Psychoanalysis, Anthropology and the Australian Aborigine: the revaluing of myth in the twentieth-century. This project will uncover the role Western experience of Aboriginal Australian cultures has played in the revaluing of myths in the twentieth century particularly via the influence of psychoanalysis. It will show that European experience of Aboriginal Australia raised questions, and the attempted answers to those questions changed European thinking. Revealing this will add significantly t ....Psychoanalysis, Anthropology and the Australian Aborigine: the revaluing of myth in the twentieth-century. This project will uncover the role Western experience of Aboriginal Australian cultures has played in the revaluing of myths in the twentieth century particularly via the influence of psychoanalysis. It will show that European experience of Aboriginal Australia raised questions, and the attempted answers to those questions changed European thinking. Revealing this will add significantly to Australia's self understanding. It will add significantly to the understanding of the importance myth has gained over the last century. It will be an important Australian contribution to international scholarship of the histories of Anthropology, Science, and Psychoanalysis, and to Religious and Indigenous StudiesRead moreRead less
John Locke, botany and natural kinds. This project will enhance the status of research into early modern science and philosophy in Australia. It is a project of major significance in Locke studies and in the history of botany and it will impinge on a number of current philosophical debates to which Australians are already making a major contribution: the nature of biological species; natural kinds; and scientific method. Those who work on early modern thought in Australia will also benefit from ....John Locke, botany and natural kinds. This project will enhance the status of research into early modern science and philosophy in Australia. It is a project of major significance in Locke studies and in the history of botany and it will impinge on a number of current philosophical debates to which Australians are already making a major contribution: the nature of biological species; natural kinds; and scientific method. Those who work on early modern thought in Australia will also benefit from the close relationship that will be established between the University of Sydney and Oxford University. The publications issuing from the project will be of international significance.Read moreRead less
Mapping the Latin Enlightenment: Centres and Peripheries. An Australian will lead an international team to reclaim the massive but neglected Latin-language culture of 18th-C Europe, restoring 'lost' authors influential in their day and assessing the contribution of Latin literary and scientific networks to Enlightenment culture. Our national conversation on the Enlightenment will expand from a near-exclusive focus on France and England to Italy and the Netherlands, countries of historical import ....Mapping the Latin Enlightenment: Centres and Peripheries. An Australian will lead an international team to reclaim the massive but neglected Latin-language culture of 18th-C Europe, restoring 'lost' authors influential in their day and assessing the contribution of Latin literary and scientific networks to Enlightenment culture. Our national conversation on the Enlightenment will expand from a near-exclusive focus on France and England to Italy and the Netherlands, countries of historical importance to Australia and our region. The project will further enhance Australia's high reputation in Italian literature studies, setting a new direction in the field by tracking the influence of Latin humanism beyond the Renaissance. Outcomes include a monograph, critical anthologies, and research training.Read moreRead less
The Genie in the Bottle:Science, Politics and Diplomacy in Australia's Engagement with Chemical and Biological Weapons, 1915-1995. The threat of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) is attracting increasing attention worldwide. Australia's engagement with the CBW began during the First World War. Since then, Australia has been influential in promoting CBW control regimes. However, this experience has raised many questions. This project explores Australia's historical and current response to ....The Genie in the Bottle:Science, Politics and Diplomacy in Australia's Engagement with Chemical and Biological Weapons, 1915-1995. The threat of chemical and biological weapons (CBW) is attracting increasing attention worldwide. Australia's engagement with the CBW began during the First World War. Since then, Australia has been influential in promoting CBW control regimes. However, this experience has raised many questions. This project explores Australia's historical and current response to the central issues of CBW. Using archival and contemporary sources, it analyses the interplay between science, politics and diplomacy. Combining history and political science, it assesses the implications of recent developments in CBW for Australia's role in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.Read moreRead less
A Century of Drugs: Science, Medicine, and Industry in the Development of Pharmaceuticals. This project explores collaborations between life scientists, physicians, and industrialists in the discovery of six major new drugs, between the 1890s and 1990s. The aim is to develop a primary source-based history, and two books as well as other writings communicating findings, on the mutual influences between academic life science, medicine, and the drug industry that have flowed from such collaboration ....A Century of Drugs: Science, Medicine, and Industry in the Development of Pharmaceuticals. This project explores collaborations between life scientists, physicians, and industrialists in the discovery of six major new drugs, between the 1890s and 1990s. The aim is to develop a primary source-based history, and two books as well as other writings communicating findings, on the mutual influences between academic life science, medicine, and the drug industry that have flowed from such collaborations. This history will provide fundamental insights into the relationship between biological knowledge and medical practice, and the social and intellectual consequences of the pharmaceutical industry's involvement with both clinical research and biological science.Read moreRead less
