Journals in Theory: Practices of Academic Judgment. This project aims to examine the way key journals transformed the discipline of literary studies from 1946 to now. It expects to generate new knowledge of how editorial practices of academic judgement institutionalised and legitimated new modes of reading, thinking and writing. Based on archival research on journals including Critical Inquiry, Tel Quel and The Australian Journal of Cultural Studies, the project's outcomes will show how, in brin ....Journals in Theory: Practices of Academic Judgment. This project aims to examine the way key journals transformed the discipline of literary studies from 1946 to now. It expects to generate new knowledge of how editorial practices of academic judgement institutionalised and legitimated new modes of reading, thinking and writing. Based on archival research on journals including Critical Inquiry, Tel Quel and The Australian Journal of Cultural Studies, the project's outcomes will show how, in bringing together new intellectual passions, governance structures and imagined readerships, journals bestowed on criticism its current working definition. Expected benefits include a better account of the relationship between conceptual innovation and institutional mechanisms for research integrity.Read moreRead less
Romanticism and the Poetics of First World War Literature. This project asks how the poetics of nineteenth-century Romanticism informed the literature of the First World War. We build on recent research into the history of war and Romanticism to challenge the common view that the literature of the First World War marked a radical break with the past. We examine how this literature adapted and re-invented traditions of war literature. We probe critical questions of periodisation and war represent ....Romanticism and the Poetics of First World War Literature. This project asks how the poetics of nineteenth-century Romanticism informed the literature of the First World War. We build on recent research into the history of war and Romanticism to challenge the common view that the literature of the First World War marked a radical break with the past. We examine how this literature adapted and re-invented traditions of war literature. We probe critical questions of periodisation and war representation. The project will help inform understanding of the cultural memory of war in Australia. How we understand our war traditions are of critical importance as the nation undertakes its largest peace-time expansion of the Australian Defence Force (2022-) and redevelops the Australia War Memorial (2019-).Read moreRead less
Architectures of imagination: buildings, fictions, and worlds. This project aims to offer an account of the roles played by fiction and imagination in the production of space during the long 18th century (1700-1835), through studies of key buildings (Strawberry Hill, Fonthill Abbey, Abbotsford); the fictions with which they were associated (Otranto, Vathek, Waverley); and the relation between these buildings, texts, and their readers/inhabitants. Drawing on these primary studies, the project wil ....Architectures of imagination: buildings, fictions, and worlds. This project aims to offer an account of the roles played by fiction and imagination in the production of space during the long 18th century (1700-1835), through studies of key buildings (Strawberry Hill, Fonthill Abbey, Abbotsford); the fictions with which they were associated (Otranto, Vathek, Waverley); and the relation between these buildings, texts, and their readers/inhabitants. Drawing on these primary studies, the project will aim to develop a new account of the 18th-century imagination, the emergence of modern architectures of imagination, and the transition from neoclassicism to romanticism, while bringing these developments into dialogue with current debates about space, creativity, and the rapidly expanding field of biopolitics.Read moreRead less
English: the History of a Discipline 1920-70. This project aims fundamentally to change and enrich our understanding of a dynamic intellectual movement—academic literary criticism between 1920 and 1970. During this period, English (as it was often called) shaped the humanities at both the secondary and tertiary level. It also changed how and why we read literature. This project will produce what the scholarship still lacks: a detailed, analytic account of the history of English in the period, i ....English: the History of a Discipline 1920-70. This project aims fundamentally to change and enrich our understanding of a dynamic intellectual movement—academic literary criticism between 1920 and 1970. During this period, English (as it was often called) shaped the humanities at both the secondary and tertiary level. It also changed how and why we read literature. This project will produce what the scholarship still lacks: a detailed, analytic account of the history of English in the period, including in Australia, sensitive to the discipline’s impact and to the forces which caused it to take new paths in the 1970s. Benefits include expanding academic and public awareness of this rich disciplinary history and informing strategic directions for English in Australia and abroad.Read moreRead less
The couple: commitment and durability in the era of marriage equality. This project aims to examine the notion of the couple in the era of marriage equality. It is generally thought that couple longevity is an incontestable good socially, psychologically, and economically. The advent of same-sex marriage in Australia provides the occasion to reconsider why it is that general cultural benefits are thought to devolve from coupled intimacy alone. Rather than dismiss the value of marriage, either st ....The couple: commitment and durability in the era of marriage equality. This project aims to examine the notion of the couple in the era of marriage equality. It is generally thought that couple longevity is an incontestable good socially, psychologically, and economically. The advent of same-sex marriage in Australia provides the occasion to reconsider why it is that general cultural benefits are thought to devolve from coupled intimacy alone. Rather than dismiss the value of marriage, either straight or gay, this project looks at an archive of contemporary representations in which the couple form presents as a public good, not a private good. This anthropological study tests the supposed connection between intimate companionship and collective thriving.Read moreRead less
