Imperialism, reform and the making of Englishness in Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë is usually thought to be imprecise about the time period of Jane Eyre. Working from a close chronology established from Brontë's historical allusions to West Indian slave rebellions, I propose to write a pioneering book about the novel and aspects of its reception, situating them and Brontë's juvenilia in relation to axes of reform politics in Britain in the 1820s and 1830s. I draw on innovative primary research on ....Imperialism, reform and the making of Englishness in Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë is usually thought to be imprecise about the time period of Jane Eyre. Working from a close chronology established from Brontë's historical allusions to West Indian slave rebellions, I propose to write a pioneering book about the novel and aspects of its reception, situating them and Brontë's juvenilia in relation to axes of reform politics in Britain in the 1820s and 1830s. I draw on innovative primary research on the articulation of gender, empire and Englishness in relation to these axes and address the implications of Brontë's invocation in 1847 of an earlier reform complex.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
The scientific ape: the evolution of the animal fable after Darwin. This project will contribute to national and international debates over the understanding of human nature, the human propensity for violence towards other beings and the possibility of mutually supportive relations with our natural environment. By demonstrating literature's capacity to intervene meaningfully into conceptual debates about the literary representation of animals, it will enhance Australia's international scholarly ....The scientific ape: the evolution of the animal fable after Darwin. This project will contribute to national and international debates over the understanding of human nature, the human propensity for violence towards other beings and the possibility of mutually supportive relations with our natural environment. By demonstrating literature's capacity to intervene meaningfully into conceptual debates about the literary representation of animals, it will enhance Australia's international scholarly profile in the emerging field of animal studies. It will also contribute to the international renown of Australian scholarship in traditional literary studies by producing the first theoretically informed reassessment of the literary genre of the fable.Read moreRead less
The impact of cultural contact between China and the Ancient Mediterranean World. The project which is part of a large international project aims to investigate the evidence for cultural contact between Rome and China and draws on material which has not been properly studied. Some of this material is of great artistic value (esp. Manichaean manuscripts) and has already attracted the attention of national media (newspapers, radio and TV). The project will help strengthen research ties between th ....The impact of cultural contact between China and the Ancient Mediterranean World. The project which is part of a large international project aims to investigate the evidence for cultural contact between Rome and China and draws on material which has not been properly studied. Some of this material is of great artistic value (esp. Manichaean manuscripts) and has already attracted the attention of national media (newspapers, radio and TV). The project will help strengthen research ties between the Social Science Academy of China and the Australian Academy of the Humanities. It will also heighten academic interest among ethnic groups: Chinese, Assyrian, Turkish and Iranian in cross-cultural contacts through exhibitions. Read moreRead less
Antarctic Imaginations: A Study of Creative Responses to the Continent for Science. Antarctica has for two centuries been the subject of numerous novels, poems and plays, both by writers who have never seen the continent, and by expeditioners and explorers themselves. Apart from a small number of canonical nineteenth-century texts, these representations of the continent have been subject to very little analysis. This project examines creative written responses to Antarctica, drawing on both publ ....Antarctic Imaginations: A Study of Creative Responses to the Continent for Science. Antarctica has for two centuries been the subject of numerous novels, poems and plays, both by writers who have never seen the continent, and by expeditioners and explorers themselves. Apart from a small number of canonical nineteenth-century texts, these representations of the continent have been subject to very little analysis. This project examines creative written responses to Antarctica, drawing on both published works and archival material, and focussing particularly on the cultural significance of Antarctica's construction as a ?continent for science?. Research outcomes will include innovative interdisciplinary contributions to Antarctic studies and English studies.Read moreRead less
Plato Comicus and Greek comedy: a study of his dramatic career. The experience of Greek comedy offers numerous points of contact with our own society. This project analyses an author and genre that flourished within a robustly democratic society, touching on perennial matters of social and political importance and raising pertinent questions about censorship, free speech, even good taste. Such a study can enlarge reflection on our own values, contributing cultural perspectives necessary for cons ....Plato Comicus and Greek comedy: a study of his dramatic career. The experience of Greek comedy offers numerous points of contact with our own society. This project analyses an author and genre that flourished within a robustly democratic society, touching on perennial matters of social and political importance and raising pertinent questions about censorship, free speech, even good taste. Such a study can enlarge reflection on our own values, contributing cultural perspectives necessary for constructive public debate and a healthy democracy. The project will also make a significant contribution to current trends in international classical scholarship. Its ambitious scope will contribute to research excellence within Australian Classics and further promote its reputation overseas.Read moreRead less
