KGB Empire: State Security Archives in the former Eastern Bloc. A generation has passed since the fall of Soviet communism, and yet our knowledge about the functioning of the institution at the heart of that system—the chekist state security apparatus—remains highly fragmentary and incomplete. This project will shed light on its history and ongoing legacy through a comparative study of state security archives across a range of East European countries. The project has a double focus, comprising h ....KGB Empire: State Security Archives in the former Eastern Bloc. A generation has passed since the fall of Soviet communism, and yet our knowledge about the functioning of the institution at the heart of that system—the chekist state security apparatus—remains highly fragmentary and incomplete. This project will shed light on its history and ongoing legacy through a comparative study of state security archives across a range of East European countries. The project has a double focus, comprising historical work in the archives—using archival documents to advance our understanding of how the security apparatus operated during the late socialist period; and historical work on the archives—investigating how these archives are being used and misused in the region today.Read moreRead less
Artisan mobility, innovation and the eighteenth-century Republic of Things. This project aims to examine how movement across borders in eighteenth-century Europe and encounters between artisans from different backgrounds promoted technical innovation in the cities. Mobility to and from Paris suggests that the cosmopolitan city’s society and culture were as important as markets and institutions. The project will study male and female artisans, producers of manufactured goods in the eighteenth cen ....Artisan mobility, innovation and the eighteenth-century Republic of Things. This project aims to examine how movement across borders in eighteenth-century Europe and encounters between artisans from different backgrounds promoted technical innovation in the cities. Mobility to and from Paris suggests that the cosmopolitan city’s society and culture were as important as markets and institutions. The project will study male and female artisans, producers of manufactured goods in the eighteenth century, who played a vital but largely forgotten role in transferring applied knowledge between European centres. This project aims to provide a historical grounding for debates on links between cosmopolitanism, culture, and technical innovation in a globalising world.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101106
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$362,116.00
Summary
Reforming the Roman Republic. This project aims to generate new knowledge of institutional reform in the late Roman republic and the relevance of reform as a concept in ancient Rome. By analysing how Romans spoke and wrote about reform and examining a variety of particular reform efforts, the project seeks evidence of a Roman reform discourse and reform processes capable of producing structural change. Expected outcomes include fresh understanding of republican governance and an alternative to t ....Reforming the Roman Republic. This project aims to generate new knowledge of institutional reform in the late Roman republic and the relevance of reform as a concept in ancient Rome. By analysing how Romans spoke and wrote about reform and examining a variety of particular reform efforts, the project seeks evidence of a Roman reform discourse and reform processes capable of producing structural change. Expected outcomes include fresh understanding of republican governance and an alternative to the conventional view that the republic fell because of its inability to reform itself. This project should benefit the study of Roman history and foster dialogue with interdisciplinary scholarship which has questioned the reformability of ancient societies; it thus also informs the understanding of reform in contemporary societies.Read moreRead less
Atrocity in warfare: a social and cultural history. This project aims to investigate how and why atrocity in war is understood, questioned, and given meaning. It plans to focus on a pivotal historical moment in the conceptualisation of legitimate and excessive violence in war – the medieval crusades from c. 1095–1300 – to analyse how societies came to establish the limits of violence and why it was historically important for them to do so. The anticipated outcomes of the project are new understa ....Atrocity in warfare: a social and cultural history. This project aims to investigate how and why atrocity in war is understood, questioned, and given meaning. It plans to focus on a pivotal historical moment in the conceptualisation of legitimate and excessive violence in war – the medieval crusades from c. 1095–1300 – to analyse how societies came to establish the limits of violence and why it was historically important for them to do so. The anticipated outcomes of the project are new understanding of how and why the medieval period was crucial in the formation of ideas about the boundaries of war; new insights into how concepts of atrocity become culturally and socially important; and expansion of Australia's knowledge base in the history and conduct of war.Read moreRead less
