Transforming the East: Jesuit Translations of the Confucian Classics. The Jesuit translations of the Confucian canon not only provided the first European window into Chinese philosophy but also changed the intellectual and cultural history of Europe. This project examines the rich history of these translations and their dissemination, and interrogates how Confucian ideas influenced the development of Enlightenment philosophy. It will produce the first comprehensive history of these translations ....Transforming the East: Jesuit Translations of the Confucian Classics. The Jesuit translations of the Confucian canon not only provided the first European window into Chinese philosophy but also changed the intellectual and cultural history of Europe. This project examines the rich history of these translations and their dissemination, and interrogates how Confucian ideas influenced the development of Enlightenment philosophy. It will produce the first comprehensive history of these translations and make available to anglophone scholars primary and secondary sources in various European languages and Chinese. The project will advance our understanding of the personal and textual networks through which the first substantial philosophical exchange was conducted between Europe and China.Read moreRead less
The engagement of colonised peoples with empire (Algeria, 1830-1962). This project aims to challenge long-held ideas about empire and the role of subject peoples. It endeavours to question the view that resistance was the obvious way in which colonised peoples responded to European domination. It is designed to explore the proposition that colonised peoples engaged with empire, its structures and values in more complex and various ways than has been assumed. Individuals and communities worked in ....The engagement of colonised peoples with empire (Algeria, 1830-1962). This project aims to challenge long-held ideas about empire and the role of subject peoples. It endeavours to question the view that resistance was the obvious way in which colonised peoples responded to European domination. It is designed to explore the proposition that colonised peoples engaged with empire, its structures and values in more complex and various ways than has been assumed. Individuals and communities worked inside the structures of imperial rule and identified opportunities whereby they could improve their lives and work towards their emancipation and that of their communities. This project will focus on the entire period of French rule in Algeria (1830 to 1962).Read moreRead less
Princes, power, and the battle for the past: official historiography in renaissance Italy, 1400-1500. This study will be the first in any language to investigate in a systematic way the official histories produced by humanists in the courts and chanceries of renaissance Italy. The study will present evidence suggesting that, contrary to what is usually thought, such histories were a key contributor to the development of modern historical writing.
The Huxleys and global science, 1825–1975. This project aims to deepen our understanding of how life and earth sciences contributed to global modernity over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The project will focus on two major biologists and communicators of evolutionary theory, Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) and his grandson Julian Huxley (1887–1975). It will interrogate the questions that the Huxleys raised about the changing nature of time, the deep past and the distant future of human ....The Huxleys and global science, 1825–1975. This project aims to deepen our understanding of how life and earth sciences contributed to global modernity over the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The project will focus on two major biologists and communicators of evolutionary theory, Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) and his grandson Julian Huxley (1887–1975). It will interrogate the questions that the Huxleys raised about the changing nature of time, the deep past and the distant future of humankind, shifting ideas about difference between and within species. By doing so, the project aims to better understand developments from pre- to high- to post-Darwinian eras, and the major institutional and intellectual shifts from imperial to international sciences.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101505
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,582.00
Summary
The Aristotelian Soul in Late Ming China. This project aims to uncover a seminal moment during the first stage of Sino-Western intellectual encounters when the Jesuit Francesco Sambiasi (1582-1649) collaborated with the mandarin Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) on the Lingyan lishao (1624), a Chinese translation of Aristotle’s On the Soul. Since Ming Chinese lacked direct analogues for the Aristotelian soul, this work provides significant insights into how conceptual translation is conducted between dispa ....The Aristotelian Soul in Late Ming China. This project aims to uncover a seminal moment during the first stage of Sino-Western intellectual encounters when the Jesuit Francesco Sambiasi (1582-1649) collaborated with the mandarin Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) on the Lingyan lishao (1624), a Chinese translation of Aristotle’s On the Soul. Since Ming Chinese lacked direct analogues for the Aristotelian soul, this work provides significant insights into how conceptual translation is conducted between disparate cultures. The intended outcome of this project is to reveal the semantic transformations between the European and Chinese contexts. Benefits include the opening up of pioneering yet understudied texts and insights into why certain ideas fail to resonate in their new target culture.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101612
