Women and self-development in French history; implications for Australian women's experience. Our culture values individualism for all but assigns women more responsibility than men for caring for others. Women are caught in a double bind between two conflicting roles, self-development and self-sacrifice. We seek to historicise the development of the self for women in nineteenth-century France, a period which has had an immense impact on contemporary gender roles and the way we understand the ge ....Women and self-development in French history; implications for Australian women's experience. Our culture values individualism for all but assigns women more responsibility than men for caring for others. Women are caught in a double bind between two conflicting roles, self-development and self-sacrifice. We seek to historicise the development of the self for women in nineteenth-century France, a period which has had an immense impact on contemporary gender roles and the way we understand the gendered self today. We will produce an international comparative history of women's self-hood which demonstrates its importance for women today.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
Scalded memory: violence, gender and the Irish, 1169-1923. The history of the Irish at home and abroad from the medieval period has been extraordinarily violent. While historians have studied wars and rebellions in terms of heroic political narratives, there has been no systematic analysis of what a poet has termed Ireland's 'scalded memory?: the meanings of violence in the lives of ordinary Irish women and men. This project will undertake an extremely ambitious interrogation of violence and ge ....Scalded memory: violence, gender and the Irish, 1169-1923. The history of the Irish at home and abroad from the medieval period has been extraordinarily violent. While historians have studied wars and rebellions in terms of heroic political narratives, there has been no systematic analysis of what a poet has termed Ireland's 'scalded memory?: the meanings of violence in the lives of ordinary Irish women and men. This project will undertake an extremely ambitious interrogation of violence and gender in Ireland and the Irish diaspora. It will promote collaboration between Irish and Australian universities, provide training for a PhD student and help foster Irish Studies in Australia. Read moreRead less
Mapping Matrons: Women's Cultural Patronage Networks in Seventeenth Century Northern Italy: from Maria Cristina of Savoy to Vittoria della Rovere. This project adds an important historical dimension to contemporary debates concerning social capital and female leadership. It retrieves women's significant public engagement and community building in the realm of public taste. Historical precedents show how female networks and agency contribute to the community and public sector. Women's networks of ....Mapping Matrons: Women's Cultural Patronage Networks in Seventeenth Century Northern Italy: from Maria Cristina of Savoy to Vittoria della Rovere. This project adds an important historical dimension to contemporary debates concerning social capital and female leadership. It retrieves women's significant public engagement and community building in the realm of public taste. Historical precedents show how female networks and agency contribute to the community and public sector. Women's networks of taste shaped human creativity then...and now. This study will illuminate how our culture (and democracy) emerged in gendered networks of cultural exchange. The project also contributes to Australia's international reputation for high-quality scholarship on early modern Europe, and adds another dimension to cultural and gender studies in this country. Read moreRead less
Australian domestic violence public policy: history, discourse and impact, 1985-2005. The outcomes of the research will be of critical importance to policy makers and practitioners. Domestic violence has significant costs to the community and this project will have national benefits by identifying effective policy directions. The project will provide better understandings of the ways in which domestic violence policy has developed over time and, in doing so, provide assistance to state, territ ....Australian domestic violence public policy: history, discourse and impact, 1985-2005. The outcomes of the research will be of critical importance to policy makers and practitioners. Domestic violence has significant costs to the community and this project will have national benefits by identifying effective policy directions. The project will provide better understandings of the ways in which domestic violence policy has developed over time and, in doing so, provide assistance to state, territory and federal governments in formulating future policy in this area. Read moreRead less
INVENTING PERFECT AUSTRALIAN WOMANHOOD: THE MISS AUSTRALIA QUEST AND THE ROLE OF DISABILITY IN POSTWAR AUSTRALIA. The Miss Australia Quest articulated the concept of perfect white womanhood in the postwar era. Sponsored by a major charity, the Spastics League, the Quest sought to locate representatives of conventional womanhood yet who had exemplary appearance, poise and moral virtue. Bodily and moral perfection ran counter to the sponsoring organisation which dealt with the severely disabled. ....INVENTING PERFECT AUSTRALIAN WOMANHOOD: THE MISS AUSTRALIA QUEST AND THE ROLE OF DISABILITY IN POSTWAR AUSTRALIA. The Miss Australia Quest articulated the concept of perfect white womanhood in the postwar era. Sponsored by a major charity, the Spastics League, the Quest sought to locate representatives of conventional womanhood yet who had exemplary appearance, poise and moral virtue. Bodily and moral perfection ran counter to the sponsoring organisation which dealt with the severely disabled. With competitions held throughout the Commonwealth, the finalists were designated by their state of origin. Hence both regions and then states competed alongside individuals. The broadcast of the Quest was a major television event until 1986. An analysis of the Quest allows interrogation of the role of fundraising for charity, the construction of celebrity, the nature of idealised young womanhood and interstate rivalries. Scholarly articles and a book alongside a projected exhibition at the new National Museum of Australia are anticipated.Read moreRead less
