Humanities and Social Sciences

Latest News

The Emerald Strand: Nineteenth Century Irish-born Manufacturers wins Victorian Community History Award Dr Keith Pescod, Honorary Associate at La Trobe University, has won a commendation for Best Print/Publication in the Victorian Community History Awards 2008 for his book, 'The Emerald Strand: Nineteenth Century Irish-born Manufacturers'. The judges said the book effectively debunked the belief that colonial Irish immigrants excelled only at being labourers. The 2008 entries were judged on content and presentation, in the spirit of presenting innovative ways of recording community history across the state.

The Lamb Enters the Dreaming wins the Victorian Premier's Literary Award in the category 'First Book of History' Robert Kenny's book 'The Lamb Enters the Dreaming' has won the Victorian Premier's Literary Award in the category of 'First Book of History'. The judges comments included the following observation 'This is a bold and challenging history, immensely erudite yet sparkling with lyrical prose and sharp insight. Kenny recovers - with absolute conviction and profound implications - the moral and symbolic worlds of two societies, and Nathanael Pepper’s extraordinary efforts to reconcile the lamb of Christ and Aboriginal dreaming.' Robert Kenny is an ARC Research Fellow with the History program. Congratulations to Robert for this impressive achievement.

Patrick Wolfe appointed to the Organisation of American Historian Distinguished Lectureship Program

Patrick Wolfe, currently a Charles La Trobe Fellow in the History program, has been appointed to the Organisation of American Historian Distinguished Lectureship Program. This is a considerable honour for Patrick, all the more so as it is one rarely bestowed on Australian Historians. Our warmest congratulations.

Dr Adrian Jones awarded Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning

Dr Adrian Jones, senior lecturer in Historical Studies, has been awarded a Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning at the Australian Learning and Teaching Council Awards. The Citation was awarded for responsive and inclusive history tutorials that fuel debate, enlarge student choices, elicit frequent feedback and enable students to peer-tutor essay drafts.

Afgan secrets revealed on Google Earth

Project leader David Thomas, a PhD student at La Trobe University and three colleagues have used Google Earth images of Afghanistan to uncover hundreds of previously unknown sites in Afghanistan. Read Full Article

Kew Cottages Project Media Experience

5 November - 29 November

Where: Town Hall Gallery,Rear Entry Lower Level, Hawthorn Town Hall, 358 Burwood Road, Hawthorn A media art installation that explores the lives of the residents of the former Kew Children's Cottages. Through image, video and text, this interactive exhibition allows the audience to experience what it was like to learn, work and play as a child growing up in the cottages. This exhibition is part of an ARC linkage grant between La Trobe University and Kew Residential Services. Kew Cottages History Project. Opening night: Thursday 6 November, 6pm–8pm

Seminar Series

Bernard Bailyn North American Lecture Series

Since 1995, the Bernard Bailyn Lecture has been presented annually by La Trobe University to mark the University's expertise in North American studies,and to provide an opportunity for a distinguished scholar in a relevant discipline to visit La Trobe University. The lecture is named after the first speaker, Professor Bernard Bailyn, whose distinguished and award winning work centres on early American history and the American Revolution.

This year the Bernard Bailyn Lecture titled 'The Atlantic World of the 1780s and Botany Bay: The Lost Connection' will be given by professor Alan Frost. The lecture will be held at 5.30pm, Thursday 20th November at the Institute for Advanced Study. RSVP details TBA.

Conferences/Events

Conference - 9th Biennial Conference, The Modern Greek Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand

Date: 11–13 December 2008
Location: La Trobe University, Kingsbury Drive, Bundoora
Closing date for abstracts: 30 April 2008
Inquiries: Maria Herodotou or Despina Michael
Conference website

Conference - Re-Orienting Whiteness

A critical engagement with whiteness studies and the operations of 'race', past and present.

Date: 3-5 December 2008
Location: Monash University

Key Note Speakersinclude Patrick Wolfe-La Trobe University, Ann Laura Stoler-New School for Social Research, Aileen Moreton-Robinson-Queensland University of Technology, Lynette Russell-Monash University, Matt Wray - Harvard University.

Conference website

Archaeology Staff prizes and Honours in History

Tracey Banivanua-Mar's Violence and Colonial Dialogue: the Australian-Pacific Indentured Labor Trade (University of Hawaii Press) has been nominated for two categories at the NSW Premier's History prizes - The Australian History Prize and the John and Patricia Ward History Prize. The book was also recently highly commended by the Australian Historical Association judges at the 2008 Biennial Conference held in Melbourne.

Richard Broome’s Aboriginal Victorians (2005) won best book for 2006-2007 in the Victorian Community Awards, 2006 winner of the NSW Premier's Prize for History, and was also short listed for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Non Fiction prize for 2005 and the Victorian Premier’s Non Fiction prize 2006.

Marilyn Lake has been elected Vice President/president Elect of the Australian Historical Association at the 2008 Biennial Conference held recently.

Marina Larsson received the 2008 Serle Award for the best postgraduate thesis in Australian history examined in 2006 or 2007 for 'The Burdens of Sacrifice: War Disability in Australian families 1914-1939'.

Robert Kenny received the W.K. Hancock Prize, 2008 for the best first book in any field for The Lamb Enters the Dreaming: Nathaniel Pepper and the Ruptured World.

Student Prizes

Every year for the Annual University Awards and Prizes Night, the School of Historical and European Studies nominates students who have made an outstanding achievement within their undergraduate studies. We congratulate the following 2007 winners who will be presented with their prizes at the ceremony on 30 July 2008:

Passim

Passim is the magazine of the History Society of La Trobe University. It is issued once or twice per year and is produced by a student editorial committee under the advice of the History Program Coordinator. The magazine features undergraduate essays, particularly those which have been prize finalists or winners. The History Society also hosts occasional events and an annual trivia night.

Vale Steve Niblo

La Trobe, its History Program and the Latin Americanist community throughout Australia has just lost a valuable member. Stephen (Steve) Niblo died on 29 February; he was sixty-six. Steve joined La Trobe’s History Department in early 1977 joining an established group of Latin Americanists: Tony Disney, Inga Clendinnen and Barry Carr.

His colleagues are establishing a memorial fund to award prizes for the best academic work published on a Latin American topic in the Australasian region. Donations to the AILASA Stephen Niblo Memorial Prize can be sent care of the Institute of Latin American Studies at La Trobe.