CCH Newsletter - 16 November 2023 - Centre for Contemporary Histories (CCH)

Apologies for the late delivery of this fortnight’s newsletter!

You can read all about our news here, but don’t forget we regularly put out information by our social media channels – Twitter and Facebook.

Don’t forget to send Anna your publications, seminars, conferences, calls for papers and other news and celebrations for publication in the newsletter (now published fortnightly on a Monday).

News from Members

Joan Beaumont is one of the historians featured on the ABC TV History series Australia After the War. You can check it out on ABC iView.

Opportunities

Laura Bassi Scholarship
The Laura Bassi Scholarship, which awards a total of $8,000 thrice per annum, was established in 2018 with the aim of providing editorial assistance to postgraduates and junior academics whose research focuses on neglected topics of study, broadly construed. The scholarships are open to every discipline and the next round of funding will be awarded in Winter 2023. The application deadline is 30 November 2023.

All currently enrolled master’s and doctoral candidates are eligible to apply, as are academics in the first five years of full-time employment. Applicants are required to submit a completed application form along with their CV through the application portal by the relevant deadline. Further details, previous winners, and the application portal can be found at here.

2023–24 Mike Smith Student Prize
The National Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science has a prize for unpublished postgrad work which has just opened and closes in Jan 2024. The essay should range from 4000–8000 words in length (exclusive of endnotes). Essays must be written in English and fully documented following the style specified for the Australian Academy of Science’s journal, Historical Records of Australian Science.

Essays may explore any aspect of the history of Australian science, including medicine and technology or Australian environmental history. The term ‘Australia’ may encompass essays focusing on the Australian region, broadly defined, which includes Oceania. We also welcome essays that compare issues and subjects associated with Australia to those of other places. Applications are due by 15 January 2024. You can find more information about the prize here, or get in touch with Timothy Neale.

Upcoming Events

Trauma and world heritage on the Gotō Islands: 1856-1899 with Dr Gwyn McClelland
21 November 2023
Canberra or online
Join Dr Gwyn McClelland as he presents a lecture on his 2022 National Library Fellowship research that considers one of the four cultural World Heritage sites of ‘Hidden Christianity’ of the Gotō Archipelago region, drawing on an oral history, and the Library’s Japanese historical records. Entry is free to this event but bookings are essential. The talk will be available to view live online via the Library’s Facebook and YouTube pages. You do not need to book a ticket to watch the event online. You can read more here.

2023 Bernard Bailyn Lecture in North American History
21 November 2023, 12:00pm
Online

World leading authority on oral history and technology Professor Doug Boyd, Director of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, will present La Trobe University’s Bernard Bailyn Lecture in North American History online on 21 November 2023 (noon AEDT).

Professor Boyd’s address ‘Artificial Intelligence and Oral History: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ is sure to be of interest to all those interested in interviewing, especially as it explores the implications of AI for research interviewing across multiple disciplines.

Doug Boyd envisioned, designed and implemented the open source and free OHMS system (Oral History Metadata Synchronizer), which synchronizes text with audio and video online. In 2019 he received a Fulbright Scholars Research Grant to collaborate with the National Library of Australia on innovative access to online oral history.

Boyd is the co-editor (with Mary A. Larson) of the book “Oral History and Digital Humanities: Voice, Access, and Engagement” published by Palgrave MacMillan in 2014. He authors the blog Digital Omnium: Oral History, Archives, and Digital Technology and is the author of numerous articles pertaining to oral history, archives and digital technologies. Registration for the lecture is available at here.

GLAM Picnic
2nd December 2023 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Abbotsford Convent Heritage Gardens
Join newCardigan and friends from ALIA Vic, ASA Vic, AMaGA Vic and Professional Historians Australia Tas & Vic for the annual GLAM Victoria Picnic! This is a free event but registrations are appreciated here.

HDR Statistics Workshop | Foundations of Social Statistics: A Beginner’s Workshop
Monday 4 December
Deakin Downtown

Join us for a half-day workshop tailored to graduate students in the humanities, education and social sciences who are new to the world of social statistics. In an increasingly data-driven academic landscape, grasping the basics of statistical analysis is invaluable. No prior statistical knowledge is required.

If you are interested in attending this workshop, please email mia.martinhobbs@deakin.edu.au so we get a sense of numbers.

CCH Work in Progress Day for HDR/ECRs

11 December
Deakin Downtown
Virginie Rey is organising a Work In Progress day for CCH HDR/ECRs at Deakin Downtown on the 11th December. Around 12 participants will submit work in advance and each receive two reviews on their work. The WIP day will run 10am to 14.30 and include morning tea and lunch. If you are interested in participating, please email virginie.rey@deakin.edu.au

New Website!

We hope you are enjoying our new website, which can be found at cch.deakin.edu.au. Please have a look at the new site, and while we have endeavoured to ensure information has been migrated across from the old website, if there is anything that needs to be updated please do let Anna know.

Call for Papers

New Housing History Network
Revisiting Classics in Australian Housing History
February 2024
This project, tentatively titled Revisiting Classics in Housing History, seeks to revisit canonical texts in the historiography of Australian housing. It comes out of a research agenda under the aegis of the New Housing History Network (NHHN), established in 2023, which has identified the current moment as a transformational one in understanding the cultural and social meaning of housing in Australia. The task of uncovering forgotten histories and historical imaginaries looms as an urgent task in our present moment, widely perceived to be one of exceptional historical crisis. Revisiting Classics in Housing History recognises the rich tradition of scholarship on housing across the twentieth century – much of which has slipped out of public consciousness – and asks what these texts might offer for readers today. While certain landmark texts in Australian urban and housing history have in recent years been “revisited” – notably Robin Boyd’s The Australian Ugliness and Janet McCalman’s Struggletown – a host of other histories remain under-read, and under-appreciated.

We invite proposals by authors to revisit key texts in the historiography of Australian housing. Proposals should nominate up to three landmark texts in the history of housing and briefly outline the reasoning to conduct a reflection on the enduring significance of the book in question. You can find more information about this call for papers, closing 10 December, here.

CCH Hub Site

We are very excited that our digital evolution at CCH continues. We now have a Sharepoint site (for Deakin staff and students only). This is where you can find CCH templates and logos, and importantly – new grant application forms. CCH members should have access, but you will need to use your Deakin login.

CCH Grants

CCH Grants for 2023 are now closed – if you have a project for 2024 that you’d like to apply for please check out the options available on the hub site.

Reminders

New Archive Trial – Boston Herald

Deakin Library has arranged for a trial of the Boston Herald Archive 1848-1992. The trial gives us access to historical issues (May 1848-April 30 1992), text archive (July 26 1991 – current) and the Image Edition (2018 to current) of the Boston Herald.