Funded by
Davidson, Professor James SF140106
Professor of Ancient History, University of Warwick, Classics and Ancient History
Classics and Ancient History / History of Greece and the Greek World
The Rise and Fall of Athens, 514-404 BCE
Awarded: £48,551
The aim is to use this early, well-studied and much written about example of what is often considered a watershed century in the History of the West to first historicize narratives -- what did the Athenians think they were doing? Where did they think they were going? Where were they coming from? Who did they think they were? -- then reconstruct the cultural apparatus or dispositif through which (one’s) History becomes meaningful – how is the past, the present and the future constructed in a world of myths and monuments, rituals and prophecies? What counts as “revolutionary change”? Is the concept of fashionableness an essential precursor to a sense of “old-fashionedness”? What is an event?
Dolce, Dr Lucia SF140080
Numata Reader in Japanese Buddhism, SOAS, University of London, Study of Religions
Religious Studies / Asian Religions
Of Monks and Embryos: Buddhist Embryology and the Construction of the Ritual Body in Mediaeval Japan
Awarded: £51,483
Recent investigations in Japanese temple archives have brought to light a considerable amount of material from the medieval period, which present the process of generation of the human body as an accomplished Buddhist ritual practice. This discourse appears to combine different strands of knowledge, from Indian medicine to Chinese notions of the organic body, to formulate an original embryogenetic model informed by Tantric Buddhism, which is not found in continental Buddhism. No sustained exploration of these practices and their relevance in the development of Japanese Buddhism exists. This book project researches unpublished documents, including visual material, and canonical Tantric interpretations to question the normative images of medieval Buddhism and Tantric practice. By bringing to the fore the multifaceted articulation of a ritual body that took place in medieval Japan, it seeks to demonstrate that embryogenetic practices were part of a new, mainstream rather than liminal or heretical, soteriological discourse.
Harris, Dr Mark SF140050
Reader in Social Anthropology and Head of Department, University of St Andrews, Social Anthropology
Anthropology / Historical Anthropology
The birth of Brazilian Amazonian cultures
Awarded: £49,711
What kinds of societies form along rivers? Using archival material, Dr Harris will examine the historical emergence of Amazonian riverine cultures that threaded together diverse kinds of people: Indians and Africans of several nations, and poor Europeans. Often survivors of traumatic episodes in the colonial and national periods (c. 1650-1870), these individuals created enduring riverbank societies as the Portuguese established an insecure domination. The rivers enabled this colonial control but they also shaped cultural and material life in a manner that privileged those with regional knowledge and skills. This development speaks to a notion of deep Amazonia that unifies the different historical societies and allows us to understand the re-emergence of indigenous identities and status in the contemporary period. This project will produce a book of interest to an historical and anthropological audience. It aims to make comparisons with the Congo, the second largest tropical riverine environment. Once complete the project will be disseminated in Brazil through teaching and presentations.
Jackson, Professor John Dugald SF140015
Professor of Comparative Criminal Law & Procedure, University of Nottingham, Law
Law / Public Law
National Security and Due Process: The Role of Special Advocates in Secret Courts
Awarded: £47,749
Special advocates represent the interests of parties who are excluded from hearing the evidence against them in secret courts. Although their role is controversial, a wealth of practice has accumulated since they were first introduced which has been under-researched. This Fellowship will draw directly on the experiences of special advocates in the UK making comparisons with their use in other jurisdictions in order to build a comprehensive picture of their professional services and to ask whether there are best practices that create a proportionate balance between the demands of national security and due process.
Mattli, Professor Walter SF140069
Professor of International Political Economy, University of Oxford, Department of Politics and International Relations
Politics / Int'l Political Economy/Foreign Policy Analysis
The New Governance of Global Capital Markets: Winners and Losers
Awarded: £38,790.63
A much overlooked yet vital part of the global economy is the infrastructure or “plumbing” of global capital markets – the exchanges, clearing houses, and securities depositories. When they run smoothly, they facilitate capital formation and risk management and enable economic growth and prosperity. When they are poorly governed, corrupted or tampered with, they impose enormous costs upon society. This market infrastructure has undergone dramatic transformations in the last decade or two. Professor Mattli wilI investigate how these transformations have been affecting core public policy objectives such as investor protection, reduction of systemic risk, as well as fairness, efficiency, and transparency in capital markets. Who are the winners and losers of these changes? In the wake of recent “flash-crashes” in equity markets, regulators have begun to question the presumed optimality or efficiency of the present market infrastructure. Academic research in this area is urgently needed to ensure that the reform debate is not hijacked by any one special-interest group.
Tadmor, Professor Naomi SF140028
Professor of History, Lancaster University, History
History / Early Modern History
Cultures of Settlement: State, Culture, and Society in England, c.1660-1780
Awarded: £42,570
The project explores the relationship between the law, culture, and society, with particular reference to the legislation concerning the settlement of the poor. Scholars often study how laws stem from – or reflect – conditions and perceptions. This work investigates how a set of laws ended up having wide-ranging effects: on community ties, gender and kinship, the capacity of the state to recruit armies, and even the burgeoning print culture and the widespread production of guidebooks and forms. The fields of cultural and social history sometimes struggle with explanations of change.This work emphasises the transformative powers of the law, bridging social and cultural, and legal and institutional history, thereby exploring anew processes of historical change. The work will be relevant for historians of the early modern period and the 18th century, and for all those interested in the relationship between migration, welfare, society and culture, and the state. Practices that emerged in the period persisted in the long-run, and concern us today.
Tenreyro, Professor Silvana SF140036
Professor, London School of Economics, Department of Economics
Economics / Quantitative Economics
Redistributive Effects of Monetary Policy
Awarded: £65,113
Justification of cost: Band 7 pt. 39.5 51,908 Basic 4,900 NI 8,305 Superannuation 65,113 Total This is the minimum level at which Lecturers are appointed at LSE
New Keynesian (NK) models have become the workhorse used by academics and central banks to evaluate the quantitative effects of changes in monetary policy. In these models, the effects of monetary policy shocks on economic activity are driven by inflexibilities in prices, wages, or both. Typically, NK models assume that all households are the same (there is no social or economic inequality) and that monetary policy is summarized by a nominal interest rate rule. The way in which the central bank implement changes in the nominal interest rate is usually not relevant in these models and therefore not explicitly modeled. This project proposes a new framework to analyze monetary policy. The project consists of two parts. The first part develops a model that will take into account the redistributive effects of monetary policy interventions. The second part will estimate the redistributive effects using household-level data; the outcomes of the estimation will be used to calibrate the quantitative model, which will then be used for policy evaluation.