A Cultural History of the Body in Modern Japan. This project will focus on a cultural history of the body in Japan from the late nineteenth century to the present. This study will go beyond previous theorisations of the body, by looking at the development of Japanese modernity through analysing cultural representations of embodied experiences and embodied practices. In addition to considering questions of sex, gender, sexuality and reproduction, the project will also focus on the classed, racial ....A Cultural History of the Body in Modern Japan. This project will focus on a cultural history of the body in Japan from the late nineteenth century to the present. This study will go beyond previous theorisations of the body, by looking at the development of Japanese modernity through analysing cultural representations of embodied experiences and embodied practices. In addition to considering questions of sex, gender, sexuality and reproduction, the project will also focus on the classed, racialised and ethnicised dimensions of bodily experience. It will consider the body at work, the body in leisure, the body as the medium of violence, and the embodied experiences of globalization.Read moreRead less
Gender, power and identity in the early modern Nassau family. Our family identities shape our experiences of relationships, support structures, and interactions in broader communities around us but how do gender and power relationships affect expressions of family identities? Our project uses a case study of the early modern Nassau-Orange family, whose extensive and diverse sources include letters, art, architectural precincts, naming patterns, and even colonial endeavours. The word and colour o ....Gender, power and identity in the early modern Nassau family. Our family identities shape our experiences of relationships, support structures, and interactions in broader communities around us but how do gender and power relationships affect expressions of family identities? Our project uses a case study of the early modern Nassau-Orange family, whose extensive and diverse sources include letters, art, architectural precincts, naming patterns, and even colonial endeavours. The word and colour orange today symbolise Protestantism and the Dutch worldwide as a result of this pivotal family's self-presentation in the early modern period. We will produce monographs, PhD thesis, and research training in an international humanities team led by Australian researchers. Read moreRead less
Modernism, cosmopolitanism and consumer culture. This project aims to investigate the department store as a significant site for the transnational dissemination of modernism and cosmopolitanism in the first half of the 20th century. Through a primary focus on Sydney, with comparative studies of Tokyo and New York, the project expects to advance important knowledge of the department store’s vital role in driving new forms of creative engagement, consumer knowledge and social interaction that shap ....Modernism, cosmopolitanism and consumer culture. This project aims to investigate the department store as a significant site for the transnational dissemination of modernism and cosmopolitanism in the first half of the 20th century. Through a primary focus on Sydney, with comparative studies of Tokyo and New York, the project expects to advance important knowledge of the department store’s vital role in driving new forms of creative engagement, consumer knowledge and social interaction that shaped the aspiring cosmopolitan city. The expected outcomes include an understanding how the department store enhanced the public's engagement with modernism. This will benefit current initiatives using the arts to revitalise commercial and urban space.Read moreRead less
Eureka's Women: An Intimate History of Sex, Class and Culture on the Victorian Goldfields. This project will be the first systematic study of the role of women in an iconic event in Australian history - the Eureka Stockade. The research will challenge the prevailing representation of Eureka as a hyper-masculine episode - male passions inflamed, male blood shed, manhood suffrage won - by providing a unique gender perspective to a familiar narrative. My hypothesis is that women were intimately and ....Eureka's Women: An Intimate History of Sex, Class and Culture on the Victorian Goldfields. This project will be the first systematic study of the role of women in an iconic event in Australian history - the Eureka Stockade. The research will challenge the prevailing representation of Eureka as a hyper-masculine episode - male passions inflamed, male blood shed, manhood suffrage won - by providing a unique gender perspective to a familiar narrative. My hypothesis is that women were intimately and inextricably involved in the events at Eureka, as they were more generally in the political and cultural life of the Victorian goldfields. The research findings will contribute to ongoing debates about the meaning of the Eureka story for Australian identity, citizenship and democracy.Read moreRead less