Historical Conflict and Reconciliation in East Asia: Media, History Wars and the Search for Regional Understanding. The relationship between Japan, China and Korea is of central importance to the future stability of our region, and of particular political and economic importance to Australia. This project will promote a deeper understanding of current tensions in the relationship between these countries, and will contribute to the practical search for resolutions to cultural and ideological dime ....Historical Conflict and Reconciliation in East Asia: Media, History Wars and the Search for Regional Understanding. The relationship between Japan, China and Korea is of central importance to the future stability of our region, and of particular political and economic importance to Australia. This project will promote a deeper understanding of current tensions in the relationship between these countries, and will contribute to the practical search for resolutions to cultural and ideological dimensions of this conflict. By addressing the relationship between changing methods of communication and contrasting images of history, the project will also contribute to the development of new theoretical approaches to the communication of historical knowledge in the twenty-first century. Read moreRead less
GENDER IDEOLOGY, RACIAL MYTHOLOGY AND THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF CHILD REMOVAL IN COLONIAL BURMA, CAMBODIA AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 1886-1947. The project aims to further understanding of colonial policies, missionary practices and public discourses supporting the removal of mixed-race children from Indigenous mothers and milieu. Its significance lies in its comparison of three diverse colonial regimes: British Burma, French Cambodia and Western Australia. Equally significant is its analysis of t ....GENDER IDEOLOGY, RACIAL MYTHOLOGY AND THE CULTURAL POLITICS OF CHILD REMOVAL IN COLONIAL BURMA, CAMBODIA AND WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 1886-1947. The project aims to further understanding of colonial policies, missionary practices and public discourses supporting the removal of mixed-race children from Indigenous mothers and milieu. Its significance lies in its comparison of three diverse colonial regimes: British Burma, French Cambodia and Western Australia. Equally significant is its analysis of the transcolonial traffic in ideologies of race and gender and the contingent development and deployment of such universalizing tropes as the "Half-Caste Woman" to rationalize policies of child removal. The final outcome will be a book. Interim outcomes include a graduate workshop, an international conference and journal articles.Read moreRead less
Sketches of Bali in 1830: The unpublished letters and papers of Pierre Dubois, Dutch agent at Kuta, 1828-1831. The primary benefit of this work is its scholarly contribution to knowledge of Indonesian history in the nineteenth century. Perceptions of Bali forged in the colonial period provide the foundation on which contemporary ideas of identity are constructed. These images, notably those pertaining to Bali's Hindu religion and unique culture, remain important to contemporary Indonesian region ....Sketches of Bali in 1830: The unpublished letters and papers of Pierre Dubois, Dutch agent at Kuta, 1828-1831. The primary benefit of this work is its scholarly contribution to knowledge of Indonesian history in the nineteenth century. Perceptions of Bali forged in the colonial period provide the foundation on which contemporary ideas of identity are constructed. These images, notably those pertaining to Bali's Hindu religion and unique culture, remain important to contemporary Indonesian regional identities. They also point to some of the complex interconnections across Western and Indonesian cultures. As Australia-Indonesia relationships enter a more optimistic phase, this historical research thus has the potential to broaden our understandings of cultural differences to enhance Australia's capacity to interpret regional issues. Read moreRead less
RELIGION, POWER AND CRISIS IN INDONESIA AND THAILAND: Islamic and Buddhist Responses to Globalising Markets and Cultures. Religion has been central to state power in Indonesia (Islam) and Thailand (Buddhism), both historically and throughout recent dramatic shifts in economic and political circumstances. This study examines how institutional and popular religious movements now relate to political authority in Southeast Asia's economically and strategically most important countries. It will ana ....RELIGION, POWER AND CRISIS IN INDONESIA AND THAILAND: Islamic and Buddhist Responses to Globalising Markets and Cultures. Religion has been central to state power in Indonesia (Islam) and Thailand (Buddhism), both historically and throughout recent dramatic shifts in economic and political circumstances. This study examines how institutional and popular religious movements now relate to political authority in Southeast Asia's economically and strategically most important countries. It will analyse: (1) comparative Islamic and Buddhist fundamentalisms; (2) democratisation and changing patterns of state influence on religion; and (3) marketisation, mass media and religion as popular culture, thereby filling major gaps in the globalisation literature and transcending the limitations of single-country studies of Southeast Asian regional affairs.Read moreRead less
Global/Local Intersections: History, Identity and Community in a Tokyo Subculture. The human rights of minorities are gaining increased attention in Australia and the region. It is important for our understanding of the region that we are informed about the development of minority gender identities in an Asian context from both human rights and health perspectives. The project will contribute to the national research priority of understanding Australia's place in the region through building link ....Global/Local Intersections: History, Identity and Community in a Tokyo Subculture. The human rights of minorities are gaining increased attention in Australia and the region. It is important for our understanding of the region that we are informed about the development of minority gender identities in an Asian context from both human rights and health perspectives. The project will contribute to the national research priority of understanding Australia's place in the region through building links between Australian and Asian researchers working on minority gender histories and cultures. It will also add to Australian understanding of Japan, an important social and economic partner in the region.Read moreRead less
