Saving the Appearances: Vision and Reason in the European Enlightenment. My proposal introduces a fresh perspective on the 18th century by defining vision and reason as cognate concepts. The complex dialogue relating to perception and knowledge established in this partnership turns mechanical reason into an ideal by the 17th century. By the 18th century, however, a new conception of vision emerges. Under the banner of 'Aufklarung' in Germany, an audacious attempt to end the separation of the sci ....Saving the Appearances: Vision and Reason in the European Enlightenment. My proposal introduces a fresh perspective on the 18th century by defining vision and reason as cognate concepts. The complex dialogue relating to perception and knowledge established in this partnership turns mechanical reason into an ideal by the 17th century. By the 18th century, however, a new conception of vision emerges. Under the banner of 'Aufklarung' in Germany, an audacious attempt to end the separation of the sciences and the arts is undertaken. Analysing archival materials relating to the 18th century, the proposal seeks to correct misconceptions about the nature and extent of the movement of "enlightenment" in Europe. Read moreRead less
A History of Women's Political Thought in Europe 1700-1800. This research will contribute to Australia's reputation for innovative scholarship on women and feminism and foster the development of models of active female citizenship and political participation by deepening our knowledge and understanding of the contribution that women made to political philosophy in the pre-revolutionary period.
How Australians have imagined the future; possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key the ....How Australians have imagined the future; possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our research will be the relationship between culture, ecology and utopia or dystopia. Much of our work will be quite deliberately oriented towards the future possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society.
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Spinoza and literature for life: A practical theory of art. This project aims to construct a Spinozistic theory of art that shows how the enjoyment of art promotes the art of living well. Many artists have celebrated the inspirational force of Spinoza’s philosophy on their works, but philosophers have denied or neglected the relevance of his philosophy to art. By working across literary and philosophical resources, this project will show how Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist writers drew on his ....Spinoza and literature for life: A practical theory of art. This project aims to construct a Spinozistic theory of art that shows how the enjoyment of art promotes the art of living well. Many artists have celebrated the inspirational force of Spinoza’s philosophy on their works, but philosophers have denied or neglected the relevance of his philosophy to art. By working across literary and philosophical resources, this project will show how Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist writers drew on his thought. This project expects to contribute to Spinoza studies, philosophy and literature and ethics, and show how and why artistic enjoyment is essential for human health and wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Complex Words: Literary Judgments in the British Commonwealth, 1920-1970. Examining the 'traffic' in ideas about literature between Britain and Australia in the context of a broad comparative study will add a historical perspective to contemporary debates over globalization and 'cultural imperialism', and Australian culture's place in those debates. Because the project engages with questions that are studied extensively by historians elsewhere in the world, it will integrate Australian history f ....Complex Words: Literary Judgments in the British Commonwealth, 1920-1970. Examining the 'traffic' in ideas about literature between Britain and Australia in the context of a broad comparative study will add a historical perspective to contemporary debates over globalization and 'cultural imperialism', and Australian culture's place in those debates. Because the project engages with questions that are studied extensively by historians elsewhere in the world, it will integrate Australian history further into European and North American discussions of imperialism and the circulation and reception of ideas and books.Read moreRead less
Imagining histories of love: the making of textual worlds in Taiwan romance fiction. This project examines the crucial question of how romantic love is imagined in contemporary Chinese societies. It innovates by analyzing the images of love presented in Taiwan romance fiction, a major genre of unstudied texts that provides knowledge of the emotional worlds of tens of millions of people worldwide. Its novel methodology approaches romantic narratives as documents of a history of love, producing ne ....Imagining histories of love: the making of textual worlds in Taiwan romance fiction. This project examines the crucial question of how romantic love is imagined in contemporary Chinese societies. It innovates by analyzing the images of love presented in Taiwan romance fiction, a major genre of unstudied texts that provides knowledge of the emotional worlds of tens of millions of people worldwide. Its novel methodology approaches romantic narratives as documents of a history of love, producing new concepts of Taiwan and Chinese society and history in which love is envisioned as the central experience of human life. Major outcomes will be a substantial monograph, an edited volume and several scholarly articles.Read moreRead less
Antipodean America: Australasia, colonialism, and the constitution of US literature. This project will revise the cultural histories of Australia and the United States by showing the broad extent of Australasian influence on the construction of American literature and national identity since the 1780s.
Germany in China: Colonial Interactions, Qingdao 1897-1914. The project will assist in increasing Australia's knowledge base about both colonialism in general and social change in China; to add to Australia's international reputation as a major center of research on China; and to provide additional information on local development in Qingdao, a major growth area in East China, that assists those engaged in government and business relations.
Literature and Science in the Early Middle Ages. This project aims to investigate the interplay between early medieval science and the literary imagination. The project focuses on Anglo-Saxon England, which provides a fully developed and well-preserved vernacular literary record, beside a learned Latin literary culture. It aims to investigate an important reciprocal relationship at a transitional moment in Western culture: the ways scientific learning influenced the early medieval literary imagi ....Literature and Science in the Early Middle Ages. This project aims to investigate the interplay between early medieval science and the literary imagination. The project focuses on Anglo-Saxon England, which provides a fully developed and well-preserved vernacular literary record, beside a learned Latin literary culture. It aims to investigate an important reciprocal relationship at a transitional moment in Western culture: the ways scientific learning influenced the early medieval literary imagination, and how the literary imagination influenced early medieval science. Study of the relationship between science and literature provides an insight into how people have understood the world around them and their relationship with it, interpreted in the light of inherited knowledge and the imagination.Read moreRead less
Demanding the Impossible: Utopianism in Philosophy, Literature and Science Fiction. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our re ....Demanding the Impossible: Utopianism in Philosophy, Literature and Science Fiction. In a society like ours, which is subject to more or less continuous and often rapid social change, the question of how to imagine the future is of paramount importance. The study of how better and worse futures have been imagined for Australia, and how they still continue to be imagined, is therefore a central research question for the humanities in this country. More specifically, one of the key themes in our reseach will be the relationship between culture, ecology and utopia or dystopia. Much of our work will be quite deliberately oriented towards the future possibilities for an ecologically sustainable society.Read moreRead less