SHAPS Digest (July 2022)
A number of our staff and postgraduates took part in the 2022 Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA) conference at Monash University. This year’s theme was ‘Social Justice in Pandemic Times’. As President of the ASAA, Kate McGregor (History) delivered a paper on ‘Decoloniality and the Indonesian Revolution’, presented on a panel on research challenges for the Indonesia Council, and launched the inaugural Reid Prize Lecture for the largest prize in Asian studies for Australian and New Zealand authors. Nicole Tse (Grimwade Centre) presented a paper on knowledge asymmetries in cultural heritage policy-making and practice.
Several History postgraduate researchers presented at the conference:
- Bronwyn Anne Beech Jones on examining young women’s selves and words through colonial-era West Sumatran newspapers;
- Ravando Lie on debates on health, social welfare and philanthropy in the ethnic Chinese community in colonial Indonesia, and (with FX Harsono) on Chinese mass graves as sources for studying the Chinese massacres during the Indonesian revolutionary period (1945–1949);
- Nathan Gardner (who was awarded a postgraduate bursary) on comparing Chinese Australian responses to racism during the ‘Hanson debate’ and the COVID-19 pandemic;
- Dana Fahadi on empowering online gender-based violence (OGBV) survivors in Indonesia during the pandemic;
- Jonathan Tehusijarana on Indonesian student veterans and the image of ideal youth under the New Order (1967–1998);
- and Arthur Knight also participated.
Many staff, postgraduates and recent graduates also participated in other conferences of the mid-semester season: ANZAMEMS – Australia & New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (Matthew Champion, Nat Cutter, Catherine Kovesi, Charlotte Millar, Jenny Spinks, Charles Zika); and the AHA –Australian Historical Association (Zoë Laidlaw, Nat Cutter, Cat Gay, Neville Yeomans, Peter McPhee, Andonis Piperoglou, David Goodman, Darius von Güttner, Peter McPhee, Henry Reese, Thea Gardiner).
Louise Hitchcock (Classics & Archaeology) was interviewed by Archaeology Magazine about her work on the Philistines and the Tell es-Safi excavations of the ruins of the city of Gath, one of the five cities known as the Philistine Pentapolis, which thrived during the Iron Age.
Louise Hitchcock‘s work on the history of plague was also featured in a New Scientist article (behind paywall) exploring the connections between epidemics and social change.
Classics & Archaeology alum Navot Rom, who now works for the Israel Antiquities Authority as an archaeological inspector, was interviewed by the Jerusalem Post.
Academic Publications
Karen Green (Professorial Fellow, Philosophy), Simone de Beauvoir (Cambridge University Press, 2022)
Tracing her intellectual development from her university years, when she was trained in a Cartesian and neo-Kantian philosophical tradition, to her final decade, during which she was recognised as having inspired the emerging strands of late twentieth-century feminism, Beauvoir is shown to have been among the most influential philosophical voices of the mid twentieth century. Countering the recent trend to read her in isolation from Sartre, she is shown to have both adopted, adapted, and influenced his philosophy, most importantly through encouraging him to engage with Hegel and to consider our relations with others. The Second Sex is read in the light of her existentialist humanism and ultimately faulted for having succumbed too uncritically to the masculine myth that it is men who are solely responsible for society’s intellectual and cultural history.
Karen Green, ‘On E.E. Constance Jones’s Account of Categorical Propositions and Her Defence of Frege’, Australasian Journal of Philosophy
E.E.C. Jones’s early logical writings have recently been rescued from obscurity and it has been claimed that, in her works dating from the 1890s, she anticipated Frege’s distinction between sense and reference. This claim is challenged on the ground that it is based on a common but inadequate reading of Frege, which runs together his concept/object and sense/reference distinctions. It is admitted that a case can be made for Jones having anticipated something very like Frege’s analysis of categorical propositions, and that she offered a sound rebuttal of Russell’s objection to Frege’s account of the informativeness of identity statements. However, these significant achievements should not be misrepresented as an anticipation of Frege on sense and reference, a claim that encourages a defective reading of both philosophers.
Tristan Grotvedt Haze (Lecturer (Teaching Specialist), Philosophy), Meaning and Metaphysical Necessity (Routledge, 2022).
