Making and Unmaking Woman:Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris [Famous Women] in its medieval and Renaissance contexts. Giovanni Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris, [Famous Women] composed in the 1360s is the first attempt at female biography in the history of post-classical Western literature. It over-writes medieval misogyny with a humanistic vision of women. Contemporary criticism has generally treated the text contemptuously. Famous Women, it will be argued, is an example of the ideological comple ....Making and Unmaking Woman:Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris [Famous Women] in its medieval and Renaissance contexts. Giovanni Boccaccio's De mulieribus claris, [Famous Women] composed in the 1360s is the first attempt at female biography in the history of post-classical Western literature. It over-writes medieval misogyny with a humanistic vision of women. Contemporary criticism has generally treated the text contemptuously. Famous Women, it will be argued, is an example of the ideological complexities of humanism in its formative stages. It is the aim of this project to show that the text played a pivotal role in reassessing the conception of woman in early modern Europe. The project will produce the first major monograph on Famous Women.Read moreRead less
Mapping Creativity in Captivity during WWII. The project will map the little known cultural production by Italian Prisoners of War from 1940 to 1947. By analysing Italian detainees' creativity in Australia and elsewhere in the world, it will develop a new transnational approach to understanding the experience of captivity and of the many interactions between individuals and communities during WWII. The expected outcomes include new cross-cultural knowledge of migration and wartime experiences an ....Mapping Creativity in Captivity during WWII. The project will map the little known cultural production by Italian Prisoners of War from 1940 to 1947. By analysing Italian detainees' creativity in Australia and elsewhere in the world, it will develop a new transnational approach to understanding the experience of captivity and of the many interactions between individuals and communities during WWII. The expected outcomes include new cross-cultural knowledge of migration and wartime experiences and of the beneficial power of creative action for individuals’ wellbeing, still relevant today as we witness emergency lockdowns and peoples dislocated by wars. International collaboration and digital resources will bring the results beyond an academic audience to public and policymakers alike.
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Festival, Spectacle and Plays in Renaissance Florence. Wherever public money and community effort are expended on festive display, religious devotion, or promoting national prestige through performance, questions arise about how such expense can be justified, and how the community measures its success. This project examines those questions in relation to Renaissance Florence which provided many of the models for early modern European festivals. It will analyse some of the ways in which the commu ....Festival, Spectacle and Plays in Renaissance Florence. Wherever public money and community effort are expended on festive display, religious devotion, or promoting national prestige through performance, questions arise about how such expense can be justified, and how the community measures its success. This project examines those questions in relation to Renaissance Florence which provided many of the models for early modern European festivals. It will analyse some of the ways in which the community and its individual members contributed to and reaped the benefit of participation in public performance and devotion. It will also provide cautionary examples of the abuse of such modes of performance by corrupt regimes.Read moreRead less
Rome and its histories 1750-2000: an iconic city's past and its importance to the present. This study explores the many ways in which the past in Rome, the 'eternal city', has been debated and portrayed by historians but also by groups as diverse as Catholics, city planners, archaeologists and tourists. The outcome will be a novel account from which we can draw lessons regarding the multiple uses of history to better understand the impact of heritage on contemporary lives.
A new history of Fascist Italy 1915-1945. I shall write a book, commissioned by Penguin in English and Mondadori in Italian, on the social history of the Fascist dictatorship. Utilising accumulated research and new material which shall be worked through from the archives in Rome, I shall show how ordinary Italians lived under a tyranny which purported to be totalitarian. Actually much long-term history survived in Mussolini's regime. The family, patron-client networks, localism, a special sor ....A new history of Fascist Italy 1915-1945. I shall write a book, commissioned by Penguin in English and Mondadori in Italian, on the social history of the Fascist dictatorship. Utilising accumulated research and new material which shall be worked through from the archives in Rome, I shall show how ordinary Italians lived under a tyranny which purported to be totalitarian. Actually much long-term history survived in Mussolini's regime. The family, patron-client networks, localism, a special sort of Catholicism, all conditioned life. Building on the international success of my ARC-funded biography of Mussolini, I shall again display the nuance and ambiguous humanity of Italian history.Read moreRead less
Renegotiating the Origins of History: A Study of Early Modern Historical Writing as Practiced by Leonardo Bruni and His Contemporaries. This project will pioneer a new account of the origins of modern historical writing, one which will focus on the political affiliations of foundational figures. Such a study is of vital importance to the community in a time when an intense public debate is being waged over conflicting interpretations of our national past. Participants in this debate have some ....Renegotiating the Origins of History: A Study of Early Modern Historical Writing as Practiced by Leonardo Bruni and His Contemporaries. This project will pioneer a new account of the origins of modern historical writing, one which will focus on the political affiliations of foundational figures. Such a study is of vital importance to the community in a time when an intense public debate is being waged over conflicting interpretations of our national past. Participants in this debate have sometimes appealed to pure disciplinary origins, accusing their opponents of politicizing history. This study will show that political engagement was a central feature of Western historiography from its inception, and will explore the way politics underpinned the early development of the discipline.Read moreRead less
Concord in the Renaissance. This project aims to analyse the diffusion and the political and religious use of the concept of concord among humanists, philosophers, theologians, poets and political writers during the fourteenth and the fifteenth century in the Italian peninsula. Starting with a novel approach to the thought of the humanist Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, this analysis is expected to result in an enriched view of the Italian Renaissance, which will be re-assessed based on its contr ....Concord in the Renaissance. This project aims to analyse the diffusion and the political and religious use of the concept of concord among humanists, philosophers, theologians, poets and political writers during the fourteenth and the fifteenth century in the Italian peninsula. Starting with a novel approach to the thought of the humanist Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, this analysis is expected to result in an enriched view of the Italian Renaissance, which will be re-assessed based on its contribution to the idea of common good. This project also aims to evaluate the uses and meanings of concord in relation to those of tolerance to show how, on the basis of a historically informed and theoretically sound definition, concord can become a new concept for modern political theory.Read moreRead less
Enduring diversity: a history of multilingualism in Italy. This project will question several assumptions which have shaped the official histories of language as well as the language policies of several major European countries. This will be a useful contribution to debates on social policy in a country like Australia with its varied migrant populations, since the place of languages other than English often arises in debates on education, immigration and provision of social services at State and ....Enduring diversity: a history of multilingualism in Italy. This project will question several assumptions which have shaped the official histories of language as well as the language policies of several major European countries. This will be a useful contribution to debates on social policy in a country like Australia with its varied migrant populations, since the place of languages other than English often arises in debates on education, immigration and provision of social services at State and Federal level. Italian is still the most widely spoken language in Australia after English, and a new understanding of the history of language in Italy will contribute to a deeper awareness of the realities and problems of migrants and their descendants here.Read moreRead less