Old Norse-Icelandic Poetry, Poetics and Myth. I will investigate three central issues in Old Norse-Icelandic literature, leading an international team in reediting skaldic verse,writing a book on Norse poetry and poetics and concluding my study of myth in medieval Icelandic fantasy literature.The edition will provide a benchmark for specialists and, together with my analytical overview, make this important collection of medieval poetry accessible to non-specialists. The study of myth will show h ....Old Norse-Icelandic Poetry, Poetics and Myth. I will investigate three central issues in Old Norse-Icelandic literature, leading an international team in reediting skaldic verse,writing a book on Norse poetry and poetics and concluding my study of myth in medieval Icelandic fantasy literature.The edition will provide a benchmark for specialists and, together with my analytical overview, make this important collection of medieval poetry accessible to non-specialists. The study of myth will show how a neglected genre belongs within the literature of fantasy. Expected outcomes: a new edition of Norse skaldic poetry; two books, on Norse poetry and poetics, and myth in Icelandic fantasy literature.Read moreRead less
The Language of Old Norse Poetry, an important intellectual achievement of the Western Middle Ages. Old Norse poetry, produced from the Viking Age until the end of the Middle Ages, is one of the most important achievements in European literature. Thematically, it ranges from praise of Viking kings to Christian devotion; in metre and style it is extremely elaborate. It has applied value to a range of disciplines, including history, archaeology, linguistics and religious studies. This project will ....The Language of Old Norse Poetry, an important intellectual achievement of the Western Middle Ages. Old Norse poetry, produced from the Viking Age until the end of the Middle Ages, is one of the most important achievements in European literature. Thematically, it ranges from praise of Viking kings to Christian devotion; in metre and style it is extremely elaborate. It has applied value to a range of disciplines, including history, archaeology, linguistics and religious studies. This project will make Norse poetic language more accessible to scholars and the general public by providing new resources in the English language for its understanding, superseding previous studies because of the use of fully revised primary data.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 Double Revolution : Decline and Renewal in French Narrative Art from Celine to Godard. This study will offer new insight into contemporary France - and increased knowledge of the ongoing development of a major world culture is a significant benefit in itself. France's long-standing status as a great centre of civilisation makes it a vital focal point for understanding the implications of global change. Australia's cultural connections to Europe remain crucial to the continuing construction o ....The Double Revolution : Decline and Renewal in French Narrative Art from Celine to Godard. This study will offer new insight into contemporary France - and increased knowledge of the ongoing development of a major world culture is a significant benefit in itself. France's long-standing status as a great centre of civilisation makes it a vital focal point for understanding the implications of global change. Australia's cultural connections to Europe remain crucial to the continuing construction of our own identity, and in this context too, the French example is highly salient. The study will also constitute a valuable Australian contribution to world research, enhancing the nation's already solid international reputation in French studies.
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Poetry of the Nordic past: a new analysis and interpretation. In the Middle Ages, Icelandic poets composed verses they imagined were spoken by heroes of the past and these poems were inserted into prose sagas about prehistoric times. This project will make a literary study of this poetry, which will be published as a book about the medieval Icelandic legendary past.
