Welcome to our fortnightly newsletter. If you have things you’d like to share with the CCH community, please email Anna before the next fortnightly newsletter. We will also share news and updates on Facebook and LinkedIn.

News from Members and Associates

CCH Graduate Researcher Robyn Fuerst’s PhD Exhibition is on soon at Bayley Arts in Highett. The opening is on 1 May. You can find more details here.

Seminar Series

Our 2025 Seminar Series will kick off this week! Details for upcoming seminars are below.

– Wednesday 16th April – Mia Martin Hobbs – This seminar has changed days as the original date was during the mid-Trimester break.

– Wednesday 30th April – Kate Davison

We are still looking to fill slots across Trimester 2, so if you would like to share your research with the collegiate and engaged audience that the CCH offers, please do get in touch with Anna.

Events

The History Council of Victoria Book+Author Event
1 May 2025, 6pm
Bard’s Apothecary, 7/24 Crossley St, Melbourne CBD

The History Council of Victoria’s next Book+Author event for 2025 is Dr Yves Rees joined by Dr Clare Wright, who will be discussing her latest book Näku Dhäruk, The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy. RSVPs are essential – check the History Council of Victoria website for details.

Book Launch: Let the Dead Speak: Spiritualism in Australia
Thursday, 8 May 2025, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Victorian Spiritualists’ Union, North Melbourne

You are warmly invited to the launch of Let the Dead Speak: Spiritualism in Australia, a new book by Andrew Singleton (Deakin University) and Matt Tomlinson (ANU), published by Manchester University Press (2025). The book will be launched by Rev. Lorraine Lee Tet (President, VSU) and A/Prof Debra McDougall (Anthropology, Uni Melb), with A/Prof Bart Ziino (Deakin) as MC. Light refreshments provided.

This is a free event, but bookings are essential for catering purposes. Click on this link to reserve your place.

Graduate Oral History Intensive
May 2025
4-day online course offered by Oral History Victoria, taught by Carla Pascoe Leahy, Sarah Rood and Alistair Thomson.
Are you a PhD, Masters or Honours student, or a post-doc, about to start a research project using oral history – and need training to get you on the right track? Perhaps you’ve already started a graduate oral history project and want advice and support? You may be a historian, or you work in another social science or humanities discipline that uses life story interviews. This four-day, online training course could be just what you need. Course fees are $500 for Oral History Victoria and Oral History Australia members and $750 for non-members. Registration and more information is available here.

2025 Wilson History Oration
5 June 2025, 7pm (AEST)
Online
Revisiting the Past: Researching Chinese History in Western Australia, an oration by Lucy Hair.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Dr Anne Atkinson amassed some 10,000 pages of research notes on the history of Chinese people in Western Australia. This extraordinary resource has been digitised by the University of Western Australia as part of the project ‘Two Centuries of Chinese Heritage in Western Australia‘. Join professional historian Lucy Hair as she uses this ambitious digital history project to explore the joys and challenges of sharing the work of a fellow historian three decades later, and re-examining the histories of the past from the perspective of the present. For more information and bookings use this link.

CCH/APH Policy Brief Workshop for PhD/ECRs
13 August 2025
Deakin Downtown
Are you a PhD candidate or ECR interested in learning how to write a policy brief? Join us at Deakin Downtown for a whole-day workshop to learn the ropes of policy writing and translate your expert knowledge into advice for policymakers.

The workshop will include an overview and examples of what a policy brief should entail, scenarios based on your area of research, free-writing a plan/draft a policy brief, feedback from peers and CCH mentors, and a reflective session for questions and concerns. Dr Sarah Pinto and A/Prof Carolyn Holbrook will offer advice from their experience teaching and writing policy briefs, and participants will be invited to submit their policy briefs for publication in Australian Policy and History. 

Participants can also apply for an Australian Policy and History Writing Fellowship, through which they will receive mentoring and financial support ($500) to produce an opinion piece and policy brief for publication on Australian Policy and History.

