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
The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively n ....The Two Frank Thrings. A study of two lives in the context of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia. This dual biography of F.W.Thring (1882-1936), stage and cinema entrepreneur, and his actor son Frank (1926-94), will explore two remarkable lives in relation to their performance culture and society. It will provide the first scholarly biography of both men, and through them will illuminate the history of Australian cinema and musical theatre, investigate issues of distinctively national iconography and voice, and examine the complex interactions between industrial/economic forces and artistic vision. Its principal outcome will be a book that should add significantly to our knowledge of the performing arts in twentieth-century Australia, and to continuing debates in the arts.Read moreRead less
Communication networks in Upper Egyptian monastic communities in the 6th to 8th centuries CE. This project will enhance Australia's hard-earned profile in the field of early Christianity in its Late classical context, contextualising Coptic studies within this wider field, and promoting internationally the quality of local research into early Christianity, Late Antique Egypt, and papyrology. It enables an understanding of the processes which stand behind the communication networks of the modern ....Communication networks in Upper Egyptian monastic communities in the 6th to 8th centuries CE. This project will enhance Australia's hard-earned profile in the field of early Christianity in its Late classical context, contextualising Coptic studies within this wider field, and promoting internationally the quality of local research into early Christianity, Late Antique Egypt, and papyrology. It enables an understanding of the processes which stand behind the communication networks of the modern world. It directly contributes to the preservation of the culture of Australia's own Coptic community, facilitating access to its cultural heritage, and provides a research focus to complement Macquarie's new commitment to the teaching of the Coptic language and history.Read moreRead less
Globalising the magic system: a history of advertising industry practices in Australia 1959-1989. Some 40,000 Australians are employed in advertising or related industries. But who are they and how do they come up with the campaigns we see on television? Given the impact of globalisation on the industry, exactly how Australian is the Australian advertising industry.
Fighting for workers: a history of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations, 1955-2012. This project provides the first book-length history of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the largest union federation in the United States. It will focus on the central theme of declining union membership and will innovatively place the AFL-CIO's problems in an international context.
Year of the riot: Harlem, 1935. Using a website to reconstruct Harlem and map the events of the 1935 riot, this project reveals the dynamics of the first instance of a new kind of racial violence-against police and property rather than between blacks and whites-and the impact of the Depression on African Americans.
Black America and the Korean War: Race, War, and Desegregation. This project aims to provide the first detailed analysis of African Americans in the Korean War. In so doing it will generate new knowledge on the Korean War, the African American military experience, the Black struggle for civil rights, and the complex relationship between race and US foreign policy. Along with a deeper understanding of a conflict that has been overshadowed in popular memory by World War 2 and the Vietnam War, but ....Black America and the Korean War: Race, War, and Desegregation. This project aims to provide the first detailed analysis of African Americans in the Korean War. In so doing it will generate new knowledge on the Korean War, the African American military experience, the Black struggle for civil rights, and the complex relationship between race and US foreign policy. Along with a deeper understanding of a conflict that has been overshadowed in popular memory by World War 2 and the Vietnam War, but which remains a source of international tension, expected outcomes include a deeper understanding of the intersection between the African American military experience and US international power. These outcomes will be disseminated via a scholarly monograph, journal articles, and a popular, non-scholarly book. Read moreRead less
War stories and the meaning of the American Revolution. This project aims to understand the role of memory and war in nation-making, particularly in the founding of the United States. The American Revolution defined the American nation. The common view of it is dominated by images of patriotic citizens rising up together against the yoke of British tyranny to establish a democracy. However, it was also a protracted, divisive and bloody War for Independence and many contemporaries called it a civ ....War stories and the meaning of the American Revolution. This project aims to understand the role of memory and war in nation-making, particularly in the founding of the United States. The American Revolution defined the American nation. The common view of it is dominated by images of patriotic citizens rising up together against the yoke of British tyranny to establish a democracy. However, it was also a protracted, divisive and bloody War for Independence and many contemporaries called it a civil war. This project will examine the neglected memoirs of ordinary Americans in the early republic. Understanding how participants made sense of this conflict can show how war, memory and history create nations and sustain and enrich citizenship in democracies.Read moreRead less
Rationality and modernity: a history of fortune telling in modern America. This project will produce the first scholarly history of commercial fortune telling in modern America, told from the point of view of customers as well as practitioners. The history of the persistence of the trade in prophecy well into the twentieth century will shed new light on the relationship of rationality and modernity in United States history.
America's Other Automakers: A History of Transplant Car Makers in the U.S. This project will provide the first book-length history of foreign-owned car manufacturing in the US. The first foreign-owned car factory was established by Volkswagen in 1976, and by 2009 these transplant factories employed 78,000 people, turning out 25 percent of all cars made in the U.S. Taking an historical approach, the project will explore the central question of why these factories have thrived at a time when Ford, ....America's Other Automakers: A History of Transplant Car Makers in the U.S. This project will provide the first book-length history of foreign-owned car manufacturing in the US. The first foreign-owned car factory was established by Volkswagen in 1976, and by 2009 these transplant factories employed 78,000 people, turning out 25 percent of all cars made in the U.S. Taking an historical approach, the project will explore the central question of why these factories have thrived at a time when Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler have steadily laid off workers. An original examination of a topic that has received little academic attention, this project will provide insights into capital mobility in this key industry, offering lessons for Australia and other high-wage labour markets.Read moreRead less