Writing from the edge of the world: medieval Icelandic literature and the quest for social identity. This project has special significance for Australians. Iceland and Australia are both geographically isolated communities, both originally colonies of larger political powers (Norway and Britain), both asserting a social identity different from that of the motherland. Many themes of medieval Icelandic literature have parallels in Australian culture; slogans like 'the cultural cringe', 'the lucky ....Writing from the edge of the world: medieval Icelandic literature and the quest for social identity. This project has special significance for Australians. Iceland and Australia are both geographically isolated communities, both originally colonies of larger political powers (Norway and Britain), both asserting a social identity different from that of the motherland. Many themes of medieval Icelandic literature have parallels in Australian culture; slogans like 'the cultural cringe', 'the lucky country', 'home and away' can be readily paralleled in Old Icelandic literature. Our study will be of considerable social benefit to Australia and will show how another ex-colony, remote in time and place, constructed its own social identity.Read moreRead less
Pre-Christian Religions of the North: A History of Research and Reception. The Australian community, like others that share a predominantly Western culture, is indebted to the conceptual world of pre-Christian Nordic religions for many fundamental ideas, artistic and literary expressions and significant misconceptions: consider the fantasies of Tolkien, the significance of naming a boat Loki in the 2008 Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race, and the underlying ideology of Nazism. This project will reveal ....Pre-Christian Religions of the North: A History of Research and Reception. The Australian community, like others that share a predominantly Western culture, is indebted to the conceptual world of pre-Christian Nordic religions for many fundamental ideas, artistic and literary expressions and significant misconceptions: consider the fantasies of Tolkien, the significance of naming a boat Loki in the 2008 Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race, and the underlying ideology of Nazism. This project will reveal our community's general debt to Nordic religions through a study of how people have understood and used them from the Middle Ages until now, thereby revealing one of our culture's major influences.Read moreRead less
"The Whole Map of the Balkans": Ethnicity, National Identity and Empire in the Work of Ismail Kadare. The Albanian intellectual, Ismail Kadare, foreshadowed the re-valorization of ethnic identity as a socio-political category under late 20th century communism. While Kadare's novels and essays deal primarily with his native Albania, they also represent the emergence more broadly of ethnicity as a factor in the literature of Eastern and South-Eastern European socialism. The project will explore in ...."The Whole Map of the Balkans": Ethnicity, National Identity and Empire in the Work of Ismail Kadare. The Albanian intellectual, Ismail Kadare, foreshadowed the re-valorization of ethnic identity as a socio-political category under late 20th century communism. While Kadare's novels and essays deal primarily with his native Albania, they also represent the emergence more broadly of ethnicity as a factor in the literature of Eastern and South-Eastern European socialism. The project will explore in depth the relationship between ethnicity, ideology and socialist literary culture that underpins Kadare's work, providing the first detailed analytical and critical study in English, and locating Kadare in the context of the major lines of contemporary European thought regarding ethnicity and ethnic identity.Read moreRead less
Bilingualism and Multilingualism in a National Movement: Ukrainian Writers in the Nineteenth Century. This analysis of the role of languages with different social and political roles in the formation of a modern Ukrainian literature will advance the study of Eastern Europe in Australia, foster international research links and open avenues for collaboration between humanities and social science scholars in Australia and countries of the former Soviet Union. It will contribute to research training ....Bilingualism and Multilingualism in a National Movement: Ukrainian Writers in the Nineteenth Century. This analysis of the role of languages with different social and political roles in the formation of a modern Ukrainian literature will advance the study of Eastern Europe in Australia, foster international research links and open avenues for collaboration between humanities and social science scholars in Australia and countries of the former Soviet Union. It will contribute to research training and enhance the standing of Australian scholarship in Slavic and East European Studies. By contributing to knowledge about the gestation of nations - political and cultural units into which most people today believe themselves to belong - the project will advance the national priority goal of understanding our region and the world.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions. Emotions change over time; yet the long-term causes and consequences of changing emotional experiences and expressions remain largely unknown. This Centre will revolutionize research in the Humanities and Creative Arts by initiating innovative research collaborations across many disciplines to account for long-term changes and continuities in emotional regimes in Europe 1100-1800. For the first time we will fully analyse the social, cultural ....ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions. Emotions change over time; yet the long-term causes and consequences of changing emotional experiences and expressions remain largely unknown. This Centre will revolutionize research in the Humanities and Creative Arts by initiating innovative research collaborations across many disciplines to account for long-term changes and continuities in emotional regimes in Europe 1100-1800. For the first time we will fully analyse the social, cultural and political effects of mass emotional events. Links with cultural industry partners in art, drama and music will enable reflective performance research on communication of emotions, and illuminate the Western cultural foundations of emotions in modern Australia.Read moreRead less