School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses

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    Vagrancy and the Victorians: the social construction of the vagrant in Melbourne, 1880-1907
    Davies, Susanne Elizabeth ( 1990)
    In Melbourne between 1880 and 1907, the construction and propagation of a vagrant stereotype and its manifestation in law, constituted an important means of controlling the behaviour of individuals and groups who were perceived to be socially undesirable or economically burdensome.
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    Shadows on the landscape: memorial aspects of the Great Ocean Road
    Lewis, Julianne Elizabeth ( 1999)
    Victoria's commemorative landscape is made up of a series of natural and constructed features comprising roads, bridges, memorial sculptures, avenues of honour, coastal fortifications and military memorabilia, yet their memorializing function is largely unrecognized by the general population. Some of these memorials have been linked with the scenic landscape and have become privileged as tourist sites. Their original meanings, however, have been blurred by twentieth century progress. This thesis examines one component of Australia's memorial landscape, the Great Ocean Road in South West Victoria, and questions whether there is a parallel between the Western concept of a memorial landscape and the notions of spirituality in the land which are a primary component of the belief structure of indigenous peoples. This leads to an examination of the local geographical landscape in relation to Aboriginal massacre sites, and a questioning of the congruence between such sites and the now memorialized battlefields of World War 1. Chapter One deals with the history of the Great Ocean Road and traces its development and construction from 1916 to 1932. Chapter Two examines the place of the Great Ocean Road in the overall scheme of post World War 1 memorialization, and questions why its original function has been so little recognized by the community. Chapter Three looks at the complex relationships between the physical and spiritual elements of the land as perceived by Aboriginal culture, investigates the Aboriginal massacre sites within close proximity to the Great Ocean Road, and questions why no memorials have been raised to Aborigines who died defending their land. The theoretical base of the thesis is supported by the notion that landscape is socially and culturally determined, and that place can be invested with spiritual potency. Finally, it is argued that for a place to retain its spiritual strength, regardless of the culture, the spiritual content must be recognized, ritualized and constantly refreshed within the culture.
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    The Chinese in Australia 1930-45: beyond a history of racism
    Rankine, Wendy Margaret ( 1995)
    The present thesis is a contribution to the history of the Chinese in Australia. In it, I have endeavoured to look at the relations between European and Chinese settlers in Australia from a perspective other than that of racism. Discrimination against the Chinese was common in all settler societies in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. On the basis of archival documentation and in conjunction with contemporary sources, I would suggest that a different history can be told in regard to Australian Chinese. To look at the history of the Chinese in Australia in light of the immigration policy alone ignores other aspects of Australian-Chinese history, aspects which concern the daily lives of those Chinese who lived and worked in Australia as Australian citizens. With due regard to Federal political policies implicated at a bureaucratic level, the actual experiences and achievements of Australian Chinese still indicate that they fared better than most authors on the subject would have us believe. ..... In presenting the results of my research, I do not mean to belittle the experience of racism suffered by people of Chinese ancestry in Australia. This experience has been well documented and is, moreover, still being endured. My point is merely that racism was not the sum total of the Chinese experiences of Australian society. As a recent collection of essays shows, the time has come to write about other aspects of Australia's Chinese history. In this thesis I have documented the attitudes and efforts of the Chinese Nationals and Australian Chinese in Australia during the war years. Their efforts, combined with the Australian Chinese communities' supportive role and the increased wartime interactions with other Australians contributed during this period to establishing a greater understanding between the different communities in Australian society. (From introduction)
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    Making the deserts bloom: attitudes towards water and nature in the Victorian irrigation debate, 1880-1890
    Sinclair, Paul Geoffrey ( 1994)
    In 1836 Major Thomas Mitchell and his gaggle of supply carts, Europeans and Aboriginal interpreters camped on a river and named it Moonlight Creek. Those who followed after Mitchell called the town that grew up near Moonlight Creek “Kerang”, which was supposedly the local Koori word for moonlight. Locals now tell visitors Kerang means “moon over water.” Kerang lies north of Bendigo and south east of Swan Hill. It is part of the area known as northern Victoria. In the past it has been called the northern plains or regarded as part of Australia Felix. The major characteristic of this area is its dependence on water. Water was a major preoccupation of Major Mitchell, as it has been for all those who followed him. Water had both symbolic and practical applications. It has been used as a symbol which unified the experience of European settlers with those who followed them. In part this association can be explained by the ancient European image of the river as a symbol of endurance and of “changeless change”. A river seems to be continually changing between historical, linear time and future cyclical time, between a definite spatial context, and one which is continuous. At Swan Hill, residents have built a monument to their pioneers surrounded by a pool of water. The monument offers clues to the complex relationship between water and society, and attempts to impose a dominant meaning on this relationship. The monument stands at the entrance of Swan Hill’s major tourist attraction, the Pioneer Settlement, a recreation of a nineteenth century pioneer town where local residents in period costume sell boiled lollies and horse rides to tourists. (From Introduction)
