A study of the writings of Alan Paton, a major literary and political figure. The outcome of this project will constitute an important contribution to the current debate in Australia and other Western countries about ethical responses to violence. Alan Paton is a major South African literary and political figure who faced extremism both from his country's government and its opponents. The proposed study of his letters will be an important addition to the literary corpus of one of Africa's fore ....A study of the writings of Alan Paton, a major literary and political figure. The outcome of this project will constitute an important contribution to the current debate in Australia and other Western countries about ethical responses to violence. Alan Paton is a major South African literary and political figure who faced extremism both from his country's government and its opponents. The proposed study of his letters will be an important addition to the literary corpus of one of Africa's foremost thinkers and writers, and will constitute an advance upon and contribution to the body of knowledge about the cultural history of Africa in the twentieth and twenty-first century. The project will raise the profile of Australian scholarship in the field of African literature and history.
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Complex Words: Literary Judgments in the British Commonwealth, 1920-1970. Examining the 'traffic' in ideas about literature between Britain and Australia in the context of a broad comparative study will add a historical perspective to contemporary debates over globalization and 'cultural imperialism', and Australian culture's place in those debates. Because the project engages with questions that are studied extensively by historians elsewhere in the world, it will integrate Australian history f ....Complex Words: Literary Judgments in the British Commonwealth, 1920-1970. Examining the 'traffic' in ideas about literature between Britain and Australia in the context of a broad comparative study will add a historical perspective to contemporary debates over globalization and 'cultural imperialism', and Australian culture's place in those debates. Because the project engages with questions that are studied extensively by historians elsewhere in the world, it will integrate Australian history further into European and North American discussions of imperialism and the circulation and reception of ideas and books.Read moreRead less
The Theatrical Revolution: The Expansion of Theatre Outside Athens. The growth of the Greek theatre has valuable insights for contemporary Australian concerns. The world's first medium of mass communication rapidly shaped Greek national identity, but also contributed to Athenian cultural and political hegemony. For its power to transform political practices, business, personal relationships, and ideas, the spread of theatre has been illuminatingly compared to the growth of the internet. Understa ....The Theatrical Revolution: The Expansion of Theatre Outside Athens. The growth of the Greek theatre has valuable insights for contemporary Australian concerns. The world's first medium of mass communication rapidly shaped Greek national identity, but also contributed to Athenian cultural and political hegemony. For its power to transform political practices, business, personal relationships, and ideas, the spread of theatre has been illuminatingly compared to the growth of the internet. Understanding this process is of clear concern to small nations struggling to conserve their national interest while adapting to global culture. Read moreRead less
Ancient Egyptian papyri: unlocking secrets to the history of writing. This project aims to investigate the chemical composition of papyri from ancient Egypt and their inks to identify scribes, date texts, detect forgeries, match fragmentary texts, and illuminate environmental and technological change. Papyrus and carbon-based ink were the primary writing materials in the ancient Mediterranean world from 2600 BCE to 1000 CE, but the uncertain provenance and date caused by clandestine excavation a ....Ancient Egyptian papyri: unlocking secrets to the history of writing. This project aims to investigate the chemical composition of papyri from ancient Egypt and their inks to identify scribes, date texts, detect forgeries, match fragmentary texts, and illuminate environmental and technological change. Papyrus and carbon-based ink were the primary writing materials in the ancient Mediterranean world from 2600 BCE to 1000 CE, but the uncertain provenance and date caused by clandestine excavation and the antiquities trade limits our understanding of them. The non-destructive and inexpensive analysis will provide new understanding of environmental, technological, and socio-cultural change in ancient cultures from Egypt to Rome by providing new insights into writing technology, scribal identity, dating, and authenticity.Read moreRead less
ARC Research Network for Early European Research. The Network offers a dynamic resource for enhancing Australian research into the culture and history of Europe between the fifth and nineteenth centuries. Through a programme of dedicated conferences and symposia, new digital resources, publications, and specialist postgraduate mentoring, Network management will mobilise existing strengths to build up national and international research partnerships in key emerging areas of scholarly enquiry. The ....ARC Research Network for Early European Research. The Network offers a dynamic resource for enhancing Australian research into the culture and history of Europe between the fifth and nineteenth centuries. Through a programme of dedicated conferences and symposia, new digital resources, publications, and specialist postgraduate mentoring, Network management will mobilise existing strengths to build up national and international research partnerships in key emerging areas of scholarly enquiry. The Network will coordinate large-scale cross-disciplinary investigations, strengthen links with cultural heritage institutions and organizations, and nurture the next generation of researchers. It will make innovative use of digital infrastructure to manage communication and to disseminate results.Read moreRead less
Germany in China: Colonial Interactions, Qingdao 1897-1914. The project will assist in increasing Australia's knowledge base about both colonialism in general and social change in China; to add to Australia's international reputation as a major center of research on China; and to provide additional information on local development in Qingdao, a major growth area in East China, that assists those engaged in government and business relations.
