The other democracy: Medes in the Iron Age. This project aims to use evidence from archaeology and historical texts to develop a new
understanding of the consensus-based political system of the Medes of the Zagros Mountains in the first
millennium BCE. In spite of the enduring presence of the Medes in the historical texts of Ancient Greece and the
Near East, this research project would be the first major piece of scholarship to address the nature of Median
communities. This research seeks to cre ....The other democracy: Medes in the Iron Age. This project aims to use evidence from archaeology and historical texts to develop a new
understanding of the consensus-based political system of the Medes of the Zagros Mountains in the first
millennium BCE. In spite of the enduring presence of the Medes in the historical texts of Ancient Greece and the
Near East, this research project would be the first major piece of scholarship to address the nature of Median
communities. This research seeks to create a new model for how these agro-pastoral groups may have
responded to imperial incursions by the Assyrian Empire. Its goal is to benefit scholarship by developing a better
understanding of how democratic systems can develop as a flexible response to external pressures.Read moreRead less
Islam, Europe and modernity: the French Revolution and the Muslim world, 1789-1799. This project challenges ideas about radical differences between Islam and the West by returning to the historical roots of the modern world. It shows that Muslims too had a share in the global experience of the French Revolution, by drawing on new historical evidence from archives in France, Europe and the Arab world.
Tuberculosis in Southern Africa: the history of a pandemic. South Africa and the states which supply workers to the gold mines of Johannesburg today have the highest rates of pulmonary tuberculosis in the world. This project will explore the role of the gold mines in creating a pandemic of a disease which was not so long ago considered to be in permanent retreat.
Occupational health and social justice in South Africa. This project aims to study South African asbestos and gold miners’ political and legal struggles for social justice. It will explain how their class actions for occupational injury against employers have been possible, and explore the wider significance of the legal cases. The research will examine how disabled miners re-captured science from corporate influence and used the law in pursuing their claims. The resultant book and articles are ....Occupational health and social justice in South Africa. This project aims to study South African asbestos and gold miners’ political and legal struggles for social justice. It will explain how their class actions for occupational injury against employers have been possible, and explore the wider significance of the legal cases. The research will examine how disabled miners re-captured science from corporate influence and used the law in pursuing their claims. The resultant book and articles are expected to illuminate aspects of a regional occupational health crisis and provide evidence to improve working conditions and action for legal redress.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101517
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$336,367.00
Summary
Through the Lens of Sufism: Global Dissemination of Knowledge in Islam. This project aims to investigate the intellectual legacy of Sufism on Islamic thought. Using an interdisciplinary approach it expects to generate new knowledge about the influence of Sufism since the thirteenth century, through a detailed analysis of newly-identified medieval texts and their transmission and dissemination throughout knowledge systems. Expected outcomes of the project include a challenge to conventional under ....Through the Lens of Sufism: Global Dissemination of Knowledge in Islam. This project aims to investigate the intellectual legacy of Sufism on Islamic thought. Using an interdisciplinary approach it expects to generate new knowledge about the influence of Sufism since the thirteenth century, through a detailed analysis of newly-identified medieval texts and their transmission and dissemination throughout knowledge systems. Expected outcomes of the project include a challenge to conventional understandings about the chronology and structures of Islamic thought, and the first global mapping of Islamic intellectual networks. The project should provide significant benefits including an improved appreciation of the influences on, and complexities of, Islamic thought in the modern world.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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Defining and Attempting Reconciliation: A Critical Analysis of the Pursuit of Reconciliation in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This project challenges existing accounts of South Africa's confrontation of its apartheid past, by establishing the conceptual significance of 'reconciliation' in its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using a perspective informed by the international context of transitional justice, and by comparison with other postcolonial racially-divided soci ....Defining and Attempting Reconciliation: A Critical Analysis of the Pursuit of Reconciliation in South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This project challenges existing accounts of South Africa's confrontation of its apartheid past, by establishing the conceptual significance of 'reconciliation' in its Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Using a perspective informed by the international context of transitional justice, and by comparison with other postcolonial racially-divided societies, it tests the hypothesis that restorative justice is more effective than retributive justice. Publication of the findings in a book and articles will illuminate the significance of 'reconciliation' for South Africa's recent political, legal and social history, and for its immediate future. In a larger thematic context, it also offers important applications for Australia.Read moreRead less
Silicosis, Knowledge and Power: Transnational Responses to an Occupational Disease, 1902 to 2005. Silicosis is a global disease which has affected the health of Australian workers and the profitability of Australian companies. Recently, major international mining houses have begun to acknowledge their wider responsibilities, and publish statements on Sustainable Mining. However, poor practices in developing countries continue to shift the costs of production onto labour, thereby under-cutting p ....Silicosis, Knowledge and Power: Transnational Responses to an Occupational Disease, 1902 to 2005. Silicosis is a global disease which has affected the health of Australian workers and the profitability of Australian companies. Recently, major international mining houses have begun to acknowledge their wider responsibilities, and publish statements on Sustainable Mining. However, poor practices in developing countries continue to shift the costs of production onto labour, thereby under-cutting producers who provide safer working environments. This project promises greater understanding of risk assessment and the processes of compensating workplace injuries. In doing so, it will contribute to the work of social movements supporting miners in their struggles for justice.Read moreRead less
The Awakening of Faith and New Confucian Philosophy. This project aims to provide a new understanding of how New Confucian philosophy was constructed in modern China. It proposes to debunk the prevailing myth that modern Chinese philosophy owes its identity as a continuation of Confucianism, to the exclusion of the fundamentally ‘foreign’ influence of Buddhism. It is anticipated that this project will substantially advance the knowledge base of Chinese philosophy both in Australia and internatio ....The Awakening of Faith and New Confucian Philosophy. This project aims to provide a new understanding of how New Confucian philosophy was constructed in modern China. It proposes to debunk the prevailing myth that modern Chinese philosophy owes its identity as a continuation of Confucianism, to the exclusion of the fundamentally ‘foreign’ influence of Buddhism. It is anticipated that this project will substantially advance the knowledge base of Chinese philosophy both in Australia and internationally, and will also contribute to a more informed understanding of the philosophical and religious traditions our neighbours use to define national and cultural identity.Read moreRead less
Asbestos: The History of a Commodity. This is the first world history of the asbestos industry and its social impact. It investigates key aspects of the mineral's life story in regard to mining, manufacture, medical discovery, labour, social movements, the law and the state. The project is theoretically innovative in linking the distinct bodies of knowledge that flow from each of those sites. It also raises significant questions that cannot be answered within separate disciplines. The result ....Asbestos: The History of a Commodity. This is the first world history of the asbestos industry and its social impact. It investigates key aspects of the mineral's life story in regard to mining, manufacture, medical discovery, labour, social movements, the law and the state. The project is theoretically innovative in linking the distinct bodies of knowledge that flow from each of those sites. It also raises significant questions that cannot be answered within separate disciplines. The resulting book and articles will provide practical tools for those seeking improved working conditions and assist those seeking legal redress for asbestos related disease.Read moreRead less