A History of Public Conversation in the USA. The quality of public conversation is a subject of continuing concern in Australia as in the US. This study of the history of public conversation in the US will offer a longer historical perspective on current political and social concerns about declining social capital and civility in public discourse. Americans have always sought more and better public discussion, but for quite different reasons at different times. The research will illuminate the v ....A History of Public Conversation in the USA. The quality of public conversation is a subject of continuing concern in Australia as in the US. This study of the history of public conversation in the US will offer a longer historical perspective on current political and social concerns about declining social capital and civility in public discourse. Americans have always sought more and better public discussion, but for quite different reasons at different times. The research will illuminate the very rich history of public conversation in the US and shed some comparative light on Australian conditions.Read moreRead less
A Critical Investigation into the Life and Writings of Francis Jeffrey (1773-1850). Insofar as our culture was and to a large extent remains a development of the culture of Britain during the Romantic period, and of its often conflicting ideas of nature and subjectivity, individualism and nationalism, my research into Jeffrey's career and writings will bring benefit to Australia by making conceptual advances in key areas of our cultural and political history. The only places where Francis Jeffre ....A Critical Investigation into the Life and Writings of Francis Jeffrey (1773-1850). Insofar as our culture was and to a large extent remains a development of the culture of Britain during the Romantic period, and of its often conflicting ideas of nature and subjectivity, individualism and nationalism, my research into Jeffrey's career and writings will bring benefit to Australia by making conceptual advances in key areas of our cultural and political history. The only places where Francis Jeffrey's enormously influential 'Edinburgh Review' was read more avidly than in Britain in the early decades of the nineteenth century were in the ex-colony of America and in British colonies like Australia. Read moreRead less
Peepshows: Love Letters and the Death Penalty in a Sensation Trial and its Cultural Legacies. Criminal trials are primarily studied by cultural historians and legal scholars without reference to eachother. My aim is to produce a feminist cultural history of a sensation trial and its legacies that addresses the legal, historical and cultural dimensions of the case. The monograph will explore how a woman was hanged on the flimsy ?evidence? of her love letters, and how later critics and cultural pr ....Peepshows: Love Letters and the Death Penalty in a Sensation Trial and its Cultural Legacies. Criminal trials are primarily studied by cultural historians and legal scholars without reference to eachother. My aim is to produce a feminist cultural history of a sensation trial and its legacies that addresses the legal, historical and cultural dimensions of the case. The monograph will explore how a woman was hanged on the flimsy ?evidence? of her love letters, and how later critics and cultural producers used popular forms to speak back to law. The project significance stems from its multi-disciplinary approach, and the innovative synchronic and diachronic framewor, which will provide a model for later cultural studies of trials.Read moreRead less
The impact of Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson on European modernism and cultural life. The story of how the Black American entertainers Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson became stars in Jazz-Age Europe is the stuff of legend. Lionised by artists and intellectuals and idolised by popular audiences, they embodied the spirit of the age. As an allegory for those times, their story reveals a secret history of cultural intermixing at the heart of European modernism. It also holds up a mirror to our ....The impact of Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson on European modernism and cultural life. The story of how the Black American entertainers Josephine Baker and Paul Robeson became stars in Jazz-Age Europe is the stuff of legend. Lionised by artists and intellectuals and idolised by popular audiences, they embodied the spirit of the age. As an allegory for those times, their story reveals a secret history of cultural intermixing at the heart of European modernism. It also holds up a mirror to our times. By demonstrating the cosmopolitanism and ingenuity of popular culture, the research will simultaneously discomfort multicultural and anti-racist assumptions and deflate the myth of a pure or unchanging cultural identity.Read moreRead less
The rise of ethical consumption in Australia: from the margins to the mainstream. This nationwide project will be the first of its kind to examine the rise and impact of ethical consumption in Australia. Through engaging with consumers, retailers and producers, the project’s findings will enable the development of policy and industry frameworks aimed at the promotion of more ethical and sustainable ways of consuming.
