Nuclear Nation: a contemporary archaeology of Australia's atomic heritage. The history of nuclear science in Australia is of growing interest to scholars, however the physical remains of this controversial legacy are yet to be investigated. This interdisciplinary project would bring together leading academics, curators, scientists and First Nations researchers, using innovative contemporary archaeology approaches, to generate new understandings of the significance of Australia’s atomic heritage ....Nuclear Nation: a contemporary archaeology of Australia's atomic heritage. The history of nuclear science in Australia is of growing interest to scholars, however the physical remains of this controversial legacy are yet to be investigated. This interdisciplinary project would bring together leading academics, curators, scientists and First Nations researchers, using innovative contemporary archaeology approaches, to generate new understandings of the significance of Australia’s atomic heritage in global context. Expected outcomes include improved capacity for heritage management, and new resources and methods for understanding and interpreting Australia’s role in the Nuclear Age. This should generate substantial benefits for the Partner Organisations, and for Australia's tourism and cultural sectors more broadly.Read moreRead less
Heritage of the air: how aviation transformed Australia. This project aims to generate new understandings of how aviation has transformed Australian society over the last hundred years, and how the technology of global mobility has shaped people, cultures and communities. Whilst aviation has transformed Australian society over the last hundred years, its heritage is under-appreciated and at risk. The project will build a partnership between the aviation industry, community groups, museums and a ....Heritage of the air: how aviation transformed Australia. This project aims to generate new understandings of how aviation has transformed Australian society over the last hundred years, and how the technology of global mobility has shaped people, cultures and communities. Whilst aviation has transformed Australian society over the last hundred years, its heritage is under-appreciated and at risk. The project will build a partnership between the aviation industry, community groups, museums and a multidisciplinary academic team to develop fresh insights from under-utilised sources of aviation heritage, communicate their unique stories to the public through innovative exhibitions and publications, and help conserve it for future generations. As a result, the project will make an important contribution to culture and society by enabling community access to neglected and at-risk sources of aviation heritage, and engage the public’s fascination with aviation through new interpretations of its extraordinary social and cultural impact.Read moreRead less
Reconstructing the Spencer and Gillen Collection: Museums, Indigenous Perspectives and the Production of Cultural Knowledge. Spencer and Gillen's research placed Australia at the heart of world discourse in anthropology at the beginning of the twentieth century and they influenced the paradigm changes that resulted in the development of the modern discipline. Digital technology now enables the material record of their research to be recreated as a whole revealing the richness of Aboriginal socie ....Reconstructing the Spencer and Gillen Collection: Museums, Indigenous Perspectives and the Production of Cultural Knowledge. Spencer and Gillen's research placed Australia at the heart of world discourse in anthropology at the beginning of the twentieth century and they influenced the paradigm changes that resulted in the development of the modern discipline. Digital technology now enables the material record of their research to be recreated as a whole revealing the richness of Aboriginal society in central Australia at the turn of the twentieth century and uncovering a crucial period in the history of anthropology. The research project will advance understanding of Australia's role in the history of anthropology and related disciplines in addition to creating a cultural resource of great value not least for the Indigenous communities themselves.Read moreRead less
The development and testing of a theory of the processes that shape material culture diversity using a New Guinea dataset. Australian museums hold approximately 150,000 artefacts from the Pacific. Estimates of overseas holdings suggest another 500,000. From these collections, objects are selected for research or exhibition based on restricted themes. No attempt has yet been made to utilise these collections in a comprehensive way to maximise their research potential. This has now been done for t ....The development and testing of a theory of the processes that shape material culture diversity using a New Guinea dataset. Australian museums hold approximately 150,000 artefacts from the Pacific. Estimates of overseas holdings suggest another 500,000. From these collections, objects are selected for research or exhibition based on restricted themes. No attempt has yet been made to utilise these collections in a comprehensive way to maximise their research potential. This has now been done for the north-central region of New Guinea and the available information provides the opportunity to develop a theory of the processes that bring about diversity of material culture. Such a theory would be of international significance for ethnologists and archaeologists and add value to publicly-funded collections.Read moreRead less
Exploring Relationships between Material Culture and Language, Propinquity, Population, Subsistence and Environment in the Upper Sepik-Central New Guinea Regions. This project will explore relationships between material culture, language, geographical proximity, population size and density, subsistence systems, and environmental characteristics in two adjacent regions - the upper Sepik and the highlands of central New Guinea. The role of trade, inter-marriage, migration, ritual and warfare in af ....Exploring Relationships between Material Culture and Language, Propinquity, Population, Subsistence and Environment in the Upper Sepik-Central New Guinea Regions. This project will explore relationships between material culture, language, geographical proximity, population size and density, subsistence systems, and environmental characteristics in two adjacent regions - the upper Sepik and the highlands of central New Guinea. The role of trade, inter-marriage, migration, ritual and warfare in affecting relationships among the variables will be assessed. This is the first project to examine so many objects (8000+) in such detail for two contrasting regions in the Pacific. It will clarify the role of language vis-a-vis other variables in determining the identifiability of objects produced in those regions and has practical cultural heritage outcomes.Read moreRead less
