Cultural defences against slavery and trafficking. This project aims to study an African slave, Josefa, whose story could inform a debate about slave cultures and understanding of the legacies of slavery. Captured and shipped to Cuba for sale in the 1840s, Josefa kept alive her Sierra Leonean initiation rites. This project will use archival research and filmed oral interviews to discover how and why she managed to do this. Since the same society existed in Sierra Leone until the 1990s and its gi ....Cultural defences against slavery and trafficking. This project aims to study an African slave, Josefa, whose story could inform a debate about slave cultures and understanding of the legacies of slavery. Captured and shipped to Cuba for sale in the 1840s, Josefa kept alive her Sierra Leonean initiation rites. This project will use archival research and filmed oral interviews to discover how and why she managed to do this. Since the same society existed in Sierra Leone until the 1990s and its girls were enslaved in the civil war, this project could offer insight into defences against slavery, and the slave trade’s legacies. This could inform the fight against human trafficking today and Australia’s response to trafficking.Read moreRead less
Black America and the Korean War: Race, War, and Desegregation. This project aims to provide the first detailed analysis of African Americans in the Korean War. In so doing it will generate new knowledge on the Korean War, the African American military experience, the Black struggle for civil rights, and the complex relationship between race and US foreign policy. Along with a deeper understanding of a conflict that has been overshadowed in popular memory by World War 2 and the Vietnam War, but ....Black America and the Korean War: Race, War, and Desegregation. This project aims to provide the first detailed analysis of African Americans in the Korean War. In so doing it will generate new knowledge on the Korean War, the African American military experience, the Black struggle for civil rights, and the complex relationship between race and US foreign policy. Along with a deeper understanding of a conflict that has been overshadowed in popular memory by World War 2 and the Vietnam War, but which remains a source of international tension, expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of the intersection between the African American military experience and US international power. These outcomes will be disseminated via a scholarly monograph, journal articles, and a popular, non-scholarly book. Read moreRead less
War stories and the meaning of the American Revolution. This project aims to understand the role of memory and war in nation-making, particularly in the founding of the United States. The American Revolution defined the American nation. The common view of it is dominated by images of patriotic citizens rising up together against the yoke of British tyranny to establish a democracy. However, it was also a protracted, divisive and bloody War for Independence and many contemporaries called it a civ ....War stories and the meaning of the American Revolution. This project aims to understand the role of memory and war in nation-making, particularly in the founding of the United States. The American Revolution defined the American nation. The common view of it is dominated by images of patriotic citizens rising up together against the yoke of British tyranny to establish a democracy. However, it was also a protracted, divisive and bloody War for Independence and many contemporaries called it a civil war. This project will examine the neglected memoirs of ordinary Americans in the early republic. Understanding how participants made sense of this conflict can show how war, memory and history create nations and sustain and enrich citizenship in democracies.Read moreRead less
Black business in New York: The first century of freedom. This project aims to recover the forgotten history of black business in New York City in the century after slavery’s end in 1827. Drawing on neglected archives and the Digital Harlem website, the project will focus on hitherto ignored facets of urban African American life, recasting that past in fundamental ways. The project is expected to offer original insights into race in America, teasing out this history, , and contributing also to t ....Black business in New York: The first century of freedom. This project aims to recover the forgotten history of black business in New York City in the century after slavery’s end in 1827. Drawing on neglected archives and the Digital Harlem website, the project will focus on hitherto ignored facets of urban African American life, recasting that past in fundamental ways. The project is expected to offer original insights into race in America, teasing out this history, , and contributing also to the long-running public debate about racial inequality.Read moreRead less
Sexual ageing in the history of medicine, 1774-2018. This project aims to provide an account of the different historical periods in changing medical concepts of menopause, andropause and the 'critical age' since the end of the eighteenth century. Understanding how questions of ageing and sexuality have changed across history will help to nuance our current understandings, relevant to an increasing number of people in ageing populations. This project will provide an integrative history of the nex ....Sexual ageing in the history of medicine, 1774-2018. This project aims to provide an account of the different historical periods in changing medical concepts of menopause, andropause and the 'critical age' since the end of the eighteenth century. Understanding how questions of ageing and sexuality have changed across history will help to nuance our current understandings, relevant to an increasing number of people in ageing populations. This project will provide an integrative history of the nexus of modern concepts about sexual aging. It will combine rigorous consultation of overlooked historical sources with consultation of current scientific evidence. Outcomes of the project will be aimed at historical readers, but also at clinicians and the general public.Read moreRead less
