Travel writing is a key mechanism by which readers learn about other peoples and cultures, a genre that is crucial to the formation of identities, ideologies, and ideas. Australian travel writing provided foundational texts for those emigrating to the colony. This project positions Australian texts within an international comparative sphere. It will advance the understanding of colonial culture in Australia, and of the perceptions and values of those who settled colonial Australia.

This research is funded by an ARC Discovery Grant for 2004-2006.
Antarctica has for two centuries been the subject of numerous novels, poems and plays, both by writers who have never seen the continent, and by expeditioners and explorers themselves.
This project examines creative written responses to Antarctica, drawing on both published works and archival material, and focussing particularly on the cultural significance of Antarctica’s construction as a ‘continent for science’. Read More....

From the albatross of Coleridge's ancient mariner to the blockbuster Happy Feet, Antarctic animals have played an important symbolic role in Western culture. Through analysis of written and visual texts, this project examines the meanings and values we attach to animals - native and introduced - in the world's largest and most remote wilderness.

Personnel: Dr Elizabeth Leane (Lead CI), Prof. Helen Tiffin (CI), Dr Steve Nicol (PI). Read More....

This research is funded by an ARC Discovery Grant for 2003-2005.
For convict women sent to Australia, 'transportation' meant international travel. By mapping the convicts as travellers, this project will afford a new perspective on women whose convict itineraries radically affected the direction of their lives. Read More....

In collaboration with Radhika Mohanram (Cardiff University) Ralph is working on a reader on Imperial Whiteness.
Imperial Whiteness: A Reader will provide an introduction to the field of imperial whiteness. It will include essays which examine the racial dimensions of imperial whiteness in tandem with other political realities such as those that spring from class, gender, sexual, and other affiliations.