Medievalism in Australian Cultural Memory. This project will provide the first long-range analysis of Australian cultural responses to the medieval period, and the first comparative study of Australia's relationship with international medievalism. It will show how Australians have used reference to the medieval past, both favourable and hostile, to articulate our complex relation to European tradition and our aspirations to a distinctive national culture. The published research will offer an ori ....Medievalism in Australian Cultural Memory. This project will provide the first long-range analysis of Australian cultural responses to the medieval period, and the first comparative study of Australia's relationship with international medievalism. It will show how Australians have used reference to the medieval past, both favourable and hostile, to articulate our complex relation to European tradition and our aspirations to a distinctive national culture. The published research will offer an original perspective on the development of Australian cultural identity and will enhance public understanding of our British and European heritage, in the context of contemporary debates about republicanism, the monarchy, and ethnic and cultural diversity.Read moreRead less
The Dissemination and Control of Clandestine Writing in England 1695--1774. The literary underworld of the eighteenth century is the subject of serious academic pursuit internationally by literary historians, historians of sex and sexuality, philosophers and feminists. Australia's reputation will be enhanced by participating in this rapidly evolving field. Australia already has an internationally significant profile in bibliography and eighteenth-century literary studies due to a combination o ....The Dissemination and Control of Clandestine Writing in England 1695--1774. The literary underworld of the eighteenth century is the subject of serious academic pursuit internationally by literary historians, historians of sex and sexuality, philosophers and feminists. Australia's reputation will be enhanced by participating in this rapidly evolving field. Australia already has an internationally significant profile in bibliography and eighteenth-century literary studies due to a combination of outstanding scholars and resources. This project will enhance Australian strength in, and contribution to, the world-wide study of these two subjects. This study will also be informed by, and contribute to, the contemporary philosophical, religious and ethical debate concerning the distribution of contentious material.Read moreRead less
Noise, Technology, Literature. 21st century life is pervaded by fears of sensory and information overload, the deafening interference of data generated by a digitalised global economy, as well as the literal noise of everyday life. These fears transcend national boundaries, connecting the experiences of contemporary Australians to a common global experience. It is this inter-connected trans-national history of the profound impact of noise on our lives that this project will begin to chart. Stre ....Noise, Technology, Literature. 21st century life is pervaded by fears of sensory and information overload, the deafening interference of data generated by a digitalised global economy, as well as the literal noise of everyday life. These fears transcend national boundaries, connecting the experiences of contemporary Australians to a common global experience. It is this inter-connected trans-national history of the profound impact of noise on our lives that this project will begin to chart. Stretching back to the nineteenth century and into the present, this project is necessarily collaborative and ambitious in its engagement not only with ideas of noise as they are discussed within the confines of academia but also in the broader community. Read moreRead less
Public and Private Lies: Retelling the clash of duty, power and sexual indulgence in the Roman imperial court. The Australian public has a genuine and demonstrable interest in Ancient World Studies. This project offers them insight into how the ancient world constructed its political scandals. It examines the interrelationship of private acts and public conduct during the height of the Roman empire, and how personal morality was perceived to affect capability to govern. It provides a case study ....Public and Private Lies: Retelling the clash of duty, power and sexual indulgence in the Roman imperial court. The Australian public has a genuine and demonstrable interest in Ancient World Studies. This project offers them insight into how the ancient world constructed its political scandals. It examines the interrelationship of private acts and public conduct during the height of the Roman empire, and how personal morality was perceived to affect capability to govern. It provides a case study for the assessment of similar scandals in the modern world. By reading ancient perspectives on "sex", "power", and "privacy", we better understand our world and the potential for miscommunication across cultures. The project also promotes co-operation between metropolitan and regional universities in sharing resources in a national collaborative project.Read moreRead less
Kadare post Communism: Albania, the Balkans and Europe in the Work of Ismail Kadare, 1990-2008. Albanians make up a small but important segment of multicultural Australia. Through the work of Albania's greatest writer and intellectual, Ismail Kadare, we can come to a better understanding of Albanians, their history and culture, and hence of Australia as a multicultural entity. Moreover traditionally Islamic Albania, with its Ottoman history and culture, is seeking inclusion into the European Uni ....Kadare post Communism: Albania, the Balkans and Europe in the Work of Ismail Kadare, 1990-2008. Albanians make up a small but important segment of multicultural Australia. Through the work of Albania's greatest writer and intellectual, Ismail Kadare, we can come to a better understanding of Albanians, their history and culture, and hence of Australia as a multicultural entity. Moreover traditionally Islamic Albania, with its Ottoman history and culture, is seeking inclusion into the European Union, Australia's major partner in trade, tourism, education and culture. Kadare's post-communist works on the subjects of Europe, Islam, Muslims and the West, and Balkan politics and history provide a valuable lesson on the interrelationships of politics, culture and patriotism in a global context for contemporary Australia.Read moreRead less
The Old Zhuang Script: a Vernacular Character Script from Southern China. The Zhuang are a Tai-speaking people and the most populous of China's minority peoples. Traditionally they used a modified version of the Chinese character script. The aim of this project is to provide the wherewithal for a decipherment of the old Zhuang character script, to present evidence for the age of the script, and to describe the social and political conditions that gave it birth and influenced its development.