Australia and the Antarctic Treaty System - A historical investigation. The legitimacy of Australia's Antarctic claim rests not only on scientific work and a continuing physical presence, but on the level of Australia's cultural and political engagement with Antarctica. This research project will contribute, in a profound way, to the nation's international responsibilities to Antarctica. It will also contribute to a key policy priority of the Australian government, which is to strengthen its inf ....Australia and the Antarctic Treaty System - A historical investigation. The legitimacy of Australia's Antarctic claim rests not only on scientific work and a continuing physical presence, but on the level of Australia's cultural and political engagement with Antarctica. This research project will contribute, in a profound way, to the nation's international responsibilities to Antarctica. It will also contribute to a key policy priority of the Australian government, which is to strengthen its influence in the Antarctic Treaty System. In a very specific sense, the research will consolidate Australia's political, scientific and scholarly leadership in the international Antarctic community by contributing to the hosting of the 2012 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting through a significant publication to be made available to all delegates.Read moreRead less
The human elements: a cultural history of Australian weather. This project will study the experience of weather in Australia from the 1880s to the 1980s. Drawing upon environmental history, history of science and cultural history, we aim to go beyond a catalogue of weather events or climatic obsessions, to explore how the meanings of weather and climate are themselves constructed through the interaction of science, nature and society. This project uses a series of case studies to explore what is ....The human elements: a cultural history of Australian weather. This project will study the experience of weather in Australia from the 1880s to the 1980s. Drawing upon environmental history, history of science and cultural history, we aim to go beyond a catalogue of weather events or climatic obsessions, to explore how the meanings of weather and climate are themselves constructed through the interaction of science, nature and society. This project uses a series of case studies to explore what is human in the elements. The outcomes will include a book, two Metarch publications, collection development and an exhibition brief for the NMA, and web-materials for both industry partners.Read moreRead less
Evolvability and the Evolution of Complexity. Anyone engaging in a moment's reflection on the striking richness, diversity, and complexity of the biological world is faced with the question: how did it get here? Though natural selection is central to answering this question, important new work has identified various conditions that make some lineages of organisms "evolvable": capable of changing in ways that radically expand the range of further possible changes. This project will clarify and in ....Evolvability and the Evolution of Complexity. Anyone engaging in a moment's reflection on the striking richness, diversity, and complexity of the biological world is faced with the question: how did it get here? Though natural selection is central to answering this question, important new work has identified various conditions that make some lineages of organisms "evolvable": capable of changing in ways that radically expand the range of further possible changes. This project will clarify and integrate these various conditions using empirical examples and simple models. The resulting work from this project will provide a clearer general understanding of what biological complexity is, and how science has compelling candidates for understanding how it evolves.Read moreRead less
Fundamentality. Australia is a world leader in metaphysical research. This project aims to strengthen the tradition of Australian metaphysics, by studying fundamentality, or the notion of being fundamental. It revives the classical monistic worldview on which we are interdependent and interrelated fragments of a greater whole. It thus connects the philosophical tradition of Plotinus, Spinoza, and Hegel to the physical picture of the cosmos as a single entangled quantum system, and so promises to ....Fundamentality. Australia is a world leader in metaphysical research. This project aims to strengthen the tradition of Australian metaphysics, by studying fundamentality, or the notion of being fundamental. It revives the classical monistic worldview on which we are interdependent and interrelated fragments of a greater whole. It thus connects the philosophical tradition of Plotinus, Spinoza, and Hegel to the physical picture of the cosmos as a single entangled quantum system, and so promises to deepen our understanding of our place in nature—while strengthening Australian leadership in the field.Read moreRead less
High Performance in Elite Sports: A Cultural History of Medicine, Psychology, and Society during the Weimar Republic and Nazism, 1918-1945. Australia has long had an excellent international reputation for innovative research on European history. This research project will expand that reputation by providing cutting-edge research into a new field that is just beginning to be developed. The project brings together research in sport with research into the history of science and medicine that will a ....High Performance in Elite Sports: A Cultural History of Medicine, Psychology, and Society during the Weimar Republic and Nazism, 1918-1945. Australia has long had an excellent international reputation for innovative research on European history. This research project will expand that reputation by providing cutting-edge research into a new field that is just beginning to be developed. The project brings together research in sport with research into the history of science and medicine that will allow Australia to participate in major international debates in all of these fields. It examines the social and cultural significance of sports using Germany as a case study. A sports conscious and performance oriented society like Australia would certainly benefit from insights about the relationship between sports and performance management in a different time and place.Read moreRead less