The Rise of Decline in the Later Roman Empire. This project aims to examine the evidence for the decline of the Western Roman Empire. For over two centuries, historians have debated whether the Western Roman Empire was in decline prior to its political disintegration in the 5th century AD. This project takes a new approach by rejecting the notion that Late Roman decline can be empirically quantified. Instead, through the examination of historical, administrative, religious and literary texts it ....The Rise of Decline in the Later Roman Empire. This project aims to examine the evidence for the decline of the Western Roman Empire. For over two centuries, historians have debated whether the Western Roman Empire was in decline prior to its political disintegration in the 5th century AD. This project takes a new approach by rejecting the notion that Late Roman decline can be empirically quantified. Instead, through the examination of historical, administrative, religious and literary texts it will explore why the Late Roman elite often chose to present their own period as an age of decline. This project aims to test the hypothesis that references to economic, political and moral decline were often the result of fissures within Late Roman society prompted by radical structural reorganisation by a centralising imperial government and a newly empowered Christian Church.Read moreRead less
Ayahs and Amahs: Transcolonial Servants in Australia and Britain 1780-1945. This project looks at female domestic care workers from India and China who travelled to Australia and elsewhere during the period of British colonialism. Accompanying colonial families along circuits of empire between Australia, Asia, and the UK over two centuries, these were extraordinarily mobile women. By exploring the historical experiences and cultural memories of these earliest global domestic workers, the project ....Ayahs and Amahs: Transcolonial Servants in Australia and Britain 1780-1945. This project looks at female domestic care workers from India and China who travelled to Australia and elsewhere during the period of British colonialism. Accompanying colonial families along circuits of empire between Australia, Asia, and the UK over two centuries, these were extraordinarily mobile women. By exploring the historical experiences and cultural memories of these earliest global domestic workers, the project aims to illuminate a broader transcolonial history of domestic work. Expected outcomes include a number of publications and a website; and the project offers the social and cultural benefits to be gained by advancing our historical understanding of the forgotten cross-cultural relationships that have shaped our world today.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100750
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,213.00
Summary
Australia and Space: Government policy and public imagination, 1957 – 2021. This project aims to be the first study to address how Australia has approached space at the public and government level from the dawn of the space age in 1957 to today. Taking a historical approach, this project employs an innovative framework that integrates Australia’s disparate space activities, analyses Australian space over a long time period, and centres the Australian experience within the global context. The pro ....Australia and Space: Government policy and public imagination, 1957 – 2021. This project aims to be the first study to address how Australia has approached space at the public and government level from the dawn of the space age in 1957 to today. Taking a historical approach, this project employs an innovative framework that integrates Australia’s disparate space activities, analyses Australian space over a long time period, and centres the Australian experience within the global context. The project is particularly timely with creation of the Australian Space Agency in mid-2018. Through publications and collaboration with space scholars and stakeholders, this project aims to inform discussion of space policy and international cooperation in space, and develop new understandings of how Australians engage with space.Read moreRead less
Pearls, People, and Power: the Transformation of the Indian Ocean World. This multidisciplinary project aims to be the first transoceanic investigation of pearling in the Indian Ocean World (IOW), focusing on the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, India/Sri Lanka, Sulu Sea and northern Australia. It will use commodity-based historical analyses and object-centred biographies to undertake comparative studies of labour systems, trade networks and the cultural value of pearls/pearl shell during an era marked by ....Pearls, People, and Power: the Transformation of the Indian Ocean World. This multidisciplinary project aims to be the first transoceanic investigation of pearling in the Indian Ocean World (IOW), focusing on the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, India/Sri Lanka, Sulu Sea and northern Australia. It will use commodity-based historical analyses and object-centred biographies to undertake comparative studies of labour systems, trade networks and the cultural value of pearls/pearl shell during an era marked by the spread of European imperialism and industrialisation. The project includes historical, ethnographic and film components and is expected to produce texts, films and museum displays. It is also designed to deliver a new understanding of the IOW past, and a new appreciation of Australia's place in IOW history.Read moreRead less
Mapping Creativity in Captivity during WWII. The project will map the little known cultural production by Italian Prisoners of War from 1940 to 1947. By analysing Italian detainees' creativity in Australia and elsewhere in the world, it will develop a new transnational approach to understanding the experience of captivity and of the many interactions between individuals and communities during WWII. The expected outcomes include new cross-cultural knowledge of migration and wartime experiences an ....Mapping Creativity in Captivity during WWII. The project will map the little known cultural production by Italian Prisoners of War from 1940 to 1947. By analysing Italian detainees' creativity in Australia and elsewhere in the world, it will develop a new transnational approach to understanding the experience of captivity and of the many interactions between individuals and communities during WWII. The expected outcomes include new cross-cultural knowledge of migration and wartime experiences and of the beneficial power of creative action for individuals’ wellbeing, still relevant today as we witness emergency lockdowns and peoples dislocated by wars. International collaboration and digital resources will bring the results beyond an academic audience to public and policymakers alike.
