News
April 2012
HuNI: The Humanities Networked Infrastructure Virtual Laboratory.
The Humanities Networked Infrastructure (HuNI) Virtual Laboratory is a two-year project that will provide researchers around the world with access to the combined resources of Australia’s major cultural datasets and information assets.
HuNI will be the first national, cross-disciplinary virtual laboratory for the humanities to be established anywhere in the world.
HuNI will use the latest Linked Data technology to combine the data from Australia’s most significant cultural datasets.
Read more...
December 2011
Flinders creative writing PhD student and first-time novelist, Hannah Kent, has been named the inaugural winner of the Writing Australia Unpublished Manuscript Award, comprising a $10,000 cash prize and a $2000 mentorship.
Ms Kent received the award – for the development of an unpublished manuscript in the genre of adult literary fiction or genre fiction – for her manuscript Burial Rites, based on the true story of Agnes Magnusdottir, who in 1830 was publicly beheaded in Iceland for the murder of her employer.
Described by one judge as a “complex, evocative and powerful tale that contains startling observations on the human condition”, Ms Kent’s winning manuscript was selected from a field of more than 400 entries.
“I was introduced to Agnes’ story when I lived in Iceland as a 17-year-old,” Ms Kent said.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about what it must have been like for her to become such an outcast in the small community she had grown up in. Burial Rites is my attempt at trying to understand this woman and why she’s been portrayed the way she has,” she said.
Describing her reaction to the win as “completely overwhelmed, in disbelief and very, very shocked”, Ms Kent expressed her gratitude to Writing Australia and to her supervisor, Dr Ruth Starke.
“I couldn’t have done it without her; she’s been really instrumental in helping me get the manuscript to where it is now.”
The award was established by Writing Australia – a national literature organisation comprising five state-based writers’ centres (SA, the ACT, NSW, VIC and TAS), formed in January this year.
Director of the SA Writers’ Centre, Barbara Wiesner said Ms Kent’s manuscript was considered “the most promising of all the entries”.
“We’re confident this development opportunity will assist her to realise her dream of developing this work into her first published novel,” Ms Wiesner said.
Ms Kent said she was particularly looking forward to the opportunity of working with a mentor.
“I’m incredibly excited about the prospect of working with a published Australian author who can look at my work with fresh eyes and give me feedback and advice based on their own experiences,” she said.
She hopes to submit the manuscript, which is currently at the second draft stage, in late 2012 as part of her PhD.
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November 2011
Hope found in the Humanities
STUART CUNNINGHAM, The Australian, November 23, 2011
IT'S that time of the year, when a graduating student's thoughts turn to a future career. In the humanities, the old joke "Do you want fries with that?" just won't die.
It got a rerun recently in these pages when Nathan Hollier ("Let's invest in developing our culture", Higher Education Supplement, September 7) wrote: "The fact is that students are increasingly perceiving, very understandably, that in choosing an area of the humanities they are also choosing, to an even greater extent than would have been the case in the past, insecurity, penury, unemployability and a low status within society, if not actual alienation within it." Read the rest...
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Passions and Reasons
Source: Erika von Kaschke, www.emotions.uwa.edu.au
The ARC-Centre of Excellence for History of Emotions (CHE) ran a seminar series entitled “Reason and the Passions” at the University of Queensland throughout 2011.
“The series co-sponsored by CHE and The University of Queensland’s Centre for the History of European Discourses focused on the early modern period and was very well attended,” Chief Investigator Professor Peter Holbrook said.
Eleven speakers, from a variety of disciplines, including English Literature, Music, Intellectual History, and Philosophy, presented their research during the course of the series. The speakers were: Professor Richard Strier (University of Chicago); Professor Stephen Gaukroger (University of Sydney); Professor Ian Donaldson (University of Melbourne); Professor Conal Condren (University of Queensland); Professor Peter Harrison (University of Queensland); Professor Valerie Traub (University of Michigan); Dr Deborah Brown (University of Queensland); Professor Yasmin Haskell (University of Western Australia); Dr Samantha Owens (University of Queensland); Dr Knox Peden (University of Queensland); Professor Simon During (University of Queensland).
The series was convened by Peter Holbrook and Marina Bollinger, an Associate Investigator with the CHE.
