Welcome to our fortnightly newsletter. If you have things you’d like to share with the CCH community, please email Scott over the coming fortnight. We will also share news and updates on LinkedIn. Please tag us in the news you post on LinkedIn so we can share it!
News from Members and Associates
David Lowe launched his recent book, The Colombo Plan: Development Internationalism in Cold War Asia, last Thursday (30 April) at Deakin Downtown. Launching the book was Marilyn Lake (University of Melbourne), whose review of the text deemed it ‘a reminder that the history of “Australia in the world” is much more complex and interesting than a survey of our changing relations with Britain and America.’ Congratulations, David, on the publication and the successful launch!
Sarah Pinto, along with James Findlay (University of Sydney), has published an article on the historical television series Banished. A few words from Sarah: “Our work on this article began with a CCH grant (before it was even called CCH!), and then somehow survived a pandemic, as well as a very long and drawn out game of academic publication snakes and ladders, only to land in the Journal of Australian Studies, where it probably always belonged. We are not sure that Banished was deserving of all that work (and time), but we are glad to (finally) see it out in the world – and off our desks! Thanks CCH, and happy reading.” Great work, Sarah!
Clare Corbould has recently published a volume co-edited with Charlotte Greenhalgh (Waikato) and Warwick Anderson (Sydney), titled The Social Survey in Global Perspective, 1900-2020s (Berghahn Books). Its thirteen chapters trace the evolution of social surveys beyond celebrated metropolitan examples, exploring their worldwide impact and showing how surveys shaped state power, social movements, and individual identity while often reproducing existing hierarchies. Contributors include historians and sociologists such as Mike Savage, Cathy Waldby, Michelle Arrow, Arunabh Ghosh, and Jon Lawrence. Clare’s contributions are a chapter titled “Researching while Black and Female: How the Unsung Labor of African American Women Pioneered Social Survey Methods” and a co-authored introduction, “From Door to Door to Digital: The Evolving Social Survey in the Making of Modern Knowledge.”
Clare has also published a piece in The Conversation, regarding a viral skit taking aim at Erika Kirk: Druski’s viral whiteface skit isn’t racism. It’s satire that punches up at power. Once she established, by asking her 16-year-old kid, who exactly Druski is, she agreed to provide some historical context for Conversation readers. Congratulations, Clare!
Andrew Singleton has published an article in Women’s History Review, examining the centrality of women to Australian spiritualism between the two world wars – ‘Séances and scandals: female spirit mediums, persecution and spiritual authority in interwar Australia‘. Nice one, Andrew!
Mia Martin Hobbs, Carolyn Holbrook, and Joan Beaumont have published a co-edited volume, Challenging Anzac: Stories that don’t fit the legend. The Anzac legend has shaped Australia’s national identity for more than a century. Yet many experiences of war do not fit comfortably within this. In Challenging Anzac, leading historians explore some of these stories: Aboriginal activists, deserters on the Western Front, veterans who took their own lives, and soldiers who became radicalized by their service. They reveal how episodes in Australia’s war history that unsettled the Anzac legend – from the relief of Tobruk, nuclear testing on Australian soil and feminist protests against war, to alleged atrocities in Afghanistan – have been elided or adapted to ‘fit’ the legend. Many CCH members will be pleased to see the publication of this collection, after tuning in to such an engaging seminar on several chapters during the trimester. Congratulations Mia, Carolyn, and Joan!
Carolyn Holbrook has published a further, co-edited volume with Frank Bongiorno (University of Canberra) and Joshua Black: Gold Standard? Remembering the Hawke government. Was the Hawke government ‘the gold standard’ for federal government in Australia? A stellar line-up of historians, social scientists, politicians and journalists sheds valuable new light on the policies, politics and personalities of the Hawke government and asks: What lessons can it offer in the art of reformist government? How do its legacies continue to shape Australian society? Well done, Carolyn!
