Promoting Whiteness: Race Science and the Making of the Middle-Class Woman in Australia, 1880-1940. Many Australians remain confused about precisely how race relations operated and were defined in the early twentieth century. Since, elite women were central actors in promoting racial ideologies, this study will provide the a broad insight into precisely how racial ideologies came to permeate white Australian society and their importance for both national and individual identity. Such insights ar ....Promoting Whiteness: Race Science and the Making of the Middle-Class Woman in Australia, 1880-1940. Many Australians remain confused about precisely how race relations operated and were defined in the early twentieth century. Since, elite women were central actors in promoting racial ideologies, this study will provide the a broad insight into precisely how racial ideologies came to permeate white Australian society and their importance for both national and individual identity. Such insights are of critical importance to understanding the impact of racial thought in the past, and its continuing effects, and thus for our ability to move beyond the current acrimonious debates over race within Australia and in within our region.Read moreRead less
Australia in the forefront of science: Australian contributions to "Big Science". Since 1788 Australia has been at the cutting edge in science. Geoscientists, including women, have initiated ideas and their contributions far outweigh the number of people involved. One period 1957 to 1970 saw upheavals in thinking centred on continental drift. This prompted a major Australia research effort to promote what became the International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP), which continues today. Do ....Australia in the forefront of science: Australian contributions to "Big Science". Since 1788 Australia has been at the cutting edge in science. Geoscientists, including women, have initiated ideas and their contributions far outweigh the number of people involved. One period 1957 to 1970 saw upheavals in thinking centred on continental drift. This prompted a major Australia research effort to promote what became the International Geological Correlation Programme (IGCP), which continues today. Does the recent trend for competetive priority-driven research always produce mind-boggling results in international journals or even good science or is grassroots-derived co-operative research like IGCP the way to conduct science and increase Australia's international profile? Examination of Australian contributions to IGCP will gauge scientific and economic benefits.Read moreRead less
European Naturalists and the Constitution of Human Difference in Oceania: Crosscultural Encounters and the Science of Race, 1768-1888. This research will promote better understanding of the historical antecedents to contemporary Australian regional interventions, relations with our neighbours and conceptions of racial or ethnic differences. It thus directly addresses current debates on the politics of history. The assumptions about regional differences which underpin current Australian attitudes ....European Naturalists and the Constitution of Human Difference in Oceania: Crosscultural Encounters and the Science of Race, 1768-1888. This research will promote better understanding of the historical antecedents to contemporary Australian regional interventions, relations with our neighbours and conceptions of racial or ethnic differences. It thus directly addresses current debates on the politics of history. The assumptions about regional differences which underpin current Australian attitudes and policies stem from much earlier debates on the racial histories and collective physical variations of Oceanian people and from beliefs about natural European dominance over indigenous populations. This project will produce an accessible history of the genesis of such ideas and demonstrate the historical embeddedness of Australia within the wider context of Oceania.Read moreRead less
Nature and Nation: Science, Environment and National Identity in Australia. Nature and Nation combines interviews and archival research to explore the intersection of three worlds in Australia:
· the natural world
· the scientific world that speaks for nature in settler society, and
· the cultural world that fosters and constrains science and other ways of knowing about nature.
The primary focus is the workings of science in northern Australia, where the frontier has never closed. The a ....Nature and Nation: Science, Environment and National Identity in Australia. Nature and Nation combines interviews and archival research to explore the intersection of three worlds in Australia:
· the natural world
· the scientific world that speaks for nature in settler society, and
· the cultural world that fosters and constrains science and other ways of knowing about nature.
The primary focus is the workings of science in northern Australia, where the frontier has never closed. The aim is to elucidate the past, present and future roles of environment and science in Australia's nation-building. Outcomes will include public lectures, journal articles and a major book for a general audience.
