A multi-media history of the Westrail Workshops at Midland. The project will produce histories in two formats, a book and a CD-ROM featuring a virtual walk-through of the Workshops. These outcomes will reflect a variety of views and concepts of the Workshops and the community, gathered from the interviews, photographs, documentary and ephemeral material of past employees of the Workshops (collected from 1998-2001). This material will have a wide range of applications including scholarly resear ....A multi-media history of the Westrail Workshops at Midland. The project will produce histories in two formats, a book and a CD-ROM featuring a virtual walk-through of the Workshops. These outcomes will reflect a variety of views and concepts of the Workshops and the community, gathered from the interviews, photographs, documentary and ephemeral material of past employees of the Workshops (collected from 1998-2001). This material will have a wide range of applications including scholarly research, educational material, and public information and will assist in the interpretation and re-development of the Workshops site. The project will be a significant and innovative approach to history writing.Read moreRead less
Remembering the Wars: Community Significance of Western Australian War Memorials. The project will provide an enriched understanding of war commemoration, community meanings, the design of war memorials and recommendations of practical strategies for their interpretation and conservation. The research from this project will add to the social understanding of our national war commemorative practices, the connections between community meaning and memorial design and the importance of war memorials ....Remembering the Wars: Community Significance of Western Australian War Memorials. The project will provide an enriched understanding of war commemoration, community meanings, the design of war memorials and recommendations of practical strategies for their interpretation and conservation. The research from this project will add to the social understanding of our national war commemorative practices, the connections between community meaning and memorial design and the importance of war memorials as instruments of citizenship. Results will be used to formulate a strategy to raise regional community awareness and regard for local war memorials through publications and through the direct action of local RSL Branches and community interest groups with a view to application on a national scale through the RSL. Read moreRead less
The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature. The anthology will be a major scholarly work. Its publication will stimulate scholarship in the Humanities. The project will also renew mainstream interest in the scope and sophistication of Australian literature. Many new works will be introduced to Australian readers, to education systems and to literary scholarship. The stand-alone anthology of Indigenous literature will enhance the public profile of Indigenous writers and will provide ....The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Australian Literature. The anthology will be a major scholarly work. Its publication will stimulate scholarship in the Humanities. The project will also renew mainstream interest in the scope and sophistication of Australian literature. Many new works will be introduced to Australian readers, to education systems and to literary scholarship. The stand-alone anthology of Indigenous literature will enhance the public profile of Indigenous writers and will provide a vehicle for the representation of Indigenous culture and history to non-Indigenous Australians, who are often unable to access such knowledge and voices in print. New critical perspectives will ensure a valuable public resource, and understandings of Australian society will be enriched.Read moreRead less
Irish Convicts and Early Australian Society: A Reassessment in Two hemispheres. Based on new archival research in Ireland and Australia and the development of a data bank comprising information on more than one thousand male and female Irish convicts who arrived on eight transports between 1800 and 1806, this project examines the process of transportation within the context of a much wider Irish diaspora in the Age of Revolutions. It seeks to bring Irish convicts into the mainstream of colonial ....Irish Convicts and Early Australian Society: A Reassessment in Two hemispheres. Based on new archival research in Ireland and Australia and the development of a data bank comprising information on more than one thousand male and female Irish convicts who arrived on eight transports between 1800 and 1806, this project examines the process of transportation within the context of a much wider Irish diaspora in the Age of Revolutions. It seeks to bring Irish convicts into the mainstream of colonial studies by examining the traditional view of their ?otherness? and by focusing as much on their lives before transportation as after. A book, articles and conference papers will result.Read moreRead less
The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme: An archaeological study of regional development and society. This project investigates 19th and 20th century society along the Perth-Kalgoorlie settlement corridor following the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme (1897-1903). The APAI will conduct archaeological investigations (settlement survey and excavations and historical documentation analyses to address three questions: 1.) the hypothesis that regional settlement patterns were affected by the pipeline locati ....The Goldfields Water Supply Scheme: An archaeological study of regional development and society. This project investigates 19th and 20th century society along the Perth-Kalgoorlie settlement corridor following the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme (1897-1903). The APAI will conduct archaeological investigations (settlement survey and excavations and historical documentation analyses to address three questions: 1.) the hypothesis that regional settlement patterns were affected by the pipeline location and new mining and agricultural ventures; 2.) what can the archaeology tell us about the lives of those who settled alongside this industrial and regional development; and 3.) the extent of Aboriginal involvement with colonising non-Aboriginal people.Read moreRead less