"One of the intriguing things to me about this series was simply how readily the theme of "Reason and the Passions" lent itself to discussion from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives focused on the early modern period (conceived here as stretching from around 1500 to the late eighteenth century). It seems that almost every humanities discipline will have something substantial to say about this theme--unsurprisingly, perhaps, since in one form or another the distinction between the rational and passional part of human beings has been a fundamental motif of Western culture since antiquity. In "Timber, or Discoveries", the commonplace book of Ben Jonson (1572–1637), we find the claim that "passions are spiritual rebels, and raise sedition against the understanding". Whether or not Jonson's view was generally held in his period, my guess is that humanities scholarship today often has it precisely the other way round--i.e, would grant epistemological, moral, or other value to the emotions--but that would be a question for another series," Holbrook said.
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October 2011
A Flinders archaeologist, Dr Jennifer McKinnon, has received an award from the Governor of Saipan for her work in developing an underwater heritage trail of Second World War relics on the Pacific island (now part of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands).
Dr McKinnon received one of the four Saipan Governor’s Humanities Awards sponsored by the Office of the Governor and the Northern Marianas Humanities Council.
Dr McKinnon, who is director of Studies of the Flinders University Department of Archaeology, was cited as “the driving force behind the World War II Maritime Heritage Trail,” which chronicles the history of the Battle of Saipan through nine popular dive sites. The Trail “provides a unique dive experience that can be found only in the CNMI,” and is an excellent example of a geotourism project for the islands.
One of 12 small islands in the Mariana archipelago, Saipan was the scene of fierce and protracted fighting between Japanese and American forces in 1944. Its shallow coastal waters are littered with battlefield remnants, including the wrecks of ships and landing craft, fragments of aeroplanes and even stranded tanks. As well as documenting the relics, the project provided interpretive material, including dive guides, for visitors.
In her statement of acceptance, Dr McKinnon thanked all agencies, groups, and individuals involved in the project. Its major funding came from the US National Parks Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program.
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Source: TENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NEW DIRECTIONS IN THE HUMANITIES
Centre Mont-Royal, Montreal, Canada
14-17 June 2012
We are pleased to announce the Call-for-Papers for the Tenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities. The conference and its companion journal provide vibrant, intellectually stimulating spaces for scholars from all geographic and disciplinary areas to learn, converse, and create. The aim is to generate new knowledge about the nature of the humanities, building strongly on the past traditions of the humanities while setting a renewed agenda for the future.
In addition to an impressive line-up of international plenary speakers, the conference will also include paper presentations, roundtable discussions, workshops, and colloquia submitted by practitioners, teachers and researchers. Please refer to the Call-for-Papers for proposal submission guidelines and descriptions of sessions. Presenters may also choose to submit written papers for publication in the fully refereed International Journal of the Humanities. If you are unable to attend the conference in person, virtual registrations are also available which allow you to submit a paper for refereeing and possible publication in this fully refereed academic journal.
More information available on the conference website.
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DASSH Network of Associate Deans (Research)
Sourced from DASSH.
In 2011, the Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (DASSH) established a Network of Associate Deans Research (ADR), to support excellence in research. The network had its inaugural meeting at the 2011 DASSH Conference in Townsville 28-30 September.
As part of DASSH’s Discipline Strategy, this network will complement the work of DASSH and its members. The network aims to provide professional skills development, knowledge sharing regarding current issues and good practice as well as an engaged collegial support network. Through this network DASSH encourages ADRs to take a leadership role in advocating and influencing higher education public policy regarding research issues affecting the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.
PROJECTS: It was decided at the inaugural meeting to initially focus on seven short projects over the six months up until March 2012. The projects are:
1. To create a general values statement on the network;
2. To develop a broad definition of research productivity in ASSH disciplines;
3. To establish a Community of Practice across the network for future collaboration;
4. To develop a statement of strategies and protocols for publishing with students in order to encourage a change in culture in our disciplines;
5. To share resources about:
a. Selection of criteria for creative works (proxy measures for reporting);
b. Strategies for staff capacity building;
c. Research plans in workload models;
d. The support of HDRs.
6. A special project into 2012 – the sustainability of Research Institutes and Centres;
7. To form a discussion group on issues about ERA 2012.
FUTURE MEETINGS: To facilitate this network the next meeting will be in Melbourne in 9-10 February 2012 and hosted by RMIT. Further details to be confirmed.
