Social Memory and Historical Justice: How Democratic Societies Remember and Forget the Victimisation of Minorities in the Past. We will analyse how the victimisation of minorities is publicly and collectively remembered in a range of countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Spain, the Ukraine, Austria, Germany, Peru, Chile and the USA. We will identify key factors that enable democratic societies to work towards historical justice. By exploring how memories are contested and how communities ....Social Memory and Historical Justice: How Democratic Societies Remember and Forget the Victimisation of Minorities in the Past. We will analyse how the victimisation of minorities is publicly and collectively remembered in a range of countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Spain, the Ukraine, Austria, Germany, Peru, Chile and the USA. We will identify key factors that enable democratic societies to work towards historical justice. By exploring how memories are contested and how communities actively negotiate the legacies of the past, we will address issues of crucial contemporary concern. The project will provide research training and international experience for a postdoctoral fellow and three doctoral students in an area at the cutting edge of the humanities and social sciences.Read moreRead less
From Local Stories to National Identity: Competing National Myths in Chinese Nativist Fiction. China's continuous and rapid economic upsurge means it will play an increasingly greater role globally but its influence in our region will even be greater. Understanding China is imperative for Australia, which can only be achieved through understanding the core Chinese social and cultural values. It is vital for Australian policy-makers to know how cultural identification within China functions and h ....From Local Stories to National Identity: Competing National Myths in Chinese Nativist Fiction. China's continuous and rapid economic upsurge means it will play an increasingly greater role globally but its influence in our region will even be greater. Understanding China is imperative for Australia, which can only be achieved through understanding the core Chinese social and cultural values. It is vital for Australian policy-makers to know how cultural identification within China functions and how the Chinese government uses culture (among other means) to hold the vastly different regions together. Cultural understanding demands an appreciation of literature, the importance of which in Chinese cultural life is often underestimated outside China.Read moreRead less
From Local Stories to National Identity: Competing National Myths in Chinese Nativist Fiction. The project investigates the creation, reception and significance of competing national myths in Chinese nativist fiction. It explores the paradox that nativist writers, on the one hand, are committed to the abstract idea of a single Chinese nation, while, on the other hand, they aspire to create distinctive local cultural identities. Why do regional literatures compete in identifying with the cultural ....From Local Stories to National Identity: Competing National Myths in Chinese Nativist Fiction. The project investigates the creation, reception and significance of competing national myths in Chinese nativist fiction. It explores the paradox that nativist writers, on the one hand, are committed to the abstract idea of a single Chinese nation, while, on the other hand, they aspire to create distinctive local cultural identities. Why do regional literatures compete in identifying with the cultural centre? How do different local tales represent the regional and the national? By answering these questions, this project will expand Chinese regional studies into the literary sphere and contribute to the theoretical understanding of Chinese cultural nationalism.Read moreRead less
Contact zones: activism, art and media in Italy, 1994-2006. This project will generate knowledge about recent activism, social change and contemporary art practices in Italy; it will add to Australia's international reputation as a centre of research on contemporary Italy; it will assist in facilitating cultural relations between Australia and Italy as already established in cultural and scientific bilateral agreements.
Colonial Cosmopolitanism and Chinese Modernity: German Economic and Cultural Adventurers in China 1870-1937. The project will assist in increasing Australia's knowledge base about both colonialism in general and social change in China; and will add to Australia's international reputation as a major centre of research on China. It will increasing understandings of the important histories of China's interactions with the outside world, lessons that will spill over into Australia's history, current ....Colonial Cosmopolitanism and Chinese Modernity: German Economic and Cultural Adventurers in China 1870-1937. The project will assist in increasing Australia's knowledge base about both colonialism in general and social change in China; and will add to Australia's international reputation as a major centre of research on China. It will increasing understandings of the important histories of China's interactions with the outside world, lessons that will spill over into Australia's history, current and future interactions with China. In the process the project challenges the myth of an isolated, xenophobic 'China as Middle Kingdom' by exploring histories of China's productive interactions with major economic powers, such as Germany. Read moreRead less
Middle Classes, New Media and Indie Networks in Post Authoritarian Indonesia. The study shall deepen Australians' appreciation of a little-known but strategically-placed facet of Indonesian society. It shall enhance understanding of the opinions, worldviews and cultural productions of young Indonesians, and of the culturally specific character of their digital engagements. In its focus on urban middle class Indonesians, the project shall produce new and detailed knowledge about the cultures and ....Middle Classes, New Media and Indie Networks in Post Authoritarian Indonesia. The study shall deepen Australians' appreciation of a little-known but strategically-placed facet of Indonesian society. It shall enhance understanding of the opinions, worldviews and cultural productions of young Indonesians, and of the culturally specific character of their digital engagements. In its focus on urban middle class Indonesians, the project shall produce new and detailed knowledge about the cultures and lifestyles of one of Australia's most important higher education markets, and its role in the society. Finally, the project shall deepen the Australian public's understandings of Indonesia as an increasingly complex, disjunctive society.Read moreRead less
Pop Cultures in Indonesia: a New Asian Politics of Pleasure and Identity. The study addresses one of National Research Priorities (Goal 4 'Safeguarding Australia'), by better 'understanding our region and the world', and boosting Australia's 'soft power'. Recent changes in Indonesia render much of our knowledge about that society outdated. The study will deliver a significant contribution to the urgent revitalisation of Indonesian and cultural studies. It will hopefully elevate the quality of ou ....Pop Cultures in Indonesia: a New Asian Politics of Pleasure and Identity. The study addresses one of National Research Priorities (Goal 4 'Safeguarding Australia'), by better 'understanding our region and the world', and boosting Australia's 'soft power'. Recent changes in Indonesia render much of our knowledge about that society outdated. The study will deliver a significant contribution to the urgent revitalisation of Indonesian and cultural studies. It will hopefully elevate the quality of our public debate about the world's largest Muslim populated country and Australia's neighbour, by paying serious and overdue attention to the brightest sides of contemporary Indonesia that have occupied the minds of one hundred millions or so ordinary people there.Read moreRead less
Germany in China: Colonial Interactions, Qingdao 1897-1914. The project will assist in increasing Australia's knowledge base about both colonialism in general and social change in China; to add to Australia's international reputation as a major center of research on China; and to provide additional information on local development in Qingdao, a major growth area in East China, that assists those engaged in government and business relations.