White man's country and the critics: a trans-national history. The project will offer new understandings of the history of White Australia through an investigation of the idea of the ?white man's country? as a defensive response to a changing world order. It will investigate the historical emergence of the ?white man? as a new mode of identitication in the context of the trans-national circulation of knowledge especially between Australia and America. It will investigate the ways in which the ra ....White man's country and the critics: a trans-national history. The project will offer new understandings of the history of White Australia through an investigation of the idea of the ?white man's country? as a defensive response to a changing world order. It will investigate the historical emergence of the ?white man? as a new mode of identitication in the context of the trans-national circulation of knowledge especially between Australia and America. It will investigate the ways in which the racial identities of the federal fathers informed the project of nation-building. It will also chart opposition to the project noting the recourse of subordinated groups to international networks and organisations.Read moreRead less
Images of Chinese in Australia, NZ and SE Asia, 1850-1950. This project combines historical analysis and database software to review all accessible extant images of Chinese in Australia & NZ for the period (and a selection of images from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore), to (a) develop a sophisticated research tool for historians, which combines detailed annotations of content and context of images with means for cross referencing these against a framework of people, organisations, places, eve ....Images of Chinese in Australia, NZ and SE Asia, 1850-1950. This project combines historical analysis and database software to review all accessible extant images of Chinese in Australia & NZ for the period (and a selection of images from Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore), to (a) develop a sophisticated research tool for historians, which combines detailed annotations of content and context of images with means for cross referencing these against a framework of people, organisations, places, events, dates and concepts; (b) utilise this research tool, and visual discourse analysis, to investigate, for Australia and Asia: (i) how Chinese chose to represent themselves, and (ii) how Chinese were represented by Europeans.Read moreRead less
Promoting Whiteness: Race Science and the Making of the Middle-Class Woman in Australia, 1880-1940. Many Australians remain confused about precisely how race relations operated and were defined in the early twentieth century. Since, elite women were central actors in promoting racial ideologies, this study will provide the a broad insight into precisely how racial ideologies came to permeate white Australian society and their importance for both national and individual identity. Such insights ar ....Promoting Whiteness: Race Science and the Making of the Middle-Class Woman in Australia, 1880-1940. Many Australians remain confused about precisely how race relations operated and were defined in the early twentieth century. Since, elite women were central actors in promoting racial ideologies, this study will provide the a broad insight into precisely how racial ideologies came to permeate white Australian society and their importance for both national and individual identity. Such insights are of critical importance to understanding the impact of racial thought in the past, and its continuing effects, and thus for our ability to move beyond the current acrimonious debates over race within Australia and in within our region.Read moreRead less
A study of writers and regional identity in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. There is currently heightened community concern about supra-national loyalties that transcend and seem to threaten national boundaries. This project will help to inform discussion about the role of transnational belonging and the complexities of regional identities, so that it can be seen that multiple loyalties are common and often enriching. It will increase the audience for some neglected lif ....A study of writers and regional identity in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. There is currently heightened community concern about supra-national loyalties that transcend and seem to threaten national boundaries. This project will help to inform discussion about the role of transnational belonging and the complexities of regional identities, so that it can be seen that multiple loyalties are common and often enriching. It will increase the audience for some neglected life writing in the Pacific area, particularly from Indigenous writers.Read moreRead less
Australian Immigrant Mentalities. Immigrants arrive in Australia in hundreds of thousands and are generally anonymous and invisible in the historical and contemporary record. But many emigrants, from the days of the convicts to present times, have written home. These records contain their direct experience of immigration. This project explores the inner worlds of the immigrant , their response to Australia and how they coped with the process of migration. As one of the great immigrant nations of ....Australian Immigrant Mentalities. Immigrants arrive in Australia in hundreds of thousands and are generally anonymous and invisible in the historical and contemporary record. But many emigrants, from the days of the convicts to present times, have written home. These records contain their direct experience of immigration. This project explores the inner worlds of the immigrant , their response to Australia and how they coped with the process of migration. As one of the great immigrant nations of modern times Australia would benefit from hearing the voices of the immigrant. This intimate documentation relates to all the controversies that have accompanied the course of Australian immigration, past and present.Read moreRead less