If you are interested in joining the workshop, please RSVP to mia.martinhobbs@deakin.edu.au by 15 July with the following information:

• Main research project
• Suggestions of potential policy issues related to your research
• Any dietary requirements

CCH Research Grants and other opportunities

If you have plans for research in 2025, you can apply for a 2025 research grant now!

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.

Keep an eye out for Researcher Development Academy workshops available over coming months. For full details of workshops ranging from recruiting graduate researchers to impact to grant writing support and running mostly just 1-2 hours in length, see this RDA page.

There are also research training opportunities available through Deakin eResearch for high-performance computing, MS Excel, programming, data management, cleaning, visualisation, exploration and more. More details are here.

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

Australian Policy and History ECR Writing Fellowships

The Centre for Contemporary Histories and Australian Policy and History are offering 10 Writing Fellowships for Early Career Researchers, of a value of $500 each. Successful applicants will be commissioned to write one opinion piece and one policy briefing note related to their research.

Potential applicants should briefly outline their area of research, their idea for a Conversation-style opinion piece, and potential policy-related issues. Successful applicants will be mentored by academics from the Centre for Contemporary Histories and Australian Policy and History in drafting and editing their opinion piece, and developing ideas for a policy brief. Successful applicants are required to attend the CCH/APH Policy Brief Workshop for ECRs on 13 August 2025 to workshop their policy brief.

Key dates: 
Submission deadline: 10 May 2025
Award outcome: 31 May 2025
Policy Brief workshop: 13 August 2025 at Deakin Downtown
Final publication by: 15 November 2025
Funds awarded by: 30 November (upon publication of both opinion piece and policy paper)

Eligibility: any ECR researcher in Australia with a PhD can apply. You can find the application form here.

2025 Deakin Early Careers Academic Futures (DECAF) mentoring program.

All academic staff at Deakin can participate as mentors or mentees. DECAF is designed to help mentees to develop their career, build new skills, set and achieve goals, gain insights and knowledge, and foster a culture of collaboration. ​Plus, the in-person workshops are a fantastic opportunity to network and learn from others. ​

Participating as a mentor in the program allows researchers to share their expertise, guide others with career development, and make a meaningful impact on a colleague’s professional journey. Plus, mentoring can enhance leadership skills and provide fresh perspectives on the mentor’s work.​

This year, DECAF has teamed up with People and Culture to provide a combined 2025 mentoring application form. If you are particularly keen to talk to a mentor about your research, tick the ‘Research (DECAF)’ box to unlock a series of questions about your research development needs. We will use that information to match you with a mentor. Matching is done at the School level to ensure the best fit that we can provide. The application form is available here. Applications are open until 30 April 2025. Matches will be announced from 19 May 2025. The program will run until 31 October 2025. If you have any questions, please contact the Research Education and Development team at research-education-development@deakin.edu.au

Margaret Cameron Residency

Deakin University Library is the vibrant virtual and physical heart of the University. It is home to innovative services, resources and spaces, and we are continuously striving to create new connections with the Deakin community. Drawing on the trove of rare and unique materials held in Deakin University Archives and Deakin Library’s Special Collections, the Residency aims to share the rich stories captured within these collections, which document over a century of history, research and collecting at Deakin, along with its predecessor institutions and the regions in which the University has operated. This Residency is funded by a generous bequest from the late Professor Margaret Cameron AM, Deakin’s first Chief Librarian. Expressions of interest close on the 23 April 2025. For more details see this link.

National Library of Australia Fellowships

Applications are now open for the 2026 Fellowships offered by the National Library of Australia. On offer are eight National Library of Australia Fellowships, which are open to experienced researchers needing to undertake sustained work with the Library’s collections to advance their research towards publication or other public outcomes. Research may be in any field that can be supported by the National Library’s collections, with specific Fellowships also available for those working in the areas of Asian studies, Australian literature, and Australian rural, regional or environmental history.

The Creative Arts Fellowship for Australian Writing is open to creative writers, working in any literary genre, to develop creative works inspired by the Library’s collections.  This may include writing for performance, poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, personal essays or graphic novels. Learn more about the National Library of Australia Fellowships and Creative Arts Fellowship, including information on eligibility, information on previous projects and online application forms. Applications for National Library of Australia Fellowships and the Creative Arts Fellowship will close on Monday 5 May 2025.