Family and Working Life in the North Eastern Goldfields: A Social History of Gwalia and Leonora (WA), 1890-1990. This project aims to supplement and use the results of a recent collection of oral history recordings along with rich documentary evidence and photographs to produce the first academic histories of the multi-cultural mining settlements of Gwalia and Leonora in the north-eastern goldfields of WA.These historical studies will focus on land use and the environment in the area, particular ....Family and Working Life in the North Eastern Goldfields: A Social History of Gwalia and Leonora (WA), 1890-1990. This project aims to supplement and use the results of a recent collection of oral history recordings along with rich documentary evidence and photographs to produce the first academic histories of the multi-cultural mining settlements of Gwalia and Leonora in the north-eastern goldfields of WA.These historical studies will focus on land use and the environment in the area, particularly the pastoral industry. The results will complement and build upon the significant community effort to preserve the heritage of Gwalia; will provide local resources to enhance the tourism potential of this remote area; and develop links with the main migrant-sending area in Bergamo, Italy.Read moreRead less
Writing the new history of British Imperialism its European, African and Australian context. I plan to complete several related projects already under way which are linked to the project title. The Oxford History of Missions in the British Empire will recast the way we think about the historical impact of Christian Missions. The Mapping Project compares the role played by surveyors and maps in the colononization of Australia and South Africa. Imperium of the Soul explores connections between d ....Writing the new history of British Imperialism its European, African and Australian context. I plan to complete several related projects already under way which are linked to the project title. The Oxford History of Missions in the British Empire will recast the way we think about the historical impact of Christian Missions. The Mapping Project compares the role played by surveyors and maps in the colononization of Australia and South Africa. Imperium of the Soul explores connections between deep currents of European intellectual life and the productions of key artists associated with British imperialism.
I will be revising my book on Theories of Imperialism and researching new work on war and conquest.
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East Perth Power Station and the Electrification of Western Australia: Interpretation of an Historic Site. Over the past century electricity has transformed people's lives. This project investigates the history of electrification in Australia through an interpretation of the historic site of East Perth power station, Australia's first centralised power station and now WA's most significant redevelopment site. The interconnection of electricity's technologies with human lives is the focus of this ....East Perth Power Station and the Electrification of Western Australia: Interpretation of an Historic Site. Over the past century electricity has transformed people's lives. This project investigates the history of electrification in Australia through an interpretation of the historic site of East Perth power station, Australia's first centralised power station and now WA's most significant redevelopment site. The interconnection of electricity's technologies with human lives is the focus of this research. It will result in scholarly outputs in print and digital form and provide thematic and narrative materials for best-practice historic heritage interpretation. The research is supported by industry partners including stakeholders in the East Perth power station site, community and government organisations, and researchers from four universities.Read moreRead less
Local canons: institutional authority and the category of the literary in Australian secondary-school English syllabuses, 1901-2001. Does literature still have a role to play in contemporary Australian culture and society? Is there any national benefit from the study of Shakespeare? Patrick White? Is literary study irrelevant, and out of touch with contemporary culture? These are contentious and important questions. This research, in seeking a deeper and more detailed understanding of the variab ....Local canons: institutional authority and the category of the literary in Australian secondary-school English syllabuses, 1901-2001. Does literature still have a role to play in contemporary Australian culture and society? Is there any national benefit from the study of Shakespeare? Patrick White? Is literary study irrelevant, and out of touch with contemporary culture? These are contentious and important questions. This research, in seeking a deeper and more detailed understanding of the variability of the category of literature in Australian school education over the past century, promises to make an important contribution to long-standing and still vital national and international debates over the canon: debates that tell us a great deal about our region and the world.Read moreRead less
Mass-market fiction and the shaping of cultural identities in eleven Australian communities, 1880-1950. This project analyzes the circulation of commercial mass-market novels and stories in eleven non-metropolitan towns and cities between 1888 and 1950, in order to determine the role of mass culture in the shaping of cultural identities in Australia during a crucial period of its history. Developing innovative research methods based in book history and bibliography, literary studies, and cultura ....Mass-market fiction and the shaping of cultural identities in eleven Australian communities, 1880-1950. This project analyzes the circulation of commercial mass-market novels and stories in eleven non-metropolitan towns and cities between 1888 and 1950, in order to determine the role of mass culture in the shaping of cultural identities in Australia during a crucial period of its history. Developing innovative research methods based in book history and bibliography, literary studies, and cultural history, the project will reevaluate received explanations of Australia's cultural past, challenge assumptions about mass culture and its impact on local cultures, and advance research methods in book history and literary studies.Read moreRead less