MORE INFORMATION: Please contact 2012 Network Chair, Professor Sue McGinty or DASSH Executive Officer, Fiona Doyle.
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THE EVOLUTION OF STORIES
Part of the Adelaide Festival of Ideas
8 October 2011
2.30 p.m.
SPEAKER: Brian Boyd
VENUE: Hetzel Lecture Theatre
Art and literature are, by definition, artificial things. People lavish a lot more effort and attention on them than really makes sense in practical terms. Are they just extras, mere entertainment designed to fill a bit of time? Or are they adaptations that, through play, help the human mind develop power and complexity, even wisdom? How do stories play a role in human evolution?
For more information, click here.
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THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE BOOK
Part of the Adelaide Festival of Ideas
9 October 2011
11.00 a.m.
SPEAKERS: Faith Liddell, Kate Eltham, Jason Lake & Laura Kroetsch (Chair)
VENUE: Adelaide Town Hall Auditorium
The book continues to make headlines too often as an imperilled technology. Some are declaring it dead. Others are mourning the end of bricks and mortar. Almost everyone has an opinion about the online world be it as a consumer or derider. In this panel Kate Eltham, Faith Liddell and Jason Lake consider Guttenberg’s legacy be it downloadable, live or on paper. Together they discuss the possibility that the book is not only enduring, but enjoying a renaissance. Join them in conversation with Laura Kroetsch, Director, Adelaide Writers’ Week.
For more information, click here.
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August 2011
LAW TEXT CULTURE Volume 16: Call for Proposals
Deadline: 30 September 2011
The Editorial Board of Law Text Culture is seeking proposals for the 2012 special edition of the Journal (Volume 16), due for release in December 2012.
Law Text Culture is an interdisciplinary journal published by the Legal Intersections Research Centre at the University of Wollongong in Australia. It aims to produce fresh insights and knowledges along three axes of inquiry:
Politics: engaging the relationship of force and resistance;
Aesthetics: eliciting the relationship of judgment and expression;
Ethics: exploring the relationship of self and other.
Law Text Culture publishes a broad range of work from artwork and fiction to the traditional scholarly essay. The Journal is trans-continental and peer reviewed and proposals are encouraged to incorporate work that is both domestic and international.
Proposals should include:
· a concise description of the proposed theme;
· a draft call for papers;
· brief details of the guest editors;
· an indication of the intended authors and how they are to be contacted (eg whether the proposal arises out of a seminar series, conference or workshop); and
· the range of genres (eg poetry, scholarly essays, artwork etc) expected to be included in the edition.
Proposals should be no more than 500 words and should be sent to the Managing Editors by 30 September 2011. Persons considering submitting a proposal are invited to contact the Managing Editors if they have questions or require information about the responsibilities of guest editors.
Managing Editors
Luke McNamara: lukem@uow.edu.au
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New website for the Australian Academy of the Humanities
The address is the same, but the Australian Academy of the Humanities website has been revitalised.
Visit www.humanities.org.au to see the AAH's fresh new look!
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THE POWER OF TOUCH
In the second annual research exhibition, Professor Anne Cranny-Francis goes beyond the corporeal to unveil how touch helps humans connect with the world around them.
Article by Alex Hyvonen, U:Magazine
Photograph by Joanne Saad
For many, the sense of touch is purely physical. Not for Professor Anne Cranny-Francis.
The Director of the Transforming Cultures Research Centre, and self-confessed sci-fi buff, argues touch enables a powerful connection between humans and the environment and is one of the most important processes we use to validate our knowledge and understanding of the world.
Five years ago, Cranny-Francis received an Australian Research Council grant to explore the meaning of touch. Her research initially focused on haptics, or touch-based technologies, which include the touchpad on a smartphone and processes like virtual surgery – where doctors practice surgical procedures without the need for an actual patient, instead using gloves or tools that allow them to physically feel the difference in the simulated organs or tissues.
In mid-2006, Cranny-Francis became intrigued by the emergence of smart-fabric technologies. She particularly wanted to understand how such developments would change the way humans perceive touch.
