Settler society in the Australian colonies: The political and cultural changes of the 1830s - 1860s in imperial context. This project directly addresses issues identified as central by the national summit on the Australian history curriculum convened by the Federal Minister for Education in August 2006. Professor John Hirst reported in The Sydney Morning Herald on 21 August that the summit had agreed on a list of 'big questions' for school history curricula. The list includes the transition from ....Settler society in the Australian colonies: The political and cultural changes of the 1830s - 1860s in imperial context. This project directly addresses issues identified as central by the national summit on the Australian history curriculum convened by the Federal Minister for Education in August 2006. Professor John Hirst reported in The Sydney Morning Herald on 21 August that the summit had agreed on a list of 'big questions' for school history curricula. The list includes the transition from a convict to a free society, and relations between men and women. Current knowledge of these topics and their interconnection is limited. This project will advance our understanding of a key historical period, and the formation of Australian national identity.Read moreRead less
Sociability, print and public culture in romantic period Britain and Australia. This project illuminates the life in the early colony by exploring the history of the earliest Australian printed document that has so far been discovered, a playbill for a theatrical performance in Sydney dating from 1796. Placing the document in a rich and complex context of print, circulation, and sociability, the project affirms the importance of such ephemeral literature as testimony to the values of fellowship ....Sociability, print and public culture in romantic period Britain and Australia. This project illuminates the life in the early colony by exploring the history of the earliest Australian printed document that has so far been discovered, a playbill for a theatrical performance in Sydney dating from 1796. Placing the document in a rich and complex context of print, circulation, and sociability, the project affirms the importance of such ephemeral literature as testimony to the values of fellowship and community that were foundational to Australian culture and which continue to be relevant to the health of a modern democracy.Read moreRead less
Indigenous peoples, the British Empire, and self-government for the Australian colonies. This study enhances our understanding of the foundations and representative functions of Australian democratic institutions, especially as they concern Indigenous-settler-missionary-imperial relationships. In drawing out the connections between two major questions for Australian history and modern society - democracy and Indigenous dispossession - the project will contribute deeper historical knowledge to cu ....Indigenous peoples, the British Empire, and self-government for the Australian colonies. This study enhances our understanding of the foundations and representative functions of Australian democratic institutions, especially as they concern Indigenous-settler-missionary-imperial relationships. In drawing out the connections between two major questions for Australian history and modern society - democracy and Indigenous dispossession - the project will contribute deeper historical knowledge to current public debate about Indigenous policy past and present. It will also illuminate the importance of understanding Australian history in broad transcolonial and transnational contexts and enhance the contribution of Australian historians to imperial, missionary, and comparative settler-society histories.Read moreRead less
Scientific voyages in the Antipodes. Thomas Huxley, John McGillivray and the Darwinian Revolution. This project examines the scientific British survey expeditions to Australasia during the nineteenth century. The research focuses on the importance of Australasia in the formation of Darwinism, one of the key scientific and social theories of modern western culture. Environmental change and scientific and cultural heritage in our region will be traced back to these early scientific voyagers.
THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF DEATH AND BEREAVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA AND ENGLAND, 1914-1980. Death, bereavement and old age come to us all, but their history has been neglected for twentieth century Australia and England. I aim to write two substantial books and several articles on this vitally important subject, explaining how and why emotional and expressive death practices and attitudes were often transformed after 1918 into a silence about death, with minimal ritual and privatised grief. Th ....THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF DEATH AND BEREAVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA AND ENGLAND, 1914-1980. Death, bereavement and old age come to us all, but their history has been neglected for twentieth century Australia and England. I aim to write two substantial books and several articles on this vitally important subject, explaining how and why emotional and expressive death practices and attitudes were often transformed after 1918 into a silence about death, with minimal ritual and privatised grief. This comparative project has crucial outcomes for our understanding of the histories of medicine, war, religion and the family, as well as policy implications for current issues such as euthanasia, suicide, aged care, cancer and palliative care.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
Naming Oceania: geography, raciology and local knowledge in the 'fifth part of the world', 1511-1920. A history of the marriage of space and race in our region restores Australia to regional histories and wider Oceania to global histories. It offers a grounded basis to grasp how regional, national and local nomenclatures and identities mutated over 400 years, in contexts of European exploration, imperialism, colonisation, emergence of the science of race and intensifying face-to-face encounters. ....Naming Oceania: geography, raciology and local knowledge in the 'fifth part of the world', 1511-1920. A history of the marriage of space and race in our region restores Australia to regional histories and wider Oceania to global histories. It offers a grounded basis to grasp how regional, national and local nomenclatures and identities mutated over 400 years, in contexts of European exploration, imperialism, colonisation, emergence of the science of race and intensifying face-to-face encounters. By uncovering traces of past naming systems, Indigenous and foreign, the research will show how present names and boundaries of states, places and people are constructs rather than eternal truths. It will cast light on the antecedents to modern Australian regional interventions, neighbourly relations and conceptions of racial or ethnic differences.Read moreRead less
Australia's Post World War II War Crimes Trials: A systemic and comprehensive Law Reports Series. The publication of the project's Law Reports Series will, in effect, constitute the official history of this extensive Australian war crimes trial experience - in itself, an important national benefit. However, ready access to the previously buried historical primary source material also has profound potential for contemporary application. The proliferation of new international criminal tribunals ....Australia's Post World War II War Crimes Trials: A systemic and comprehensive Law Reports Series. The publication of the project's Law Reports Series will, in effect, constitute the official history of this extensive Australian war crimes trial experience - in itself, an important national benefit. However, ready access to the previously buried historical primary source material also has profound potential for contemporary application. The proliferation of new international criminal tribunals with a concomitant explosion of case law has created a hunger for access to past judicial precedent. Reliance on the results of this project in war crimes trials around the world is guaranteed.Read moreRead less
Nature and Nation: Science, Environment and National Identity in Australia. Nature and Nation combines interviews and archival research to explore the intersection of three worlds in Australia:
· the natural world
· the scientific world that speaks for nature in settler society, and
· the cultural world that fosters and constrains science and other ways of knowing about nature.
The primary focus is the workings of science in northern Australia, where the frontier has never closed. The a ....Nature and Nation: Science, Environment and National Identity in Australia. Nature and Nation combines interviews and archival research to explore the intersection of three worlds in Australia:
· the natural world
· the scientific world that speaks for nature in settler society, and
· the cultural world that fosters and constrains science and other ways of knowing about nature.
The primary focus is the workings of science in northern Australia, where the frontier has never closed. The aim is to elucidate the past, present and future roles of environment and science in Australia's nation-building. Outcomes will include public lectures, journal articles and a major book for a general audience.
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A Study of the Fulbright Program in Australia 1949-2009. This history of the Fulbright Program of educational exchange between Australia and the USA will explore a significant and undervalued aspect of the post-war relationship between the two countries. It will enhance our understanding of the sources of innovative ideas and their transfer, by investigating whether the 2600 Australian Fulbright scholars since 1949 were influential in re-orienting local research practice and public policy initia ....A Study of the Fulbright Program in Australia 1949-2009. This history of the Fulbright Program of educational exchange between Australia and the USA will explore a significant and undervalued aspect of the post-war relationship between the two countries. It will enhance our understanding of the sources of innovative ideas and their transfer, by investigating whether the 2600 Australian Fulbright scholars since 1949 were influential in re-orienting local research practice and public policy initiatives along US models. It will broaden awareness of the Fulbright Program's place in the Australian experience of globalisation, and contribute to a critical understanding of cultural diplomacy as a key feature of foreign policy.Read moreRead less