Grants awarded 2007
The causes and consequences of the great famines of the last two centuries in Russia, China, Ireland and elsewhere
Researcher: Prof Stephen Wheatcroft
ARC Discovery Grant
Famines have huge human, economic, social and cultural costs. A better understanding of the multifaceted dimensions of past famines the interplay between politics, economics, environment and culture in causing and shaping the response to famine events will better inform public policy in regard to analogous largescale crises, including the impact of flu pandemics and climate change. The comparative study of the causes, progress, responses to and effect of the great famines of the last two centuries might serve to better inform our understanding and response to such events.
Crusade, displacement and the aftermath of war in medieval France
Researcher: Dr Megan Cassidy-Welch
ARC Discovery Grant
The integration of displaced peoples into our national community is of significant concern to contemporary Australians. This research project will benefit Australians by adding to our understanding of experiences of displacement, the personal and cultural consequences of war, and the ways in which past societies have dealt with those displaced as a result of conflict. The medieval war on heresy which precipitated experiences of displacement in southern France provides an insightful and informative parallel to current concerns about the aftermath of ideological conflict.
Europe and Identity: A transcultural history of European communities in the Islamic world 1685‑1800
Researcher: Dr Ian Coller
ARC Discovery Grant
Thousands of Europeans lived in French enclaves in the Middle East and North Africa throughout the age of Enlightenment. Did they understand their identity as distinctively ‘European’ and hostile to the larger society which surrounded them? How were they understood by others? Anchored in a thorough social historical investigation of European communities in Turkey, Syria, Egypt and the Maghreb, this project draws upon largely untapped French, English and Arabic sources to propose that these communities were not simply stalking-horses for the colonial domination of the following century, but a rich source of social and cultural interaction between Europe and Islam, of urgent relevance for today’s plural societies.