Women and self-development in French history; implications for Australian women's experience. Our culture values individualism for all but assigns women more responsibility than men for caring for others. Women are caught in a double bind between two conflicting roles, self-development and self-sacrifice. We seek to historicise the development of the self for women in nineteenth-century France, a period which has had an immense impact on contemporary gender roles and the way we understand the ge ....Women and self-development in French history; implications for Australian women's experience. Our culture values individualism for all but assigns women more responsibility than men for caring for others. Women are caught in a double bind between two conflicting roles, self-development and self-sacrifice. We seek to historicise the development of the self for women in nineteenth-century France, a period which has had an immense impact on contemporary gender roles and the way we understand the gendered self today. We will produce an international comparative history of women's self-hood which demonstrates its importance for women today.Read moreRead less
La Bella Liberta: Women, Freedom and the History of Italy c1800-1940. By exploring the intersection between Italy and the lives of some
prominent educated British women in the 19th and early 20th centuries
this project offers innovative approaches to British history, to
biography and to cultural history. By analysing the connection these
women drew between their own desire for personal emancipation and
Italian political developments and exploring their active interest in
the history, ....La Bella Liberta: Women, Freedom and the History of Italy c1800-1940. By exploring the intersection between Italy and the lives of some
prominent educated British women in the 19th and early 20th centuries
this project offers innovative approaches to British history, to
biography and to cultural history. By analysing the connection these
women drew between their own desire for personal emancipation and
Italian political developments and exploring their active interest in
the history, culture, and politics of Italy this research will offer
new insights into changing constructions of Italy, the intellectual
life of the expatriate world there and the important role women played
in representing Italy in the Anglophone world.
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Gender, power and identity in the early modern Nassau family. Our family identities shape our experiences of relationships, support structures, and interactions in broader communities around us but how do gender and power relationships affect expressions of family identities? Our project uses a case study of the early modern Nassau-Orange family, whose extensive and diverse sources include letters, art, architectural precincts, naming patterns, and even colonial endeavours. The word and colour o ....Gender, power and identity in the early modern Nassau family. Our family identities shape our experiences of relationships, support structures, and interactions in broader communities around us but how do gender and power relationships affect expressions of family identities? Our project uses a case study of the early modern Nassau-Orange family, whose extensive and diverse sources include letters, art, architectural precincts, naming patterns, and even colonial endeavours. The word and colour orange today symbolise Protestantism and the Dutch worldwide as a result of this pivotal family's self-presentation in the early modern period. We will produce monographs, PhD thesis, and research training in an international humanities team led by Australian researchers. Read moreRead less
Mapping Matrons: Women's Cultural Patronage Networks in Seventeenth Century Northern Italy: from Maria Cristina of Savoy to Vittoria della Rovere. This project adds an important historical dimension to contemporary debates concerning social capital and female leadership. It retrieves women's significant public engagement and community building in the realm of public taste. Historical precedents show how female networks and agency contribute to the community and public sector. Women's networks of ....Mapping Matrons: Women's Cultural Patronage Networks in Seventeenth Century Northern Italy: from Maria Cristina of Savoy to Vittoria della Rovere. This project adds an important historical dimension to contemporary debates concerning social capital and female leadership. It retrieves women's significant public engagement and community building in the realm of public taste. Historical precedents show how female networks and agency contribute to the community and public sector. Women's networks of taste shaped human creativity then...and now. This study will illuminate how our culture (and democracy) emerged in gendered networks of cultural exchange. The project also contributes to Australia's international reputation for high-quality scholarship on early modern Europe, and adds another dimension to cultural and gender studies in this country. Read moreRead less
Peace, Politics and Love: Christine de Pizan and the political thought of medieval women. The project aims to translate into English Christine de Pizan's 1412-14 work Le Livre de la Paix and to provide it with a scholarly introduction discussing the context of its production, its relationship to the political thought of other medieval political thinkers (both women and men) and its relevance for contemporary feminist political thought. It also aims to produce an edited volume of essays on de Piz ....Peace, Politics and Love: Christine de Pizan and the political thought of medieval women. The project aims to translate into English Christine de Pizan's 1412-14 work Le Livre de la Paix and to provide it with a scholarly introduction discussing the context of its production, its relationship to the political thought of other medieval political thinkers (both women and men) and its relevance for contemporary feminist political thought. It also aims to produce an edited volume of essays on de Pizan as a political thinker. The project will both illuminate an unjustly neglected political theorist and make available to English audiences a better appreciation of women's distinctive contribution to political theoryRead moreRead less
A History of Women's Political Thought in Europe 1700-1800. This research will contribute to Australia's reputation for innovative scholarship on women and feminism and foster the development of models of active female citizenship and political participation by deepening our knowledge and understanding of the contribution that women made to political philosophy in the pre-revolutionary period.