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    Vexed and volatile bodies: the drama of possession and exorcism in late Elizabethan England: the John Darrell cases
    O'Callaghan, Deirdre ( 1998)
    This thesis focuses on the drama of the possessed body in the ritual of exorcism in late Elizabethan England. It examines the various ways in which the devil manifests itself in the bodies of male and female demoniacs. It shows how cultural, religious and popular beliefs seep into the bodily performance of these demoniacs. The symptoms displayed by the demoniacs, such as uncontrolled rages, loss of appetite, hysterical screaming and crying, and clairvoyancy are read in a gendered way. The "vexed" bodies writhing in pain and experiencing volatile emotions are examined for the nature of their bodily performance. They create a theatrical dynamic which gives the devil a very real presence, in which he makes spectacular entrances and exits from the bodily orifices of the demoniacs. The thesis examines these issues through the public exorcisms performed by the Protestant exorcist, John Darrell, between 1586 and 1598 in England. The approach has been to adopt an unfolding narrative which emphasises the drama and public spectacle in each case The cases which are examined in separate chapters include the exorcism of Katherine Wright, a seventeen-year-old girl from Derbyshire, the thirteen-year-old Thomas Darling from Burton on Trent, a mass possession of 7 members of one family in Lancashire and William Somers, a twenty-year-old male who was exorcised publicly in Nottingham in 1598. The rituals or exorcism performed by Darrell are shown to have a changing script. The exorcist adapts this script according to the age and gender of the demoniac and the cultural expectations of masculinity and femininity. Through the script of exorcism, the exorcist maps cultural beliefs onto the body of the demoniac and this results in different behavior by males and females. The demoniacs themselves sometimes also take an active role in the ritual as they confute the exorcist's logic, orchestrate their own bodily performances or direct their audiences, which sometimes swelled to a crowd of 500 people, to acts of praying and singing. The scripting of male and female demoniacs in the various accounts of the Darrell cases, is also examined for the way supernatural symptoms of possession are interpreted as specific to the gender of the demoniac. Female demoniacs are described for the most part as weak and uncontrolled. The two thirty-year-old demoniacs in the Lancashire case, Jane Ashton and Margaret Bynom for instance, are shown to suffer supernatural symptoms which attack and disable the body. Male demoniacs like Thomas Darling, on the other hand, who preached and at times even adopted the commanding voice of the exorcist, are more often represented as morally strong, their fits structured in a teleological fashion. Male demoniacs seem more able to slough off their uncontrolled rages and to resume their normal bodily and intellectual composure than female demoniacs. This is despite the intensity of the male demoniac's fits, which in the case of William Somers reportedly "consumed all partes of him". In this way the "vexed" and volatile body of the possessed demoniac in these rituals of exorcism offers the modern reader a particular insight into the manner in which religious and popular belief in late Elizabethan England needs to be understood with respect to the functioning of gender.
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    Darwinism and Australia, 1836-1914
    Butcher, Barry W. ( 1992)
    This thesis is an examination of certain themes and ideas surrounding the development of Darwinism as an intellectual concept in Australian culture. Beginning with a discussion of the manner in which Australian resources played a role in the formulation and growth of Darwin's ideas, it then moves to an analysis of a number of public controversies and debates around aspects of Darwinism which are seen by current Darwinian scholars as being of central importance. The work of a number of Australian scholars is explored to illustrate the way in which evolutionary theory found its way into the academic and public culture of Australia. Finally, discussion is given over to the way in which evolutionary theory became diffused through all areas of intellectual life. Among the chief claims made here are firstly, that, Darwinism played a significant role in the intellectual life of Australia in the last part of the nineteenth-century and that Australians made significant contributions to the development of evolutionary theory. Secondly, it is claimed that for the history of Australian science to have any real meaning it must be understood in its own terms, here on the periphery, and not as an adjunct to events and happenings at the centre. Finally, it is urged here that Australian science and its growth is not bound to a pre-determined and periodised historical development, but that insofar as it is tied to the history of Australia generally, it exhibits the stresses and tensions of the social context in which it exists. At all times this thesis should be seen as an attempt at intellectual history, but one seeking to embed that history within a specific social context.
