Nature and Nation: Science, Environment and National Identity in Australia. Nature and Nation combines interviews and archival research to explore the intersection of three worlds in Australia:
· the natural world
· the scientific world that speaks for nature in settler society, and
· the cultural world that fosters and constrains science and other ways of knowing about nature.
The primary focus is the workings of science in northern Australia, where the frontier has never closed. The a ....Nature and Nation: Science, Environment and National Identity in Australia. Nature and Nation combines interviews and archival research to explore the intersection of three worlds in Australia:
· the natural world
· the scientific world that speaks for nature in settler society, and
· the cultural world that fosters and constrains science and other ways of knowing about nature.
The primary focus is the workings of science in northern Australia, where the frontier has never closed. The aim is to elucidate the past, present and future roles of environment and science in Australia's nation-building. Outcomes will include public lectures, journal articles and a major book for a general audience.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120102402
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Nature and culture in German Romantic philosophy and environmental philosophy. In light of the recent scholarship on the philosophical significance of German romanticism, this project will provide the first study that focuses on the relation between nature and culture in German romantic philosophy. It will also initiate a dialogue on the potential of German romantic ideas to address concerns within environmental philosophy.
The human elements: a cultural history of Australian weather. This project will study the experience of weather in Australia from the 1880s to the 1980s. Drawing upon environmental history, history of science and cultural history, we aim to go beyond a catalogue of weather events or climatic obsessions, to explore how the meanings of weather and climate are themselves constructed through the interaction of science, nature and society. This project uses a series of case studies to explore what is ....The human elements: a cultural history of Australian weather. This project will study the experience of weather in Australia from the 1880s to the 1980s. Drawing upon environmental history, history of science and cultural history, we aim to go beyond a catalogue of weather events or climatic obsessions, to explore how the meanings of weather and climate are themselves constructed through the interaction of science, nature and society. This project uses a series of case studies to explore what is human in the elements. The outcomes will include a book, two Metarch publications, collection development and an exhibition brief for the NMA, and web-materials for both industry partners.Read moreRead less
Representing Nature: Romantic Empiricism and Environmental Philosophy. This project aims to investigate a distinctive tradition of empiricism that emerged in Germany during the Romantic period; illustrate important parallels between this tradition and contemporary environmental philosophy; and articulate the ways in which the methodological innovations of Romantic empiricism can address the key challenges facing current environmental thought. The expected outcomes of the project will be a richer ....Representing Nature: Romantic Empiricism and Environmental Philosophy. This project aims to investigate a distinctive tradition of empiricism that emerged in Germany during the Romantic period; illustrate important parallels between this tradition and contemporary environmental philosophy; and articulate the ways in which the methodological innovations of Romantic empiricism can address the key challenges facing current environmental thought. The expected outcomes of the project will be a richer and more nuanced understanding of one of the most crucial periods in the history of German philosophy; important insights into the central concerns of environmental philosophy; and new conceptual and methodological tools for thinking about the natural world and the human relation to it.Read moreRead less
Understanding Japan's human-centred environmentalism. Japanese environmental activism has influenced attitudes and policymaking on the environment in Japan and worldwide for half a century. This project will demonstrate the strengths and limitations of Japan’s human-centred environmentalism and will encourage us to reconsider the tension between human satisfaction and environmental protection.
Scientific voyages in the Antipodes. Thomas Huxley, John McGillivray and the Darwinian Revolution. This project examines the scientific British survey expeditions to Australasia during the nineteenth century. The research focuses on the importance of Australasia in the formation of Darwinism, one of the key scientific and social theories of modern western culture. Environmental change and scientific and cultural heritage in our region will be traced back to these early scientific voyagers.
Seeing Change: Science, Culture and Technology in the Antipodes from the age of Darwin - a multi-media research collaboration. To build a collaboration across the humanities, natural sciences, business technology and public culture sectors that will use new forms of digital and visual research to demonstrate the neglected importance of Australasia in the formation of nineteenth-century evolutionary thought and to suggest the relevance of these ideas to understanding contemporary issues of enviro ....Seeing Change: Science, Culture and Technology in the Antipodes from the age of Darwin - a multi-media research collaboration. To build a collaboration across the humanities, natural sciences, business technology and public culture sectors that will use new forms of digital and visual research to demonstrate the neglected importance of Australasia in the formation of nineteenth-century evolutionary thought and to suggest the relevance of these ideas to understanding contemporary issues of environmental sustainability and the development of frontier technologies within our society and region. Read moreRead less
Handbooks and Environmental Knowledge in Thailand. This project will contribute to maintaining Australian scholars at the forefront of innovative research in Southeast Asia. The project will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of attitudes towards the environment within the region. Australia has a significant aid investment in the region and this is likely to grow as a result of the White Paper on overseas development aid. In Southeast Asia much of the aid effort addresses issues of susta ....Handbooks and Environmental Knowledge in Thailand. This project will contribute to maintaining Australian scholars at the forefront of innovative research in Southeast Asia. The project will contribute to a more nuanced understanding of attitudes towards the environment within the region. Australia has a significant aid investment in the region and this is likely to grow as a result of the White Paper on overseas development aid. In Southeast Asia much of the aid effort addresses issues of sustainable resource management. Australian businesses have also indicated that deeper insights into local perspectives on sustainability and resource management will be useful in enhancing economic cooperation.Read moreRead less
How Australians have imagined the future; possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key the ....How Australians have imagined the future; possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our research will be the relationship between culture, ecology and utopia or dystopia. Much of our work will be quite deliberately oriented towards the future possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society.
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Protecting Global Wetlands, 1945 to the Present. This project aims to provide the first in-depth environmental history of international wetlands conservation post-World War II. Focusing on the key concepts of animal migration, ecosystems, and wise use, and grounded in the important case study of the Ramsar Convention, the project expects to generate new theoretical and applied insights about wetlands conservation and expertise, and nurture exciting new directions in environmental history. Antici ....Protecting Global Wetlands, 1945 to the Present. This project aims to provide the first in-depth environmental history of international wetlands conservation post-World War II. Focusing on the key concepts of animal migration, ecosystems, and wise use, and grounded in the important case study of the Ramsar Convention, the project expects to generate new theoretical and applied insights about wetlands conservation and expertise, and nurture exciting new directions in environmental history. Anticipated outcomes include a clearer understanding of why wetlands became a focus of international conservation and the consequences. This will bring significant benefits to wetland managers and communities by contextualising competing wetlands futures and via policy recommendations.Read moreRead less