Sexual ageing in the history of medicine, 1774-2018. This project aims to provide an account of the different historical periods in changing medical concepts of menopause, andropause and the 'critical age' since the end of the eighteenth century. Understanding how questions of ageing and sexuality have changed across history will help to nuance our current understandings, relevant to an increasing number of people in ageing populations. This project will provide an integrative history of the nex ....Sexual ageing in the history of medicine, 1774-2018. This project aims to provide an account of the different historical periods in changing medical concepts of menopause, andropause and the 'critical age' since the end of the eighteenth century. Understanding how questions of ageing and sexuality have changed across history will help to nuance our current understandings, relevant to an increasing number of people in ageing populations. This project will provide an integrative history of the nexus of modern concepts about sexual aging. It will combine rigorous consultation of overlooked historical sources with consultation of current scientific evidence. Outcomes of the project will be aimed at historical readers, but also at clinicians and the general public.Read moreRead less
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
Slavery, freedom and colonial development: Robert Bostock and his legacy. Understanding our nation and our world is one of the major challenges facing Australia in the present day. West Africa, a region perceived by most Australians to be distant and incomprehensible, increasingly has an effect on Australia and other western nations which is little understood. This project will help to ensure that Australian scholarship remains at the cutting edge of research into slave studies and colonial hist ....Slavery, freedom and colonial development: Robert Bostock and his legacy. Understanding our nation and our world is one of the major challenges facing Australia in the present day. West Africa, a region perceived by most Australians to be distant and incomprehensible, increasingly has an effect on Australia and other western nations which is little understood. This project will help to ensure that Australian scholarship remains at the cutting edge of research into slave studies and colonial history more generally, and will bolster international networks of scholars working in this area. It will ensure national input into an issue of major international importance - human trafficking - and promote academic leadership more generally.Read moreRead less
Australia's Black Past: the shared history of transatlantic slave trading and convict transportation to Africa and Australia. Every nation needs an understanding of its past-the significance of this project is that it examines a part of Australia's history that is very little understood. European settlement of the continent was implemented at a time that ideas of race, and the relationship of skin colour to freedom, were altering significantly. These changes had a fundamental effect on the convi ....Australia's Black Past: the shared history of transatlantic slave trading and convict transportation to Africa and Australia. Every nation needs an understanding of its past-the significance of this project is that it examines a part of Australia's history that is very little understood. European settlement of the continent was implemented at a time that ideas of race, and the relationship of skin colour to freedom, were altering significantly. These changes had a fundamental effect on the convict colony and the relationship of the early colonists with the aboriginal people. Only by gaining knowledge of how early racial interpretations were influenced by global events can Australia interpret her ever controversial racial history.
Read moreRead less
The politics of reading: Citizenship, law, and literacy in England, 1867-1960. This research addresses problems that resonate powerfully in contemporary debates: the relationship between freedom and responsibility, and the relationship between political rights, education and literacy. Knowing how people living in another age and a different society -- but one to which Australia is bound by a complex of legal, political and cultural traditions -- wrestled with questions that are still with us wil ....The politics of reading: Citizenship, law, and literacy in England, 1867-1960. This research addresses problems that resonate powerfully in contemporary debates: the relationship between freedom and responsibility, and the relationship between political rights, education and literacy. Knowing how people living in another age and a different society -- but one to which Australia is bound by a complex of legal, political and cultural traditions -- wrestled with questions that are still with us will add depth and sensitivity to our understanding of the bases and limits of a democratic culture.Read moreRead less
Women Writers and the Production of British History 1763-1886. This project addresses the critical neglect of women who engaged in writing history in Britain during the nineteenth century. It will demonstrate the importance of women writers in the construction of a national identity in Britain and will seek to understand how women engaged with nationalist history-making and used various forms of historical writing to explore their heritage. The social and political issues that occupied women as ....Women Writers and the Production of British History 1763-1886. This project addresses the critical neglect of women who engaged in writing history in Britain during the nineteenth century. It will demonstrate the importance of women writers in the construction of a national identity in Britain and will seek to understand how women engaged with nationalist history-making and used various forms of historical writing to explore their heritage. The social and political issues that occupied women as writers of history remain pertinent today in relation to how societies generate public memory and the nature of the relationship between political exclusion and historical writing.Read moreRead less
Words and Their Consequences: Freedom of Expression in Britain, 1960-1979. This project plans to use contests over obscenity and racism as lenses to understand changes in freedom of expression in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s. What was the purpose of free speech? How did the liberty to write and read relate to ideas about personal autonomy? What effects do words have on those who read or hear them? Working with previously untapped archival material on regulating obscene publications and the ....Words and Their Consequences: Freedom of Expression in Britain, 1960-1979. This project plans to use contests over obscenity and racism as lenses to understand changes in freedom of expression in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s. What was the purpose of free speech? How did the liberty to write and read relate to ideas about personal autonomy? What effects do words have on those who read or hear them? Working with previously untapped archival material on regulating obscene publications and the passage of legislation against racial vilification, the project aims to provide a new history of the theory and practice of freedom of expression in modern Britain.Read moreRead less
Spectacle and Multimedia in Late-Eighteenth-Century Europe: a programme of written and multi-media histories. I aim to demonstrate that Philippe de Loutherbourg, an eighteenth-century European artist and set-designer, pioneered revolutionary developments in the technology and culture of multi-media through the agency of 'spectacles.' These multi-sensory displays for entertainment and knowledge foreshadow the advent of modern cinema and multimedia, and suggest new ways of praticing history throug ....Spectacle and Multimedia in Late-Eighteenth-Century Europe: a programme of written and multi-media histories. I aim to demonstrate that Philippe de Loutherbourg, an eighteenth-century European artist and set-designer, pioneered revolutionary developments in the technology and culture of multi-media through the agency of 'spectacles.' These multi-sensory displays for entertainment and knowledge foreshadow the advent of modern cinema and multimedia, and suggest new ways of praticing history through multimedia re-creations.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
Western Australian Legacies of British Slavery . This project aims to bring Australia into the global history of slavery by exploring the legacies of British slavery in Western Australia. Through developing innovative methods for biographical research and digital mapping, it will trace the movement of capital, people and culture from slave-owning Britain to WA, and produce a new history of the continuing impact of slavery wealth in shaping colonial immigration, investment, and law. Expected outc ....Western Australian Legacies of British Slavery . This project aims to bring Australia into the global history of slavery by exploring the legacies of British slavery in Western Australia. Through developing innovative methods for biographical research and digital mapping, it will trace the movement of capital, people and culture from slave-owning Britain to WA, and produce a new history of the continuing impact of slavery wealth in shaping colonial immigration, investment, and law. Expected outcomes of this project include enhanced capacity to build international disciplinary collaborations, new research methods, and a major national online exhibition. Benefits include a radically new perspective on Australian history and abolition in the present, with major public outcomes.Read moreRead less