Mobilising Dutch East India Company collections for new global stories . Australia has a rich legacy of archives, art and artefacts, including 4 shipwrecks in WA, from its history of encounters with the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Through comparative research in Australian and overseas museums and archives we aim to situate Australian collections in a global context, creating new stories about Australia as part of the VOC global network. An interdisciplinary team will train 3 ECRs and 7 HDRs ....Mobilising Dutch East India Company collections for new global stories . Australia has a rich legacy of archives, art and artefacts, including 4 shipwrecks in WA, from its history of encounters with the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Through comparative research in Australian and overseas museums and archives we aim to situate Australian collections in a global context, creating new stories about Australia as part of the VOC global network. An interdisciplinary team will train 3 ECRs and 7 HDRs and forge partnerships with the Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Africa, strengthening national capacity. Our analysis will enrich the value of collections, provide narratives for museums and sites, and revitalise content for international and domestic tourism markets.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354824
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Indigenous Collections and Knowledge Archives Research Network. We will develop an ongoing inter-disciplinary network of researchers (museum researchers, anthropologists, art historians, musicologists, linguists) working with Indigenous collections (ethnographic, anthropological, fine art) and knowledge archives (sound, film, photographic and print). The network will create an exceptional research resource, and facilitate communication between holding institutions, researchers and local Indigeno ....Indigenous Collections and Knowledge Archives Research Network. We will develop an ongoing inter-disciplinary network of researchers (museum researchers, anthropologists, art historians, musicologists, linguists) working with Indigenous collections (ethnographic, anthropological, fine art) and knowledge archives (sound, film, photographic and print). The network will create an exceptional research resource, and facilitate communication between holding institutions, researchers and local Indigenous communities. As well as facilitating pure research (eg. documenting the material, investigating memory systems and processes of cultural change) the project will play a significant role in community development (e. g. repatriation of images and information to Indigenous communities will benefit present generations and fulfil social, emotional and intellectual needs).Read moreRead less
Learning from the Past? Evaluating the impact of Holocaust museum education. This project will determine and assess the long term educational impact of Holocaust education programs. Developed in partnership with Australia’s three Holocaust museums, our innovative methodology will enable a comprehensive understanding of these programs' potential to shape ethical thinking and engender behavioural change. The outcomes will generate more targeted and effective programs that engage students on cognit ....Learning from the Past? Evaluating the impact of Holocaust museum education. This project will determine and assess the long term educational impact of Holocaust education programs. Developed in partnership with Australia’s three Holocaust museums, our innovative methodology will enable a comprehensive understanding of these programs' potential to shape ethical thinking and engender behavioural change. The outcomes will generate more targeted and effective programs that engage students on cognitive and affective levels. With the rise of antisemitism, Islamophobia and political extremism in Australia and abroad prompting policy initiatives in which cultural institutions are characterised as agents of social change, maximising the long-term educational benefits of these programs is imperative.Read moreRead less
The Great Exhibitions and their Lost Indigenous Objects . This project will rediscover the Australian Indigenous objects sent overseas to the Great Exhibitions of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Such objects acted as powerful forms of cultural, political and economic display, and a form of imperial and colonial projection. It will excavate the hidden histories of Indigenous people involved in these events and the many objects lost to Australia. Through collaborative work at communi ....The Great Exhibitions and their Lost Indigenous Objects . This project will rediscover the Australian Indigenous objects sent overseas to the Great Exhibitions of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Such objects acted as powerful forms of cultural, political and economic display, and a form of imperial and colonial projection. It will excavate the hidden histories of Indigenous people involved in these events and the many objects lost to Australia. Through collaborative work at community dialogues, the project will repatriate knowledge and remake connections between objects, museums, and Indigenous people. In doing so, it will bring contemporary Indigenous perspectives to global attention, generate new exhibition possibilities and influence international museum practice.Read moreRead less
A national framework for managing malignant plastics in museum collections. A national framework for managing malignant plastics in museum collections. This collaborative project between three universities, four museums and an art gallery aims to discover how to predict and increase the lifespan of malignant plastics or polymers by studying their identification, deterioration and conservation. 5 to 80% of museum collections, composed of growing numbers of plastic or polymer-based materials, need ....A national framework for managing malignant plastics in museum collections. A national framework for managing malignant plastics in museum collections. This collaborative project between three universities, four museums and an art gallery aims to discover how to predict and increase the lifespan of malignant plastics or polymers by studying their identification, deterioration and conservation. 5 to 80% of museum collections, composed of growing numbers of plastic or polymer-based materials, need better preservation. Conservators do not have much expertise in preserving plastics, which are contemporary and have a relatively short life expectancy. This project intends to provide museums with a model for prioritising and effectively allocating resources to preserve a vulnerable group of collections for future generations.Read moreRead less