The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively n ....The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively national iconography and voice, and examine the complex interactions between industrial/economic forces and artistic vision. Its principal outcome will be a book that should add significantly to our knowledge of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia, and to continuing debates in the arts.Read moreRead less
THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MODERNISM. Most histories treat modernism in Australia as a phenomenon of ?fine art,? or simply painting. This project will instead reveal modernism's highly public impact across a range of media (design, photography, advertising, architecture and art). This new history will better explain how modernist visual idioms became ubiquitous in everyday contemporary design and our built environment after their initial, often hostile reception. The project will provid ....THE UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN MODERNISM. Most histories treat modernism in Australia as a phenomenon of ?fine art,? or simply painting. This project will instead reveal modernism's highly public impact across a range of media (design, photography, advertising, architecture and art). This new history will better explain how modernist visual idioms became ubiquitous in everyday contemporary design and our built environment after their initial, often hostile reception. The project will provide an integrated research analysis of the extensive, but disparate, archives on Australian modernism. It will communicate its research findings through a new scholarly study, a major large-scale travelling public exhibition, a CD, and a website.Read moreRead less
What's in a name? Attachment and interference in placename-based identity. Why do conflicts often arise when naming authorities and other interests propose changing long-standing placenames? This project will address this question by researching opposition to specific proposals to change placenames - in particular the renaming of Hazelwood North with Churchill and resistance to the renaming of places in and around the Grampians National Park in the early 1990s. A community will be selected to ....What's in a name? Attachment and interference in placename-based identity. Why do conflicts often arise when naming authorities and other interests propose changing long-standing placenames? This project will address this question by researching opposition to specific proposals to change placenames - in particular the renaming of Hazelwood North with Churchill and resistance to the renaming of places in and around the Grampians National Park in the early 1990s. A community will be selected to document place identity and contrast these mental maps with official registers of placenames. The outcome will provide naming authorities with a greater knowledge of community attitudes to placenames and greater understanding of resistance to renaming proposals. The study will provide a detailed understanding of placename attachment, identity, and resistance to interference into sense of place.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354600
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Sources of Insecurity: Local, National and Global. Globalizing violence and the War on Terror have brought with them an acute sense of insecurity. The present study is intended to map and understand sources of that insecurity, both from ?below? and ?above?. From below, the project analyses the cultural-political and socio-economic conditions of violence on the ground, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. From above, it documents Western representations of recent arenas of violence. The aim of th ....Sources of Insecurity: Local, National and Global. Globalizing violence and the War on Terror have brought with them an acute sense of insecurity. The present study is intended to map and understand sources of that insecurity, both from ?below? and ?above?. From below, the project analyses the cultural-political and socio-economic conditions of violence on the ground, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. From above, it documents Western representations of recent arenas of violence. The aim of the project is to research the commonplace claim that it is reassertions of older forms of traditionalism or cultural and civilizational difference that are the well-spring of contemporary global violence, including terrorism.Read moreRead less
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: Designing Everyday Modernism for Australian Communities 1920-1970. This cross-disciplinary project will construct an historical account of the interconnections between the network of governmental policies and initiatives promoting a healthy and educated citizenry, and the design and use of modern, municipal architecture in mid-century Australia. Detailed analysis of modern building types, from around the nation, including kindergartens, sporting facilities, swimmin ....Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: Designing Everyday Modernism for Australian Communities 1920-1970. This cross-disciplinary project will construct an historical account of the interconnections between the network of governmental policies and initiatives promoting a healthy and educated citizenry, and the design and use of modern, municipal architecture in mid-century Australia. Detailed analysis of modern building types, from around the nation, including kindergartens, sporting facilities, swimming pools, child health clinics, libraries and community centres will constitute an original and important resource for historians, conservationists and architects. Historical findings will inform directions and lessons for future practice in the design, planning and conservation of community infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Dynamics of identity and expression: a three generational study of a community language in post World War 2 Australia. The project examines the rapidly accelerating decline in the home use of German between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses. It