The Frankfurt School: Philosophical and Theological Dimensions

Established Supervisor:  Dr. James Dorahy, Lecturer in Philosophy  <James.Dorahy@acu.edu.au>

Project Area

The Frankfurt School of critical theory represents one of the most influential, and contentious, traditions to have emerged in the 20th Century. In recent years scholarly attention has started to come to terms with the theological vocabulary within which early critical theory is often framed. The proposed project will contribute to this bourgeoning discourse by elucidating and critically evaluating the use of theological concepts and motifs within the works of leading Frankfurt School thinkers, such as Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Walter Benjamin, and Herbert Marcuse. In pursuing this line of research, the project will be situated at the cutting-edge of contemporary research in the fields of social and political philosophy and the philosophy of religion.

Description of the research internship opportunity

Successful applicants will have access to numerous research opportunities relevant to the candidature. The Faculty of Theology and Philosophy supports a German-language reading group, within which graduate students have the opportunity to develop their knowledge of German for academic reading by working on primary texts of theological and philosophical significance within a collegial and constructive environment. In addition, the National School of Philosophy holds a bi-weekly seminar series in which HDR candidates present and discuss their work with peers and faculty. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to participate within this research community, as both speaker and respondent.

Histories of Cancer in Victorian Migrant Communities

Established Supervisor:  Dr Mary Tomsic <Mary.Tomsic@acu.edu.au>
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Ebony Nilsson

Project Area

The Cancer Council of Victoria has a significant untapped archive in Melbourne, including a large number of materials on migrant communities and targeted public health campaigns from the 1960s to the early twenty-first century. This project would explore an aspect of the history of Victorian migrant communities' experiences with cancer, using these (and other) archival materials. This is a developing area of research and draws on strengths in migration history ACU as well as a focus on health and care in post-WWII Australia.

Description of the research internship opportunity

There is the possibility of a research internship completed with the Cancer Council's historical research team, to be negotiated between the student, supervisors, and the Cancer Council. The supervisory team would work with the student to ensure a manageable history project is defined. This would take into consideration student interest as well as availability of sources and the focus on the Cancer Council. The student would need to be in based at ACU’s Melbourne campus to carry out in-person research in the archives.

Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence: How Does ChatGPT Help us Understand the Human Mind?

Established Supervisor:  Margot Strohminger <Margot.Strohminger@acu.edu.au>
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Atheer Al-Khalfa

Project Area

In recent years, interest has surged in how artificial intelligence affects our understanding of mind and consciousness. A central question is whether large language models (LLMs) have minds and, if so, what kinds of mental states—thoughts, knowledge, feelings—they might possess. Many assume LLMs lack minds, yet this view is surprisingly hard to defend. Others grant LLMs minds but then face the challenge of what this means for the human mind. This project invites students to develop research in philosophy of AI, exploring how such technology informs traditional questions in philosophy of mind and epistemology.

Description of the research internship opportunity

The student will have the opportunity to present and contribute to the reading group "Theories of Mind, Knowledge and AI" at the ACU school of philosophy. The student will also have the opportunity to attend and contribute to national and international research seminars (online or in-person) on related topics.

Art-Engaged Philosophy, Theology, or Religious Education

Established Supervisor:  Dr Lexi Eikelboom <Lexi.Eikelboom@acu.edu.au>
Emerging Supervisor: Dr Ben DeSpain

Project Area

Students in Philosophy, Theology, or Religious Education are invited to submit applications for Honours projects that consider questions about life or existence through engagement with the arts. Projects may focus on issues of knowledge, politics, embodiment, doctrine, or learning through engagement with any artistic form, such as painting, sculpture, music, performance, or literature. Examples of such projects include: metaphors of seeing in literature; feminist depictions of the body in painting; learning practices through engagement with religious iconography; or political iconography in the 21st century.

Description of the research internship opportunity

Students will have opportunities to participate is specialized research training through seminars, reading groups, and the refining of their presentation skills. They will also be able to take part in, first, the publication of a special issue of a journal, with contributors from Australia, Chile, and the US, which will help them become familiar with the process of academic publishing, and, second, the development of a grant proposal for an international funding body, which will provide exposure to skills necessary for grant writing.