Regulating Morals in Modern Japan. The project will examine the contestation over modernity in early twentieth century Japan as revealed in heightened attempts to regulate public morals. Focus on regulation of morals shifts the traditional emphasis on foreign, military developments to domestic social change to explain the repressive, expansionist state of the 1930s. Investigation of the everyday makes concrete the meaning and experience of modernity in interwar Japan. Examining the role of middl ....Regulating Morals in Modern Japan. The project will examine the contestation over modernity in early twentieth century Japan as revealed in heightened attempts to regulate public morals. Focus on regulation of morals shifts the traditional emphasis on foreign, military developments to domestic social change to explain the repressive, expansionist state of the 1930s. Investigation of the everyday makes concrete the meaning and experience of modernity in interwar Japan. Examining the role of middle class activists adds a dimension to the debates over the consequences of modernization.Read moreRead less
Imperialism, reform and the making of Englishness in Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë is usually thought to be imprecise about the time period of Jane Eyre. Working from a close chronology established from Brontë's historical allusions to West Indian slave rebellions, I propose to write a pioneering book about the novel and aspects of its reception, situating them and Brontë's juvenilia in relation to axes of reform politics in Britain in the 1820s and 1830s. I draw on innovative primary research on ....Imperialism, reform and the making of Englishness in Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë is usually thought to be imprecise about the time period of Jane Eyre. Working from a close chronology established from Brontë's historical allusions to West Indian slave rebellions, I propose to write a pioneering book about the novel and aspects of its reception, situating them and Brontë's juvenilia in relation to axes of reform politics in Britain in the 1820s and 1830s. I draw on innovative primary research on the articulation of gender, empire and Englishness in relation to these axes and address the implications of Brontë's invocation in 1847 of an earlier reform complex.Read moreRead less
Sexual Technologies and Reproductive Powers. The project is to investigate the impact of the new reproductive technologies on the concepts of the sexual relation. The derivation of concepts of sexual equality, and their relation and dependence on technology will be examined. Using the theoretical perspectives of European philosophy, in conjunction with contemporary feminist philosophy, the direction of change in concepts will be investigated.
Masculinity, men and development: A critical analysis of violence, conflict and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention measures in Melanesia. Australia is making great efforts to improve the situation in the Melanesian countries of our region through large amounts of development aid. Despite this, economic and social conditions continue to deteriorate. Widespread conflict, violence and the AIDS epidemic are significant factors in this decline. This project will critically examine ....Masculinity, men and development: A critical analysis of violence, conflict and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention measures in Melanesia. Australia is making great efforts to improve the situation in the Melanesian countries of our region through large amounts of development aid. Despite this, economic and social conditions continue to deteriorate. Widespread conflict, violence and the AIDS epidemic are significant factors in this decline. This project will critically examine the programs set up to encourage more constructive behaviour, particularly among men. It will contribute significantly to making Australia's efforts to address these profoundly destabilising problems more effective. The Australian Government recognises that it is strongly in our national interest to bring about an improvement in the wellbeing of our neighbours and friends in the region.Read moreRead less