Transnational selves: French narratives of migration to Australia. This project aims to examine texts authored by French-speaking migrants to Australia in order to explore how migrating subjects write their identity, how migrants represent the self between nations and between languages, and how Australia is viewed through the prism of another language. Expected outcomes to this project include enhanced knowledge of Australian literature, of practices of migrant writing, and of the construction ....Transnational selves: French narratives of migration to Australia. This project aims to examine texts authored by French-speaking migrants to Australia in order to explore how migrating subjects write their identity, how migrants represent the self between nations and between languages, and how Australia is viewed through the prism of another language. Expected outcomes to this project include enhanced knowledge of Australian literature, of practices of migrant writing, and of the construction of Australian identity. This will provide significant benefits, such as a wider understanding of the diversity of Australian literature, an increased awareness of literature in Languages Other Than English in Australia, and a more nuanced appreciation of Australian identity.Read moreRead less
Early modern women and the poetry of complaint, 1540-1660. This project aims to discover how early modern women used the widespread, powerful and diverse mode of complaint to voice expressions of protest and loss during the English Renaissance. The project will highlight women’s roles as writers, patrons and textual producers and consumers of the mode of complaint. The project expects to uncover how the imagined voices of the disempowered shaped the literary and political cultures of early moder ....Early modern women and the poetry of complaint, 1540-1660. This project aims to discover how early modern women used the widespread, powerful and diverse mode of complaint to voice expressions of protest and loss during the English Renaissance. The project will highlight women’s roles as writers, patrons and textual producers and consumers of the mode of complaint. The project expects to uncover how the imagined voices of the disempowered shaped the literary and political cultures of early modern England. Reconceptualising a mode in Renaissance literature will benefit Australia's standing at the forefront of research in early modern studies.Read moreRead less
World Crime Fiction: Making Sense of a Global Genre. This project aims to generate new knowledge about the worldwide popularity of crime fiction by analysing the genre’s engagement with the major global challenges of our time, from climate change to the crisis of democracy. Using data from scholars and fans across all continents, and employing an innovative comparative methodology, it seeks to produce a new framework for analysing the global practice of crime fiction. Outcomes include a deeper u ....World Crime Fiction: Making Sense of a Global Genre. This project aims to generate new knowledge about the worldwide popularity of crime fiction by analysing the genre’s engagement with the major global challenges of our time, from climate change to the crisis of democracy. Using data from scholars and fans across all continents, and employing an innovative comparative methodology, it seeks to produce a new framework for analysing the global practice of crime fiction. Outcomes include a deeper understanding of the capacities of crime fiction to explore the complex relationship between crime, law and justice in various settings. The project will benefit Australia by creating new insights into the unique contribution of Australian, including Indigenous, crime writers to this truly global genre.Read moreRead less
Investigating literary knowledge in the making of English teachers. This project aims to create new understanding of the role of literary knowledge within subject English. English education is mandated in Australian schooling; however, subject content as well as teachers’ knowledge and pedagogical approaches are highly contested, particularly regarding the teaching of literature. Using a national survey, focus group interviews and a longitudinal study, the project aims to provide new understandi ....Investigating literary knowledge in the making of English teachers. This project aims to create new understanding of the role of literary knowledge within subject English. English education is mandated in Australian schooling; however, subject content as well as teachers’ knowledge and pedagogical approaches are highly contested, particularly regarding the teaching of literature. Using a national survey, focus group interviews and a longitudinal study, the project aims to provide new understandings of the literary knowledge that early career teachers need, of the impact of curricula and professional practice on disciplinary knowledge, and about the operation of literary studies across school and university. Significantly, it plans to use ‘literary sociability’, an innovative methodology, to generate empirical and conceptual perspectives on literary studies in Australia that will be of value internationally.Read moreRead less
Broadening Choice and Increasing Diversity in Public Schools. Currently, most families are limited to the public school in their catchment area, meaning the area in which they can afford to live. This leads to socio-economically and ethnically homogenous schools and entrenches disadvantage, as well as denying students the crucial life lessons that flow from being part of a diverse student body. This project aims to investigate a model for allocating public school places that integrates catchment ....Broadening Choice and Increasing Diversity in Public Schools. Currently, most families are limited to the public school in their catchment area, meaning the area in which they can afford to live. This leads to socio-economically and ethnically homogenous schools and entrenches disadvantage, as well as denying students the crucial life lessons that flow from being part of a diverse student body. This project aims to investigate a model for allocating public school places that integrates catchment areas. The expected outcome would be a system that gives families a wider choice, enabling them to enrol in out-of-area schools, while ensuring that allocations remain fair, equitable and balanced, and also delivering benefits such as achieving a desired level of diversity in student populations within schoolsRead moreRead less