Geoff Robinson has published a chapter – ‘A Sceptical Liberal? The Australian Georges Sorel’ – in the edited volume The Metaphysician of Syndicalism: Georges Sorel Beyond Myth and Violence. Congratulations, Geoff!
Seminar Series
| 6 May, 11am | Kery Lawson | Forgotten Histories: MOVE and Their Animals in “The City That Bombed Itself” |
| 13 May, 11am | Matthew Ricketson | Rupert Murdoch and the Damage Done |
| 20 May, 11am | Kate Davis, Tonia Sellers, & Catherine Stuart | Lightning Seminar |
CCH Support for Research Projects
Events
Book Launch – Mia Martin Hobbs, Carolyn Holbrook, and Joan Beaumont’s Challenging Anzac: Stories that don’t fit the legend
Date: 6 May 2026
Location: Readings Carlton
Time: 6–7pm
Edited by award-winning historians Mia Martin Hobbs, Carolyn Holbrook, and Joan Beaumont, Challenging Anzac examines how the reality of warfare has always been at odds with mythic representation and considers why, despite this, the Anzac legend has survived.
Seminar – Australia, Korea, and the Korean War: The deepening bilateral relationship
Date: 26 May 2026
Location: Deakin Downtown
Time: 10am–4:45pm
This seminar explores how and why the Korean War is remembered so differently in Australia and the Republic of Korea.
Koreans remember the war as a catastrophic event that divided the nation, leaving a legacy felt keenly to the present day. For Australians, it is a largely unknown conflict that was fought decades ago in an unfamiliar place and is now remembered less completely than other wars. Yet, since the war, Australia–Korea relations have grown in multidimensional and highly productive ways.
In the first part of the seminar, the organisers will recount their recently completed project, which has used an online exhibition, public forums, publications, and surveys to explore these different memories of the war (and changing practices of remembering) and how these memories have contributed to a deepening multidimensional relationship.
In the second part of the seminar, we will invite practitioners to reflect on the roles of Australia and Korea in the conflict and the significance of the Korean War for the development of bilateral relations from multiple vantage points.
The final part of the seminar is devoted to scholarly reflection on what the case of Australia and Korea can tell us about the wider phenomenon and practice of remembering war in comparative context.
Speakers include CCH members Andrea Witcomb, David Lowe, Andrew Singleton, Bart Ziino, Joan Beaumont, and Danielle Chubb.
Final CCH Seminar of Trimester One
Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Location: Deakin Downtown
Time: 11–1pm
Join us at Deakin Downtown for a special, end-of-trimester seminar showcasing talented PhD candidates Kate Davis, Tonia Sellers, and Catherine Stuart!
Our three speakers will present and discuss their work from 11am–12 (AEST), leaving time afterwards for CCH members to catch up and discuss their current projects in a more social setting.
More details to come!
Making Public Histories Seminar – Australian Legacies of British Slavery (History Council of Victoria)
Date: 14 May 2026
Time: 5–6pm
Location: Zoom
Recent research has revealed the myriad connections – encompassing people, capital, labour practices and ideologies – between Australia’s colonisation and chattel slavery in the Atlantic World. People who had benefitted from owning enslaved people or investing in the slave economy, or who had themselves been enslaved, became equally entangled in colonisation in the Australian colonies.
This history is intriguing and important, but also challenges received understandings of Australia’s past – which rightly focus on the impact of colonisation on the Indigenous peoples of Australia, but do not always recognise the role of slavery, whether in the Atlantic world or on this continent. In this seminar, Professors Lydon and Laidlaw discuss how they have opened up important historical themes by tracing individuals and cohorts between the Atlantic World and Australia’s colonies and reflect on the challenges of communicating their findings to the public and applying them to contemporary conversations about heritage, identity and citizenship.