Religion and Political Transformation: A Transnational Study of South American Independence, 1750-1840. This pathbreaking international research project strongly contributes to the internationalisation of Australian humanities and social science research. It ensures Australia's substantial participation in seminal intellectual debates during the approaching bicentenaries of the birth of modernity in Spain and Latin America. It guarantees that Australia will not become just a consumer of overseas ....Religion and Political Transformation: A Transnational Study of South American Independence, 1750-1840. This pathbreaking international research project strongly contributes to the internationalisation of Australian humanities and social science research. It ensures Australia's substantial participation in seminal intellectual debates during the approaching bicentenaries of the birth of modernity in Spain and Latin America. It guarantees that Australia will not become just a consumer of overseas research in this field. It renews Australia's intellectual and cultural capital in Iberian and Latin American Studies at a crucial moment of generational change. It contributes to an understanding of the generic links between religious radicalism and political violence in an age of fast-moving, global transformation.Read moreRead less
Mapping Print, Charting Enlightenment. This project aims to reconstruct popular reading trends to revise understanding of European enlightenment and the transformational impact of print. Through an innovative, industry-wide digital survey of unprecedented scope and sophistication, tracking millions of copies of thousands of titles and all sectors of the book trade – legal, pirate and contraband – it asks: What books were widely read? Where were they produced and consumed? What was the relative s ....Mapping Print, Charting Enlightenment. This project aims to reconstruct popular reading trends to revise understanding of European enlightenment and the transformational impact of print. Through an innovative, industry-wide digital survey of unprecedented scope and sophistication, tracking millions of copies of thousands of titles and all sectors of the book trade – legal, pirate and contraband – it asks: What books were widely read? Where were they produced and consumed? What was the relative scale and nature of key parts of the trade – notably religious and illegal publishing? How cosmopolitan was popular reading? The project also aims to reflect on its digital methods and develop transferable technologies for studying print’s impact across time and space.Read moreRead less
Knowledge transfer and administrative professionalism in a pre-typographic society: observing the scribe at work in Roman and early Islamic Egypt. This examination of documents on papyrus from first millennium CE Egypt concentrates not on scribes but the evidence for the activity of writing. It will illuminate ancient scribal practice while informing understandings of ancient education, administrations, and the way knowledge has been passed down from antiquity to the present.
A History of the Uses of Imagination and Authority in Australia, 1870-1919. This project is designed as the third and final stage of a process of connected research on the subject of European settlement in Australia. The work will focus especially on themes of oral and literary communication and the resulting sense of place and community. Prevailing attitudes to and uses of authority will be a central theme. The project will also draw together much recent work on the period leading up to the ....A History of the Uses of Imagination and Authority in Australia, 1870-1919. This project is designed as the third and final stage of a process of connected research on the subject of European settlement in Australia. The work will focus especially on themes of oral and literary communication and the resulting sense of place and community. Prevailing attitudes to and uses of authority will be a central theme. The project will also draw together much recent work on the period leading up to the federation of the Australian colonies, federation itself and World War One and in the process will explore continuities with earlier periods of Australian history.Read moreRead less