Historiographies of the Roman East

Established Supervisor: Dr Gareth Wearne <Gareth.Wearne@acu.edu.au>
Emerging Supervisor: Elisabeth Slingsby

Project Area

The eastern mediterranean was a region of rich cultural contact and innovation. This included the intermingling of literary and historiographical traditions that shaped the written sources from which the history of the region is reconstructed. Prospective students from classics, ancient history, or related fields are invited to submit applications for topics related to any aspect of the historiographies that describe or were produced during Rome’s expansion of empire into the eastern Mediterranean in the period ca.200 BCE–ca.200 CE. We particularly invite candidates with an interest in representations of non-elites or narratives intended for moral instruction.

Description of the research internship opportunity

Students will have opportunities to participate in research seminars and specialised research training, in reading groups, language groups (where relevant), and methods training alongside HDR and other students. Students will also have the opportunity to develop a spoken (conference-style) presentation based on their research, which they will have the option to present at the end of the project.

Christians and Jews in the First Three Centuries

Established Supervisor: Benjamin Edsall <Benjamin.Edsall@acu.edu.au>

Project Area

Honours students from Biblical Studies, Jewish Studies, or Classics are invited to submit applications for topics on Jewish-Christian relations within the first three centuries CE. Projects may focus on social, political, theological or practical aspects. Examples of such topics include Roman political influence on Jewish-Christian relations and their attempts to participate in the empire; shared exegetical practices between Paul and the Dead Sea Scrolls; or the debt of Christian baptism to Jewish immersion practice. Students should already be familiar with either Second Temple Jewish sources, the New Testament, or other early Christian sources.

Description of the research internship opportunity

Students will be involved in the research community of the Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry, with opportunities to participate in regular research seminars and specialised research training alongside our cohort of HDR students (e.g. reading groups, language groups, and methods training). To develop skills necessary for further research, during the Honours project, students will be invited to aid in the research publication process of a book either in relation to the Flourishing in Early Christianity project or the ACU/KU Leuven/HU Berlin conference on Jews and Christians in the first Three Centuries, depending on the student’s interest.

The New Testament Gospels in their Social and Literary Environments

Established Supervisor: Benjamin Edsall <Benjamin.Edsall@acu.edu.au>

Project Area

We invite students from Biblical Studies, Jewish Studies, or Classics to submit applications for Honours projects that illuminate the NT Gospels through comparison with other sources from antiquity, that is, a text(s) from the Greco-Roman world, Jewish literature, early Christian literature beyond the Bible, or examples from material culture or archaeology. Examples of projects include: the representations of children and demon possession in Mark’s Gospel and Roman antiquity; the role of women in the Gospel of Luke and Apocryphal Gospel of Mary; or archaeological evidence for daily life and its relevance to Gospel stories (such as handwashing or wine production). Students should be familiar with the study of either the NT Gospels or the proposed area for comparison.

Description of the research internship opportunity

Students will have opportunities to participate in research seminars and specialised research training, in reading groups, language groups (where relevant), and methods training alongside HDR students. Students will also develop new skills in the study of ancient and contemporary sources and be invited to participate through a research internship in activities in the Flourishing in Early Christianity project.

Nostra Aetate, Catholic-Jewish Relations and Catholic Religious Education: Where are we After 60 Years

Established Supervisor: Dr Emmanuel Nathan <Emmanuel.Nathan@acu.edu.au>

Project Area

This project will bring together a supervisor in interreligious learning (Jewish- Christian encounters specifically) and one in Catholic Religious Education. It will be an opportunity to study the changes made since the Second Vatican Council to address the Church’s renewed relationship with Judaism and the Jewish people. It will also probe remaining areas where further improvement can be made and intends to develop a list of recommendations Catholic education offices and RE curricula.

Description of the research internship opportunity

Two possible internships:
 
1) with the Australian Council of Christians and Jews in developing an online resource in the area studied; and

2) in the Nostra Aetate Working Group, which is a collaboration between Sydney Catholic Schools, Sydney Catholic Archdiocese, the Sydney Jewish Community and ACU