The Researching Editing and Publication of Historical Records of Australia. These will be two fold: first in continuing and completing the original Historical Records of Australia Series originally supported and promoted by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, shortly after Federation, thus using a Federation Fellowship to complete a great original Federation project; second by providing in edited research form as as described above, the vital historical documentation of historical proce ....The Researching Editing and Publication of Historical Records of Australia. These will be two fold: first in continuing and completing the original Historical Records of Australia Series originally supported and promoted by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library, shortly after Federation, thus using a Federation Fellowship to complete a great original Federation project; second by providing in edited research form as as described above, the vital historical documentation of historical processes continuing in this country , especially in relation to the indigenous peoples of Australia, the governance of the states, and matters of crime, punishment and emigration which were at the heart of the political debates and developing policies of the era and which are matters of significance in present AustraliaRead moreRead less
The Darwinian Screen: Race in Pacific and Australian Film 1900-1970. This project examines the influence of Darwinism in filmic narratives which deal with race that are set in Australia and the Pacific from 1900-1970. Science Fiction, Travel, South Seas Island Romance, Colonial Adventure and Jungle films made in Australia, New Zealand, America, the UK and France will be considered in order to determine the design and construction of race. The search for primitive man, the construction of 'types' ....The Darwinian Screen: Race in Pacific and Australian Film 1900-1970. This project examines the influence of Darwinism in filmic narratives which deal with race that are set in Australia and the Pacific from 1900-1970. Science Fiction, Travel, South Seas Island Romance, Colonial Adventure and Jungle films made in Australia, New Zealand, America, the UK and France will be considered in order to determine the design and construction of race. The search for primitive man, the construction of 'types', the creation of utopian spaces for white subjects, the representation of evolution and devolution, the making of the Pacific as site for scientific endeavour and the production of narratives of survival are among the areas to be considered.Read moreRead less
Mapping the movies: the changing nature of Australia's cinema circuits and their audiences 1956-1984. Support for film production is a high profile component in Australian cultural policy, but the cultural and commercial opportunity represented by cinema exhibition and attendance is less well understood. Focusing on the three decades after the introduction of television in 1956, this project is the first of its kind to use geospatial visualisation to map the social and economic circuits of cinem ....Mapping the movies: the changing nature of Australia's cinema circuits and their audiences 1956-1984. Support for film production is a high profile component in Australian cultural policy, but the cultural and commercial opportunity represented by cinema exhibition and attendance is less well understood. Focusing on the three decades after the introduction of television in 1956, this project is the first of its kind to use geospatial visualisation to map the social and economic circuits of cinema-going, and to identify the variables that explain cinema diversification, survival or closure. It will contribute to policy analysis in terms of local media access modelling, and will consolidate this team's international reputation for innovative Australian research in the representation of historical data.Read moreRead less
The BYSTANDER FIELD: immersive 'feedback' environments for exhibiting and dramatically interacting with semiotic, aesthetic and emotional patterns in archived imagery. The BYSTANDER FIELD investigates dramatic new ways to exhibit, interrogate and interpret archived imagery. Immersing visitors bodily in a 'turbulent' environment of user-activated images, sounds and texts, all cross-referenced and inter-dependent, the project encourages interactive comprehension of cultural collections and the so ....The BYSTANDER FIELD: immersive 'feedback' environments for exhibiting and dramatically interacting with semiotic, aesthetic and emotional patterns in archived imagery. The BYSTANDER FIELD investigates dramatic new ways to exhibit, interrogate and interpret archived imagery. Immersing visitors bodily in a 'turbulent' environment of user-activated images, sounds and texts, all cross-referenced and inter-dependent, the project encourages interactive comprehension of cultural collections and the societies that spawned them.
The research method is iterative and evolutionary: critique of existing literature, designs and technologies; repeated, rapid prototyping leading to test-exhibit; final critique of user-experience; report on knowledge generated.
