Monday 19th February 2024 - Centre for Contemporary History (CCH)

If you have any information to share in the Newsletter please send it through to Anna, the newsletter will be published every fortnight on Monday. You can read all our news here, but don’t forget we regularly put out information by our social media channels including Facebook.

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it to the CCH Workshop Day last week. We hope you were able to get a lot out of the day! [Editors note: Special thanks from me for those who were able to celebrate the publication of my book!]

News and publications from Members

Scott McCarthy has received a National Library of Australia scholarship for this year, for the project ‘Britishness, Irishness, and Class: Catholic Politicians and the Negotiation of Identity’. He’ll be taking the 6-week residency across two separate stints over the course of the year. You can find out more here. Scott also had an article published in late-December – ‘Federation, Sectarianism, and the Catholic Middle Class in Australia’, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, 44 (2023), 50-70.
Ian Warren has put together a report from his CCH Seed Funding Grant from last year. You can read his piece on the website – Examining local history via the Victoria Police Gazette.
Rebecca Cairns has been involved in the development of a new History Education Open Book. Deakin pre-service History teachers have co-authored a new open book: Diverse Historical Narratives and Perspectives: A Collection of Learning and Teaching Activities 2023. The book was developed with Unit Chair, Rebecca Cairns, in the Master of Teaching unit, History Curriculum Senior Years. In this unit students learn about using, evaluating and creating Open Educational Resources (OER) for history education. This volume follows Historical thinking for senior secondary students: a collection of learning and teaching activities 2022. Rebecca would be happy to talk to any CCH members interested in OER.
Sarah Pinto and Andrew Singleton, along with Deakin philosophers Jack Reynolds and Pat Stokes, were part of an episode of ABC Radio National’s The Philosopher’s Zone on ‘Time in the time of COVID’. They discussed how people started to experience a strange sense of temporal distortion during the lockdowns at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Klaus Neumann has a new piece in Inside Story – “Never again”.

Events

Preserving Memory: Major Conservation Projects for the MHM Core Exhibition
7.00pm, 20 February 2024
Melbourne Holocaust Museum, Elsternwick

How do museums ensure the preservation of historical artefacts, and what are some of the considerations – technical, cultural and ethical – that conservation experts are guided by ? With a close look at three major conservation projects, this panel discussion will highlight the critical work undertaken in preparation for the installation of MHM’s new core exhibition, Everybody Had A Name. More details and registration information is available here.

Book Launch: Line & Length: A History of the Geelong Cricket Club
5.30pm on Wednesday 28 February
Kardinia Park

This history was initially commissioned by the Geelong Cricket Club to celebrate its 30 years competing in Victorian Premier Cricket, the state’s elite club pennant competition (of which Geelong is the only team based outside of metropolitan Melbourne). However, Tony and Mathew eventually traced its history all the way back to 1846 – within the first decade of Geelong’s establishment as a township! For anyone who wants to attend, the RSVP is by 21 February to: Theresa.best@besteverevents.com.au. More details are here.

Graduate Oral History Intensive
4-day online course
April to May 2024 (Online)

In Autumn 2024, three of Australia’s leading oral historians, in partnership with Oral History Victoria, are pioneering an oral history intensive course aimed at university research students. We will teach you how to plan an oral history project and apply for ethics approval. You’ll learn how to create excellent interviews and document the recordings for use in research. We’ll explore approaches to analysing interviews and interpreting memories. And we’ll consider how to write a thesis using oral history as well as other types of oral history productions.

You will be active participants in the teaching and learning: reading a selection of key texts, bringing examples and issues from you own research, workshopping issues with the group, conducting practice interviews, discussing interview extracts from each participant, and developing a peer support group of graduate oral history researchers from around Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia. Each day school will be taught online via Zoom, from 9.30am to 4pm Australian Eastern Standard time. The course will be limited to 18 participants. Tickets are available here. Those without access to university funding for this event may be able to access a bursary – see the website for details.

Oral History Victoria Advanced Workshop: Conducting Oral History Interviews on sensitive or painful subjects
9:30 am – 4:00 pm, 16 Mar 2024
Via Zoom

This OHV online Advanced Workshop by two of Australia’s most experienced oral history trainers will consider: the personal and ethical responsibilities of the oral historian; the range of ways in which interviews might generate difficult or painful remembering; minimising risk in project planning and communication; issues and approaches for interviewing on sensitive subjects and responding to difficult remembering; the safety of the interviewee and interviewer; and responsibilities and options after the interview.

Participants in this advanced workshop must have interview experience or have participated in an OHV Oral History Beginners workshop. You will be encouraged to bring relevant examples from your own oral history practice for discussion. You can find more information and booking details here. Please note there is a cost associated with this workshop.

There are a number of other Oral History Victoria events over the next few weeks and months. You can find more information here.

CCH Research Grants

Our very popular CCH Grant Program is on again this year. We have changed the grant guidelines for 2024, so it is important that you read the new guidelines before you apply for a grant. Check out the guidelines and the application forms in our hub site.

CCH Shut Up and Write

every Monday, 9am-1.30pm, via Zoom.

