Slavery, freedom and colonial development: Robert Bostock and his legacy. Understanding our nation and our world is one of the major challenges facing Australia in the present day. West Africa, a region perceived by most Australians to be distant and incomprehensible, increasingly has an effect on Australia and other western nations which is little understood. This project will help to ensure that Australian scholarship remains at the cutting edge of research into slave studies and colonial hist ....Slavery, freedom and colonial development: Robert Bostock and his legacy. Understanding our nation and our world is one of the major challenges facing Australia in the present day. West Africa, a region perceived by most Australians to be distant and incomprehensible, increasingly has an effect on Australia and other western nations which is little understood. This project will help to ensure that Australian scholarship remains at the cutting edge of research into slave studies and colonial history more generally, and will bolster international networks of scholars working in this area. It will ensure national input into an issue of major international importance - human trafficking - and promote academic leadership more generally.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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Australia's Black Past: the shared history of transatlantic slave trading and convict transportation to Africa and Australia. Every nation needs an understanding of its past-the significance of this project is that it examines a part of Australia's history that is very little understood. European settlement of the continent was implemented at a time that ideas of race, and the relationship of skin colour to freedom, were altering significantly. These changes had a fundamental effect on the convi ....Australia's Black Past: the shared history of transatlantic slave trading and convict transportation to Africa and Australia. Every nation needs an understanding of its past-the significance of this project is that it examines a part of Australia's history that is very little understood. European settlement of the continent was implemented at a time that ideas of race, and the relationship of skin colour to freedom, were altering significantly. These changes had a fundamental effect on the convict colony and the relationship of the early colonists with the aboriginal people. Only by gaining knowledge of how early racial interpretations were influenced by global events can Australia interpret her ever controversial racial history.
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Sierra Leone and Australia: a case of the vanishing twin. By considering the settlement of Australia as a process within an interconnected global empire the project will increase understanding of our beginnings and inject Australian experience into international scholarship. It will increase our understanding of Africa, 'the world's largest unstable region', which is peculiarly absent from the Australian consciousness. Paul Lovejoy, our international PI, is a world leader in African history, and ....Sierra Leone and Australia: a case of the vanishing twin. By considering the settlement of Australia as a process within an interconnected global empire the project will increase understanding of our beginnings and inject Australian experience into international scholarship. It will increase our understanding of Africa, 'the world's largest unstable region', which is peculiarly absent from the Australian consciousness. Paul Lovejoy, our international PI, is a world leader in African history, and his involvement in this initiative will focus the attention of the international African historical community on Australia. The project will also provide an inclusive historical context to assist the incorporation of a large refugee cohort from Sierra Leone.Read moreRead less
War, Violence, and Apocalyptic-Millenarianism in the Middle East: Talat Pasha and the Foundation of Modern Turkey, 1874-1921. This project considers the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, the Ottoman entry into the First World War on the side of the Axis powers, and the subsequent demise of the Ottoman Empire in a broad international context. It addresses matters of deep analytical import - state formation, political violence, and genocide - and the relationship between these elements. It focuses in ....War, Violence, and Apocalyptic-Millenarianism in the Middle East: Talat Pasha and the Foundation of Modern Turkey, 1874-1921. This project considers the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, the Ottoman entry into the First World War on the side of the Axis powers, and the subsequent demise of the Ottoman Empire in a broad international context. It addresses matters of deep analytical import - state formation, political violence, and genocide - and the relationship between these elements. It focuses in particular on the Grand Vizir, Talat Pasha, the founder of the modern Turkish nation-state, and the architect of the Armenian genocide. This history is essential for a contemporary understanding of the most controversial problems - the Kurdish conflict, the Armenian question, Palestine - facing Turkey and the Middle East today. Read moreRead less
The development of the cult of Mary in North African Christianity (100 - 431 C.E.). As part of international collaborative research dedicated to dispassionate examination of the development of the cult of Mary from 100 to 431 CE, this project deals with literary evidence from North Africa, in which the works of Augustine dominate. The Latin texts will be examined philologically, theologically and historically in order to reconstruct Mary's place in early Christianity, the raw data made available ....The development of the cult of Mary in North African Christianity (100 - 431 C.E.). As part of international collaborative research dedicated to dispassionate examination of the development of the cult of Mary from 100 to 431 CE, this project deals with literary evidence from North Africa, in which the works of Augustine dominate. The Latin texts will be examined philologically, theologically and historically in order to reconstruct Mary's place in early Christianity, the raw data made available online, and the results disseminated through conference papers, monographs and journal articles. This research, the first of its kind, will make a contribution to women's studies, and to the study of late antique culture and hagiography.Read moreRead less
Writing the new history of British Imperialism its European, African and Australian context. I plan to complete several related projects already under way which are linked to the project title. The Oxford History of Missions in the British Empire will recast the way we think about the historical impact of Christian Missions. The Mapping Project compares the role played by surveyors and maps in the colononization of Australia and South Africa. Imperium of the Soul explores connections between d ....Writing the new history of British Imperialism its European, African and Australian context. I plan to complete several related projects already under way which are linked to the project title. The Oxford History of Missions in the British Empire will recast the way we think about the historical impact of Christian Missions. The Mapping Project compares the role played by surveyors and maps in the colononization of Australia and South Africa. Imperium of the Soul explores connections between deep currents of European intellectual life and the productions of key artists associated with British imperialism.
I will be revising my book on Theories of Imperialism and researching new work on war and conquest.
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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