The medieval town imagined: representations of urban culture in medieval literature. As the size and number of towns in north-west Europe expanded from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries, the cultural response to economic and social changes produced by urbanisation was articulated in literary texts. The project aims to examine ways in which towns and urban culture are represented in medieval English, Welsh and French literature, foregrounding the attitudes constructed by the texts towards town ....The medieval town imagined: representations of urban culture in medieval literature. As the size and number of towns in north-west Europe expanded from the twelfth to fourteenth centuries, the cultural response to economic and social changes produced by urbanisation was articulated in literary texts. The project aims to examine ways in which towns and urban culture are represented in medieval English, Welsh and French literature, foregrounding the attitudes constructed by the texts towards towns, townspeople and the impact of the urban economy. The resulting monograph and database of references will provide new evidence for the competitive relationships between feudal nobilities and emerging urban elites.Read moreRead less
Byzantine Chronicle of Kedrenos, Translation and Commentary. Mid-East and Balkan tensions have roots in the 11th-12th centuries when Orthodox Byzantium, already under northern pressure (Slavs), became the battleground where the West (Normans, Franks, Catholic Christianity) fought the Arabs and Islam for the glittering prize: Jerusalem.
Kedrenos's massive Chronicle, from the heart of this period, is indirectly a major ideological statement. The key of intertextuality can unlock its insights in ....Byzantine Chronicle of Kedrenos, Translation and Commentary. Mid-East and Balkan tensions have roots in the 11th-12th centuries when Orthodox Byzantium, already under northern pressure (Slavs), became the battleground where the West (Normans, Franks, Catholic Christianity) fought the Arabs and Islam for the glittering prize: Jerusalem.
Kedrenos's massive Chronicle, from the heart of this period, is indirectly a major ideological statement. The key of intertextuality can unlock its insights into the genesis of current attitudes and conflicts.
The project joins a "dream team" of Australian Byzantinists (world leaders in this approach) with specialist international collaborators to produce a reliable, accessible text and reveal its relevance.
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Religion and Political Transformation: A Transnational Study of South American Independence, 1750-1840. This pathbreaking international research project strongly contributes to the internationalisation of Australian humanities and social science research. It ensures Australia's substantial participation in seminal intellectual debates during the approaching bicentenaries of the birth of modernity in Spain and Latin America. It guarantees that Australia will not become just a consumer of overseas ....Religion and Political Transformation: A Transnational Study of South American Independence, 1750-1840. This pathbreaking international research project strongly contributes to the internationalisation of Australian humanities and social science research. It ensures Australia's substantial participation in seminal intellectual debates during the approaching bicentenaries of the birth of modernity in Spain and Latin America. It guarantees that Australia will not become just a consumer of overseas research in this field. It renews Australia's intellectual and cultural capital in Iberian and Latin American Studies at a crucial moment of generational change. It contributes to an understanding of the generic links between religious radicalism and political violence in an age of fast-moving, global transformation.Read moreRead less
ARC Research Network for Early European Research. The Network offers a dynamic resource for enhancing Australian research into the culture and history of Europe between the fifth and nineteenth centuries. Through a programme of dedicated conferences and symposia, new digital resources, publications, and specialist postgraduate mentoring, Network management will mobilise existing strengths to build up national and international research partnerships in key emerging areas of scholarly enquiry. The ....ARC Research Network for Early European Research. The Network offers a dynamic resource for enhancing Australian research into the culture and history of Europe between the fifth and nineteenth centuries. Through a programme of dedicated conferences and symposia, new digital resources, publications, and specialist postgraduate mentoring, Network management will mobilise existing strengths to build up national and international research partnerships in key emerging areas of scholarly enquiry. The Network will coordinate large-scale cross-disciplinary investigations, strengthen links with cultural heritage institutions and organizations, and nurture the next generation of researchers. It will make innovative use of digital infrastructure to manage communication and to disseminate results.Read moreRead less