Public Lecture – Direct action and democracy: a controversial present, a contentious history
Date: 23 May 2026
Time: 6:30–7:30pm
Location: Forum Theatre, Arts West Building, Parkville VIC
Across the globe, many polities are currently marked by the eruption of “direct action” campaigns: for environmental protection; for peace; and against racial, gender and class inequality. People march, demonstrate, disrupt, occupy and boycott. They typically justify these actions as a legitimate response to the failures of political authorities. They also present their actions as an authentic form of “direct” or “participatory” democracy. Political elites sometimes tolerate these campaigns and selectively incorporate their demands. Increasingly, however, they seek to restrict the scope for “direct action”, and to portray “direct action” as a threat to legitimate order, and as a violent assertion of minority interests.
Conflicts around “direct action” and “democracy” have a long history, seldom referenced in contemporary political argument. In this lecture, Professor Sean Scalmer traces that history, from the 1890s until the present. This helps to establish that the tension between insurgent protest and formal authority is not new. It also establishes that the prevailing meanings of “direct action” and “democracy” have changed over time, as each has shaped the other. A historical perspective also suggests a practical conclusion: attempts to limit and restrict protest threaten the vitality of democracy, along with its capacity for renewal.
History Council of Victoria VCE Roadshow 2026
The HCV History Roadshow program has run in one form or another since the 1970s and makes it possible for VCE History students in regional Victoria to experience enriching lectures on their VCE subjects from academic specialists.
The day-long seminar is entirely free and is open to expressions of interest from schools who offer VCE History units and are interested in attending at the following dates/locations:
14 August – Warrnambool
28 August – Traralgon
For more details, and to register your interest, click here!
CCH Shut Up and Write
Every Monday, 9am-12pm, on Zoom.
Start the week strong with a Shut Up and Write! We run 3 x 50 minute blocks of writing/focus, with breaks in between to chat and grab coffee. All CCH colleagues welcome, especially ECRs, HDRs, and those who work remotely. Feel free to join at any time.
The zoom link is here (Meeting ID: 879 3895 9029, Password: 97747034). If you would like a recurring invite in your calendar, or you have any trouble joining, email Mia at mia.martinhobbs@deakin.edu.au
Calls for Papers
Publish in the Australian Policy and History Network
This is an open invitation for CCH members to contribute opinion pieces, policy briefs, and book reviews for publication inAustralian Policy and History. Drafts will be workshopped with APH editors, so if you have an idea but are unsure if it fits, please do get in touch!
Email australianpolicyandhistory@gmail.com with pitches, book requests, or questions.
Call for applications – Journal of Pacific History Publication Incentive Grants
The Journal of Pacific History Inc. invites qualified persons to apply for a Publication Incentive grant. These competitive grants are offered to help support early career Pacific historians to prepare manuscripts for submission to the Journal of Pacific History for peer review. See here for the journal’s aims and scope, journal information, and instructions for authors. Applicants must follow the instructions scrupulously in preparing their manuscript.
Prospective applicants should note that the journal is ‘dedicated to historical research concerning the Pacific Islands, their peoples, and their pasts. Its core geographical focus includes all of New Guinea and adjacent islands. Its chronological remit is broad: from prehistory to the present. It publishes articles in social, cultural, religious, political, economic, geographical, and environmental history and the history of science’. Where difficult choices have to be made in the selection process, historical projects with such a focus are likely to be preferred.
Qualifications:
Anyone who has completed a PhD or thesis-based MA relevant to Pacific history, or who is currently enrolled for a doctorate in a relevant field, can apply for a grant of AU$3,000 to prepare a manuscript for submission to peer review by the Journal of Pacific History. In the case of co-authored proposals, all cited authors must meet these guidelines. For multiple authors, the total grant will be AU$4,000, divided equally.
Successful applicants will receive their grants in three tranches:
- AU$500 upfront;
- AU$1,000 if and when the Journal’s Editors decide to send a submitted manuscript for peer review. Manuscripts must be submitted through the Journal of Pacific History Taylor & Francis web portal before 15 December 2027. It will be the Editors’ decision whether to send them directly for peer review; to request revisions before they are sent for peer review; or to reject them. In the latter case, no further grant payments will be made.