Augustus and the Roman Triumph: A Study in Creeping Authoritarianism. This proposal aims to produce novel comparative insights into the genesis of despotism in sophisticated republics and democracies. To this end, it focuses on the transformation of the public victory ritual of the triumph from a shared aristocratic privilege into a lasting imperial monopoly by Augustus, Rome’s first emperor. Enhancing our knowledge of the rise and inner workings of Augustus’ New Order will provide modern politi ....Augustus and the Roman Triumph: A Study in Creeping Authoritarianism. This proposal aims to produce novel comparative insights into the genesis of despotism in sophisticated republics and democracies. To this end, it focuses on the transformation of the public victory ritual of the triumph from a shared aristocratic privilege into a lasting imperial monopoly by Augustus, Rome’s first emperor. Enhancing our knowledge of the rise and inner workings of Augustus’ New Order will provide modern political science with a new archetype of creeping authoritarianism, readily applicable to some of the most notorious tyrannies of the modern era and contemporary variants. The proposal will, therefore, substantially inform the field, theorists and practitioners of government, and Australia’s secondary school curriculum.Read moreRead less
War and memory in European culture: a long perspective. This project provides a new account of the integration of the crusades into European cultural memory. As an innovative study of war it offers a long perspective on European history; as a study of religious warfare, it will enrich present-day debates on the consequences of international conflict.
The Italian wars, 1494–1559. This project aims to re-evaluate the Italian Wars, a conflict fought between 1494 and 1559 mainly on the Italian peninsula but which reshaped the political map of early modern Europe. The project will investigate newly identified textual and material source to produce a big-event history. Its findings will have significant impact both scholarly and general communities, from identifying new textual and material sources for historical study to potential ramifications f ....The Italian wars, 1494–1559. This project aims to re-evaluate the Italian Wars, a conflict fought between 1494 and 1559 mainly on the Italian peninsula but which reshaped the political map of early modern Europe. The project will investigate newly identified textual and material source to produce a big-event history. Its findings will have significant impact both scholarly and general communities, from identifying new textual and material sources for historical study to potential ramifications for historical warfare interpretation in television, radio and gaming environments.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100838
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$320,890.00
Summary
Memory and Authoritarianism: The Struggle for the Past in Putin's Russia. Over the past decade, the Russian state has reasserted a role in shaping how the past is narrated and represented, both within Russia and beyond. This project critically examines this phenomenon, drawing on close readings of sources including history textbooks, monuments and mass media. The project aims to enhance understanding of how narratives about the past are being mobilised in contemporary dynamics between the Russia ....Memory and Authoritarianism: The Struggle for the Past in Putin's Russia. Over the past decade, the Russian state has reasserted a role in shaping how the past is narrated and represented, both within Russia and beyond. This project critically examines this phenomenon, drawing on close readings of sources including history textbooks, monuments and mass media. The project aims to enhance understanding of how narratives about the past are being mobilised in contemporary dynamics between the Russian state and Russian civil society.Read moreRead less
How fire remade the European city, from 1550 to 1850. This project examines the fire history of urban Europe from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Seeing European cities as fire environments, largely shaped by the everyday uses of fire and by attempts to manage it, will enable an entirely different understanding of their history.
Moral claims in international sports events. This project aims to understand how moral claims about international sport generate, reinforce and propagate normative views of global order. For over a century, advocates of the Olympic Games and other major international sports events have claimed that they bring moral benefits– from promoting peace to protecting human rights. This project aims to analyse how sport’s moral claims shape global norms and justify enormous outlays of financial and polit ....Moral claims in international sports events. This project aims to understand how moral claims about international sport generate, reinforce and propagate normative views of global order. For over a century, advocates of the Olympic Games and other major international sports events have claimed that they bring moral benefits– from promoting peace to protecting human rights. This project aims to analyse how sport’s moral claims shape global norms and justify enormous outlays of financial and political capital. By understanding why these claims have been so influential for over a century, the project aims to understand the major political and economic consequences of moral expectations around international sport.Read moreRead less