Rehearsals in Colonialism: Tracking Transpacific Expressions of Indigenous and Settler Sovereignty, 1788-1900. In the 1800s a spate of Pacific monarchies declared pre-emptive independence amidst the upheavals of circling imperial interest. Kingdoms in Tonga, Hawai'i, and New Zealand lasted at least a century, but only years in Tahiti, Samoa and Fiji. Nevertheless they epitomised uncertain times when Indigenous and settler peoples alike focussed intensely on the sovereign status of subject people ....Rehearsals in Colonialism: Tracking Transpacific Expressions of Indigenous and Settler Sovereignty, 1788-1900. In the 1800s a spate of Pacific monarchies declared pre-emptive independence amidst the upheavals of circling imperial interest. Kingdoms in Tonga, Hawai'i, and New Zealand lasted at least a century, but only years in Tahiti, Samoa and Fiji. Nevertheless they epitomised uncertain times when Indigenous and settler peoples alike focussed intensely on the sovereign status of subject peoples in subject colonies. This project connects these moments of sovereignty for the first time in a unique opportunity to track the intellectual and social histories of contact in the transcolonial space of the Pacific and its settler colonial rim. Project outcomes will offer new insight into our colonial past and its legacies in the present.Read moreRead less
Land and colonial cultures: tracing Indigenous and settler transformation in the Pacific, 1850-1900. This research asks how conversations about land between settlers and Indigenous peoples in Australia, New Zealand, Hawai'i and Fiji shaped radically new landscapes of ownership during the 19th century. Its outcomes will illuminate the shared history of this region, while enhancing our historical foundations for facing postcolonial tensions over land.
Spare parts: the cultural history of organ transplantation. Organ transplantation is of considerable contemporary concern to Australians. Despite decades of campaigns seeking organ donors, this country has one of the world's lowest donation rates. This study will explore how this situation arose and offer a new understanding of the factors that impinge upon people's perceptions of transplantation.
Cities of Words: Women's cultures of reading and writing in colonial Melbourne and beyond. This project will promote community awareness of the honour bestowed upon Melbourne and Australia by the United Nations, by uncovering the foundations of Melbourne's literary cultures and situating them nationally and internationally. By showing that Melbourne has ever been a city of words it will provide impetus for present and future literary activity, and enhance the understanding of the cultural life o ....Cities of Words: Women's cultures of reading and writing in colonial Melbourne and beyond. This project will promote community awareness of the honour bestowed upon Melbourne and Australia by the United Nations, by uncovering the foundations of Melbourne's literary cultures and situating them nationally and internationally. By showing that Melbourne has ever been a city of words it will provide impetus for present and future literary activity, and enhance the understanding of the cultural life of the city and the country. It takes part in an international conversation about the transcultural importance of books, reading and writing, staking a claim for Melbourne, and Australia, in the global exchange of ideas.Read moreRead less
Anzac Day at home and abroad: a centenary history of Australia's national day. Australia is fast approaching the centenary of Anzac Day and many believe this is the one day of the year that captures the spirit of the nation. This project will examine Anzac Day's complex and much contested history, retrieving private and collective memories of war through archival research and novel and participatory public history.
