Touring the past: tourism and history in Australia 1850-2010. This project contributes to understanding our region and the world by investigating how Australia's past has attracted tourists historically. It analyses not only the ways Australians have popularly understood their own past, but how that past has been interpreted to the world. Given tourism's traditional focus has been nature rather than culture in Australia, it has often put pressures on a fragile environment. Cultural tourism is de ....Touring the past: tourism and history in Australia 1850-2010. This project contributes to understanding our region and the world by investigating how Australia's past has attracted tourists historically. It analyses not only the ways Australians have popularly understood their own past, but how that past has been interpreted to the world. Given tourism's traditional focus has been nature rather than culture in Australia, it has often put pressures on a fragile environment. Cultural tourism is developing as a major industry in Australia, destined to be even more significant in the future. History tourism is of particular benefit to rural communities, often under stress from economic and environmental pressures, and contributes to healthy active leisure.Read moreRead less
A cultural history of Australian motor travel overseas. This project will add to our understanding of Australians' changing perceptions of the world, the way that Australian identity has been performed when overseas and the practice of motor touring.
It will be of direct benefit to the tourist industry and in contributing to our knowledge of Australia's relationship to the world and our region.
The International Context of American Conservation Policy, c. 1900-1920. This project provides historical depth to current global concerns on resource depletion in fossil fuels, and to the clamour for international environmental cooperation that is of vital interest to Australia. It will explains why and how earlier concerns arose, and how these were allayed or deflected. It will highlight the importance of cultural rather than scientific issues in these controversies, showing how the American ....The International Context of American Conservation Policy, c. 1900-1920. This project provides historical depth to current global concerns on resource depletion in fossil fuels, and to the clamour for international environmental cooperation that is of vital interest to Australia. It will explains why and how earlier concerns arose, and how these were allayed or deflected. It will highlight the importance of cultural rather than scientific issues in these controversies, showing how the American political system generated interest in international environmental problems, and yet made agreements difficult to achieve. It will deepen knowledge, enrich cultural understanding of the United States and contribute to Australia's international research profile in the field.Read moreRead less
The politics of reading: Citizenship, law, and literacy in England, 1867-1960. This research addresses problems that resonate powerfully in contemporary debates: the relationship between freedom and responsibility, and the relationship between political rights, education and literacy. Knowing how people living in another age and a different society -- but one to which Australia is bound by a complex of legal, political and cultural traditions -- wrestled with questions that are still with us wil ....The politics of reading: Citizenship, law, and literacy in England, 1867-1960. This research addresses problems that resonate powerfully in contemporary debates: the relationship between freedom and responsibility, and the relationship between political rights, education and literacy. Knowing how people living in another age and a different society -- but one to which Australia is bound by a complex of legal, political and cultural traditions -- wrestled with questions that are still with us will add depth and sensitivity to our understanding of the bases and limits of a democratic culture.Read moreRead less
The Overseas Chinese Water Frontier of Southeast Asia, 1700-1900. This project proposes to view the South China Sea/Gulf of Thailand rim as a single economic region, a "water frontier" that endured for two centuries. Focusing on the Mekong delta and adjacent coasts, it will examine the major roles the Chinese played in the establishment of the Siamese and Vietnamese states. Despite the frontier's marginalisation in the nineteenth century, the populations supplied the manpower and expertise that ....The Overseas Chinese Water Frontier of Southeast Asia, 1700-1900. This project proposes to view the South China Sea/Gulf of Thailand rim as a single economic region, a "water frontier" that endured for two centuries. Focusing on the Mekong delta and adjacent coasts, it will examine the major roles the Chinese played in the establishment of the Siamese and Vietnamese states. Despite the frontier's marginalisation in the nineteenth century, the populations supplied the manpower and expertise that fueled the national and colonial economies which later developed around Saigon, Bangkok and Singapore. Our aim is to restore the "lost" history of this region and its peoples and to set new agendas for future research.Read moreRead less
Interrogating the Book of Negroes:explorations of slavery and freedom in the Atlantic world in the era of the American Revolution. Australia is a close political ally of the United States and an avid consumer of their culture, so it is important we be contributors to American culture and society, not simply passive recipients of its products. Since Rhys Issac won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983, Australians have shown they can be at the cutting edge of American intellectual life, demonstrating an inn ....Interrogating the Book of Negroes:explorations of slavery and freedom in the Atlantic world in the era of the American Revolution. Australia is a close political ally of the United States and an avid consumer of their culture, so it is important we be contributors to American culture and society, not simply passive recipients of its products. Since Rhys Issac won the Pulitzer Prize in 1983, Australians have shown they can be at the cutting edge of American intellectual life, demonstrating an innovative engagement with the historical processes that formed this powerful nation. A project led by Australian scholars to examine the paradox of liberty in the nation's founding will further enhance the international profile of Australian scholars, thus attracting more overseas university students, who represent a significant source of export income.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100550
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$356,808.00
Summary
Bioethics in the Antipodes: A history of Australian bioethics since 1980. This project aims to provide a comprehensive account of bioethics in Australia. Since the 1980s, bioethics sought to address the medical, legal and social implications of Australian research in reproductive medicine. Australian bioethics is often assumed to share a similar history to American bioethics, but the debate about reproduction, euthanasia and the nature of moral authority in secular liberal democracy is distinctl ....Bioethics in the Antipodes: A history of Australian bioethics since 1980. This project aims to provide a comprehensive account of bioethics in Australia. Since the 1980s, bioethics sought to address the medical, legal and social implications of Australian research in reproductive medicine. Australian bioethics is often assumed to share a similar history to American bioethics, but the debate about reproduction, euthanasia and the nature of moral authority in secular liberal democracy is distinctly Australian. To date, the history of these developments has not been examined. The project will use archival sources, interviews, and theoretical analysis. Potential benefits include a deeper understanding of the distinctive local and global contributions of Australian bioethics.Read moreRead less
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
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