This book is about the idea that some true statements would have been true no matter how the world had turned out, while others could have been false. It develops and defends a version of the idea that we tell the difference between these two types of truths in part by reflecting on the meanings of words. It has often been thought that modal issues—issues about possibility and necessity—are related to issues about meaning. In this book, the author defends the view that the analysis of meaning is not just a preliminary to answering modal questions in philosophy; it is not merely that before we can find out whether something is possible, we need to get clear on what we are talking about. Rather, clarity about meaning often brings with it answers to modal questions. In service of this view, the author analyses the notion of necessity and develops ideas about linguistic meaning, applying them to several puzzles and problems in philosophy of language. Meaning and Metaphysical Necessity will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in metaphysics, philosophy of language, and philosophical logic.
Amy Hodgson (PhD candidate, History) and James Kirby, ‘The Gambia v Myanmar at the International Court of Justice: A Search for National and International Values’, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.
This article argues The Gambia is seeking to re-establish its reputation as a small-state leader in human rights and it notes The Gambia’s achievements in human rights advocacy under Dawda Jawara (1965–1994). The article then examines the country’s latest initiatives under President Adama Barrow (2017– ). At home, through a transitional justice project, the country is confronting the rights violations of the Yahya Jammeh regime (1994–2017). Abroad, The Gambia launched proceedings against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, alleging genocide. The article examines the strategic implications of The Gambia’s engagement with human rights.
Amy Hodgson and Barbara Keys, ‘Human Rights Watch Takes on China: Maintaining the Primacy of Civil and Political Rights, 1991–1996’, in Jan Eckel and Daniel Stahl (eds.), Embattled Visions: Human Rights since 1990 (Wallstein Verlag GmbH).
Andrew Jamieson, Jarrad Paul and Claudia Sagona (Classics & Archaeology) co-authored with Giorgi Bedianashvili, Catherine Longford, and Inga Martkoplishvili, ‘Evidence for Textile Production in Rabati, Georgia, during the Bedeni Phase of the Early Kurgan Period‘, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
Georgian-Australian excavations in the multi-period settlement site of Rabati, located in southwest Georgia, have produced substantial evidence of textile manufacturing in the Early Kurgan, Bedeni period (2400–2000 BCE). The results of Palynological, Non-Pollen Palynomorph (NPP), Archaeobotanical, bone and fired clay tool analyses presented here have identified fibres of flax and hemp. The presence of cotton is the earliest evidence for this fibre in the region, pointing to trade in the commodity rather than its local cultivation. Also identified were coloured fibres and the possible sources of dye found in the Early Kurgan contexts at the site are discussed. The large number of textile manufacturing implements concentrated in one area of Rabati may indicate that this production was commercial rather than a domestic activity. An active, local textile industry during this period of growing social complexity has significant implications for the development of the emerging elite elements in an increasingly stratified society.
This work follows on from a previous study by Giorgi Bedianashvili, Andrew Jamieson, and Claudia Sagona, ‘The early kurgan period in Rabati, Georgia: The cultural sequence and a new suite of radiocarbon dates’, Radiocarbon (2021).
Frederik Vervaet (Classics & Archaeology), ‘Dictator’, in S. Hornblower, A. Spawforth, and E. Eidinow (eds), Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th edition) (Oxford University Press)
Soon after the establishment of the Republic (traditionally dated to 509 BCE), an aristocratic democracy marked by collegial rule and limitation of tenure, the Romans introduced the office of dictator, initially to create an additional and ranking military command whenever required. Appointed by the chief annual magistrate by decree of the Senate, the dictator had no equal colleague, the main constraints on his authority being his official commission as defined by the Senate and the obligation to abdicate promptly following the completion of this specific task. From 363 to 301 especially, the dictatorship became a frequent fixture of the republican machinery of state, thereafter occurring only infrequently until the Second Punic War, which saw another spate of appointments. Rather than being created to deal with external or internal emergencies, dictators were mostly appointed to execute one or more routine tasks normally conducted by consuls or praetors, ranging from military commands to obscure religious rituals, as per the exigencies of the moment. Significantly, the office played an important and constructive role in the resolution of the so-called struggle of the orders and the gradual shaping of the republican polity. Throughout the entire early and middle republican period, the Senate retained close control over the dictator and his activities. After the Second Punic War, as Roman power rapidly expanded across the Mediterranean and prorogation of consular and praetorian power became the norm, the office lapsed completely. The age of civil war (88–30 BCE) saw first Sulla and next Caesar revive the dictatorship, albeit by means of constitutive laws and in vastly enhanced and autocratic form. Irrevocably tarnished by the actions of these strongmen, Augustus consistently refused to accept the dictatorship, causing it to vanish with the Republic it was originally devised to serve.