Outcomes are theoretical and practical: reports delivering new knowledge; audience-tested systems of display and interpretation which are scaleable to several museological and architectural scenarios.Read moreRead less
Regional Markets and Local Audiences: Case Studies in Australian Cinema Consumption, 1928-1980. The argument that Australian cinema maintains Australian identity is mirrored by the perception that imported cinema threatens national cultural integrity. We examine the historical basis for this discourse in order to propose alternative conceptual frameworks which view cultural exchange in less alarmist terms. In analysing the role of cinema in the creation of community identity, our research posit ....Regional Markets and Local Audiences: Case Studies in Australian Cinema Consumption, 1928-1980. The argument that Australian cinema maintains Australian identity is mirrored by the perception that imported cinema threatens national cultural integrity. We examine the historical basis for this discourse in order to propose alternative conceptual frameworks which view cultural exchange in less alarmist terms. In analysing the role of cinema in the creation of community identity, our research positions the social experience of Australian cinema-going as central to emerging international research, and provides a basis from which policy researchers can sustain a more complex account of national cultural maintenance, given the demographic circumstances which unavoidably position Australia as a net importer of cinema product.Read moreRead less
Cinema and Civilisation: Science, Progress and Empire in Early Film. This study will explore the role of early film in disseminating the Western ideals of progress, science and technology in the colonial nations of Australia's region. Early films made about Indonesia, Indochina, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Singapore as well as India and North Africa will be studied. The study will reveal Australia's dual roles as a recipient of the civilising mission and later as a propagator of th ....Cinema and Civilisation: Science, Progress and Empire in Early Film. This study will explore the role of early film in disseminating the Western ideals of progress, science and technology in the colonial nations of Australia's region. Early films made about Indonesia, Indochina, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Singapore as well as India and North Africa will be studied. The study will reveal Australia's dual roles as a recipient of the civilising mission and later as a propagator of this knowledge in its own sphere of influence. Such an understanding will lead to a fuller comprehension of the relative meaning of terms such as 'progress', 'science' and 'civilisation' in Australia and its region.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100079
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$520,000.00
Summary
eResearch Infrastructure for Humanities Scholars: Facilitating literary and narrative studies; children's and popular fictions and film/TV studies. AustLit provides enhanced information about Australian narrative cultures to all researchers and information seekers throughout Australia and internationally. It serves the needs of students, teachers and academic researchers at all levels studying in the broad area of Australian literary and narrative cultures. The proposed developments in 2010 will ....eResearch Infrastructure for Humanities Scholars: Facilitating literary and narrative studies; children's and popular fictions and film/TV studies. AustLit provides enhanced information about Australian narrative cultures to all researchers and information seekers throughout Australia and internationally. It serves the needs of students, teachers and academic researchers at all levels studying in the broad area of Australian literary and narrative cultures. The proposed developments in 2010 will further enhance AustLit's value to many Australian communities with interests in Australian literary, audio-visual and critical narratives. Its multi-dimensional approach to research support and facilitation ensures that it is connected to most current activity in the field and thereby continues to accrue benefits to the whole community as it develops.Read moreRead less
The 'paper war': Missionary Textuality and Early Nineteenth-Century Australian Colonial Culture. Early nineteenth-century Australian texts reverberate with the anxieties and controversies surrounding colonisation. The morality of colonisation and indigenous-settler relationships were hotly debated in a proliferation of books, pamphlets, letters, and editorials, and in this religious personnel, including missionaries, played a pivotal role. Yet no critical analysis of colonial missionary writing ....The 'paper war': Missionary Textuality and Early Nineteenth-Century Australian Colonial Culture. Early nineteenth-century Australian texts reverberate with the anxieties and controversies surrounding colonisation. The morality of colonisation and indigenous-settler relationships were hotly debated in a proliferation of books, pamphlets, letters, and editorials, and in this religious personnel, including missionaries, played a pivotal role. Yet no critical analysis of colonial missionary writing exists. This project conducts archival research into texts produced by a linked network of religious/missionary figures, focusing on the Lake Macquarie mission run by Lancelot Threlkeld, and analyses these through theories of colonial discourse and textuality. Research outcomes include original, innovative contributions to Australian literary/cultural studies and international colonial/postcolonial studies.Read moreRead less
Producing Biodiversity: A History of Science in Australia's Desert Lands. Biodiversity conservation is regarded by most people as desirable, but its historical and cultural aspects are poorly understood. It is not just about scientific understanding of animals and plants, but also a matter of practice and negotiation. People and places are changed through conservation and these changes in turn shape the ways nature is imagined and managed. Producing Biodiversity documents historical and contempo ....Producing Biodiversity: A History of Science in Australia's Desert Lands. Biodiversity conservation is regarded by most people as desirable, but its historical and cultural aspects are poorly understood. It is not just about scientific understanding of animals and plants, but also a matter of practice and negotiation. People and places are changed through conservation and these changes in turn shape the ways nature is imagined and managed. Producing Biodiversity documents historical and contemporary initiatives in biodiversity management on six very different pastoral properties on the margins of the Australian desert. We provide a long-term perspective on national and local conservation imperatives in different eras, and explore how they affect pastoral, Aboriginal and scientific communities.Read moreRead less
Reverse Diaspora: Australian Expatriate Writers in Britain since the 1830s. The changing relations between Australia and Britain are explored in this project through writers of literature and drama. Reverse Diaspora explores the aspirations, problems and achievements of eighty expatriate Australians who have chosen to live and work in Britain since the early nineteenth century. From one point of view they represent a 'brain drain'; from another they are exporters of Australian ideas, experience ....Reverse Diaspora: Australian Expatriate Writers in Britain since the 1830s. The changing relations between Australia and Britain are explored in this project through writers of literature and drama. Reverse Diaspora explores the aspirations, problems and achievements of eighty expatriate Australians who have chosen to live and work in Britain since the early nineteenth century. From one point of view they represent a 'brain drain'; from another they are exporters of Australian ideas, experience and talent. This study will increase knowledge and understanding of the lives, creative achievements and public impact of Australians abroad. It will enhance Australians' capacity to interpret their national culture in their region and the world.Read moreRead less