Witnesses to War: Australian War Correspondents from the Boer to the Gulf War. This national project will be the first study to examine the collective history of Australian journalists and photojournalists who have covered major wars and international conflicts from the Boer War to the 'war on terror'. It will be a timely and path breaking contribution to history, offering a new understanding of key issues including the journalists' experiences; the discourses that defined Australian national id ....Witnesses to War: Australian War Correspondents from the Boer to the Gulf War. This national project will be the first study to examine the collective history of Australian journalists and photojournalists who have covered major wars and international conflicts from the Boer War to the 'war on terror'. It will be a timely and path breaking contribution to history, offering a new understanding of key issues including the journalists' experiences; the discourses that defined Australian national identity; truth and mythmaking; war correspondents' influence on public commemoration and how they shaped attitudes to war, allies, enemies and race; how reporting changed; and the role of political and military censorship. Read moreRead less
Conviction Politics: the convict routes of Australian democracy. This transnational digital history project aims to demonstrate the importance of collective convict protest to the early development of democracy in colonial Australia. It generates new knowledge about Australian convict history, documenting for the first time the extent and character of convict activism 1788-1850 and offers fresh perspectives on the role of ‘political’ transportees in the mobilisation of the wider convict and free ....Conviction Politics: the convict routes of Australian democracy. This transnational digital history project aims to demonstrate the importance of collective convict protest to the early development of democracy in colonial Australia. It generates new knowledge about Australian convict history, documenting for the first time the extent and character of convict activism 1788-1850 and offers fresh perspectives on the role of ‘political’ transportees in the mobilisation of the wider convict and free population for reform. Expected project outcomes include building international and interdisciplinary HASS/STEM/industry collaborations in digital methods for archive research and communication, delivering significant benefits, notably innovative media ensuring impact with domestic and international audiences.Read moreRead less
A multi-media history of the Westrail Workshops at Midland. The project will produce histories in two formats, a book and a CD-ROM featuring a virtual walk-through of the Workshops. These outcomes will reflect a variety of views and concepts of the Workshops and the community, gathered from the interviews, photographs, documentary and ephemeral material of past employees of the Workshops (collected from 1998-2001). This material will have a wide range of applications including scholarly resear ....A multi-media history of the Westrail Workshops at Midland. The project will produce histories in two formats, a book and a CD-ROM featuring a virtual walk-through of the Workshops. These outcomes will reflect a variety of views and concepts of the Workshops and the community, gathered from the interviews, photographs, documentary and ephemeral material of past employees of the Workshops (collected from 1998-2001). This material will have a wide range of applications including scholarly research, educational material, and public information and will assist in the interpretation and re-development of the Workshops site. The project will be a significant and innovative approach to history writing.Read moreRead less
A History of Public Conversation in the USA. The quality of public conversation is a subject of continuing concern in Australia as in the US. This study of the history of public conversation in the US will offer a longer historical perspective on current political and social concerns about declining social capital and civility in public discourse. Americans have always sought more and better public discussion, but for quite different reasons at different times. The research will illuminate the v ....A History of Public Conversation in the USA. The quality of public conversation is a subject of continuing concern in Australia as in the US. This study of the history of public conversation in the US will offer a longer historical perspective on current political and social concerns about declining social capital and civility in public discourse. Americans have always sought more and better public discussion, but for quite different reasons at different times. The research will illuminate the very rich history of public conversation in the US and shed some comparative light on Australian conditions.Read moreRead less
A history of press photography in Australia. Press photography has long influenced how Australians have understood themselves and their world. In collaboration with the National Library of Australia and the Walkley Foundation, the project explores the evolving role of photographs in breaking news, and historical shifts in photographic technologies, media practices and ethics.
Unfit to print: A history and analysis of press power in Australia. For over eighty years, there have been accusations that newspapers strongly influence Australian politics and policy-making. But newspapers are also accused of masking their influence and failing to cover themselves with the same vigour they cover other industries. How do newspapers report on themselves and policies affecting their interests? This project will examine the controversial issue of press power by mapping a history o ....Unfit to print: A history and analysis of press power in Australia. For over eighty years, there have been accusations that newspapers strongly influence Australian politics and policy-making. But newspapers are also accused of masking their influence and failing to cover themselves with the same vigour they cover other industries. How do newspapers report on themselves and policies affecting their interests? This project will examine the controversial issue of press power by mapping a history of newspaper influence on media policy-making from 1927-2012. It will combine archival research, content analysis of newspapers and interviews with former politicians and newsworkers to examine not just how newspapers exercise power but also how they represent their power to politicians and the public. Read moreRead less
The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively n ....The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively national iconography and voice, and examine the complex interactions between industrial/economic forces and artistic vision. Its principal outcome will be a book that should add significantly to our knowledge of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia, and to continuing debates in the arts.Read moreRead less
Communication networks in Upper Egyptian monastic communities in the 6th to 8th centuries CE. This project will enhance Australia's hard-earned profile in the field of early Christianity in its Late classical context, contextualising Coptic studies within this wider field, and promoting internationally the quality of local research into early Christianity, Late Antique Egypt, and papyrology. It enables an understanding of the processes which stand behind the communication networks of the modern ....Communication networks in Upper Egyptian monastic communities in the 6th to 8th centuries CE. This project will enhance Australia's hard-earned profile in the field of early Christianity in its Late classical context, contextualising Coptic studies within this wider field, and promoting internationally the quality of local research into early Christianity, Late Antique Egypt, and papyrology. It enables an understanding of the processes which stand behind the communication networks of the modern world. It directly contributes to the preservation of the culture of Australia's own Coptic community, facilitating access to its cultural heritage, and provides a research focus to complement Macquarie's new commitment to the teaching of the Coptic language and history.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200066
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$258,908.00
Summary
Parched: cultures of drought in regional Victoria. Drought is a recurrent feature of Australian climate and a formative influence on Australian history, culture and identity. The project aims to generate new knowledge about the cultures of drought: the changing ways Victorians have lived with, imagined, understood and represented drought. Using an innovative environmental humanities approach, it will link cultural and media practices with climate histories to establish a new interdisciplinary mo ....Parched: cultures of drought in regional Victoria. Drought is a recurrent feature of Australian climate and a formative influence on Australian history, culture and identity. The project aims to generate new knowledge about the cultures of drought: the changing ways Victorians have lived with, imagined, understood and represented drought. Using an innovative environmental humanities approach, it will link cultural and media practices with climate histories to establish a new interdisciplinary model of drought cultures. Expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of the cultural legacies of drought and their impacts on current environmental practice and policy. Benefits should include identifying new resources for cultural and social resilience for future periods of water scarcity.Read moreRead less
Globalising the magic system: a history of advertising industry practices in Australia 1959-1989. Some 40,000 Australians are employed in advertising or related industries. But who are they and how do they come up with the campaigns we see on television? Given the impact of globalisation on the industry, exactly how Australian is the Australian advertising industry.