A history of the Anglo-German relationship. This project will offer a new interpretation of the Anglo-German relationship in the modern era. It will examine interdependence and conflict between Britain and Germany in an in-depth case study, challenging the established pattern of two parallel national historiographies. This will lead to the first comprehensive new Anglo-German history since the 1980s.
Treating Criminals from Shore to Ship: Public Health, Humanitarianism and Convict Transportation. This project aims to explore the impact that penal reforms had on the diet and health of convicts on land and at sea. It intends to establish the extent to which the remarkable record of health amongst prisoners transported to Australia (monthly death rates were half those for fare paying trans-Atlantic passengers) can be attributed to their treatment prior to embarkation. The project aims to resul ....Treating Criminals from Shore to Ship: Public Health, Humanitarianism and Convict Transportation. This project aims to explore the impact that penal reforms had on the diet and health of convicts on land and at sea. It intends to establish the extent to which the remarkable record of health amongst prisoners transported to Australia (monthly death rates were half those for fare paying trans-Atlantic passengers) can be attributed to their treatment prior to embarkation. The project aims to result in new ways of communicating history to diverse audiences using innovative data visualisations.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
Malthus and the New World. T.R. Malthus is one of the most studied and influential English political economists of the modern period. Yet even distinguished Malthus scholars are either unaware or uninterested in the fact that he wrote about the new Australian colonies – Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales, in his famous Essay on the Principle of Population. It was Aboriginal societies he was interested in. This project aims to assess this dimension of the Essay, alongside his thoughts on Pacif ....Malthus and the New World. T.R. Malthus is one of the most studied and influential English political economists of the modern period. Yet even distinguished Malthus scholars are either unaware or uninterested in the fact that he wrote about the new Australian colonies – Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales, in his famous Essay on the Principle of Population. It was Aboriginal societies he was interested in. This project aims to assess this dimension of the Essay, alongside his thoughts on Pacific Island societies and on Native Americans. Malthus and the New World will completely redefine Malthus scholarship in a study that will coincide with the 250th anniversary of his birth in 2016.Read moreRead less
The impact of solitary confinement on convicts, 1817-1853. This project aims to explore the impact of solitary confinement on the health and well-being of 72,500 convicts transported to Australia between 1817 and 1853. It will do so by linking detailed life course histories for these men and women to psychiatric admission data for Tasmanian 19th century institutions. The project results will inform policy as well as increasing on-line access to Australia's UNESCO Memory of the World registered c ....The impact of solitary confinement on convicts, 1817-1853. This project aims to explore the impact of solitary confinement on the health and well-being of 72,500 convicts transported to Australia between 1817 and 1853. It will do so by linking detailed life course histories for these men and women to psychiatric admission data for Tasmanian 19th century institutions. The project results will inform policy as well as increasing on-line access to Australia's UNESCO Memory of the World registered convict records. The project outcomes will help to contextualise the risks associated with different types and rates of solitary confinement exposure.Read moreRead less
The Irish in colonial Australia: race, representation and repression. This project analyses depictions of poor Irish Catholics as a threatening and uncivilised 'race' in the early years of Australian settlement and how they overcame this stigma to be seen as part of the founding British white 'race'. Outcomes will advance our understanding of how marginalised migrant groups become included in Australian society.
Spare parts: the cultural history of organ transplantation. Organ transplantation is of considerable contemporary concern to Australians. Despite decades of campaigns seeking organ donors, this country has one of the world's lowest donation rates. This study will explore how this situation arose and offer a new understanding of the factors that impinge upon people's perceptions of transplantation.
A new history of law in post-revolutionary England (c.1689-1760). This project seeks to recover and reassess the general history of English law during the seven decades following the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89, when limited monarchy, parliamentary government and the rule of law became new constitutional norms for an emergent imperial British state (and, eventually, for Australia). It aims to chart the modes of law and governance variously experienced, created and used by lay men and women, h ....A new history of law in post-revolutionary England (c.1689-1760). This project seeks to recover and reassess the general history of English law during the seven decades following the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89, when limited monarchy, parliamentary government and the rule of law became new constitutional norms for an emergent imperial British state (and, eventually, for Australia). It aims to chart the modes of law and governance variously experienced, created and used by lay men and women, husbands, wives and children, as well as by judges, lawyers, legislators and ministers. The results of this conceptual investigation, which aims to re-interpret the history of English law and government in the broadest possible way, is planned to appear as Volume IX in the Oxford History of the Laws of England series.Read moreRead less
An international history of Australian democracy: the impact of Australian innovation overseas and of international human rights in Australia. This project will chart the international career of Australian democracy and the impact of innovations such as manhood suffrage, the Australian ballot, women's rights and industrial arbitration overseas. It will also investigate the impact of new international definitions of human rights on re-shaping Australian democracy after World War Two.
Empires of honour: violence and virtue in colonial societies, 1750-1850. The moral sentiments and moral practices of any society depend on how that society understands honour. This project will show how different concepts of honour clashed or were recreated through global movements of people in the age of empire, and investigate the enduring effects of such contests in the colonial societies of the India-Pacific region.