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    The Puritan quest for enjoyment of God: an analysis of the theological and devotional writings of Puritans in seventeenth century England
    Williams, Jean Dorothy ( 1997)
    This thesis explores the distinctive vision of enjoyment of God presented in the works of the seventeenth century English Puritans. The main sources for the thesis are the extensive writings of Richard Sibbes (1577-1635) and John Owen (1616-1683). Their works are placed in the broader context of Puritan theological and devotional writings: treatises on union and communion with God; sermons and commentaries on the Song of Songs; devotional works which outline the practice of piety and accounts of spiritual experience in biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. The thesis argues that there were strong mystical elements in Puritan piety, despite the traditional scholarly stereotype of Puritanism as antithetical to mysticism. While scholars have come to acknowledge the existence of mystical elements within Puritan piety they have sometimes suggested that these elements were exceptions within an otherwise anti-mystical movement. Others have detected mystical characteristics more widely in Puritan piety, yet have implied that these characteristics represented an adoption of existing Catholic devotional methods, rather than a natural development from the Puritans' own theology. Certainly, the Puritans were familiar with a rich heritage of patristic, medieval and contemporary spiritual writings, but the internal structure of Puritan devotion was provided by its own Reformed doctrine of God. Out of the rich soil of the Puritans' experiential and affectionate theology, grew an earnest and devout practice of piety, enabling an immediate union and loving communion with God, which was expressed in a sensual and lyrical love-language. The Puritan quest for enjoyment of God was a distinctive and confident vision, which has never received detailed attention in its own right; a virtually uncharted area which demands careful and sympathetic study. This thesis explores the Puritan quest for enjoyment of God in four main areas: its theology, vocabulary, devotion, and enactment. The first chapter deals with the theology which undergirded Puritan mysticism, for the inner shape of Puritan devotion must be sought in its own doctrinal formulations. It demonstrates that Puritan theology was not rationalistic and restrictive, as historians often assume, but a "mystical" and "experiential divinity", aimed at enjoyment of God. In their treatises and sermons, Puritan divines explored the intimate delights of union and communion with God, and the ecstatic joys to be gained through silent adoration of God's incomprehensible mysteries. The second chapter describes the language used by preachers to communicate the goals and ideals of Puritan mysticism: a heavily coded vocabulary which has remained largely unfamiliar to scholars, so that they often misinterpret or overlook descriptions of spiritual joy in Puritan writings. Enjoyment of God was communicated in a lyrical and imagistic love-language, chiefly taken from the marriage-metaphor and the Song of Songs: a passionate and sensual vocabulary which entered the shared language of the godly community, and was used by Puritan "mystics" and ordinary believers to express their spiritual joys. The third chapter outlines the Puritan practice of the means: a demanding devotional system which was deliberately shaped to the constraints of an active calling, a monasticism of the ordinary life. Puritan devotional disciplines have often been characterised as rationalistic and word-centred, dominated by sin and self-examination. But Puritan prayer was actually an earnest and affectionate quest for communion with God; meditation made use of the imagination and senses as well as the mind, and included rapturous contemplation on God's essence; and the Lord's Supper enabled a unique spiritual communion with God. Yet it cannot simply be assumed that ordinary believers followed the advice of Puritan preachers, as given in pulpit and press. The fourth and final chapter therefore concentrates on the records of spiritual experience preserved in biographies, autobiographies and memoirs; accounts of men and women, lay persons and divines, wealthy and poor. Puritan mystical piety was not an elitist or unappealing devotion: many individuals from various walks of life were attracted by its doctrine of God, modelled their lives on its archetype of experience, practised its devotional disciplines, and attained great heights of enjoyment of God.
