Eureka's Women: An Intimate History of Sex, Class and Culture on the Victorian Goldfields. This project will be the first systematic study of the role of women in an iconic event in Australian history - the Eureka Stockade. The research will challenge the prevailing representation of Eureka as a hyper-masculine episode - male passions inflamed, male blood shed, manhood suffrage won - by providing a unique gender perspective to a familiar narrative. My hypothesis is that women were intimately and ....Eureka's Women: An Intimate History of Sex, Class and Culture on the Victorian Goldfields. This project will be the first systematic study of the role of women in an iconic event in Australian history - the Eureka Stockade. The research will challenge the prevailing representation of Eureka as a hyper-masculine episode - male passions inflamed, male blood shed, manhood suffrage won - by providing a unique gender perspective to a familiar narrative. My hypothesis is that women were intimately and inextricably involved in the events at Eureka, as they were more generally in the political and cultural life of the Victorian goldfields. The research findings will contribute to ongoing debates about the meaning of the Eureka story for Australian identity, citizenship and democracy.Read moreRead less
Letters between Vance and Nettie Palmer, 1909-1959: The Complete Correspondence. Nettie and Vance Palmer were two highly influential national figures, of considerable significance in literary and cultural circles especially in the inter-war period. This project, the preparation of Collected Letters, will considerably extend knowledge of their public contribution to cultural production in Australia and also of their private lives. It will provide a vital reference tool for historians, literary ....Letters between Vance and Nettie Palmer, 1909-1959: The Complete Correspondence. Nettie and Vance Palmer were two highly influential national figures, of considerable significance in literary and cultural circles especially in the inter-war period. This project, the preparation of Collected Letters, will considerably extend knowledge of their public contribution to cultural production in Australia and also of their private lives. It will provide a vital reference tool for historians, literary critics, biographers and scholars as well as be entertaining and compelling for the general reader. As a highly innovative example of the genre of the edited letter, in retrieving these writings of two gifted individuals, Australia's cultural heritage will be enriched.Read moreRead less
The popular culture of romantic love in twentieth-century Australia. In western culture 'love' is commonly cited as the reason for cohabitation or marriage, yet 46% of marriages are likely to end in divorce in Australia today. This project examines how the culture of romantic love has changed over the course of the twentieth century as changing patterns of work and gender relations, consumerism and the supplanting of spiritual ideals by sexuality and the cult of the body modified representations ....The popular culture of romantic love in twentieth-century Australia. In western culture 'love' is commonly cited as the reason for cohabitation or marriage, yet 46% of marriages are likely to end in divorce in Australia today. This project examines how the culture of romantic love has changed over the course of the twentieth century as changing patterns of work and gender relations, consumerism and the supplanting of spiritual ideals by sexuality and the cult of the body modified representations of love in literature, film and periodicals. The popular discourse of romantic love has transformed expectation of love, placing different demands upon what it is supposed to achieve.Read moreRead less
Lost Generation: Women Writers and Postwar Modernity. This project will restore a 'lost generation' of Australian women writers to, and reconfigure the meanings of, literary culture in the post-World War 2 years. 1945-65 is a key period of Australian cultural development that is under-researched but over-laden with stereotypes, which still frame and restrict our understanding of it. A fuller and more complex picture of Australian modernity and modernism will be gained by placing women centrally ....Lost Generation: Women Writers and Postwar Modernity. This project will restore a 'lost generation' of Australian women writers to, and reconfigure the meanings of, literary culture in the post-World War 2 years. 1945-65 is a key period of Australian cultural development that is under-researched but over-laden with stereotypes, which still frame and restrict our understanding of it. A fuller and more complex picture of Australian modernity and modernism will be gained by placing women centrally in the picture, and by placing the Australian case within the international field. Such an enhanced understanding of the past is essential for us to have a more productive and harmonious future, and to play a significant role internationally.Read moreRead less
A cultural history of Australian motor travel overseas. This project will add to our understanding of Australians' changing perceptions of the world, the way that Australian identity has been performed when overseas and the practice of motor touring.
It will be of direct benefit to the tourist industry and in contributing to our knowledge of Australia's relationship to the world and our region.
