Regimes of reading. The project analyses the ways in which reading and interpretation have been socially organised across a range of cultures, from ancient Rome to the contemporary world of virtual reality. It focuses in particular on conflict between different practices of reading in order to highlight the cultural assumptions underlying the uses of texts.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101359
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Imagining diversity: race and ethnicity in popular fantasy. How do fantasy worlds represent and reconstruct real world approaches to racial and cultural difference? This project examines the ways reader and writers of popular culture think and talk about race and ethnicity, offering insight into contemporary discourses of diversity and an essential window into Australia's multicultural society.
Vietnamese Women: Voices and Narratives of the Diaspora. Migration and multiculturalism are hotly debated issues in Australia today. Engagement with Asia being one of the 3 pillars of Australian national security, it is all the more vital to conduct research on how Asian migrants have successfully integrated into Australian society. The Vietnamese overcame early difficulties to settle successfully here. Women played a major part in this. Their story is a tribute both to their determination to ad ....Vietnamese Women: Voices and Narratives of the Diaspora. Migration and multiculturalism are hotly debated issues in Australia today. Engagement with Asia being one of the 3 pillars of Australian national security, it is all the more vital to conduct research on how Asian migrants have successfully integrated into Australian society. The Vietnamese overcame early difficulties to settle successfully here. Women played a major part in this. Their story is a tribute both to their determination to adapt to a new land and to Australia's willingness to accept new arrivals. This study will help address national and gender stereotypes, assist in fostering positive community relations, provide a deeper understanding of a significant refugee group, and contribute to strengthening Australia's social fabric.Read moreRead less
Anglophone Caribbean (auto)biography, plantation slavery, and the traffic of colonial reform and modernisation 1807-1834. The project, the preliminary work for which has already received major international recognition, will significantly enhance the international profile of Australian scholarship in postcolonial studies, nineteenth-century studies, and the history of feminism. It will consolidate Australia's considerable reputation for fine scholarship on the cultural history of slavery and its ....Anglophone Caribbean (auto)biography, plantation slavery, and the traffic of colonial reform and modernisation 1807-1834. The project, the preliminary work for which has already received major international recognition, will significantly enhance the international profile of Australian scholarship in postcolonial studies, nineteenth-century studies, and the history of feminism. It will consolidate Australia's considerable reputation for fine scholarship on the cultural history of slavery and its abolition, and at a time of reinvigorated debate in the field. Within the discipline of English the project will challenge scholars to think more creatively and enterprisingly about the nature and scope of extant archival sources and the necessity of close historical research in interpreting them. Read moreRead less
Books as Media: The Cultural Economy of Literary Adaptation. The project will benefit three key Australian communities: (1) researchers; (2) cultural creators; and (3) cultural policy-makers. (1) The project builds upon Australia's existing research excellence in Media and Cultural Studies and cross-blends this with emerging research strengths in publishing studies and book history. (2) Australian authors, publishers and screen producers who seek access and exposure to international audiences wi ....Books as Media: The Cultural Economy of Literary Adaptation. The project will benefit three key Australian communities: (1) researchers; (2) cultural creators; and (3) cultural policy-makers. (1) The project builds upon Australia's existing research excellence in Media and Cultural Studies and cross-blends this with emerging research strengths in publishing studies and book history. (2) Australian authors, publishers and screen producers who seek access and exposure to international audiences will gain a detailed understanding of how adaptation's global economy functions. (3) The project informs Australia's cultural policy framework by focusing on enhanced marketing and promotion of Australian cultural content rather than input assistance schemes.Read moreRead less
Minds, Bodies, Machines: a cultural and intellectual history of technologies in the 21st century. This project benefits the intellectual and cultural life of the nation by establishing a unique dialogue between the I.T. community and University researchers in the humanities and social sciences. Using an
interdisciplinary methodology to explore technologically-driven social change across a period of more than two hundred years, the project will generate new and fresh ways of thinking about emerg ....Minds, Bodies, Machines: a cultural and intellectual history of technologies in the 21st century. This project benefits the intellectual and cultural life of the nation by establishing a unique dialogue between the I.T. community and University researchers in the humanities and social sciences. Using an