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Empowering Australia: Collecting and Interpreting the Material Culture of Australian Technology in New South Wales, 1880-1972. In Australian social history, the industrial museum occupies an important but largely forgotten place. Today, Sydney's exciting Powerhouse Museum is increasingly conscious of its legacy and lineage, dating from its creation as the Technological and Sanitary Museum of 1880. Nevertheless, much of the material culture of manufacture and innovation that lies in its collect ....Empowering Australia: Collecting and Interpreting the Material Culture of Australian Technology in New South Wales, 1880-1972. In Australian social history, the industrial museum occupies an important but largely forgotten place. Today, Sydney's exciting Powerhouse Museum is increasingly conscious of its legacy and lineage, dating from its creation as the Technological and Sanitary Museum of 1880. Nevertheless, much of the material culture of manufacture and innovation that lies in its collections remains uninterpreted and inaccessible to historians and the public. This project seeks to 'recover' the past of the Museum, and its role in Sydney's heritage of research, design and the applied arts; and to demonstrate the dynamic relevance of historical research to the Museum's present and forward plannning.Read moreRead less
Naming Oceania: geography, raciology and local knowledge in the 'fifth part of the world', 1511-1920. A history of the marriage of space and race in our region restores Australia to regional histories and wider Oceania to global histories. It offers a grounded basis to grasp how regional, national and local nomenclatures and identities mutated over 400 years, in contexts of European exploration, imperialism, colonisation, emergence of the science of race and intensifying face-to-face encounters. ....Naming Oceania: geography, raciology and local knowledge in the 'fifth part of the world', 1511-1920. A history of the marriage of space and race in our region restores Australia to regional histories and wider Oceania to global histories. It offers a grounded basis to grasp how regional, national and local nomenclatures and identities mutated over 400 years, in contexts of European exploration, imperialism, colonisation, emergence of the science of race and intensifying face-to-face encounters. By uncovering traces of past naming systems, Indigenous and foreign, the research will show how present names and boundaries of states, places and people are constructs rather than eternal truths. It will cast light on the antecedents to modern Australian regional interventions, neighbourly relations and conceptions of racial or ethnic differences.Read moreRead less
A study of the public understanding of the Great Barrier Reef and its sustainable use. As a national icon, the survival of the Great Barrier Reef is of consequence to all Australians. As pressures on the Reef increase, it is imperative that the cultural heritage and social value of the Reef be recognised, understood, and mobilised to facilitate efforts to preserve the Reef for future generations. Reaching and informing broad and varied audiences in a range of communities, this project encourages ....A study of the public understanding of the Great Barrier Reef and its sustainable use. As a national icon, the survival of the Great Barrier Reef is of consequence to all Australians. As pressures on the Reef increase, it is imperative that the cultural heritage and social value of the Reef be recognised, understood, and mobilised to facilitate efforts to preserve the Reef for future generations. Reaching and informing broad and varied audiences in a range of communities, this project encourages a much wider appreciation of the value and importance of the Reef to Australian culture, and thus provides an important capacity-building step in realising the long-term social goal of sustainable use of the Reef's unique biodiversityRead moreRead less
Droughts and Flooding Rains: El Nino and La Nina Events in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific 1865 - 1903. Historically in Australia and Oceania, droughts and flooding rains have been considered an aberration, but understanding is now emerging that they result from El Nino and La Nina episodes and should be perceived as and planned for as irregular but natural phenomena. This study will expand our knowledge and comprehension of their influence on environments, economies, cultures and n ....Droughts and Flooding Rains: El Nino and La Nina Events in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific 1865 - 1903. Historically in Australia and Oceania, droughts and flooding rains have been considered an aberration, but understanding is now emerging that they result from El Nino and La Nina episodes and should be perceived as and planned for as irregular but natural phenomena. This study will expand our knowledge and comprehension of their influence on environments, economies, cultures and national thinking in our human and environmental history in Australia and the South Pacific, thereby facilitating more appropriate attitudes and a better capacity to plan for and live within environmental realities.Read moreRead less
Rethinking timelines: a new methodology for describing and communicating history. The project will lead to better ways of understanding historical events in context through active engagement of learners in the construction of timeline visualisations. It will contribute to the development of better strategies for collaborative content creation and quality control in web-based community resources, and facilitate creation of significant online collaborative databases by communities of interest, wit ....Rethinking timelines: a new methodology for describing and communicating history. The project will lead to better ways of understanding historical events in context through active engagement of learners in the construction of timeline visualisations. It will contribute to the development of better strategies for collaborative content creation and quality control in web-based community resources, and facilitate creation of significant online collaborative databases by communities of interest, without the technical requirements and costs of one-off programming. It will add value to Australian online resources such as MacquarieNet, contribute to new methods of information visualisation in Australian museums and visitor centres, and generate national and international consultancies for the project partners.Read moreRead less
Producing Biodiversity: A History of Science in Australia's Desert Lands. Biodiversity conservation is regarded by most people as desirable, but its historical and cultural aspects are poorly understood. It is not just about scientific understanding of animals and plants, but also a matter of practice and negotiation. People and places are changed through conservation and these changes in turn shape the ways nature is imagined and managed. Producing Biodiversity documents historical and contempo ....Producing Biodiversity: A History of Science in Australia's Desert Lands. Biodiversity conservation is regarded by most people as desirable, but its historical and cultural aspects are poorly understood. It is not just about scientific understanding of animals and plants, but also a matter of practice and negotiation. People and places are changed through conservation and these changes in turn shape the ways nature is imagined and managed. Producing Biodiversity documents historical and contemporary initiatives in biodiversity management on six very different pastoral properties on the margins of the Australian desert. We provide a long-term perspective on national and local conservation imperatives in different eras, and explore how they affect pastoral, Aboriginal and scientific communities.Read moreRead less