The influence of Contemporary Japanese architecture: its meanings and its miss-readings. Contemporary architecture and urbanism in Australia has generally been concerned with addressing 'modernity' while little concerned with specific culture or place, and with little discernable ideology. Consequently, the City of Sydney is much used by international film-makers as an undifferentiated generic metropolis backdrop. In contrast, Japan's contemporary architects have developed a politically-charged ....The influence of Contemporary Japanese architecture: its meanings and its miss-readings. Contemporary architecture and urbanism in Australia has generally been concerned with addressing 'modernity' while little concerned with specific culture or place, and with little discernable ideology. Consequently, the City of Sydney is much used by international film-makers as an undifferentiated generic metropolis backdrop. In contrast, Japan's contemporary architects have developed a politically-charged architecture which registers the complexity of their national identity while turning its back on nationalism. This project will contrast the ideologies of leading contemporary architects in Japan and Australia and will serve as a benchmark against which contemporary Australian architecture can be assessed.Read moreRead less
From Local Stories to National Identity: Competing National Myths in Chinese Nativist Fiction. China's continuous and rapid economic upsurge means it will play an increasingly greater role globally but its influence in our region will even be greater. Understanding China is imperative for Australia, which can only be achieved through understanding the core Chinese social and cultural values. It is vital for Australian policy-makers to know how cultural identification within China functions and h ....From Local Stories to National Identity: Competing National Myths in Chinese Nativist Fiction. China's continuous and rapid economic upsurge means it will play an increasingly greater role globally but its influence in our region will even be greater. Understanding China is imperative for Australia, which can only be achieved through understanding the core Chinese social and cultural values. It is vital for Australian policy-makers to know how cultural identification within China functions and how the Chinese government uses culture (among other means) to hold the vastly different regions together. Cultural understanding demands an appreciation of literature, the importance of which in Chinese cultural life is often underestimated outside China.Read moreRead less
From Local Stories to National Identity: Competing National Myths in Chinese Nativist Fiction. The project investigates the creation, reception and significance of competing national myths in Chinese nativist fiction. It explores the paradox that nativist writers, on the one hand, are committed to the abstract idea of a single Chinese nation, while, on the other hand, they aspire to create distinctive local cultural identities. Why do regional literatures compete in identifying with the cultural ....From Local Stories to National Identity: Competing National Myths in Chinese Nativist Fiction. The project investigates the creation, reception and significance of competing national myths in Chinese nativist fiction. It explores the paradox that nativist writers, on the one hand, are committed to the abstract idea of a single Chinese nation, while, on the other hand, they aspire to create distinctive local cultural identities. Why do regional literatures compete in identifying with the cultural centre? How do different local tales represent the regional and the national? By answering these questions, this project will expand Chinese regional studies into the literary sphere and contribute to the theoretical understanding of Chinese cultural nationalism.Read moreRead less
Kadare post Communism: Albania, the Balkans and Europe in the Work of Ismail Kadare, 1990-2008. Albanians make up a small but important segment of multicultural Australia. Through the work of Albania's greatest writer and intellectual, Ismail Kadare, we can come to a better understanding of Albanians, their history and culture, and hence of Australia as a multicultural entity. Moreover traditionally Islamic Albania, with its Ottoman history and culture, is seeking inclusion into the European Uni ....Kadare post Communism: Albania, the Balkans and Europe in the Work of Ismail Kadare, 1990-2008. Albanians make up a small but important segment of multicultural Australia. Through the work of Albania's greatest writer and intellectual, Ismail Kadare, we can come to a better understanding of Albanians, their history and culture, and hence of Australia as a multicultural entity. Moreover traditionally Islamic Albania, with its Ottoman history and culture, is seeking inclusion into the European Union, Australia's major partner in trade, tourism, education and culture. Kadare's post-communist works on the subjects of Europe, Islam, Muslims and the West, and Balkan politics and history provide a valuable lesson on the interrelationships of politics, culture and patriotism in a global context for contemporary Australia.Read moreRead less
The Cultivation of Middle-Class Taste: Reading, Tourism and Education Choices in Urban China. In urban China, high-income professionals and consumers have enormous influence on the development of élite education, travel, and cultural pursuits, but also on the stability of the Party-State. Their choices will materially affect Australian economic strategy, and will impact the socio-political character of the entire region. This project works to support Australian understanding of the tastes, aspir ....The Cultivation of Middle-Class Taste: Reading, Tourism and Education Choices in Urban China. In urban China, high-income professionals and consumers have enormous influence on the development of élite education, travel, and cultural pursuits, but also on the stability of the Party-State. Their choices will materially affect Australian economic strategy, and will impact the socio-political character of the entire region. This project works to support Australian understanding of the tastes, aspirations and national priorities of this new formation: the Chinese middle class. The approach and outcomes of the research will enhance Australia's global position in innovative, relevant Asian scholarship, support good economic strategy, and provide an accurate socio-cultural lens through which to engage with Chinese and regional futures.Read moreRead less
