Sociability, print and public culture in romantic period Britain and Australia. This project illuminates the life in the early colony by exploring the history of the earliest Australian printed document that has so far been discovered, a playbill for a theatrical performance in Sydney dating from 1796. Placing the document in a rich and complex context of print, circulation, and sociability, the project affirms the importance of such ephemeral literature as testimony to the values of fellowship ....Sociability, print and public culture in romantic period Britain and Australia. This project illuminates the life in the early colony by exploring the history of the earliest Australian printed document that has so far been discovered, a playbill for a theatrical performance in Sydney dating from 1796. Placing the document in a rich and complex context of print, circulation, and sociability, the project affirms the importance of such ephemeral literature as testimony to the values of fellowship and community that were foundational to Australian culture and which continue to be relevant to the health of a modern democracy.Read moreRead less
The Last Soviet Famine, 1946/47: Drought and food crises in war's aftermath. This project aims to increase our understanding of the relationship between drought and famine by analysing the most recent, though least understood famine in Soviet and Modern European History. This famine followed a massive drought in the summer of 1946 across the western Soviet Union and led to the deaths of at least one million people. This research is timely given the growing threats to food security, markets and t ....The Last Soviet Famine, 1946/47: Drought and food crises in war's aftermath. This project aims to increase our understanding of the relationship between drought and famine by analysing the most recent, though least understood famine in Soviet and Modern European History. This famine followed a massive drought in the summer of 1946 across the western Soviet Union and led to the deaths of at least one million people. This research is timely given the growing threats to food security, markets and trade posed by the increasing incidence of severe and enduring drought in Australia and globally. The expected outcome of this research is to produce new historical knowledge with contemporary application to better inform policy approaches with the expected benefit of reducing the threat of food crises emerging from drought.Read moreRead less
Seeing Change: Science, Culture and Technology in the Antipodes from the age of Darwin - a multi-media research collaboration. To build a collaboration across the humanities, natural sciences, business technology and public culture sectors that will use new forms of digital and visual research to demonstrate the neglected importance of Australasia in the formation of nineteenth-century evolutionary thought and to suggest the relevance of these ideas to understanding contemporary issues of enviro ....Seeing Change: Science, Culture and Technology in the Antipodes from the age of Darwin - a multi-media research collaboration. To build a collaboration across the humanities, natural sciences, business technology and public culture sectors that will use new forms of digital and visual research to demonstrate the neglected importance of Australasia in the formation of nineteenth-century evolutionary thought and to suggest the relevance of these ideas to understanding contemporary issues of environmental sustainability and the development of frontier technologies within our society and region. Read moreRead less
Crises of Leadership in the Eastern Roman Empire (250-1000 CE). Armed conflict, the upheaval of social systems, and environmental crises cause citizens to question their leaders during periods of social change. They also increase religious extremism, including speculations about the imminent end of the world. The period 250-1000 CE reveals many examples of how such crises served leaders who knew how to profit from instability to expand their powers, and how they damaged the reputations of those ....Crises of Leadership in the Eastern Roman Empire (250-1000 CE). Armed conflict, the upheaval of social systems, and environmental crises cause citizens to question their leaders during periods of social change. They also increase religious extremism, including speculations about the imminent end of the world. The period 250-1000 CE reveals many examples of how such crises served leaders who knew how to profit from instability to expand their powers, and how they damaged the reputations of those who did not. Understanding how past leaders of the Roman world addressed these crises in practical and rhetorical ways may provide helpful and timely models of what works (and what does not) for contemporary community and political leaders, even in democratic political societies such as Australia.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions. Emotions change over time; yet the long-term causes and consequences of changing emotional experiences and expressions remain largely unknown. This Centre will revolutionize research in the Humanities and Creative Arts by initiating innovative research collaborations across many disciplines to account for long-term changes and continuities in emotional regimes in Europe 1100-1800. For the first time we will fully analyse the social, cultural ....ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions. Emotions change over time; yet the long-term causes and consequences of changing emotional experiences and expressions remain largely unknown. This Centre will revolutionize research in the Humanities and Creative Arts by initiating innovative research collaborations across many disciplines to account for long-term changes and continuities in emotional regimes in Europe 1100-1800. For the first time we will fully analyse the social, cultural and political effects of mass emotional events. Links with cultural industry partners in art, drama and music will enable reflective performance research on communication of emotions, and illuminate the Western cultural foundations of emotions in modern Australia.Read moreRead less
