Enduring is the Perfection: State Formation and Socio-Cultural Change in the First Capital of Ancient Egypt (c.3200 to 1069 BCE). This is an unprecedented and systematic investigation of the Egyptian state and its extraordinarily rich society and culture over 2,000 years. It will impact profoundly on the disciplines of World History and Egyptology, confirm Australia as a world leader in ancient Mediterranean studies, and provide exciting new opportunities for academic and cultural exchanges betw ....Enduring is the Perfection: State Formation and Socio-Cultural Change in the First Capital of Ancient Egypt (c.3200 to 1069 BCE). This is an unprecedented and systematic investigation of the Egyptian state and its extraordinarily rich society and culture over 2,000 years. It will impact profoundly on the disciplines of World History and Egyptology, confirm Australia as a world leader in ancient Mediterranean studies, and provide exciting new opportunities for academic and cultural exchanges between our country and the Middle East. By making a major contribution to preserving, interpreting and explaining Egypt's magnificent but imperilled heritage, it will significantly enhance Australia's image there and underwrite our country's strategic and commercial relations with our most important partner in the Arab world. Read moreRead less
Cambodia: Place, People and Politics; Environmental, Economic, Cultural, Political, and Regional History since Earliest Times. Understanding the region and the world is vital to safeguarding Australia. Cambodian-Australian relations are important to Australia's foreign policy, both in Southeast Asia and globally. Australia's substantial Cambodian communities remain very interested in developments in their home country. This project will heighten Australia's profile in Cambodia, stimulate regiona ....Cambodia: Place, People and Politics; Environmental, Economic, Cultural, Political, and Regional History since Earliest Times. Understanding the region and the world is vital to safeguarding Australia. Cambodian-Australian relations are important to Australia's foreign policy, both in Southeast Asia and globally. Australia's substantial Cambodian communities remain very interested in developments in their home country. This project will heighten Australia's profile in Cambodia, stimulate regional research among Khmer-Australians, and attract top students and Post-Doctoral Fellows from Cambodia and other countries. Cambodia's specific ecological conditions and the long and important documented history of its people and their role in the region, will result in this project having a significant impact on Australian, regional and global study of Southeast Asia.Read moreRead less
Tibet's rivers in the Anthropocene: history and present trajectories. This project aims to produce a multifaceted history of the eastern Tibetan Plateau's rivers, focusing on the increasing human impacts during the Anthropocene. It will combine data from archival, cultural and oral sources in multiple languages with the results of scientific studies of river flow, water quality, and sediment, ice, and tree-rings analysis. The project will produce both historical narratives and graphic representa ....Tibet's rivers in the Anthropocene: history and present trajectories. This project aims to produce a multifaceted history of the eastern Tibetan Plateau's rivers, focusing on the increasing human impacts during the Anthropocene. It will combine data from archival, cultural and oral sources in multiple languages with the results of scientific studies of river flow, water quality, and sediment, ice, and tree-rings analysis. The project will produce both historical narratives and graphic representations that model past land and water usage. The results of the project will underpin environmental policy for this hydrologically and ecologically crucial region, including the development of a paradigm of care based on the region's indigenous cultural resources.Read moreRead less
A Cultural History of Information: Lessons from the Enlightenment. The significance of this project is that it places the idea of 'information explosion' in historical perspective. In early modern Europe (circa 1600-1800) there were already anxieties about 'the multitude of books', the expansion of the sciences, and threats to the ideal of a rounded education. The attempted solutions, such as the use of commonplace books, journals, encyclopaedias and library catalogues, emerged as responses duri ....A Cultural History of Information: Lessons from the Enlightenment. The significance of this project is that it places the idea of 'information explosion' in historical perspective. In early modern Europe (circa 1600-1800) there were already anxieties about 'the multitude of books', the expansion of the sciences, and threats to the ideal of a rounded education. The attempted solutions, such as the use of commonplace books, journals, encyclopaedias and library catalogues, emerged as responses during the Enlightenment, and subsequently became part of our current system of information management. Outcomes will include a scholarly book and another which links earlier problems and responses to current debates.Read moreRead less
Revisiting Australia's war: international perspectives on heritage, memory and ANZAC pilgrimages to the cemeteries, sites and battlefields of World War Two (WW2). War has assumed an iconographic status in Australia and New Zealand; for many the spirit of Anzac defines the values of both nations. A study of WW2 pilgrimage will explore ways the Anzac legend has been revisited, reinvented and revitalised by successive generations. This project will retrieve the memory of war from those who suffered ....Revisiting Australia's war: international perspectives on heritage, memory and ANZAC pilgrimages to the cemeteries, sites and battlefields of World War Two (WW2). War has assumed an iconographic status in Australia and New Zealand; for many the spirit of Anzac defines the values of both nations. A study of WW2 pilgrimage will explore ways the Anzac legend has been revisited, reinvented and revitalised by successive generations. This project will retrieve the memory of war from those who suffered it, empower communities of mourners on both sides of the Tasman and help to explain why the Anzac mythology captivates such a diverse cross-section of society. It will explore a neglected dimension of Australasia's relationship with the world and the Asia/Pacific region in particular.Read moreRead less