Fostering Women Leaders Through Educational Exchange, 1930-1980. This project plans to explore what makes it possible for women to exercise leadership. This project is a transnational study of women from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Philippines who participated in educational exchange programs with the United States in the mid-20th century. The project asks how these cross-cultural encounters and international networks facilitated and transformed the practices of leadership in the Unite ....Fostering Women Leaders Through Educational Exchange, 1930-1980. This project plans to explore what makes it possible for women to exercise leadership. This project is a transnational study of women from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Philippines who participated in educational exchange programs with the United States in the mid-20th century. The project asks how these cross-cultural encounters and international networks facilitated and transformed the practices of leadership in the United States, Asia and the Pacific. The project, in partnership with the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, aims to provide a historical perspective on leadership which can inform contemporary debates on the conditions for fostering women as leaders.Read moreRead less
Hiroshima and Here: A Cultural History of Australian Responses to Nuclear War and Weaponry. This project comes at an historical moment when Australia is more enmeshed in nuclearism than ever. As the nation considers the political, economic and moral implications of being a major world supplier of uranium during a period of extreme regional and global instability, and as it contemplates its own possible nuclear-powered future, this is exceptionally timely research. In providing a ground-breaking ....Hiroshima and Here: A Cultural History of Australian Responses to Nuclear War and Weaponry. This project comes at an historical moment when Australia is more enmeshed in nuclearism than ever. As the nation considers the political, economic and moral implications of being a major world supplier of uranium during a period of extreme regional and global instability, and as it contemplates its own possible nuclear-powered future, this is exceptionally timely research. In providing a ground-breaking model of national cultural response to one of the great international issues of our age, it will help foster academic activity and public interest in a developing field whose importance can only increase. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100740
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$331,156.00
Summary
The wartime comfort women of Japanese-occupied New Guinea, 1942-1945. The project aims to discover if the Papuan New Guinean government is justified in seeking recognition and reparation over the sexual enslavement of its female nationals as ‘comfort women’ during the Pacific War. The Japanese military occupied New Guinea between 1942 and 1945 and established military brothels there, but whether New Guinean women were sexually enslaved is unknown. The project will study the archival records of A ....The wartime comfort women of Japanese-occupied New Guinea, 1942-1945. The project aims to discover if the Papuan New Guinean government is justified in seeking recognition and reparation over the sexual enslavement of its female nationals as ‘comfort women’ during the Pacific War. The Japanese military occupied New Guinea between 1942 and 1945 and established military brothels there, but whether New Guinean women were sexually enslaved is unknown. The project will study the archival records of Australia's post-war administration of New Guinea and Japanese occupation-period military documents, and produce an English-language monograph and English- and Japanese-language articles. The project is expected to contribute to international relations and Australian regional diplomacy.Read moreRead less
Slavery, Sugar, Race: Australia’s South Sea Islander Labourers. This project aims to recover and make usable the history of Caribbean sugar as a labour migration model, cultural repertoire and source of investment for the early Australian sugar industry. Working with international slave studies centres and Australian South Sea Islander organisations, we will use methodologies from four disciplines to explore the question of Pacific labour from every perspective. The latest digital humanities tec ....Slavery, Sugar, Race: Australia’s South Sea Islander Labourers. This project aims to recover and make usable the history of Caribbean sugar as a labour migration model, cultural repertoire and source of investment for the early Australian sugar industry. Working with international slave studies centres and Australian South Sea Islander organisations, we will use methodologies from four disciplines to explore the question of Pacific labour from every perspective. The latest digital humanities techniques will be utilised to create a database of Pacific Voyages. This will further understandings of Australia’s place in global labour and race history, create new resources for research and teaching in history, literature and sociology, and further Islander community initiatives.
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Unlocking Australia’s Chinese archive: the political organisation and social experience of the Chinese Australian community, 1909-1939. Australia's social and economic fabric will be strengthened by incorporating the organisations and experiences of the inter-war Chinese Australian community into Australia's history of citizenship and civic participation. This will foster the Chinese community's sense of inclusion in the national story and will make that story available to non-Chinese Australian ....Unlocking Australia’s Chinese archive: the political organisation and social experience of the Chinese Australian community, 1909-1939. Australia's social and economic fabric will be strengthened by incorporating the organisations and experiences of the inter-war Chinese Australian community into Australia's history of citizenship and civic participation. This will foster the Chinese community's sense of inclusion in the national story and will make that story available to non-Chinese Australians, thus contributing to the social cohesion in multicultural Australia. It will also illuminate the impact of the White Australia Policy on a significant minority group which will benefit Australia as it responds to the legacy of this policy. It will also strengthen Australia's understanding of its historical engagement with the regional Chinese diaspora and with China.Read moreRead less