A difficult marriage: gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification. This project focuses on the interrelationships between gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification. Through an exploration of how the political ?marriage? between East and West Germany, with its conventionalised gender roles, is mapped onto literary marriages, the project examines the challenges and opportunities that unification has afforded men and women. It will y ....A difficult marriage: gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification. This project focuses on the interrelationships between gender, politics and the romance in literary accounts of German unification. Through an exploration of how the political ?marriage? between East and West Germany, with its conventionalised gender roles, is mapped onto literary marriages, the project examines the challenges and opportunities that unification has afforded men and women. It will yield insights into the ways in which unification has rewritten the scripts for femininity and masculinity and forced a transformation of intimacy. Its findings will enhance knowledge of gender relations in post-communist Europe and the relationships between gender, the nation and modernity.Read moreRead less
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
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
The Impact of Globalisation in Transforming Sexuality and Cultural Citizenship in Transnational Chinese Cultures: A Comparative Analysis. This project analyses the impact of globalisation and the rapidly increasing use of new media in transforming gender and sexual identities in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. New forms of cultural citizenship are emerging in these Chinese societies, and alongside them new modes of sexuality. Specifically, the project examines changing conc ....The Impact of Globalisation in Transforming Sexuality and Cultural Citizenship in Transnational Chinese Cultures: A Comparative Analysis. This project analyses the impact of globalisation and the rapidly increasing use of new media in transforming gender and sexual identities in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. New forms of cultural citizenship are emerging in these Chinese societies, and alongside them new modes of sexuality. Specifically, the project examines changing conceptions of femininity seen in representations of lesbian identity in fiction, film, television, popular music, manga comics, and the Internet. The project will provide the first comparative, scholarly analysis of this transformation, and will help us understand its broader implications for the region as a whole.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
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.
The Dissemination and Control of Clandestine Writing in England 1695--1774. The literary underworld of the eighteenth century is the subject of serious academic pursuit internationally by literary historians, historians of sex and sexuality, philosophers and feminists. Australia's reputation will be enhanced by participating in this rapidly evolving field. Australia already has an internationally significant profile in bibliography and eighteenth-century literary studies due to a combination o ....The Dissemination and Control of Clandestine Writing in England 1695--1774. The literary underworld of the eighteenth century is the subject of serious academic pursuit internationally by literary historians, historians of sex and sexuality, philosophers and feminists. Australia's reputation will be enhanced by participating in this rapidly evolving field. Australia already has an internationally significant profile in bibliography and eighteenth-century literary studies due to a combination of outstanding scholars and resources. This project will enhance Australian strength in, and contribution to, the world-wide study of these two subjects. This study will also be informed by, and contribute to, the contemporary philosophical, religious and ethical debate concerning the distribution of contentious material.Read 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.
Circus Aerialists: Bodies, Gender and National Identity. This research will produce the first critical study of circus aerial performance 1860 to 1990. It asks what the impact of this performance is on social beliefs about bodies. How has gender and national identity been presented in aerial acts? The research promotes the legendary Australian performers who have been among our most famous cultural exports, and yet remain neglected in Australia. Were circus athletes predecessors of sports athlet ....Circus Aerialists: Bodies, Gender and National Identity. This research will produce the first critical study of circus aerial performance 1860 to 1990. It asks what the impact of this performance is on social beliefs about bodies. How has gender and national identity been presented in aerial acts? The research promotes the legendary Australian performers who have been among our most famous cultural exports, and yet remain neglected in Australia. Were circus athletes predecessors of sports athletes? Increasing numbers of professional aerialists work in circus' multimillion dollar arts industry, which makes this specialised study, archive and book overdue. It is new knowledge that expands Australia's research base.Read moreRead less