“Smart fabrics work by touching you as opposed to you touching it. For example, you could be wearing a dress embedded with technology which reacts to touch by giving you a hug. In a world where this level of technology is becoming common, I firstly wanted to know what ‘touch’ meant, and secondly, whether this meaning changed over time.”
In the second annual research exhibition, Professor AnneCranny-Francis goes beyond the corporeal to unveil how touch helps humans connect with the world around them.
Download the rest of this article (.pdf)
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July 2011
14 July 2011
The Victorian College of the Arts’ School of Art is proud to announce Ross Coulter as the 2011 winner of the $25,000 Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Travelling Fellowship.
Ross Coulter, who completed his Bachelor of Fine Art (Honours) at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2007, aims to use the Murdoch Fellowship for 18 weeks of travel through Europe as well as New York and Hong Kong to further his artistic research into multi screen video installations and investigations into large format analogue prints and printing techniques.
The winning artwork by Ross Coulter, 10 000 paper planes, was a major project undertaken at Victoria’s State Library involving shooting video and still photography of the release of 10,000 paper planes into the La Trobe domed reading room. The fellowship will bring this long-term project into a new phase of professional development and opportunity.
Read the rest of this article here.
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Humanities hope for a renaissance
Stephen Matchett, The Australian June 30, 2011
Scholars are hoping for a renaissance following the creation of the Australian Consortium of Humanities Research Centres this week.
The intent of the new network, according to Robert Phiddian from Flinders University, is to “allow researchers to speak with one voice.”
Read the rest of this article here.
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June 2011
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
The $24.25 million Centre of Excellence in the History of the Emotions at The University of Western Australia is being opened today.
Directed by UWA historian, Winthrop Professor Philippa Maddern of the School of Humanities, the Centre represents the biggest humanities grant made by the Australian Research Council.
“The Centre addresses the big question of how societies think, feel and function,” Professor Maddern said. "Emotions shape our mental, physical and social well-being.
“Our research will illuminate this crucial aspect of Australia's cultural and social heritage, and invigorate Australian culture through major reflective performances in drama, opera and art.
"By addressing the big question of how societies think, feel and function, it will provide greatly enhanced understandings of how to improve emotional health among modern Australians. It will train and mentor a new generation of young Australian researchers and heighten Australia's international reputation for excellence in humanities and performing arts research," Professor Maddern said.
Read the rest of this article here.
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The Contemporary European Studies Association of Australia (CESAA) has announced that the 19th CESAA Essay Competition is now open for entries.
Essays from any discipline dealing with contemporary (post-war) Europe and/or the European Union can be submitted for consideration in one of the following two categories:
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Best essay by an undergraduate student (2,000-3,000 words)
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Best essay by an honours or postgraduate student (4,000 -6,000 words)
The closing date for entries is Friday 21 October 2011.
01/06/2011
CCI's cohort of research higher degree students have set up an online space to share their blogs covering their latest findings, issues, controversies and general musings on all things creative industries.
This is a blog by and for Research Higher Degree (RHD) students and Early Career Researchers (ECR) at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries & Innovation (CCI), Australia.
The CCI RHD and ECR blog is not an authored space. Rather, it relies on RSS feeds from the CCI emerging scholars’ research blogs to generate its contributions. The result is a blog that presents the depth and breadth of the research projects currently within the CCI from the perspective of the researchers. The CCI emerging scholars blog is a place to present research and its findings, engage in discussion, and participate in healthy debate with other scholars.
Occasionally the blog has guest bloggers discussing specific research topics, and promotes suitable scholarly events. We encourage contributions and discussion from all CCI researchers. If you have any questions or wish to contribute to this blog, please contact Christina Ballico (cballico@our.ecu.edu.au) on how to do so.
Visit the CCI Research Space blog
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May 2011
The ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (Europe 1100-1800) and partner universities will hold a number of collaboratory events through 2011, beginning in June and ending in November or December.
1. Norbert Elias, Emotional Styles, and Historical Change
2. Shaping the Modern Program Collaboratory: Rock, Stone and Affect
3. Manufacturing Meaning
4. Performing Old Emotions on the New Fortune stage
5. Callaway Lecture: 'Beyond Hidden Persuasion"
6. History of Musical Emotions Performance Collaboratory
For more information visit: http://www.emotions.uwa.edu.au/news/collaboratories
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