Performing authorship in the digital literary sphere. This project undertakes the first detailed analysis of literary authorship in the digital era to understand how networked communication technologies have made authorship both more accessible and more elite than ever before. Research findings will be disseminated internationally throughout the project via an interactive weblog open to the public.
Books as Media: The Cultural Economy of Literary Adaptation. The project will benefit three key Australian communities: (1) researchers; (2) cultural creators; and (3) cultural policy-makers. (1) The project builds upon Australia's existing research excellence in Media and Cultural Studies and cross-blends this with emerging research strengths in publishing studies and book history. (2) Australian authors, publishers and screen producers who seek access and exposure to international audiences wi ....Books as Media: The Cultural Economy of Literary Adaptation. The project will benefit three key Australian communities: (1) researchers; (2) cultural creators; and (3) cultural policy-makers. (1) The project builds upon Australia's existing research excellence in Media and Cultural Studies and cross-blends this with emerging research strengths in publishing studies and book history. (2) Australian authors, publishers and screen producers who seek access and exposure to international audiences will gain a detailed understanding of how adaptation's global economy functions. (3) The project informs Australia's cultural policy framework by focusing on enhanced marketing and promotion of Australian cultural content rather than input assistance schemes.Read moreRead less
Digital dissent in the People's Republic: the language of protest and criticism in Sino-cyberspace. As Australia's relations with China continue to deepen, it is vital for Australia to acquire in-depth knowledge of how rapidly China is changing as a consequence of digital information flows. The project provides that knowledge through its analysis of digital dissent. The project explores how non-state players in the People's Republic respond and react to urgent problems in their midst. It will ....Digital dissent in the People's Republic: the language of protest and criticism in Sino-cyberspace. As Australia's relations with China continue to deepen, it is vital for Australia to acquire in-depth knowledge of how rapidly China is changing as a consequence of digital information flows. The project provides that knowledge through its analysis of digital dissent. The project explores how non-state players in the People's Republic respond and react to urgent problems in their midst. It will also shed light on present-day tensions in China between state and civil society. More specifically, the project will deepen Australia's critical engagement with China by focussing on such issues of consequence as censorship, corruption, environmental pollution, governance reform and calls for democracy and human rights.Read moreRead less
Transforming the early modern archive: the Emmerson Collection at SLV. In 2015, State Library Victoria (SLV) received the bequest of the Emmerson Collection: a national treasure of over 5000 early modern rare books and manuscripts, the first and only early modern archive of scale to be held by an Australian institution. Bringing together experts in early modern studies and the digital humanities with specialist library staff, this project will uncover the contents and scope of the collection and ....Transforming the early modern archive: the Emmerson Collection at SLV. In 2015, State Library Victoria (SLV) received the bequest of the Emmerson Collection: a national treasure of over 5000 early modern rare books and manuscripts, the first and only early modern archive of scale to be held by an Australian institution. Bringing together experts in early modern studies and the digital humanities with specialist library staff, this project will uncover the contents and scope of the collection and promote its international scholarly significance to the wider world. In doing so, it will develop new digital tools designed to unlock the value of this unique public resource for a wide range of end-users.Read moreRead less
Print Manager: Jonathan Swift and Anglo-Irish Print Culture 1680-1750. In Swift studies Australia has both a leading position and a key group of internationally recognised scholars (David Woolley at Perth, Harold Love at Monash, Ian Higgins at ANU , Robert Phiddian at Flinders, myself at Monash). Monash also has the internationally significant Swift Collection of manuscripts, books and associated material, all of the digital databases and microfilms, and is the leading centre for Swift research ....Print Manager: Jonathan Swift and Anglo-Irish Print Culture 1680-1750. In Swift studies Australia has both a leading position and a key group of internationally recognised scholars (David Woolley at Perth, Harold Love at Monash, Ian Higgins at ANU , Robert Phiddian at Flinders, myself at Monash). Monash also has the internationally significant Swift Collection of manuscripts, books and associated material, all of the digital databases and microfilms, and is the leading centre for Swift research and eighteenth-century literary research in Australia. This project will enhance Australian strength in and contribution to the world-wide study of Swift and his work, deepen Australian awareness of its Anglo-Irish colonial heritage, and reveal new dimensions to its Irish-Australian heritage. Read moreRead less
