the early 1920s through her roles on Broadway and in Hollywood films. This biography will preserve and make accessible a valuable part of our cultural heritage ....Judith Anderson 1897-1992: Voice and Emotion in the Making of an International Star. Australian-born Dame Judith Anderson was considered one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century. Renowned for her thrilling voice and portrayal of deep emotion and illicit sexuality and power, she influenced how women looked, spoke, and felt from the early 1920s through her roles on Broadway and in Hollywood films. This biography will preserve and make accessible a valuable part of our cultural heritage. It will give Australians and Americans a better understanding of the two-way cultural relationship between their two countries. It will help place Australian scholarship at the cutting edge of historical research on twentieth century auditory culture.Read moreRead less
Working the Land: Women's Rural Labour and the Making of a Nation, Australia, 1901-1945. Dr Ford's research delivers social, cultural and economic benefits to Australia, particularly for rural Australia, for women and for aging Australians. Her work will increase community understanding about working life in rural Australia; the relationship between land, agriculture, gender and national identity; and the ways women combined family responsibilities with farm work - issues central to debates abou ....Working the Land: Women's Rural Labour and the Making of a Nation, Australia, 1901-1945. Dr Ford's research delivers social, cultural and economic benefits to Australia, particularly for rural Australia, for women and for aging Australians. Her work will increase community understanding about working life in rural Australia; the relationship between land, agriculture, gender and national identity; and the ways women combined family responsibilities with farm work - issues central to debates about the role of rural Australia and work/life balance. Her project will contribute to rural communities' sense of identity, as well as promote heritage tourism, important to regional economic development. It will also develop partnerships between universities and rural communities and improve the global visibility of Australian research.Read moreRead less
Same-sex partnerships and parenting: policy debates since 1945. This project will use interviews to trace same-sex relationships and family models since the Second World War. The research will inform policy debates about same-sex partnerships and parenting and contribute to the well-being of Australians through the articulation of a shared history.