Opening Australia's Multilingual Archive. Australian Anglocentrism raises important questions about the dynamics of living in a multilingual society. This project aims to mobilise Australia’s considerable and under-utilised non-English language resources in order to rethink our migrant and settler history. It asks what difference language makes in the ways people engage with, and ultimately think of themselves as ‘Australian’ or not. For the first time, a rich multilingual archive will be used t ....Opening Australia's Multilingual Archive. Australian Anglocentrism raises important questions about the dynamics of living in a multilingual society. This project aims to mobilise Australia’s considerable and under-utilised non-English language resources in order to rethink our migrant and settler history. It asks what difference language makes in the ways people engage with, and ultimately think of themselves as ‘Australian’ or not. For the first time, a rich multilingual archive will be used to examine Australia’s history from non-English perspectives. Outcomes include a framework outlining the role of language diversity in shaping Australian identity which will equip scholars, policymakers and the public to confront the challenge of cultural pluralism today. Read moreRead less
Modernism, cosmopolitanism and consumer culture. This project aims to investigate the department store as a significant site for the transnational dissemination of modernism and cosmopolitanism in the first half of the 20th century. Through a primary focus on Sydney, with comparative studies of Tokyo and New York, the project expects to advance important knowledge of the department store’s vital role in driving new forms of creative engagement, consumer knowledge and social interaction that shap ....Modernism, cosmopolitanism and consumer culture. This project aims to investigate the department store as a significant site for the transnational dissemination of modernism and cosmopolitanism in the first half of the 20th century. Through a primary focus on Sydney, with comparative studies of Tokyo and New York, the project expects to advance important knowledge of the department store’s vital role in driving new forms of creative engagement, consumer knowledge and social interaction that shaped the aspiring cosmopolitan city. The expected outcomes include an understanding how the department store enhanced the public's engagement with modernism. This will benefit current initiatives using the arts to revitalise commercial and urban space.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
Ancient Egyptian papyri: unlocking secrets to the history of writing. This project aims to investigate the chemical composition of papyri from ancient Egypt and their inks to identify scribes, date texts, detect forgeries, match fragmentary texts, and illuminate environmental and technological change. Papyrus and carbon-based ink were the primary writing materials in the ancient Mediterranean world from 2600 BCE to 1000 CE, but the uncertain provenance and date caused by clandestine excavation a ....Ancient Egyptian papyri: unlocking secrets to the history of writing. This project aims to investigate the chemical composition of papyri from ancient Egypt and their inks to identify scribes, date texts, detect forgeries, match fragmentary texts, and illuminate environmental and technological change. Papyrus and carbon-based ink were the primary writing materials in the ancient Mediterranean world from 2600 BCE to 1000 CE, but the uncertain provenance and date caused by clandestine excavation and the antiquities trade limits our understanding of them. The non-destructive and inexpensive analysis will provide new understanding of environmental, technological, and socio-cultural change in ancient cultures from Egypt to Rome by providing new insights into writing technology, scribal identity, dating, and authenticity.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101505
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,582.00
Summary
The Aristotelian Soul in Late Ming China. This project aims to uncover a seminal moment during the first stage of Sino-Western intellectual encounters when the Jesuit Francesco Sambiasi (1582-1649) collaborated with the mandarin Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) on the Lingyan lishao (1624), a Chinese translation of Aristotle’s On the Soul. Since Ming Chinese lacked direct analogues for the Aristotelian soul, this work provides significant insights into how conceptual translation is conducted between dispa ....The Aristotelian Soul in Late Ming China. This project aims to uncover a seminal moment during the first stage of Sino-Western intellectual encounters when the Jesuit Francesco Sambiasi (1582-1649) collaborated with the mandarin Xu Guangqi (1562-1633) on the Lingyan lishao (1624), a Chinese translation of Aristotle’s On the Soul. Since Ming Chinese lacked direct analogues for the Aristotelian soul, this work provides significant insights into how conceptual translation is conducted between disparate cultures. The intended outcome of this project is to reveal the semantic transformations between the European and Chinese contexts. Benefits include the opening up of pioneering yet understudied texts and insights into why certain ideas fail to resonate in their new target culture.Read moreRead less