Start the week strong with a Shut Up and Write! We will run 4 x 50 minute blocks of writing/focus, with breaks in between to chat, grab coffees, etc. All CCH colleagues welcome, especially ECRs, HDRs, and those who work remotely. Feel free to join at any time – it doesn’t matter if you can’t make it to every session, or every block in a session, just come when you can.

The zoom link is here. (Meeting ID: 822 0730 8335, Password: 65182364)
If you would like a recurring invite in your calendar, or you have any trouble joining, email Mia at mia.martinhobbs@deakin.edu.au

Opportunities

Kim barne thaliyu / Geelong Heritage Centre

There is an expression of interest open for community representatives for Kim barne thaliyu / Geelong Heritage Centre’s Collection Advisory Committee. It would be a great opportunity for HDRs and ECRs! You can find out more information at this link.

VIDA: Blog of the Australian Women’s History Network.

The Australian Women’s History Network is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from emerging and established historians who are interested in becoming new members of the editorial team for VIDA: Blog of the Australian Women’s History Network.

EOIs are sought for a Managing Editor and/or Commissioning Editors. The Managing Editor role will generally require more prior experience with academic publishing. There is more information here. EOIs are due by 8th March 2024.

Ann Curthoys Prize 2024

Applications are now OPEN for the Ann Curthoys Prize 2024. This prize is awarded for the best unpublished article-length work by an Early Career Researcher in any one or combination of the following fields in which Ann has published: Australian history; feminist history; Indigenous history; transnational/comparative/colonial history; and history and theory. The Prize is generously funded by Ann and the Australian Catholic University, the institution of the current History Australia editors. The winner will receive a cash prize, a citation in History Australia, and will be considered for publication in the journal. For any queries concerning this prize, get in touch with History Australia Editorial Assistant Karen Downing (karen.downing@anu.edu.au). More details are here.

AHA 2024 Conference Awards, Bursaries and Scholarships

Applications are now open for a range of AHA 2024 Conference awards, bursaries and scholarships, which will support a number of postgraduate students and early career researchers with the costs of conference attendance. Applications for each are due 31 March 2024.

These include the AHA Postgraduate and ECR Conference Awards, including two Ken and Amirah Inglis Conference Grants (supported by the AHA Public Fund). These awards will cover the cost of recipients’ registration to attend the AHA annual conference, and provide $1000 towards travel, accommodation and other conference attendance costs. Recipients will also receive mentoring from experienced historians and participation in a workshop prior to the conference to assist with turning their conference paper into a submissible journal article or book chapter.

The Jill Roe Early Career Researcher AHA Conference Scholarship Scheme will support two ECRs to attend and present at the AHA annual conference. The scholarship, valued at $1000 per applicant, provides financial assistance to facilitate participation in the AHA annual conference. The money is to be used towards assisting with registration costs, travel and accommodation.

The Patrick Wolfe Early Career Researcher Conference Bursary is awarded annually to assist two early career researchers participate in the AHA annual conference and attend the conference dinner. The conference registration fee will be waived for the successful applicants. Attendance at the conference dinner will also be covered.

You can find details about all of these awards at the AHA website.

AHA Lifetime Achievement Awards 2024

Each year the Australian Historical Association will honour one or more eminent practitioners of history with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a career that has made a significant, positive contribution to the field of history in Australia. The winner(s) of the Lifetime Achievement Award will be announced at the annual AHA conference and will receive a citation in History Australia. Members of the AHA may suggest a person for the Lifetime Achievement Award by submitting a short statement (around 300 words) to the Administrative Officer explaining how their nominee has met the criteria of excellence in history and generosity in service. AHA Vice-President Michelle Arrow will be happy to respond to queries about this award. Nominations are due Friday 22 March 2024.

AHA HDR-ECR Mentoring Scheme 2024

The AHA’s HDR/ECR Mentoring Scheme pairs postgraduates and early career researchers in a mentor/mentee relationship, creating space for HDRs to ask questions and get advice from somebody who has successfully completed their doctoral study in this recent, challenging environment, and for ECRs to offer advice about how they navigate the various elements of academic life. It will also allow Early Career Researchers to develop their mentoring skills to, among other things, start preparing for future supervision responsibilities, and to forge stronger links with the HDR community. Applications for both mentors and mentees are now OPEN. The mentoring scheme runs from March to November. Call for participants closes 26 February 2024. More details are here.

Deakin Media Training

Deakin’s popular media training program is kicking off its 2024 calendar with a range of workshops from March to June, where staff and HDR students with all levels of experience can learn more about how media engagement works, and how to ace a media interview.

Included in the program this year is:

Introductory media training – a one-hour webinar where you can learn more about what media engagement is, how it works at Deakin and the potential benefits.
Broadcast interview workshops – in-person sessions at Burwood and Waurn Ponds where you can build media interview skills and have hands-on practice in a real studio.
The Conversation Editor talks – a one-hour webinar with an editor from The Conversation, where you can learn more about writing for this high impact media outlet.

Each session is hosted by a member of Deakin’s experienced media team, with a special guest Deakin academic to share their own experience of media engagement and lessons learned along the way. This training is available to HDR students. More details (Deakin Login required) are here.

Conferences

AHA Conference – Home Truths
1st – 4th July, Flinders University

The AHA Conference Call for Papers is open until the 24th February. You can find more details here.

CCH Hub Site

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.