Welcome! I am a historian at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. I specialize in the history of the eighteenth-century world, particularly the British Empire and the many indigenous societies it encountered. I also have interests in visual history, anthropological history, experimental uses of biography, and issues surrounding higher education and the humanities. On this site you’ll find links to my historical writing, reflections on my historical reading, and discussions of various historical engagements (oh, and an unlikely page on swimming).
Recent Posts
Lobby your Academy to Lobby the Minister
Read this appalling revelation by Senator Kim Carr and then ACT: Footage of the evidence in #estimates from @arc_gov_au CEO https://t.co/0fu6jM06ex #auspol — Kim Carr (@SenKimCarr) October 25, 2018 Unis, for however good a reason, often feel too compromised to protest this. Your academies however do not. Academies do not just represent their fellows. … Continue reading Lobby your Academy to Lobby the Minister
The Humanities and 20 Years of Australian Political Culture
Just over a year ago I launched my personal website with a brief commentary on two media pieces that struck me as especially important and succinct. They focussed on the value of the humanities and other neglected forms of labour in our increasingly automated age. With it, I solidified one friendship and made another, and … Continue reading The Humanities and 20 Years of Australian Political Culture
Yearly Faves
Around New Year I usually back-track though my non-professional reading and compile a top five. Last month I came up with these: 1) Music and Freedom, Zoe Morrison—an Oz writer, though this is set largely in Oxford, UK; excellent storytelling, strong characters, lots of music. 2) 4321, Paul Auster, a rare male entry! I didn’t … Continue reading Yearly Faves
“History Lesson”
Yesterday I found these notes in my inboxes: Hiya Kate – I’m doing a story about the friendship between arthur phillip and bennelong for tomorrow’s paper..I’d love to get your input…Chris Hook, Journalist, Daily Telegraph. And: hello there …I’m a daily tele journalist doing a story for tomorrow about Australia Day and the friendship between … Continue reading “History Lesson”
