The 'paper war': Missionary Textuality and Early Nineteenth-Century Australian Colonial Culture. Early nineteenth-century Australian texts reverberate with the anxieties and controversies surrounding colonisation. The morality of colonisation and indigenous-settler relationships were hotly debated in a proliferation of books, pamphlets, letters, and editorials, and in this religious personnel, including missionaries, played a pivotal role. Yet no critical analysis of colonial missionary writing ....The 'paper war': Missionary Textuality and Early Nineteenth-Century Australian Colonial Culture. Early nineteenth-century Australian texts reverberate with the anxieties and controversies surrounding colonisation. The morality of colonisation and indigenous-settler relationships were hotly debated in a proliferation of books, pamphlets, letters, and editorials, and in this religious personnel, including missionaries, played a pivotal role. Yet no critical analysis of colonial missionary writing exists. This project conducts archival research into texts produced by a linked network of religious/missionary figures, focusing on the Lake Macquarie mission run by Lancelot Threlkeld, and analyses these through theories of colonial discourse and textuality. Research outcomes include original, innovative contributions to Australian literary/cultural studies and international colonial/postcolonial studies.Read moreRead less
Mission texts and the representation of Africa in America 1870-1914. Australia is now firmly linked to America in cultural and political terms. This project helps us to understand how American attitudes to overseas expansion came about in the period when America was expanding its control on its own continent and in the world at large. Explanations of this to date have neglected to examine the role of religious organisations and texts in promoting the ideas of other peoples and cultures which fo ....Mission texts and the representation of Africa in America 1870-1914. Australia is now firmly linked to America in cultural and political terms. This project helps us to understand how American attitudes to overseas expansion came about in the period when America was expanding its control on its own continent and in the world at large. Explanations of this to date have neglected to examine the role of religious organisations and texts in promoting the ideas of other peoples and cultures which formed America's modern attitude to the world beyond its shores. As religion becomes increasingly recognised as a powerful factor in identity politics this project helps us to understand the roots of this connection and apply the knowledge to our current situation.Read moreRead less
Basil of Caesarea and the nexus of Greek, Latin and Semitic cultures in late Antiquity. In a period of heightening religious and cultural tension in Australia, this project seeks to explore a moment when Western and Semitic cultures worked together very well, only to yield in the following two centuries to increasing alienation that prepared the ground for Islam. In terms of international scholarship the project tackles an outstanding lacuna in late 4th century history: the Syrian chapter in the ....Basil of Caesarea and the nexus of Greek, Latin and Semitic cultures in late Antiquity. In a period of heightening religious and cultural tension in Australia, this project seeks to explore a moment when Western and Semitic cultures worked together very well, only to yield in the following two centuries to increasing alienation that prepared the ground for Islam. In terms of international scholarship the project tackles an outstanding lacuna in late 4th century history: the Syrian chapter in the dissemination of Basil of Caesarea's teaching on Christian monasticism. The collaboration with overseas scholars, and the high standard and solidity of projected outcome will confirm Australia's high reputation in ancient, Middle Eastern and Religious studies.Read moreRead less