Dreams: A Cultural History, 1840-1940. This project will produce a groundbreaking history of the emergence of the dream as a fundamental aspect of identity in the period 1840-1940, when the contours of modern psychology were being dramatically transformed. By tracking the vital relationship between an emerging science of the mind and the rapidly evolving cultural arts in this crucial period, this project will ensure Australia's place at the forefront of innovative interdisciplinary research acro ....Dreams: A Cultural History, 1840-1940. This project will produce a groundbreaking history of the emergence of the dream as a fundamental aspect of identity in the period 1840-1940, when the contours of modern psychology were being dramatically transformed. By tracking the vital relationship between an emerging science of the mind and the rapidly evolving cultural arts in this crucial period, this project will ensure Australia's place at the forefront of innovative interdisciplinary research across the humanities and sciences. The enduring popular and scholarly fascination with dreams will stimulate broad discussion about an area of psychic life that continues to inform the relationship between a science of the mind and everyday cultural life.Read moreRead less
Working Together: Indigenous and Non-indigenous Collaboration in Australian Film and Literature. As the first, comprehensive study of Indigenous and non-indigenous collaboration in film and literature this project will make an important contribution to Australian cultural history. It will provide filmmakers, educators and publishers with expanded theoretical findings about the nature of collaboration. In the most general sense, this critical analysis of one of the ways in which Indigenous and ....Working Together: Indigenous and Non-indigenous Collaboration in Australian Film and Literature. As the first, comprehensive study of Indigenous and non-indigenous collaboration in film and literature this project will make an important contribution to Australian cultural history. It will provide filmmakers, educators and publishers with expanded theoretical findings about the nature of collaboration. In the most general sense, this critical analysis of one of the ways in which Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians have and continue to 'work together' will contribute to the national project of Reconciliation.Read moreRead less
George Eliot: Literature as Experimental Philosophy. This project aims to make significant and innovative contributions to research excellence in philosophy, history of ideas and literary studies. In addition it aims to provide a new conceptual framework and concepts necessary for constructive debate on current moral and social issues, many of which are complex legacies from Victorian thinkers, such as Eliot and her contemporaries. The overarching aim of rendering philosophy more inclusive and r ....George Eliot: Literature as Experimental Philosophy. This project aims to make significant and innovative contributions to research excellence in philosophy, history of ideas and literary studies. In addition it aims to provide a new conceptual framework and concepts necessary for constructive debate on current moral and social issues, many of which are complex legacies from Victorian thinkers, such as Eliot and her contemporaries. The overarching aim of rendering philosophy more inclusive and relevant is vital to the maintenance of a healthy, free and democratic public culture in contemporary Australia. Read moreRead less
Gifts of Friendship: intimacy and exchange in cross-cultural contact. This project will investigate an apparently contradictory phenomenon: the existence of explicit policies of friendship-making within Euro-American imperial exploration and colonial settlement. Focusing on the Pacific islands in the period 1767-1830, it will look at the interaction of European and Polynesian traditions and practices of friendship, particularly in relation to practices of exchange. The project will examine a hug ....Gifts of Friendship: intimacy and exchange in cross-cultural contact. This project will investigate an apparently contradictory phenomenon: the existence of explicit policies of friendship-making within Euro-American imperial exploration and colonial settlement. Focusing on the Pacific islands in the period 1767-1830, it will look at the interaction of European and Polynesian traditions and practices of friendship, particularly in relation to practices of exchange. The project will examine a huge body of archival evidence, which initial findings suggest will prove to be much more self-conscious and anxious about the ethical and ideological implications of cross-cultural friendship-formation than current understandings of the operations of colonial discourse would allow.Read moreRead less
A study of the writings of Alan Paton, a major literary and political figure. The outcome of this project will constitute an important contribution to the current debate in Australia and other Western countries about ethical responses to violence. Alan Paton is a major South African literary and political figure who faced extremism both from his country's government and its opponents. The proposed study of his letters will be an important addition to the literary corpus of one of Africa's fore ....A study of the writings of Alan Paton, a major literary and political figure. The outcome of this project will constitute an important contribution to the current debate in Australia and other Western countries about ethical responses to violence. Alan Paton is a major South African literary and political figure who faced extremism both from his country's government and its opponents. The proposed study of his letters will be an important addition to the literary corpus of one of Africa's foremost thinkers and writers, and will constitute an advance upon and contribution to the body of knowledge about the cultural history of Africa in the twentieth and twenty-first century. The project will raise the profile of Australian scholarship in the field of African literature and history.
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