The latest issue of Sophia: International Journal of Philosophy and Traditions also came out this month. Sophia is edited by Purushottama Bilimoria (Principal Fellow, Philosophy).
Awards & Appointments
Melanie Brand (PhD candidate and Graduate Teaching Fellow in History) (@melaniebrand68) has been appointed Lecturer in Intelligence Studies at Macquarie University.
Joy Damousi (History) was recently honoured with an inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from the Australian Historical Association (AHA), “for distinguished contributions to historical scholarship, mentoring, journal editing, and academic leadership in history and the humanities more generally, with special reference to service with the Australian Historical Association in various roles including President.”
Each year the Australian Historical Association will honour one or more eminent practitioners of history with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is in recognition of a career that has made a significant, positive contribution to the field of history in Australia. Recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award have demonstrated both excellence in history and generosity in service.
Cat Gay (PhD candidate, History) was awarded the 2022 Jill Roe Prize by the Australian Historical Association (AHA) for her work ‘All the Perils of the Ocean’: Girls’ Emotions on Voyages to Australia, 1851–1884.’ The Jill Roe Prize is awarded annually for the best unpublished article-length work of historical research in any area of historical enquiry, produced by a postgraduate student enrolled for a History degree at an Australian university.
Arthur Knight has been elected the new President of the History Postgraduate Association (HPA). Arthur is a first-year PHD student who is researching Philippine memory of and nostalgia for martial law in visual art. Arthur’s broader research areas include modern Southeast Asia, art and political resistance, and Australian international relations with Asia. He is excited to represent and advocate for the postgraduate community while contributing to the enriching work of the HPA. Simon Farley (Secretary), James Hogg (Treasurer), Catherine Gay and Thea Gardiner are also staying on as members of the HPA Committee this year. Thea also represents the postgraduate community on the SHAPS Engagement committee.
Janet McCalman (Professorial Fellow, History) was commended for the AHA’s Kay Daniels Award, a biennial award that recognises outstanding original research with a bearing on Australian convict history and heritage including in its international context, published in 2020 or 2021, for her book Vandemonians (MUP, 2021). The judges said of it:
Vandemonians offers an important and eloquent accompaniment to the vast and valuable data gathered in the significant ‘Founders and Survivors Ships Project Data’. The book uses both prosopography and a ‘cradle to grave’ approach to illuminate the untold history of the thousands of Vandemonians who went to early Port Phillip. The life course writing not only gives voice and vibrancy to ‘forgotten women’, it showcases ways to interpret and navigate digital history data. The empathy McCalman shows in revealing convict women’s experiences makes this book of vital historiographical and empirical importance to scholars in the field.”
Laura Pisanu (PhD candidate, Classics & Archaeology) has been awarded the Alma Hansen Scholarship.
It is an honour to have been awarded with the Alma Hansen scholarship. The scholarship provides a unique occasion to extend my research, analyse fieldwork data and to visit Bronze Age sites in Italy. In this way I can access overseas collections and share my research with international scholars.
PhD Completions
Nat Cutter (PhD in History, 2022), ‘Barbarian Civility: British Expatriates and the Transformation of the Maghreb in English Thought, 1660-1714′
This thesis explores the role of British expatriates living in Ottoman Algeria, Tunisia, and Tripolitania, in a transformation of British-Maghrebi diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations in the later Stuart era. This period, 1660-1714, represented a distinct transitional period in which pragmatic cooperation, detailed knowledge, and material exchanges decreased the envy, enmity and ignorance of earlier periods of conflict, without resulting in the controlling Orientalist domination that characterised later periods.