interdisciplinary methodology to explore technologically-driven social change across a period of more than two hundred years, the project will generate new and fresh ways of thinking about emerging areas of intense debate and controversy, such as humanoid robotics and artificial intelligence. The dialogue we propose will foster an environment of enhanced innovation, one in which knowledge translates directly and indirectly into social and economic benefits.Read moreRead less
The role of public culture in the construction of contemporary Australian literature. Literature is not simply a body of texts; it is a cultural technology, affected by changing patterns of production and consumption. Witness the 'cult of celebrity', the phenomenal recent growth of literary festivals, literary internet sites, reading groups, changing patterns of literary marketing, education, employment and leisure. Academic scholarship, largely text-based, fails to engage with these public and ....The role of public culture in the construction of contemporary Australian literature. Literature is not simply a body of texts; it is a cultural technology, affected by changing patterns of production and consumption. Witness the 'cult of celebrity', the phenomenal recent growth of literary festivals, literary internet sites, reading groups, changing patterns of literary marketing, education, employment and leisure. Academic scholarship, largely text-based, fails to engage with these public and popular phenomena. Our project develops methods for describing and evaluating how these practices construct literary value and cultural identity, in ways that will bring academic literary analysis into a more informed, more creative engagement with public and popular culture in Australia.Read moreRead less
Insights from the Invisible Drama: Shakespeare, Lost Plays and Theatre History, c.1585-1613. Early modern English theatre has been understood almost exclusively in terms of plays that were printed or survived in manuscript. Traditional theatre history narratives have ignored the evidence pertaining to over 700 plays written and performed in Shakespeare’s London but which are now lost or survive only in fragments. This project will consult unpublished archival evidence and under-analysed historic ....Insights from the Invisible Drama: Shakespeare, Lost Plays and Theatre History, c.1585-1613. Early modern English theatre has been understood almost exclusively in terms of plays that were printed or survived in manuscript. Traditional theatre history narratives have ignored the evidence pertaining to over 700 plays written and performed in Shakespeare’s London but which are now lost or survive only in fragments. This project will consult unpublished archival evidence and under-analysed historical records to produce new knowledge about plays, playwrights, companies, venues, and repertory practices in England during Shakespeare’s professional career (c.1585 to 1613). By addressing this gap, this project will generate new understandings of Shakespeare’s theatrical marketplace.Read moreRead less
Paradise Lost - Utopia Reclaimed: Writing the Wrongs of French Exploration in the Antipodes. When France's attempts to claim regions of Australia failed, the dream of an Antipodean paradise was lost. In its breach rose a new utopian frontier. Paradoxically, this anticipatory perspective revives a form of utopianism previously established in classical French-Australian writings. Whether framing an ideal France australe or criticising a non-utopian British reality, the ongoing role of utopianism i ....Paradise Lost - Utopia Reclaimed: Writing the Wrongs of French Exploration in the Antipodes. When France's attempts to claim regions of Australia failed, the dream of an Antipodean paradise was lost. In its breach rose a new utopian frontier. Paradoxically, this anticipatory perspective revives a form of utopianism previously established in classical French-Australian writings. Whether framing an ideal France australe or criticising a non-utopian British reality, the ongoing role of utopianism in French-Australian (post)colonial discourse may be analysed as a case study for cross-cultural encounters. The findings, publishable in English and French monographs, will open up new methods for understanding Australia's past, present and future relations with one of its major cultural influences.Read moreRead less
Six Inch Rule: A Cultural Study of the Australian Occupation of Japan, 1946-1952. This research into a neglected episode in the Australian experience of Japan represents a major advance in understandings of Austral/Asian relationships. In establishing the Occupation of Japan as a crucial development in post-war Australian international relations, the project will be immensely beneficial to the broad discipline of Australian geopolitics, particularly with respect to the ideologies and practices o ....Six Inch Rule: A Cultural Study of the Australian Occupation of Japan, 1946-1952. This research into a neglected episode in the Australian experience of Japan represents a major advance in understandings of Austral/Asian relationships. In establishing the Occupation of Japan as a crucial development in post-war Australian international relations, the project will be immensely beneficial to the broad discipline of Australian geopolitics, particularly with respect to the ideologies and practices of foreign occupation as reflections of national culture. The projected monograph will demonstrably add to the body of public knowledge of our cultural engagement with Japan, and illuminate an acknowledged area of Australian self-definition - the experience of overseas military service.Read moreRead less