The cult of the Duce in the wider world. The burying of dictators remains a pressing issue in this world, as does the problem in a liberal democracy where and when to limit charisma and 'celebrity' and what to do with the overweening personality. Mussolini was the first politician, possessed of an image and myth aimed at the masses. Our international and interdisciplinary research will probe the processes of this cult. Our case study on migrant Australia will give the project special immediacy ....The cult of the Duce in the wider world. The burying of dictators remains a pressing issue in this world, as does the problem in a liberal democracy where and when to limit charisma and 'celebrity' and what to do with the overweening personality. Mussolini was the first politician, possessed of an image and myth aimed at the masses. Our international and interdisciplinary research will probe the processes of this cult. Our case study on migrant Australia will give the project special immediacy in this country. Read moreRead less
The Baudin Legacy:A New History of the French Scientific Voyage to Australia (1800-1804). More interested in the British stories of conquest and settlement, historians have largely neglected an important episode in Australian history, the French scientific expedition to New Holland (1800-1804), led by Nicolas Baudin and commissioned by Bonaparte. As well as making Australians aware of the diversity of their past, and thereby contributing in our multi-cultural society to debates concerning natio ....The Baudin Legacy:A New History of the French Scientific Voyage to Australia (1800-1804). More interested in the British stories of conquest and settlement, historians have largely neglected an important episode in Australian history, the French scientific expedition to New Holland (1800-1804), led by Nicolas Baudin and commissioned by Bonaparte. As well as making Australians aware of the diversity of their past, and thereby contributing in our multi-cultural society to debates concerning national identity, the project will add significantly to knowledge of early encounters between the Europeans and Aborigines, and to the scientific history of our continent. The Franco-Australian nature of the project will have the particular benefit of strengthening and creating social and collaborative links between Australia and France.Read moreRead less
Communication and Media in the Development of the Post-Roman/Early Medieval and Byzantine World (fifth to eighth centuries). This project investigates an apparent contradiction: though the Roman empire fragmented into multiple states, its successors developed parallel, not diverse, cultural and political practices. I approach this issue by exploring the role and conduct of communication throughout these states. Applying new methodologies to unused sources, the study will examine the practicali ....Communication and Media in the Development of the Post-Roman/Early Medieval and Byzantine World (fifth to eighth centuries). This project investigates an apparent contradiction: though the Roman empire fragmented into multiple states, its successors developed parallel, not diverse, cultural and political practices. I approach this issue by exploring the role and conduct of communication throughout these states. Applying new methodologies to unused sources, the study will examine the practicalities of face-to-face and textual exchanges and their conceptual contexts, to track pathways of communication. This new conceptualisation of the post-imperial period will produce a book; translations with commentary of main sources; and an international symposium with proceedings (publishers are already involved in the latter two).Read moreRead less
The Intellectual Construction of Confucianism in Contemporary China and Taiwan. Since the 1980s China and Taiwan have witnessed the most sustained resurgence of intellectual interest in Confucianism of the twentieth century. This project will provide the first critical analysis of that revival by addressing the complex interaction of institutional, philosophical and ideological factors, rather than study one or the other in isolation. This will enable us to understand the processes by which Chi ....The Intellectual Construction of Confucianism in Contemporary China and Taiwan. Since the 1980s China and Taiwan have witnessed the most sustained resurgence of intellectual interest in Confucianism of the twentieth century. This project will provide the first critical analysis of that revival by addressing the complex interaction of institutional, philosophical and ideological factors, rather than study one or the other in isolation. This will enable us to understand the processes by which Chinese intellectuals have sought to make Confucianism a viable philosophical and cultural resource in the modern world; and to evaluate how successful they have been in achieving these goals.
Results: One monograph; one edited volume; several essays.
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Communication networks in Upper Egyptian monastic communities in the 6th to 8th centuries CE. This project will enhance Australia's hard-earned profile in the field of early Christianity in its Late classical context, contextualising Coptic studies within this wider field, and promoting internationally the quality of local research into early Christianity, Late Antique Egypt, and papyrology. It enables an understanding of the processes which stand behind the communication networks of the modern ....Communication networks in Upper Egyptian monastic communities in the 6th to 8th centuries CE. This project will enhance Australia's hard-earned profile in the field of early Christianity in its Late classical context, contextualising Coptic studies within this wider field, and promoting internationally the quality of local research into early Christianity, Late Antique Egypt, and papyrology. It enables an understanding of the processes which stand behind the communication networks of the modern world. It directly contributes to the preservation of the culture of Australia's own Coptic community, facilitating access to its cultural heritage, and provides a research focus to complement Macquarie's new commitment to the teaching of the Coptic language and history.Read moreRead less