Girls, Empowerment, and Markets in Education: A History of The Mac.Robertsons Girls' High School. With its centenary approaching, the school wants to evaluate its past. In cooperation with RMIT, the writing of a school history can produce three important outcomes. As historian in residence, the doctoral scholar can provide focus for self reflection by the school community. As social history, the work can fill a significant gap in the understanding of publicly funded education in Australia. As co ....Girls, Empowerment, and Markets in Education: A History of The Mac.Robertsons Girls' High School. With its centenary approaching, the school wants to evaluate its past. In cooperation with RMIT, the writing of a school history can produce three important outcomes. As historian in residence, the doctoral scholar can provide focus for self reflection by the school community. As social history, the work can fill a significant gap in the understanding of publicly funded education in Australia. As contribution to policy, it can address two continuing debates: about the place of selective state schools in a national system of education, and about the dynamics of single sex schools, and the education of girls more generally.Read moreRead less
Medieval Virtue Ethics and the Formation of the Feminine Moral Subject: Jeanne of Navarre to Marguerite of Navarre (1285-1550). This research will generate fresh community awareness of the importance of teaching ethics in everyday rather than academic language, with a particular relevance to women, thus contributing to the national debate about what constitutes values education. By showing how famous women writers were not isolated individuals, but adapted an established tradition of communicati ....Medieval Virtue Ethics and the Formation of the Feminine Moral Subject: Jeanne of Navarre to Marguerite of Navarre (1285-1550). This research will generate fresh community awareness of the importance of teaching ethics in everyday rather than academic language, with a particular relevance to women, thus contributing to the national debate about what constitutes values education. By showing how famous women writers were not isolated individuals, but adapted an established tradition of communicating ethics to women, the research will contribute to contemporary debates about the relevance of the teaching of ethics. The project will develop further existing close connections between Australian scholars and researchers in both Europe and the USA.Read moreRead less
Assimilating Modernity: The Harmonisation of Liberal, Socialist and Conservative Thought in Modern China, 1921-1949. The project will enable Australian policy makers to understand the way in which Chinese intellectuals grappled with the issue of modernity and questions about liberalism, socialism and conservatism in the recent past. This is important because the Chinese elites are tackling similar issues today as they face the challenges of globalisation. Knowing the role of China's public intel ....Assimilating Modernity: The Harmonisation of Liberal, Socialist and Conservative Thought in Modern China, 1921-1949. The project will enable Australian policy makers to understand the way in which Chinese intellectuals grappled with the issue of modernity and questions about liberalism, socialism and conservatism in the recent past. This is important because the Chinese elites are tackling similar issues today as they face the challenges of globalisation. Knowing the role of China's public intellectuals and their way of thinking, both past and present, is critical to a further strengthening of Australia's relations with China. The project will benefit the wider community as Australians interact and deal with the Chinese intellectually and culturally, as well as in trade, politics, diplomacy and tourism.
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Princes, power, and the battle for the past: official historiography in renaissance Italy, 1400-1500. This study will be the first in any language to investigate in a systematic way the official histories produced by humanists in the courts and chanceries of renaissance Italy. The study will present evidence suggesting that, contrary to what is usually thought, such histories were a key contributor to the development of modern historical writing.
Immigration Restriction and the Racial State, c. 1880 to the present. Legislating the specific criteria by which people are refused entry into sovereign territory has posed critical problems for policy and law from the late nineteenth century to the present day. By analysing the long history of medico-legal border control in the Asia-Pacific region, the project will uncover previously forgotten legal and policy links and will analyse a history of mutual influence between Australia and neighbouri ....Immigration Restriction and the Racial State, c. 1880 to the present. Legislating the specific criteria by which people are refused entry into sovereign territory has posed critical problems for policy and law from the late nineteenth century to the present day. By analysing the long history of medico-legal border control in the Asia-Pacific region, the project will uncover previously forgotten legal and policy links and will analyse a history of mutual influence between Australia and neighbouring nations. This will productively assist a policy environment (both national and international) primed for ever more intense border control. Read moreRead less