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$334,746.00
Summary
The republic of feeling: Literary friendship between women, 1750-1830. This project will investigate a rare archive of letters and manuscript materials to examine forms of literary friendship between women in the eighteenth century. This was a period of unprecedented globalisation: letter-based networks stretched across continents. Such connections were conceived in terms of a modern Republic of Letters, an idealised fraternity of scholars and writers who set aside differences in order to foster ....The republic of feeling: Literary friendship between women, 1750-1830. This project will investigate a rare archive of letters and manuscript materials to examine forms of literary friendship between women in the eighteenth century. This was a period of unprecedented globalisation: letter-based networks stretched across continents. Such connections were conceived in terms of a modern Republic of Letters, an idealised fraternity of scholars and writers who set aside differences in order to foster the exchange of information and ideas. This study of fresh manuscript materials will assist in exploring the history of English-speaking intellectual networks and international exchange in early modernity and the place of women within them. The project is located within the long history of global, material and intellectual exchanges in which European Australia was settled. Looking to the past, the project simultaneously contributes to contemporary debates over the possibilities and pitfalls of cultural ‘cosmopolitanism’ as a mode of transnational exchange.Read moreRead less
Reinventing Philosophy as a Way of Life. The core aim of this project is to examine modern re-inventions of the classical ideal of philosophy as a way of life. It will investigate the reanimation of this idea in post-Kantian philosophy, including well-known figures such as Nietzsche but also neglected figures such as Jean-Marie Guyau. The research will be highly significant in providing the first sustained study of how 19th and 20th century European philosophy transformed ancient philosophical s ....Reinventing Philosophy as a Way of Life. The core aim of this project is to examine modern re-inventions of the classical ideal of philosophy as a way of life. It will investigate the reanimation of this idea in post-Kantian philosophy, including well-known figures such as Nietzsche but also neglected figures such as Jean-Marie Guyau. The research will be highly significant in providing the first sustained study of how 19th and 20th century European philosophy transformed ancient philosophical schools, such as Epicureanism and Stoicism. Read moreRead less
The philosophical influences on anthropology. This project aims to undertake a comprehensive account of Kant’s impact on the early history of anthropology, offering a new framework for understanding philosophy’s role as a cultural force in society. The project will investigate the importance of Kant’s twin narratives of progressive human development and racial difference for understanding the course taken by anthropology when determining government policies regarding race relations. The benefit ....The philosophical influences on anthropology. This project aims to undertake a comprehensive account of Kant’s impact on the early history of anthropology, offering a new framework for understanding philosophy’s role as a cultural force in society. The project will investigate the importance of Kant’s twin narratives of progressive human development and racial difference for understanding the course taken by anthropology when determining government policies regarding race relations. The benefit of this reconstruction will be the identification of contemporary examples of Kant’s continued legacy, especially in the context of legacies of racial bias, and to the nature of claimed racial and ethnic identities.Read moreRead less
The experimental self in early modern philosophy. This project aims to analyse an unrecognised connection between the emergence of experience-grounded theories of the self and the rise of early modern experimentalism. These are two developments in early modern philosophy which paved the way for today’s conception of science. By studying the influence of Cartesian physiology on early modern accounts of embodied cognition, the project seeks to correct some of the misconceptions of the period. The ....The experimental self in early modern philosophy. This project aims to analyse an unrecognised connection between the emergence of experience-grounded theories of the self and the rise of early modern experimentalism. These are two developments in early modern philosophy which paved the way for today’s conception of science. By studying the influence of Cartesian physiology on early modern accounts of embodied cognition, the project seeks to correct some of the misconceptions of the period. The project aims to clarify the role of human agency in advancement of knowledge, and develop a conceptual framework that allows a more nuanced and complex understanding of the relationship between the humanities and sciences.Read moreRead less
Climate change and the history of environmental determinism. In previous centuries, most scientists presumed that environment and climate determined human health, capacities and difference. By tracing this longstanding idea through the twentieth century, this project will identify implications for current climate science.