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    The Portuguese colonisation of Timor: the final stage, 1850-1912
    Davidson, Katharine G. ( 1994)
    The arguments put forward in this work are as follows: there was a major change in the nature of Portuguese colonial policy and practice in the last decades of the nineteenth century and this change was partly responsible for a rapid escalation of interaction and conflict between the colonial power and its colonial subjects as exemplified in Timor. But there were other significant local circumstances in Timor at this time which also influenced this increasing conflict. These included an alteration in the economic basis of the colony, which was perceived to increase the need for political control of the society, the growth of the power of military officers within the bureaucracy and the decision of the Portuguese and the Dutch to specifically define their spheres of interest on the island. The second main argument of this work is that, though indigenous opposition to this increasing colonial encroachment was widespread, as exemplified by the rebellion in 1911 - 1912 and anti-colonial revolts in the years prior to 1911, this opposition did not take a unified and consensual form sufficient to be classified as a nationalist rebellion.
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    Republican socialism and revolution in France: La Republique of Eugène Bareste, 1848-1851
    Mustafa, Kathleen Edna ( 1999)
    There is wide acknowledgment that the press was closely involved in the establishment of the French Second Republic, and that it remained a significant feature of the life of the Republic. La Republique, however, has not been analysed within the extensive historiography of the period. This thesis, then, is an analysis of a leading newspaper and its role in the Second Republic. La Republique was founded by Eugene Bareste amidst the turmoil of the February Revolution which resulted in the declaration of the French Second Republic. The newspaper appeared daily from 26 February 1848 until 2 December 1851 when it was closed down by the coup d'Etat of Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte. Bareste was not an active member of the opposition press during the July Monarchy and, whilst several leading figures of that press became members of successive governments, Bareste did not and thereby avoided compromising his independence through being involved in the actions of any government. In fact, he refused the opportunity to stand as a candidate for the National Assembly in 1848 on the grounds that he wanted to stand apart in order to be free to pursue his self-imposed task of educating the people in the ways of 'republican socialism' and the need to develop institutions appropriate to the Republic. La Republique became the most widely read newspaper of the era with daily sales of more than 50,000 copies at its peak. At that time each copy of a newspaper was usually read by, or was read to, at least ten people and thus the paper could have been accessed by upwards of half a million readers. Due to a lack of archival material, there is no way of knowing precisely who these readers were but from the contents of the paper it appears they were the petite bourgeoisie, shopkeepers, teachers, artisans, workers in all industries, some agricultural producers and rentiers. La Republique enjoyed undoubted popularity but little other than its pages survive. It was edited by a man about whom we know little more than occasional details slipped into his writings. The thesis therefore seeks to recover a 'lost' newspaper of great importance which in its breadth and style can be seen to foreshadow the press of a later generation. As a newspaper of political opinion and information, La Republique embodied a number of common elements and strategies across its life which enabled it to survive in the face of severe repression enacted by a Presidential regime and an Assembly composed largely of notables who feared the power of the press. Bareste' s editorial skills and his business acumen were such that he kept his paper in circulation when others around him failed. His success was made possible because his republican socialism was in fact a broad church that had many distinctive nuances which corresponded to the mood of its wide readership. Thus the thesis also reveals the existence of a hitherto unacknowledged stratum of republican socialists to whom La Republique presented an acceptable alternative notion of society. This analysis marks off Bareste and his newspaper from orthodox historical interpretations and challenges elements of the historiography of the French Second Republic.
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    Evolution of a zoo: a history of the Melbourne Zoological Gardens, 1857-1900
    De Courcy, Catherine ( 1990)
    The Melbourne Zoo in the late twentieth century is a popular venue which attracts up to one and a half million visitors per year. It has a large income gathered from entrance fees, Government contribution and private sponsorship. The gardens are most attractive, some of the enclosures are of the latest design, there is an active and innovative education program which reaches large numbers of school children every year, the breeding programs have achieved some measure of success, and the collection of animals is large and diverse. Yet there is something discomfiting about an institution which holds baboons in wire cages with concrete floors and tigers in an enclosure not much bigger than a tennis court. A history of the institution can shed light on why the Zoo now incorporates such features; more importantly it can assist the contemporary administration in planning a Zoo by identifying the historical legacies and evaluating their relevance for a twenty-first century audience.