A New History of 1968: Feminism and Student Revolt in the Colonels' Greece (1967-1974). The student revolts of 68 are usually associated with Paris, Berkeley, Turin, Chicago, Leeds. But student uprisings also occurred in the universities of Australia, when students mobilised most notably against the Vietnam War. But there is another dimension which makes this project an important one for Australia - namely, that many Greek citizens migrated to Australia both after the Civil War (1946-1949) and a ....A New History of 1968: Feminism and Student Revolt in the Colonels' Greece (1967-1974). The student revolts of 68 are usually associated with Paris, Berkeley, Turin, Chicago, Leeds. But student uprisings also occurred in the universities of Australia, when students mobilised most notably against the Vietnam War. But there is another dimension which makes this project an important one for Australia - namely, that many Greek citizens migrated to Australia both after the Civil War (1946-1949) and after the installation of the military junta in 1967. This project will be historicising an aspect of the Australian migration experience which has received little acknowledgement. Read moreRead less
Sex in a Strange Country: Literary Obscenity in Twentieth-Century Australia. As recently as February 2004, Australian newspapers were again raising the question of how obscenity is defined. This project is the first comprehensive literary treatment of Australian obscenity censorship. It places the Australian case in context for similar studies in the UK and US, and particularizes it as an instance of colonial regimes. The publications that result will enhance the knowledge base of key stakeholde ....Sex in a Strange Country: Literary Obscenity in Twentieth-Century Australia. As recently as February 2004, Australian newspapers were again raising the question of how obscenity is defined. This project is the first comprehensive literary treatment of Australian obscenity censorship. It places the Australian case in context for similar studies in the UK and US, and particularizes it as an instance of colonial regimes. The publications that result will enhance the knowledge base of key stakeholders in that debate, from the Australian Film and Literature Classification Board to writers and other cultural producers, to public policy debates, and scholarship in the fields of literary, legal and cultural history in Australia.
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Lifted from the Ironing Board: The ABC Women's Session, 1935-1973. The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) broadcast radio programs for women from 1936 to 1971. This project provides the first history of these programs. It will document the establishment and decline of the 'Women's Session' during this period via internal ABC correspondence and audience research, scripts and listeners' letters. It will therefore provide a case study of the dynamic relationships between media production, cir ....Lifted from the Ironing Board: The ABC Women's Session, 1935-1973. The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) broadcast radio programs for women from 1936 to 1971. This project provides the first history of these programs. It will document the establishment and decline of the 'Women's Session' during this period via internal ABC correspondence and audience research, scripts and listeners' letters. It will therefore provide a case study of the dynamic relationships between media production, circulation and reception that will contribute to understandings of gender formation through popular culture. It will also forge new ways of understanding how women have contributed to the cultural life of the nation during the twentieth century.Read moreRead less
The Concept of Innocence and the Political Community: Australian identity and social health. In recent years, dispute, and even violence, has erupted in Australia between cultural groups and interests. By analysing the import of 'innocence' in Western social thought, and the cultural values corresponding to it, the project promotes a rethinking of the assumptions that underpin (and often undermine) relations between different cultures that make up the Australian community. In so doing, the proje ....The Concept of Innocence and the Political Community: Australian identity and social health. In recent years, dispute, and even violence, has erupted in Australia between cultural groups and interests. By analysing the import of 'innocence' in Western social thought, and the cultural values corresponding to it, the project promotes a rethinking of the assumptions that underpin (and often undermine) relations between different cultures that make up the Australian community. In so doing, the project addresses urgent questions posed by contemporary philosophy, and implicitly within Australian society, regarding the negotiation of differences between citizens and communities. The project thereby contributes to Australia's reputation in the field of social philosophy, particularly concerning cultural difference.Read moreRead less
Faith, gender and cultural exchange: Australian missions in comparative perspective, 1800-1930. The project will permit a fresh understanding of Australia's core tradition of British Christianity, an important cultural heritage which influences current views of national identity and which is of increasing significance in the face of the insecurities of globalisation. Through illuminating understandings of social, cultural and religious issues, in particular in relation to gendered aspects of r ....Faith, gender and cultural exchange: Australian missions in comparative perspective, 1800-1930. The project will permit a fresh understanding of Australia's core tradition of British Christianity, an important cultural heritage which influences current views of national identity and which is of increasing significance in the face of the insecurities of globalisation. Through illuminating understandings of social, cultural and religious issues, in particular in relation to gendered aspects of religious faithwithin cross-cultural encounters , it will contribute to greater understanding of societies and cultures across the Asia-Pacific region. It will foster international scholarly interchange, dissemination of its findings giving increased profile for Australia within the fields of colonial studies, gender and mission history.Read moreRead less