The Democractisation of Documentary Cinema in China. The Democratisation of Documentary Cinema in China has cultural, political, economic, and research benefits for Australia. Culturally, the Project provides an analysis of the ways China views itself and the world. Politically, the Project enriches Australia's understanding of how media control in China has been transformed from 1949 to the age of globalisation. Economically, the Project enhances Australia's chances of finding a niche in the wo ....The Democractisation of Documentary Cinema in China. The Democratisation of Documentary Cinema in China has cultural, political, economic, and research benefits for Australia. Culturally, the Project provides an analysis of the ways China views itself and the world. Politically, the Project enriches Australia's understanding of how media control in China has been transformed from 1949 to the age of globalisation. Economically, the Project enhances Australia's chances of finding a niche in the world's largest documentary film market. As a contribution to research, the Project will produce the first in-depth study of Chinese documentary film, its industry and politics and so offers Australia a new perspective on how political change is reflected in one of China's leading media productions.Read moreRead less
Making a Spectacle of Disagreement: Media and Controversy in Modern Chinese Thought. Polemical and combative rhetoric, as well as tactics of dispute and provocation, are an integral part of key debates that have shaped a century of modern Chinese thought. This study is the first attempt to survey and analyse intellectual contestations and controversies in twentieth-century and contemporary China in relation to their publication in different forms of media (especially electronic media) that have ....Making a Spectacle of Disagreement: Media and Controversy in Modern Chinese Thought. Polemical and combative rhetoric, as well as tactics of dispute and provocation, are an integral part of key debates that have shaped a century of modern Chinese thought. This study is the first attempt to survey and analyse intellectual contestations and controversies in twentieth-century and contemporary China in relation to their publication in different forms of media (especially electronic media) that have been available to Chinese intellectuals and the concerned public. We expect to provide a new critical account of Chinese intellectual history and contribute to knowledge of the socio-political and cultural impacts of new media in a non-Western context.Read moreRead less
Experiencing space: sensory encounters from Baroque Rome to neo-baroque Las Vegas. This project focuses on the historical baroque and the neo-baroque and the relationship between them. The aim of the project is to apply a new methodology to the study of baroque and neo-baroque cultures, one grounded in sensory and spatial approaches. The primary case studies will be the cities of Rome and Las Vegas, two cities that are paradigmatic of the baroque and the neo-baroque. Whereas for theorists such a ....Experiencing space: sensory encounters from Baroque Rome to neo-baroque Las Vegas. This project focuses on the historical baroque and the neo-baroque and the relationship between them. The aim of the project is to apply a new methodology to the study of baroque and neo-baroque cultures, one grounded in sensory and spatial approaches. The primary case studies will be the cities of Rome and Las Vegas, two cities that are paradigmatic of the baroque and the neo-baroque. Whereas for theorists such as Jean Baudrillard argue that Las Vegas embodies the postmodern world in excess, this project will instead argue that it is emblematic of the return of a baroque aesthetics that has been nurtured by consumer culture, multi-media conglomeration and digital technology.Read moreRead less
Sport as a Communications Platform for Environmental Issues. This pioneering project aims to investigate the range of environmental and sustainability messages communicated by sport media, and how these messages negotiate the dilemma of promoting environmental awareness through events and activities that also generate adverse ecological impacts. By engaging sport media professionals, environmental claims-makers, policy-makers and journalists, this project seeks to deliver valuable knowledge that ....Sport as a Communications Platform for Environmental Issues. This pioneering project aims to investigate the range of environmental and sustainability messages communicated by sport media, and how these messages negotiate the dilemma of promoting environmental awareness through events and activities that also generate adverse ecological impacts. By engaging sport media professionals, environmental claims-makers, policy-makers and journalists, this project seeks to deliver valuable knowledge that informs industry decision-making, policy formulation and environmental awareness. The intended societal benefit is a new understanding of how environmental issues are communicated through popular media to large-scale publics, including how tensions in the communication of environmental change are negotiated.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. The ARC CoE for Automated Decision-Making and Society aims to create the knowledge and strategies necessary for responsible, ethical, and inclusive automated decision-making (ADM). ADM applies new technologies from machine learning to blockchains across a wide range of social sectors; it carries great potential and risks serious failures. The Centre combines social and technological disciplines in an international industry, rese ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. The ARC CoE for Automated Decision-Making and Society aims to create the knowledge and strategies necessary for responsible, ethical, and inclusive automated decision-making (ADM). ADM applies new technologies from machine learning to blockchains across a wide range of social sectors; it carries great potential and risks serious failures. The Centre combines social and technological disciplines in an international industry, research and civil society network. It will formulate world-leading policy and practice; inform public debate; and train a new generation of researchers and practitioners. Expected benefits include reduced risks and improved outcomes in the priority domains of news and media, transport, social services and health.Read moreRead less