Two La Trobe University researchers have each been awarded more than $800,000 funding as part of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) prestigious Future Fellowships.
La Trobe Senior Lecturer, History, Dr Roland Burke from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HUSS) received $853,387 to investigate the history of the relationship between human rights and technological change.
Senior Lecturer English, Thomas H Ford, also from HUSS, received $885,488 to provide the first comprehensive study of colonial Australian poetry.
ARC Future Fellowships, funded by the Australian Government, provide four-year grants to outstanding Australian mid-career researchers to undertake high quality research in areas of national and international benefit.
Dr Burke’s project will include a detailed historical account of the dislocations between rights and technology after World War II.
“By placing present-day digital disruptions in this longer perspective, we can provide another framework for considering risks and benefits to the community,” he said.
Dr Ford’s work will show how poetry formed an indispensable element in the constitution of Australian political and cultural formations that endure today.
“This research will allow us to have a better understanding of Australia's literary heritage and its critical contributions to culture and nationhood,” he said.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Industry Engagement) Professor Chris Pakes congratulated both academics on their significant achievements.
“The research being undertaken by Dr Burke and Dr Ford is of great importance. As technology evolves it brings with it opportunities but also challenges and it is vital that when technology advances it does so without impinging on human rights,” Professor Pakes said.
“Conversely, our history is often documented in the arts and poetry is a key part for this – taking a closer look at the poetry of the past we can understand its impact on politics and Australian culture. I look forward to seeing how both projects evolve and what they discover.”