Mobilising Dutch East India Company collections for new global stories . Australia has a rich legacy of archives, art and artefacts, including 4 shipwrecks in WA, from its history of encounters with the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Through comparative research in Australian and overseas museums and archives we aim to situate Australian collections in a global context, creating new stories about Australia as part of the VOC global network. An interdisciplinary team will train 3 ECRs and 7 HDRs ....Mobilising Dutch East India Company collections for new global stories . Australia has a rich legacy of archives, art and artefacts, including 4 shipwrecks in WA, from its history of encounters with the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Through comparative research in Australian and overseas museums and archives we aim to situate Australian collections in a global context, creating new stories about Australia as part of the VOC global network. An interdisciplinary team will train 3 ECRs and 7 HDRs and forge partnerships with the Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Africa, strengthening national capacity. Our analysis will enrich the value of collections, provide narratives for museums and sites, and revitalise content for international and domestic tourism markets.Read moreRead less
Water and the making of urban Australia since 1900. This project aims to produce new understandings of both the historical drivers of today’s urban water systems, and how these systems have impacted on human and ecological welfare. This will be achieved through the first integrated and comparative historical study of the provision, use and cultures of water in Australia’s five largest cities from 1900 to the present. Such historical knowledge is critical at a time when the water systems of Austr ....Water and the making of urban Australia since 1900. This project aims to produce new understandings of both the historical drivers of today’s urban water systems, and how these systems have impacted on human and ecological welfare. This will be achieved through the first integrated and comparative historical study of the provision, use and cultures of water in Australia’s five largest cities from 1900 to the present. Such historical knowledge is critical at a time when the water systems of Australia’s largest cities are under growing pressure from environmental change and population growth. Project findings will inform the development of policies and practices that produce sustainable, equitable urban water systems.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.
Transforming the early modern archive: the Emmerson Collection at SLV. In 2015, State Library Victoria (SLV) received the bequest of the Emmerson Collection: a national treasure of over 5000 early modern rare books and manuscripts, the first and only early modern archive of scale to be held by an Australian institution. Bringing together experts in early modern studies and the digital humanities with specialist library staff, this project will uncover the contents and scope of the collection and ....Transforming the early modern archive: the Emmerson Collection at SLV. In 2015, State Library Victoria (SLV) received the bequest of the Emmerson Collection: a national treasure of over 5000 early modern rare books and manuscripts, the first and only early modern archive of scale to be held by an Australian institution. Bringing together experts in early modern studies and the digital humanities with specialist library staff, this project will uncover the contents and scope of the collection and promote its international scholarly significance to the wider world. In doing so, it will develop new digital tools designed to unlock the value of this unique public resource for a wide range of end-users.Read moreRead less
A History of Foreign Multinational Enterprises in Australia from Federation. We aim to deliver the first history of foreign multinational firms in twentieth-century Australia, connecting to, and enhancing, a rich overseas literature on global business. Foreign corporations have played a critical but poorly understood role here with public and policy opinions polarised between approval for new investment, job creation and innovation against concern for their impact on tax revenue, competition, an ....A History of Foreign Multinational Enterprises in Australia from Federation. We aim to deliver the first history of foreign multinational firms in twentieth-century Australia, connecting to, and enhancing, a rich overseas literature on global business. Foreign corporations have played a critical but poorly understood role here with public and policy opinions polarised between approval for new investment, job creation and innovation against concern for their impact on tax revenue, competition, and economic policy. Through a closer, long term understanding of multinationals – their magnitude, motives to settle here, corporate structures, and adaptation to local conditions – our findings will inform public debate and policy about the roles of foreign investment and foreign enterprises in the Australian economy today.Read moreRead less