Government, Religion and the Problem of Moral Order in Contemporary Papua New Guinea. Successful Australian international relations depend on understanding the popular culture within which neighbouring people formulate grievances and desires for change. PNG is physically close to Australia; it was an administered colony and today as a regional ally it receives much Australian aid. Many Australian organizations, companies and citizens reside in PNG. This project will provide accurate knowledge o ....Government, Religion and the Problem of Moral Order in Contemporary Papua New Guinea. Successful Australian international relations depend on understanding the popular culture within which neighbouring people formulate grievances and desires for change. PNG is physically close to Australia; it was an administered colony and today as a regional ally it receives much Australian aid. Many Australian organizations, companies and citizens reside in PNG. This project will provide accurate knowledge of how popular religious movements can provide a political language for voicing everyday expectations and grievances. Social and cultural changes can produce new perceptions of injustice that are voiced as a moral critique of present day government, where the future kingdom of God or of the dead is used as a point of ethical contrast.Read moreRead less
Understanding Indonesian: developing a machine-usable grammar, dictionary and corpus. Australia's relationship with Indonesia is of great significance. The need for good relationships founded on appreciation of the range of societies and views in modern Indonesia is widely acknowledged. A better knowledge of the languages is essential for this, and so are fast, efficient information gathering systems for processing multilingual sources (including Indonesian text), that can analyse large volumes ....Understanding Indonesian: developing a machine-usable grammar, dictionary and corpus. Australia's relationship with Indonesia is of great significance. The need for good relationships founded on appreciation of the range of societies and views in modern Indonesia is widely acknowledged. A better knowledge of the languages is essential for this, and so are fast, efficient information gathering systems for processing multilingual sources (including Indonesian text), that can analyse large volumes of text. The skills to build such systems exist internationally. Through collaboration with established international teams, we plan to transfer cutting-edge skills in the development of machine-useable grammars to Australian researchers, and to create the language resources essential for understanding Indonesian.Read moreRead less
Germany in China: Colonial Interactions, Qingdao 1897-1914. The project will assist in increasing Australia's knowledge base about both colonialism in general and social change in China; to add to Australia's international reputation as a major center of research on China; and to provide additional information on local development in Qingdao, a major growth area in East China, that assists those engaged in government and business relations.
Religion and Political Transformation: A Transnational Study of South American Independence, 1750-1840. This pathbreaking international research project strongly contributes to the internationalisation of Australian humanities and social science research. It ensures Australia's substantial participation in seminal intellectual debates during the approaching bicentenaries of the birth of modernity in Spain and Latin America. It guarantees that Australia will not become just a consumer of overseas ....Religion and Political Transformation: A Transnational Study of South American Independence, 1750-1840. This pathbreaking international research project strongly contributes to the internationalisation of Australian humanities and social science research. It ensures Australia's substantial participation in seminal intellectual debates during the approaching bicentenaries of the birth of modernity in Spain and Latin America. It guarantees that Australia will not become just a consumer of overseas research in this field. It renews Australia's intellectual and cultural capital in Iberian and Latin American Studies at a crucial moment of generational change. It contributes to an understanding of the generic links between religious radicalism and political violence in an age of fast-moving, global transformation.Read moreRead less
Creative Misreadings of Christianity in Modern Japanese Literature and Popular Culture. The project will intensify understanding of Asian interpretations of Western culture, especially Christianity, and Western reception of Japanese culture. While Australian collective perceptions of Japan are often still informed by the experience of the Second World War, the increasing popularity of manga and anime is fostering a different relationship between the two countries. By studying Japan's popular cul ....Creative Misreadings of Christianity in Modern Japanese Literature and Popular Culture. The project will intensify understanding of Asian interpretations of Western culture, especially Christianity, and Western reception of Japanese culture. While Australian collective perceptions of Japan are often still informed by the experience of the Second World War, the increasing popularity of manga and anime is fostering a different relationship between the two countries. By studying Japan's popular culture and its history of cultural negotiation, the project will further our knowledge of Japan's position in the twentieth-century world. It thus accords with National Priority 4, Safeguarding Australia: Understanding Our Region and the World. Read moreRead less