11am, 6th September 2023
Burwood: C2.05.01
Waurn Ponds: IC2.108
Zoom link here.

Sounding out the archives

In this seminar Dr Alice Garner will discuss her research into the life and times of Mavis Robertson AM (1930-2015), a political and social activist who became a pioneer figure in Australian industry superannuation.

Mavis Robertson recorded a whole-of-life interview for the National Library of Australia in 2003, an interview that will form the backbone of an audio documentary Dr Garner intends to produce about Robertson’s activism across different life stages. Dr Garner will discuss how her approach to the papers of Mavis Robertson has been shaped by an attention to sound and music.

Dr Alice Garner is a historian, writer, performer, and a former French and humanities teacher in the Victorian secondary school system. She has published in social, environmental and educational history and is currently based in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, working on an interdisciplinary project on trade union education in Australia with colleagues in history, adult education and labour law.