Past Tense: 'acts of memory' in contemporary Australian memoir. This project examines the turn to autobiographic expression - particularly fragmentary forms of memoir - by the intelligentsia in Australia in the fin de siecle of the twentieth century. Why and how did these styles of writing proliferate? How did they shape ideas and express uncertainties about national identity and citizenship during a phase of national commemoration, self-consciousness, jubilation and unease? In a monograph, 'Pa ....Past Tense: 'acts of memory' in contemporary Australian memoir. This project examines the turn to autobiographic expression - particularly fragmentary forms of memoir - by the intelligentsia in Australia in the fin de siecle of the twentieth century. Why and how did these styles of writing proliferate? How did they shape ideas and express uncertainties about national identity and citizenship during a phase of national commemoration, self-consciousness, jubilation and unease? In a monograph, 'Past Tense', and a series of articles and conference presentations these questions will be considered using a comparative, cross cultural approach which will make a contribution to understanding identity debates in contemporary Australian society.
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The Cultural Impact of Irregular Marriage in the Age of British Colonialism, 1660-c.1860. Marriage has always been central to our understanding of relations between literature, society and culture. This project significantly revises that understanding by focussing on the irregular marriage practices which thrived in Britain and its colonies from 1660 to c.1860. It demonstrates, for instance, how the novel genre became respectable partly by marginalising irregular marriages; how Gretna Green we ....The Cultural Impact of Irregular Marriage in the Age of British Colonialism, 1660-c.1860. Marriage has always been central to our understanding of relations between literature, society and culture. This project significantly revises that understanding by focussing on the irregular marriage practices which thrived in Britain and its colonies from 1660 to c.1860. It demonstrates, for instance, how the novel genre became respectable partly by marginalising irregular marriages; how Gretna Green weddings came to typify modern romance in drama and fiction; and how marriage regulations underpinned literary portrayals of civil society in the Australian penal colony. It will deliver a groundbreaking monograph which accounts for marriage's role in modern literary culture in new terms.Read moreRead less
The Making of the Australian Middlebrow: Nationalism, Modernity and Middlebrow Culture in Australia. This project aims to investigate the history of middlebrow cultural values and institutions in 20th-century Australia. It will be the first such study, and will build on recent major international work on the middlebrow. Reading Australian cultural history through the concept of the middlebrow will revise familar assumptions about literature, nationalism and modernity in Australia. The study will ....The Making of the Australian Middlebrow: Nationalism, Modernity and Middlebrow Culture in Australia. This project aims to investigate the history of middlebrow cultural values and institutions in 20th-century Australia. It will be the first such study, and will build on recent major international work on the middlebrow. Reading Australian cultural history through the concept of the middlebrow will revise familar assumptions about literature, nationalism and modernity in Australia. The study will examine the rich archive of Australian magazines, newspaper review pages, writer and reader associations and publishing records. It will engage theoretically with contemporary theories of popular culture and modernity. The outcome will be a monograph on middlebrow culture in Australia.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200521
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$290,606.00
Summary
Read all about it: Digital participation in Australian newspaper fiction. The Project aims to transform understandings of Australian literary history by using innovative digital methods to discover, curate and investigate tens of thousands of unrecorded novels, novellas and short stories in 20th-century Australian newspapers. It intends to advance national research capacity by facilitating collaboration, providing research training and making a substantial contribution to open-access, sustainabl ....Read all about it: Digital participation in Australian newspaper fiction. The Project aims to transform understandings of Australian literary history by using innovative digital methods to discover, curate and investigate tens of thousands of unrecorded novels, novellas and short stories in 20th-century Australian newspapers. It intends to advance national research capacity by facilitating collaboration, providing research training and making a substantial contribution to open-access, sustainable digital infrastructure for Australian literary studies. Expected outcomes include a new history of Australian literature and new model for participatory literary history. The Project's benefits should include expanding the National Library of Australia's records and promoting public engagement with Australian literature.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989090
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
AustLit Phase Three: Transforming the Study of Australian Literature through a Collaborative eResearch Environment. AustLit's information and research services reach into virtually all avenues of Australian society. From the high level professor of English or Australian Studies to the student accessing the internet at an Indigenous knowledge centre in outback Queensland or the NT, AustLit provides both basic and complex information and research support to every enquirer. The proposed expansion i ....AustLit Phase Three: Transforming the Study of Australian Literature through a Collaborative eResearch Environment. AustLit's information and research services reach into virtually all avenues of Australian society. From the high level professor of English or Australian Studies to the student accessing the internet at an Indigenous knowledge centre in outback Queensland or the NT, AustLit provides both basic and complex information and research support to every enquirer. The proposed expansion in 2009 will enhance its value to many Australian communities by providing advanced capacities for research and greater levels of high quality information and full text content. Its multi-dimensional approach to the services it delivers ensures that it will continue to build value to the whole community over time.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882507
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
AustLit Phase Two: Research Infrastructure for Humanities and Education Researchers. The benefits of delivering a fully mature research and information facility to the education and research sectors and the general public will accrue over time by providing discovery and analysis opportunities to large numbers of enquirers. The capacity to reveal the wealth and diversity of a nation's cultural activities across its history is an inherent good and the resulting research activities will encourage a ....AustLit Phase Two: Research Infrastructure for Humanities and Education Researchers. The benefits of delivering a fully mature research and information facility to the education and research sectors and the general public will accrue over time by providing discovery and analysis opportunities to large numbers of enquirers. The capacity to reveal the wealth and diversity of a nation's cultural activities across its history is an inherent good and the resulting research activities will encourage a greater engagement with Australia's literary culture of the present and the past.Read moreRead less
Genre worlds: Australian popular fiction in the 21st century. This project intends to conduct a systematic examination of 21st-century Australian popular fiction, the most significant growth area in Australian trade publishing since the turn of the century. Its three areas of investigation are the publishing of Australian popular fiction; the interrelationships between Australian popular fiction and Australian genre communities; and the textual distinctiveness of Australian popular novels in rel ....Genre worlds: Australian popular fiction in the 21st century. This project intends to conduct a systematic examination of 21st-century Australian popular fiction, the most significant growth area in Australian trade publishing since the turn of the century. Its three areas of investigation are the publishing of Australian popular fiction; the interrelationships between Australian popular fiction and Australian genre communities; and the textual distinctiveness of Australian popular novels in relation to genre. Research is designed to centre on 30 novels across three genres, building a comprehensive picture of the practices and processes of Australian popular fiction through detailed examination of trade data, close reading of texts, and interviews with industry figures.Read moreRead less