Collaborating for Indigenous Rights: a fifty year retrospective exploring the history of black and white Australian activism, 1957-1972. The year 1957 marks the beginning of a fifteen year period in which black and white Australians collaborated for Indigenous rights. Although this work began with a concentration on civil rights, by the end of the period a new set of rights was being sought based on the unique circumstances of Indigenous Australians. This project will explore the struggle for ci ....Collaborating for Indigenous Rights: a fifty year retrospective exploring the history of black and white Australian activism, 1957-1972. The year 1957 marks the beginning of a fifteen year period in which black and white Australians collaborated for Indigenous rights. Although this work began with a concentration on civil rights, by the end of the period a new set of rights was being sought based on the unique circumstances of Indigenous Australians. This project will explore the struggle for civil rights and the more radical proposition that other rights flowed to Indigenous Australians due to their original occupancy and dispossession.The proposed end products are a fully developed exhibition brief and catalogue essay, an on-line exhibition with supporting educational resource material and scholarly articles.Read moreRead less
Negotiated Encounters: Native peoples and cross cultural engagements in the early Australian and New Zealand maritime enterprises 1790-1850. "Negotiated Encounters" will provide new accounts and interpretations of Australian and New Zealand colonial history. The main focus is on the race relations and cross-cultural encounters in the early maritime industries of sealing and whaling. A key element of the project will be an exploration of the notion of shared history and how relationships form(ed ....Negotiated Encounters: Native peoples and cross cultural engagements in the early Australian and New Zealand maritime enterprises 1790-1850. "Negotiated Encounters" will provide new accounts and interpretations of Australian and New Zealand colonial history. The main focus is on the race relations and cross-cultural encounters in the early maritime industries of sealing and whaling. A key element of the project will be an exploration of the notion of shared history and how relationships form(ed) between Indigenous and non-Indigenous in the colonial period. This project will contribute to contemporary debates on the importance of history, trans-Tasman National identity and the meaning of the past. Read moreRead less
The International History of Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism, 1814-1822. We cannot understand our entrapment in nationalism until we unravel the history of its complex inter-relationship with cosmopolitanism. This project excavates an understanding of politics and community that offers alternatives to the current global impasse. The moment in the past I will study was the origin of our present predicament, namely the inescapability of nationalism for the cosmopolitan and of cosmopolitanism for t ....The International History of Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism, 1814-1822. We cannot understand our entrapment in nationalism until we unravel the history of its complex inter-relationship with cosmopolitanism. This project excavates an understanding of politics and community that offers alternatives to the current global impasse. The moment in the past I will study was the origin of our present predicament, namely the inescapability of nationalism for the cosmopolitan and of cosmopolitanism for the nationalist. This project will consolidate the significance of Australian scholarship to a field that is critical to understanding our choices and destinies in a global society. It will make Australia the headquarters of a new international history that investigates the relevance of the past to policy-making.Read moreRead less
The role of the Wittenoom Asbestos mine in the lives and deaths of Italian transnational workers. Reconstructing the lives of Italian workers in the context of transnational migration and the mining of one of the worlds' most hazardous minerals is significant in itself as part of Australian historical record. To the Italian community, the story exemplifies the disproportionate contributions and sacrifices of postwar migration. Importantly, the evidence produced will be of use in improving public ....The role of the Wittenoom Asbestos mine in the lives and deaths of Italian transnational workers. Reconstructing the lives of Italian workers in the context of transnational migration and the mining of one of the worlds' most hazardous minerals is significant in itself as part of Australian historical record. To the Italian community, the story exemplifies the disproportionate contributions and sacrifices of postwar migration. Importantly, the evidence produced will be of use in improving public health and policy responses to the legacy of asbestos disease, both in Australia and in Italy. In drawing on Italian and Australian scholarship, community networks and government initiatives, the project will provide valuable training to a doctoral candidate, and contribute to furthering the practical internationalisation of Australian research.Read moreRead less
Captivity Remembered: Slavery, Islam and Identity Formation in the Sulu Zone, 1768-1898. This project will promote collaborative and comparative research on slavery and other forms of unfree labour, Islam and cultural hybridity. It will provide knowledge to governments, educators and religious leaders concerned with ending Muslim-Christian conflict in the Philippines, about the more socially inclusive nature of Islam and the process by which Muslim states and societies changed the ethnic identit ....Captivity Remembered: Slavery, Islam and Identity Formation in the Sulu Zone, 1768-1898. This project will promote collaborative and comparative research on slavery and other forms of unfree labour, Islam and cultural hybridity. It will provide knowledge to governments, educators and religious leaders concerned with ending Muslim-Christian conflict in the Philippines, about the more socially inclusive nature of Islam and the process by which Muslim states and societies changed the ethnic identities and spiritual beliefs of captives. It will also reveal the paradoxes of the historically conditioned response to the trauma and difference caused by Muslim slavery in the Sulu Zone that has governed the thinking and social practise of the Philippine community and other nations. Read moreRead less