Literary Self-Awareness and Parental Love: Challenging Alterity in Contemporary Medieval Studies. Did medieval women write about themselves as gendered individuals? Did medieval parents love their children? Despite both popular and academic opinion to the contrary, this project aims to demonstrate that these propositions are true. By studying the self-aware writings of Latin-literate medieval women and medieval parent-child advice-texts, this project aims to challenge the alterity, or otherness, ....Literary Self-Awareness and Parental Love: Challenging Alterity in Contemporary Medieval Studies. Did medieval women write about themselves as gendered individuals? Did medieval parents love their children? Despite both popular and academic opinion to the contrary, this project aims to demonstrate that these propositions are true. By studying the self-aware writings of Latin-literate medieval women and medieval parent-child advice-texts, this project aims to challenge the alterity, or otherness, of the Middle Ages, a concept which suggests that medieval people are fundamentally unlike us. In doing so, it questions the significance of alterity in the construction and practices of contemporary Medieval Studies and offers insights into possible new methodologies for the discipline.Read moreRead less
Making and Unmaking Woman:Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris [Famous Women] in its medieval and Renaissance contexts. Giovanni Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris, [Famous Women] composed in the 1360s is the first attempt at female biography in the history of post-classical Western literature. It over-writes medieval misogyny with a humanistic vision of women. Contemporary criticism has generally treated the text contemptuously. Famous Women, it will be argued, is an example of the ideological comple ....Making and Unmaking Woman:Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris [Famous Women] in its medieval and Renaissance contexts. Giovanni Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris, [Famous Women] composed in the 1360s is the first attempt at female biography in the history of post-classical Western literature. It over-writes medieval misogyny with a humanistic vision of women. Contemporary criticism has generally treated the text contemptuously. Famous Women, it will be argued, is an example of the ideological complexities of humanism in its formative stages. It is the aim of this project to show that the text played a pivotal role in reassessing the conception of woman in early modern Europe. The project will produce the first major monograph on Famous Women.Read moreRead less
A Generic Study of Colette's Short Writing. The study uses "genre" as a key to a literary-historical account of Colette's short writing in its cultural context. The corpus is generically ambiguous, since it first appeared as "articles" in magazines and was later collected in volumes, thus acquiring a more "literary" status as "essays". Taking into account both the conditions of publication and the rhetoric of these pieces, I shall investigate the network of cultural relations in which they parti ....A Generic Study of Colette's Short Writing. The study uses "genre" as a key to a literary-historical account of Colette's short writing in its cultural context. The corpus is generically ambiguous, since it first appeared as "articles" in magazines and was later collected in volumes, thus acquiring a more "literary" status as "essays". Taking into account both the conditions of publication and the rhetoric of these pieces, I shall investigate the network of cultural relations in which they participate, and their command of their readership. This will show how Colette made a place for "women's knowledge" in public culture and what that place was.Read moreRead less
The Cultural Impact of Irregular Marriage in the Age of British Colonialism, 1660-c.1860. Marriage has always been central to our understanding of relations between literature, society and culture. This project significantly revises that understanding by focussing on the irregular marriage practices which thrived in Britain and its colonies from 1660 to c.1860. It demonstrates, for instance, how the novel genre became respectable partly by marginalising irregular marriages; how Gretna Green we ....The Cultural Impact of Irregular Marriage in the Age of British Colonialism, 1660-c.1860. Marriage has always been central to our understanding of relations between literature, society and culture. This project significantly revises that understanding by focussing on the irregular marriage practices which thrived in Britain and its colonies from 1660 to c.1860. It demonstrates, for instance, how the novel genre became respectable partly by marginalising irregular marriages; how Gretna Green weddings came to typify modern romance in drama and fiction; and how marriage regulations underpinned literary portrayals of civil society in the Australian penal colony. It will deliver a groundbreaking monograph which accounts for marriage's role in modern literary culture in new terms.Read moreRead less