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Hello, Mr America: Americans on R&R Leave in Australia in the Vietnam War. This project will provide the first comprehensive history of an important but neglected aspect of Australia's relationship with the United States. From 1967 until 1971 nearly 300,000 American servicemen - one tenth of the total number of Americans who served in Vietnam - travelled to Australia for their R&R Leave. What began as a matter of military expediency became an exercise in cultural diplomacy that left lasting econ ....Hello, Mr America: Americans on R&R Leave in Australia in the Vietnam War. This project will provide the first comprehensive history of an important but neglected aspect of Australia's relationship with the United States. From 1967 until 1971 nearly 300,000 American servicemen - one tenth of the total number of Americans who served in Vietnam - travelled to Australia for their R&R Leave. What began as a matter of military expediency became an exercise in cultural diplomacy that left lasting economic, social and political legacies in Australia. Outcomes include a deeper understanding of the history of the US-Australian alliance, the international history of the Vietnam War, and Australian history during a period of dramatic transformation. Outputs will include a book, journal articles, and a symposium.Read moreRead less
Chinese indentured labour in the colonial Asia Pacific region, 1919–1966. This project aims to investigate the abolition of Chinese indenture in the Asia Pacific region after 1919. It intends to investigate whether labour standards set by the International Labor Organization (ILO) were able to influence and overcome the European colonial preference for coerced migrant labour. The project expects to generate new knowledge about Australian, Chinese and global attitudes towards labour migration, by ....Chinese indentured labour in the colonial Asia Pacific region, 1919–1966. This project aims to investigate the abolition of Chinese indenture in the Asia Pacific region after 1919. It intends to investigate whether labour standards set by the International Labor Organization (ILO) were able to influence and overcome the European colonial preference for coerced migrant labour. The project expects to generate new knowledge about Australian, Chinese and global attitudes towards labour migration, by combining a comparative regional approach with detailed case studies of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.Read moreRead less
Cultural defences against slavery and trafficking. This project aims to study an African slave, Josefa, whose story could inform a debate about slave cultures and understanding of the legacies of slavery. Captured and shipped to Cuba for sale in the 1840s, Josefa kept alive her Sierra Leonean initiation rites. This project will use archival research and filmed oral interviews to discover how and why she managed to do this. Since the same society existed in Sierra Leone until the 1990s and its gi ....Cultural defences against slavery and trafficking. This project aims to study an African slave, Josefa, whose story could inform a debate about slave cultures and understanding of the legacies of slavery. Captured and shipped to Cuba for sale in the 1840s, Josefa kept alive her Sierra Leonean initiation rites. This project will use archival research and filmed oral interviews to discover how and why she managed to do this. Since the same society existed in Sierra Leone until the 1990s and its girls were enslaved in the civil war, this project could offer insight into defences against slavery, and the slave trade’s legacies. This could inform the fight against human trafficking today and Australia’s response to trafficking.Read moreRead less
A history of women as consumers, 1902-2010. This project aims to give women their own autonomous history as proactive consumers altering spaces outside the domestic sphere. Using a case study of Filipino elite and migrant women, and women’s magazines, ‘migrant archives’, interviews and ethnographic mapping, the project will write a history of the influence of women’s consumption practices on the economy, business and spaces of consumption in the twentieth century. The project aims to challenge t ....A history of women as consumers, 1902-2010. This project aims to give women their own autonomous history as proactive consumers altering spaces outside the domestic sphere. Using a case study of Filipino elite and migrant women, and women’s magazines, ‘migrant archives’, interviews and ethnographic mapping, the project will write a history of the influence of women’s consumption practices on the economy, business and spaces of consumption in the twentieth century. The project aims to challenge the view of women as peripheral to the Philippines’ economic history or having little influence on countries to which they migrated. This could enhance Australia’s reputation in the field of women in Asia and foster international collaboration.Read moreRead less
Beauty, Ugliness and China’s Changing Gender Norms. This project intends to explore the connections between political programs promoting social change and cultural and commercial activities in China since 1900. It intends to generate new knowledge about the factors that influence people’s perceptions of desirable male and female behaviours by examining the evolution of ideals of beauty and ugliness and how they are used by political, cultural or commercial actors. The expected outcomes include d ....Beauty, Ugliness and China’s Changing Gender Norms. This project intends to explore the connections between political programs promoting social change and cultural and commercial activities in China since 1900. It intends to generate new knowledge about the factors that influence people’s perceptions of desirable male and female behaviours by examining the evolution of ideals of beauty and ugliness and how they are used by political, cultural or commercial actors. The expected outcomes include deepening Australia’s knowledge of what constitutes a positive or negative attribute in the Chinese marketplace (both the commercial market of products and the political market of ideas) and enabling Australians to promote their products/ideas more effectively in the global powerhouse that is China.Read moreRead less