utilises an innovative methodology which will correlate general trends accessible via large-scale statistical data from 1976 with the experiences of subgroups, families, and, ultimately, individuals from the early 1950s. As well as contributing to theoretical mo ....Dynamics of identity and expression: a three generational study of a community language in post World War 2 Australia. The project examines the rapidly accelerating decline in the home use of German between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses. It utilises an innovative methodology which will correlate general trends accessible via large-scale statistical data from 1976 with the experiences of subgroups, families, and, ultimately, individuals from the early 1950s. As well as contributing to theoretical model building in the field at an international level, findings will benefit the German-speaking community in Australia, other community language groups facing similar dilemmas and ultimately the nation, enabling more informed management of one of Australia's major resources: its rich linguistic diversity.Read moreRead less
Light, place and presence in the history of Australian photography. Photography is central to Australian history and national identity. It is a powerful tool through which our identities are forged, and through photography our understanding of our place in relation to our environments, each other and the world are made visible. By grounding this research in the unique status of light as a physical agent in photography and a key symbol of identity and place in Australia, this project will develop ....Light, place and presence in the history of Australian photography. Photography is central to Australian history and national identity. It is a powerful tool through which our identities are forged, and through photography our understanding of our place in relation to our environments, each other and the world are made visible. By grounding this research in the unique status of light as a physical agent in photography and a key symbol of identity and place in Australia, this project will develop a new approach to photography that enriches our social and cultural imagination, and propels Australian scholarship onto the international agenda. Read moreRead less
Landscape and Memory: the West Coast of Victoria. The application is for an APAI PhD, located within a wider plan by Deakin University and Experimenta Media Arts to develop an interactive mode of analysis of landscape and design of civic spaces across the west coast and hinterland regions in Victoria. The project will locate development and regional cultural understanding within an enriched historical perspective, drawing on cross-disciplinary research and using digital animation in particular ....Landscape and Memory: the West Coast of Victoria. The application is for an APAI PhD, located within a wider plan by Deakin University and Experimenta Media Arts to develop an interactive mode of analysis of landscape and design of civic spaces across the west coast and hinterland regions in Victoria. The project will locate development and regional cultural understanding within an enriched historical perspective, drawing on cross-disciplinary research and using digital animation in particular to display the 'presence of the past in the present', to explore and promote distinctive and sustainable modes of living, and to construct visual hypotheses for environmental and cultural development in each area.Read moreRead less
Colonial encounters: Archaeology at Ebenezer Mission, north-western Victoria. From the 1860s, most Aboriginal people in south-eastern Australia were confined to reserves such as Ebenezer Mission, and despite official accounts which argue for the success of the 'civilising' enterprise, archaeological evidence promises to provide a new Indigenous perspective. Investigation of this key site, in collaboration with Aboriginal descendants, will reveal 1. How everyday life on the mission was experience ....Colonial encounters: Archaeology at Ebenezer Mission, north-western Victoria. From the 1860s, most Aboriginal people in south-eastern Australia were confined to reserves such as Ebenezer Mission, and despite official accounts which argue for the success of the 'civilising' enterprise, archaeological evidence promises to provide a new Indigenous perspective. Investigation of this key site, in collaboration with Aboriginal descendants, will reveal 1. How everyday life on the mission was experienced by different social groups: Aboriginal girls, boys, families and 'fringe' dwellers, and Moravian missionaries, 2. The role of gender organisation within the colonial process, and 3. How Aboriginal cultural identity was shaped by missionisation. A range of general and scholarly histories will be produced.Read moreRead less
Translocal Identities in the Malay World: Travel, Commerce, Community Building and Religious Reform in Insular and Peninsular Southeast Asia. First, the project contributes to an understanding of the region. Second, understanding how different governments in the region have and are managing religious and cultural diversity may provide lessons for Australia. Third, a study of migration within the region can make a significant contribution to debates within Australia on immigration from Asia. Four ....Translocal Identities in the Malay World: Travel, Commerce, Community Building and Religious Reform in Insular and Peninsular Southeast Asia. First, the project contributes to an understanding of the region. Second, understanding how different governments in the region have and are managing religious and cultural diversity may provide lessons for Australia. Third, a study of migration within the region can make a significant contribution to debates within Australia on immigration from Asia. Fourth, there are benefits in greater understanding of Islamic networks in Southeast Asia as these are of strategic significance for Australia. Finally, there are benefits in informing an Australian public that Southeast Asia should not be equated solely with negative aspects but also with civility and tolerance.Read moreRead less