Becoming Australians, or Unbecoming Colonials? Australians in British Journalism, 1892-1902. This project will analyse the influence of Australian writers in British journalistic representations/discussions of Australia in the years which produced a federated Australia, and the British Commonwealth. Through detailed study of several 'Australian' journalists working in London, and their social and institutional contexts, it will trace some of the forces at work to define and represent relations ....Becoming Australians, or Unbecoming Colonials? Australians in British Journalism, 1892-1902. This project will analyse the influence of Australian writers in British journalistic representations/discussions of Australia in the years which produced a federated Australia, and the British Commonwealth. Through detailed study of several 'Australian' journalists working in London, and their social and institutional contexts, it will trace some of the forces at work to define and represent relations between Britain and AustraliaRead moreRead less
The importance of the fictional character in literary theory and cultural practice. This project is a theoretical research project which aims to make significant and innovative contributions to research excellence in literature and the history of ideas. This research focuses on the fictional character, one of the central categories of literary theory. The benefits flowing from it will primarily be an enhanced understanding of the workings and the history of a category that informs every domain o ....The importance of the fictional character in literary theory and cultural practice. This project is a theoretical research project which aims to make significant and innovative contributions to research excellence in literature and the history of ideas. This research focuses on the fictional character, one of the central categories of literary theory. The benefits flowing from it will primarily be an enhanced understanding of the workings and the history of a category that informs every domain of cultural practice.Read moreRead less
Transformative Utopianism: Contemporary Children's Literature Responding to Changing World Orders from Glasnost to 11 September, 2001. Political and cultural instabilities and conflicts from 1990 to the present have profoundly affected children's literature. Works of fiction in particular have deployed utopian and dystopian tropes to project possible futures to their implied readers. The project uses the concept of 'transformative utopianism' to suggest that these tropes do important social, cul ....Transformative Utopianism: Contemporary Children's Literature Responding to Changing World Orders from Glasnost to 11 September, 2001. Political and cultural instabilities and conflicts from 1990 to the present have profoundly affected children's literature. Works of fiction in particular have deployed utopian and dystopian tropes to project possible futures to their implied readers. The project uses the concept of 'transformative utopianism' to suggest that these tropes do important social, cultural and political work by challenging and reformulating ideas about power and identity, community, the body, spatio-temporal change, and ecology. In this way the project draws together multiple theoretical interpretations of texts to demonstrate the responsiveness of children's literature to broader ideological, social, theoretical and pedagogical contexts.Read moreRead less
Vietnamese Women: Voices and Narratives of the Diaspora. Migration and multiculturalism are hotly debated issues in Australia today. Engagement with Asia being one of the 3 pillars of Australian national security, it is all the more vital to conduct research on how Asian migrants have successfully integrated into Australian society. The Vietnamese overcame early difficulties to settle successfully here. Women played a major part in this. Their story is a tribute both to their determination to ad ....Vietnamese Women: Voices and Narratives of the Diaspora. Migration and multiculturalism are hotly debated issues in Australia today. Engagement with Asia being one of the 3 pillars of Australian national security, it is all the more vital to conduct research on how Asian migrants have successfully integrated into Australian society. The Vietnamese overcame early difficulties to settle successfully here. Women played a major part in this. Their story is a tribute both to their determination to adapt to a new land and to Australia's willingness to accept new arrivals. This study will help address national and gender stereotypes, assist in fostering positive community relations, provide a deeper understanding of a significant refugee group, and contribute to strengthening Australia's social fabric.Read moreRead less
Anglophone Caribbean (auto)biography, plantation slavery, and the traffic of colonial reform and modernisation 1807-1834. The project, the preliminary work for which has already received major international recognition, will significantly enhance the international profile of Australian scholarship in postcolonial studies, nineteenth-century studies, and the history of feminism. It will consolidate Australia's considerable reputation for fine scholarship on the cultural history of slavery and its ....Anglophone Caribbean (auto)biography, plantation slavery, and the traffic of colonial reform and modernisation 1807-1834. The project, the preliminary work for which has already received major international recognition, will significantly enhance the international profile of Australian scholarship in postcolonial studies, nineteenth-century studies, and the history of feminism. It will consolidate Australia's considerable reputation for fine scholarship on the cultural history of slavery and its abolition, and at a time of reinvigorated debate in the field. Within the discipline of English the project will challenge scholars to think more creatively and enterprisingly about the nature and scope of extant archival sources and the necessity of close historical research in interpreting them. Read moreRead less