A textual and critical study of Charlotte Brontë. This project aims to reinterpret Charlotte Brontë’s original novels, which are stranger, more unsettling, and more artistically and socially challenging than the available editions lead readers to believe. This strangeness, so apparent in her manuscripts, is moderated in all print versions of the novels because Brontë’s punctuation was radically altered by the printers who altered them for the first editions, with profound effects on the novels a ....A textual and critical study of Charlotte Brontë. This project aims to reinterpret Charlotte Brontë’s original novels, which are stranger, more unsettling, and more artistically and socially challenging than the available editions lead readers to believe. This strangeness, so apparent in her manuscripts, is moderated in all print versions of the novels because Brontë’s punctuation was radically altered by the printers who altered them for the first editions, with profound effects on the novels and their interpretation. This project will restore the original versions in a new scholarly print/digital edition, reproduce them along with the print versions in an innovative online critical archive of Brontë texts and contexts and analyse them in a book-length reinterpretation of the novels. In collaboration with prestigious international cultural institutions including The British Library, Morgan Library and Brontë Parsonage Museum, this project will create new ways for the general public to engage closely with some of the most important and least accessible documents of western literary heritage.
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Jane Austen and maternal disinheritance: The Leigh family archive. This project aims to research Jane Austen’s (1775-1817) mother’s family, the Leighs. Family relationships are central to Austen’s novels, but little is known about the women of her own family. The Leighs left extensive archival materials pertaining to their history, which Austen scholars have largely ignored. This project will use detailed archival research to recover and reposition the Leigh family in Austen biography, and read ....Jane Austen and maternal disinheritance: The Leigh family archive. This project aims to research Jane Austen’s (1775-1817) mother’s family, the Leighs. Family relationships are central to Austen’s novels, but little is known about the women of her own family. The Leighs left extensive archival materials pertaining to their history, which Austen scholars have largely ignored. This project will use detailed archival research to recover and reposition the Leigh family in Austen biography, and read Austen’s juvenilia and novels as informed by and contributing to this history. The project aims to better understand the influence of family history on Jane Austen’s novels, contributing to our knowledge of British women’s literature and history.Read moreRead less
Rioting and the literary archive. This project aims to examine writers' enduring engagement with the riot's destructive energy and its transformative potential. Riots have become a familiar feature of an increasingly volatile global politics, but contemporary responses to these events have a long history across a range of media and modes of writing. Literary writers have historically struggled in the aftermath of riots to make sense of and communicate the collective trauma felt by families and c ....Rioting and the literary archive. This project aims to examine writers' enduring engagement with the riot's destructive energy and its transformative potential. Riots have become a familiar feature of an increasingly volatile global politics, but contemporary responses to these events have a long history across a range of media and modes of writing. Literary writers have historically struggled in the aftermath of riots to make sense of and communicate the collective trauma felt by families and communities who suffer resulting injury, death, homelessness or unemployment. Drawing together writing from Britain, United States of America, Australia and the Middle-East, this project will provide an understanding of the resurgence of the riot in a contemporary global context.Read moreRead less
The Vandal Renaissance: Latin Literature in Post-Roman Africa (435-534CE). The project aims to investigate the Latin literature of the Vandal kingdom of North Africa. It expects to identify a vibrant literary culture that celebrated multicultural diversity, embraced the Classical tradition, and contributed to Christian theology, while helping form a distinct Vandal identity. Expected outcomes include a more detailed understanding of the intellectual influences on Vandal African authors, the mech ....The Vandal Renaissance: Latin Literature in Post-Roman Africa (435-534CE). The project aims to investigate the Latin literature of the Vandal kingdom of North Africa. It expects to identify a vibrant literary culture that celebrated multicultural diversity, embraced the Classical tradition, and contributed to Christian theology, while helping form a distinct Vandal identity. Expected outcomes include a more detailed understanding of the intellectual influences on Vandal African authors, the mechanics of Vandal court patronage, and the breadth of these authors' contribution to the history of Latin literature. The project will benefit Australian culture by providing a detailed historical example of the benefits and challenges of a multicultural society.Read moreRead less
Performing transdisciplinarity. This project aims to use the illustrated songbook, a performative genre which fuses image, music and text, to study the transdisciplinary nature of 18th-century print culture. Through multifaceted research on an exemplary songbook, this project will create a multimedia digital interface for linking deep disciplinary knowledge and the recreation of the sounds, sensibilities, and social mores of 18th-century France. The project's model of rich digital understanding ....Performing transdisciplinarity. This project aims to use the illustrated songbook, a performative genre which fuses image, music and text, to study the transdisciplinary nature of 18th-century print culture. Through multifaceted research on an exemplary songbook, this project will create a multimedia digital interface for linking deep disciplinary knowledge and the recreation of the sounds, sensibilities, and social mores of 18th-century France. The project's model of rich digital understanding has potential benefits for cultural institutions whose complex objects lie dormant or underused.Read moreRead less