Theatre and autocracy in Ancient Greece. This project aims to study the relations between theatre and autocratic power in antiquity. Theatre, from the start, appealed just as much to autocrats as to democrats and throve in autocratic states for half a millennium after the extinction of the Classical democracies. While many studies trace ancient Greek theatre’s links to democracy, none explore its links to specific tyrants, monarchs or emperors. This project will examine how autocrats moulded the ....Theatre and autocracy in Ancient Greece. This project aims to study the relations between theatre and autocratic power in antiquity. Theatre, from the start, appealed just as much to autocrats as to democrats and throve in autocratic states for half a millennium after the extinction of the Classical democracies. While many studies trace ancient Greek theatre’s links to democracy, none explore its links to specific tyrants, monarchs or emperors. This project will examine how autocrats moulded the world’s first mass medium of communication to consolidate their power, and how competing interests used the theatre to share, limit or challenge that power.Read moreRead less
Hello, Mr America: Americans on R&R Leave in Australia in the Vietnam War. This project will provide the first comprehensive history of an important but neglected aspect of Australia's relationship with the United States. From 1967 until 1971 nearly 300,000 American servicemen - one tenth of the total number of Americans who served in Vietnam - travelled to Australia for their R&R Leave. What began as a matter of military expediency became an exercise in cultural diplomacy that left lasting econ ....Hello, Mr America: Americans on R&R Leave in Australia in the Vietnam War. This project will provide the first comprehensive history of an important but neglected aspect of Australia's relationship with the United States. From 1967 until 1971 nearly 300,000 American servicemen - one tenth of the total number of Americans who served in Vietnam - travelled to Australia for their R&R Leave. What began as a matter of military expediency became an exercise in cultural diplomacy that left lasting economic, social and political legacies in Australia. Outcomes include a deeper understanding of the history of the US-Australian alliance, the international history of the Vietnam War, and Australian history during a period of dramatic transformation. Outputs will include a book, journal articles, and a symposium.Read moreRead less
Facing new worlds: comparative histories of Australasia and North America. This project aims to develop comparative research into Indigenous and settler experiences in Australasia and North America in order to discover new connections or distinctions between the two regions for both public and academic audiences. The project will centre on a major exhibition with a focus on biography and life representation and will develop new methodologies for examining the shared or different histories of com ....Facing new worlds: comparative histories of Australasia and North America. This project aims to develop comparative research into Indigenous and settler experiences in Australasia and North America in order to discover new connections or distinctions between the two regions for both public and academic audiences. The project will centre on a major exhibition with a focus on biography and life representation and will develop new methodologies for examining the shared or different histories of complex indigenous-settler relations across "New World" sites. The expected outcomes of this project are to promote a deeper appreciation of Australia’s place in a Pacific world with as yet unexplored links to the Americas, and also to model new ways for art history and socio-cultural history to come together to explicate a shared, complicated past.Read moreRead less
Slavery, Sugar, Race: Australia’s South Sea Islander Labourers. This project aims to recover and make usable the history of Caribbean sugar as a labour migration model, cultural repertoire and source of investment for the early Australian sugar industry. Working with international slave studies centres and Australian South Sea Islander organisations, we will use methodologies from four disciplines to explore the question of Pacific labour from every perspective. The latest digital humanities tec ....Slavery, Sugar, Race: Australia’s South Sea Islander Labourers. This project aims to recover and make usable the history of Caribbean sugar as a labour migration model, cultural repertoire and source of investment for the early Australian sugar industry. Working with international slave studies centres and Australian South Sea Islander organisations, we will use methodologies from four disciplines to explore the question of Pacific labour from every perspective. The latest digital humanities techniques will be utilised to create a database of Pacific Voyages. This will further understandings of Australia’s place in global labour and race history, create new resources for research and teaching in history, literature and sociology, and further Islander community initiatives.
Read moreRead less
The Vandal Renaissance: Latin Literature in Post-Roman Africa (435-534CE). The project aims to investigate the Latin literature of the Vandal kingdom of North Africa. It expects to identify a vibrant literary culture that celebrated multicultural diversity, embraced the Classical tradition, and contributed to Christian theology, while helping form a distinct Vandal identity. Expected outcomes include a more detailed understanding of the intellectual influences on Vandal African authors, the mech ....The Vandal Renaissance: Latin Literature in Post-Roman Africa (435-534CE). The project aims to investigate the Latin literature of the Vandal kingdom of North Africa. It expects to identify a vibrant literary culture that celebrated multicultural diversity, embraced the Classical tradition, and contributed to Christian theology, while helping form a distinct Vandal identity. Expected outcomes include a more detailed understanding of the intellectual influences on Vandal African authors, the mechanics of Vandal court patronage, and the breadth of these authors' contribution to the history of Latin literature. The project will benefit Australian culture by providing a detailed historical example of the benefits and challenges of a multicultural society.Read moreRead less