- AU$1,500 when an accepted final article is sent for production by the publishers ofthe Journal of Pacific History.
Application process:
Candidates should submit a recent CV, letters of support from two referees, and a proposal of up to 1,000 words by 30 September 2026 to the Secretary of JPH Inc (bronwen.douglas@anu.edu.au). It is not acceptable to use generative AI tools to prepare a proposal.
Article proposals should include the following:
Title and 200-word abstract
Outline: rationale of the topic and a brief historiography demonstrating the candidate’s familiarity with relevant historical literature, including primary materials
Timeline: to submission via the JPH online portal before 15 December 2027.
Applications will be assessed by the Prizes & Grants sub-committee of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Pacific History. A mentor will be appointed to assist successful applicants, who are strongly encouraged to take regular advantage of their mentor.
Helen Gardner
Chair, Prizes and Grants sub-committee, JPH Inc.
Australian and New Zealand Legal History Society Seminar Series
The Australian and New Zealand Legal History Society are organising four seminar series that will be held from March to October 2026. These sessions will bring together a diverse group of scholars and members of the public to workshop a pre-circulated paper. Our definition of law is expansive and pluralistic; we encourage papers that focus on legal culture and laws beyond western courts as well as more traditional legal history. After brief remarks from the author and an assigned commentator, the discussion will be opened to the floor. All are encouraged to ask questions, provide feedback on the circulated essay, and discuss the topic at hand. Sessions are free and open to everyone.
If you would like to present a paper in either mid-March, mid-May, mid-August, or mid-October, please send an abstract and a list of possible commentators (they do not need to be from Australia or New Zealand).
Submissions due to alecia.simmonds@uts.edu.au
Opportunities
Academy of International Affairs NRW Fellowship Call 2027/28: Project Proposals on Global Security and Resilience
This fellowship offers a unique opportunity to explore pressing global challenges in security and resilience within a collaborative and interdisciplinary setting. By bringing together academics and practitioners, the programme fosters innovative thinking and bridges the gap between theory and practice. Participants gain the chance to develop impactful research, contribute to policy discussions, and engage with a network of experts working on the future of international security.
The call focuses on the theme “Comprehensive Security for a Changing World: Building Strategic and Technological Resilience,” reflecting the urgent need to rethink how security is defined and addressed in today’s rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.
With Europe experiencing profound transformations—ranging from open conflicts to intensifying global competition and evolving alliances this fellowship offers a platform for critical inquiry, collaboration, and policy-relevant research.
Selected fellows are expected to reside in Bonn, Germany, for the duration of the programme, which runs from April 2027 to March 2028.
Applications will close on 31 May 2026. Find out more here!
PhD Scholarship, Race, Gender, and Violence in Western Militaries in the War on Terror
Dr Mia Martin Hobbs seeks a PhD candidate for her DECRA project ‘Race, Gender, and Violence in Western militaries in the War on Terror’. In the wake of 9/11, Western militaries agreed that force alone would not defeat global terrorism. The US, UK, and Australian militaries set forth new doctrine outlining the need to build trust with local populations, and a core element of this doctrine was the diversity of their armed forces. Leaders were explicit about the necessity of diversity among the ranks, while rhetorical justifications for the War on Terror framed it as defending values of pluralism and equality. Military recruitment materials heavily promoted diversity, tying the individual empowerment of the soldier to the ‘liberating’ mission of the War on Terror. Yet the War on Terror was characterised by the weaponisation of race and gender by Western militaries, and the soldiers who diversified Western forces faced widespread sexual violence and racism within military institutions.
The PhD candidate will conduct their own research on perceptions of gender and race in the wider ADF in the 21st century, or on a related issue, and coauthor comparative research with Mia.
For further information, please contact mia.martinhobbs@deakin.edu.au
Cover Photo
May Day protests in the Philippines, 1 May 2026.
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