Drawing primarily on a large, little-studied collection of correspondence collected at the British consulate in Tunis, as well as English periodical news, State Papers Foreign, and numerous other government and official records, I highlight how expatriates acted as mediators in trade, diplomacy, and material culture, formed networks of influence and information, and transmitted their pragmatic, nuanced, well-informed views of the Maghreb to British audiences. As a whole, my thesis highlights the significant influence of the actions and networks of British expatriates living in the Maghreb on improving British-Maghrebi relations and increasing public understanding of the Maghreb in British society.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Richard Pennell, Dr Una McIlvenna
Matthew Holmes (PhD in History, 2022) ‘Growing Songs: Australian Sound Media for Children from Parlour Music to Podcasts’
This thesis provides the first cultural history of sound media produced for Australian children. It opens by exploring post-Federation parlour sheet music and the burgeoning mechanised media of radio and phonographs, with a concentration on the rising consumption of transnational entertainment that accelerated in post-World War II as Australian children’s sound media evolved into a distinctive genre.
The study draws upon the disparate archival materials of sound media created for Australian children through archival recordings, sheet music, oral history testimonials, and examines music for children through the production and consumption of various sound media technologies, including radio, records, television, and digital podcast streaming. It examines a series of chronological case studies in children’s media from public broadcasting radio from the 1930s and the postwar success of Kindergarten of The Air, the early children’s record industry locally epitomised by the Children’s Record Guild of Australia and folk revivalist Glen Tomasetti in 1959, sound media integrated within the longstanding pinnacle of Australian early years television programs Play School, through to present day songwriters and performers of children’s music.
Children’s music sound media is situated within the terms of an ‘ecology’ of entertainment practice by professional performers and songwriters and is explored through a critical ‘production culture’ lens. This ‘ecology’ encompasses the business realities of the music industry in conjunction with cultural trends to develop an overview of the changing relationship between children’s reception of entertainment sound media, and the increasingly prevalent scientific and therapeutic conceptions of childhood. The influence of therapeutic constructions is seen to have developed with the widespread rise of both a scientifically developmentalist approach to child rearing in tandem, and sometimes at odds, with psychodynamic influenced progressive child rearing practices.
Three chapters reveal, through focused case studies, the individual achievements and creative approaches of contemporary children’s music performers, producers and songwriters with their specific aims and unique processes of communicating music through the evolution of sound media technology since postwar Australia. The analysis draws upon an extensive oral history archive, developed for this research, including interviews with contemporary industry practitioners and key children’s music artists Peter Combe, Don Spencer, Justine Clarke, Coco’s Lunch, The Wiggles and others. The development and diversity of Australian children’s music is also contextualised within a commercialised and transnational soundscape.
By tracing shifting constructions of childhood and the developing reception of entertainment media designed for Australian children, this thesis explores the dynamic history of a genre of music that is neglectfully overlooked yet paradoxically both highly profitable and globally influential. It argues that Australia has made a significant contribution to the genre of children’s music, with a distinctive sound media that has been shaped not just by local circumstances but in dialogue with American, British and Canadian children’s and adult music traditions. From initial developments during the 1930s, Australian children’s music has been at the forefront of transnational sound media ingenuity that continues to represent a major media export and success on the global entertainment stage.
Supervisors: Professor Kate Darian-Smith, Professor David Goodman
MA Completions
Athanasios Matanis, (MA in Classics & Archaeology, 2022) ‘Beyond an Antagonistic Approach: the Role of Universalism in the Formation of Koine Culture’
Classical scholarship has tended to emphasise dichotomies and polarity when addressing the topic of Greek/non-Greek relations in antiquity. This anachronistic paradigm however is insufficient for understanding the multidimensional nature of Greek/non-Greek interactions and exchange during the Hellenistic period. Rather, this thesis argues the dominant strategy adopted in cases of Greek/non-Greek interactions were both sides appealing to certain similarities and commonalities (universalism) that would allow diverse cultural traditions to bridge the gaps between them and overcome barriers to acculturation and exchange.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Hyun Jin Kim, Dr Gijs Tol, Dr Emily Hulme Kozey
SHAPS staff, fellows, students, alumni: if you have news items for the monthly SHAPS digest, please email us the details.