AKF Visiting Professorship in Australian Studies
Seoul National University, 2026

Applications for the 2026 Visiting Professor of Australian Studies position at Seoul National University (SNU) are now open. Supported by Woodside Energy and developed in partnership with SNU and the Australia-Korea Foundation, the Visiting Professor position is a funded 11-month visiting academic position commencing in early 2026 at SNU which aims to support innovative research collaborations and promote mutual understanding of Australia and Korea’s history, cultural heritage, and modern outlook. The closing date for applications is 27 April 2025. For more information and a position description see this link.

CEW Bean Prize

Australian Army History Unit’s CEW Bean Prize for Military History is now open. This prize is awarded to the best Honours, Masters and PhD theses submitted in any Australian university over the last three years. This year, applications for theses submitted in 2023, 2024 and 2025 will be accepted. You can find out more information and application details here. The 2025 Prize closes on Friday 2 May 2025.

Journal of Pacific History Publication Incentive Grant

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. Anyone who has completed a PhD or MA since 2019 in a field relevant to Pacific history, or who is currently enrolled for a doctorate in such a field, can apply for a grant of $3,000 to prepare a manuscript for submission to peer review. Applications are due by the 30 September 2025, and more details and instructions are available in this link.

National Library Fellowships

The Pacific History Association Teresia Teaiwa Prize 2025

The Pacific History Association (PHA) established the Teresia Teaiwa Prize in 2018 to honour the profound legacy of Teresia Teaiwa, former President and Secretary of PHA. The inaugural prize was awarded at the PHA’s 2021 conference. The 2025 winner will be decided and announced at the PHA’s biennial conference to be held on 2-5 December 2025 at the National University of Samoa. The prize is for a conference presentation. Finalists will be shortlisted on the basis of an essay submitted prior to the conference. The 2025 winner will receive a prize of $1000. You can find further information and eligibility requirements here.

Gunson Essay Prize

A prize of AUD $1,000 will be awarded at the 2025 Pacific History Association Conference, for the winner of the Gunson Essay Prize Competition. Postgraduate or senior students from any country are invited to submit an essay in English between 5,000 and 8,000 words on any topic relating to the pasts of the Island Pacific and its peoples by 1 November 2025. For further details and eligibility requirements see this link.

ADI Policy Briefing Paper

As you might be aware, ADI and CRIS have developed the ADI Policy Briefing Paper series which draws on the expertise of the Institute to examine important issues facing Australia today. The purpose of each paper is to inform public debate and policy discussion, and to set out practical proposals that will contribute solutions to complex issues.

The Policy Briefing Papers Series is part of ADI’s approach for engage and taking our excellent research into our communities. This will help us contribute to and influence public policy debates related to our research areas or, indeed, humanities and social science research more broadly.

There is a template for you to use. For more information please email Mark Duckworth and Ciara Barker.

PHA Early Career Researchers’ Month Webinar Series

The Pacific History Association will be holding its first “Early Career Researchers’ Month Webinar Series” in 2025. Conceived as both a platform for early career researchers whose works relate to the Pacific area and as preparation towards the association’s biennial conference, the event will take place as a series of 4 one-hour sessions held over Zoom, each one welcoming two speakers, on Thursdays 3-10-17-24 April 2025 from approx. 9 to 10 am NZST (tbc). Each speaker will have an allocated time of 15-20 minutes for their paper presentation and 10-15 minutes for questions and discussion (total 30 minutes each).

This series does not have a particular theme set, so please feel free to submit a paper proposal to the coordinators on any topic relating to the pasts of the Pacific, its islands and its peoples by 10 February 2025. Any paper proposal relating to the 2025 conference theme “Le Solosolo’ū : Resilience in the Face of Adversity” are also most welcome.

We welcome proposals from HDR students (Master’s and PhD) and recent PhD graduates in the wider humanities : history, art history, anthropology, ethnography, law, literature, philosophy, political science, international relations, as well as from contributors from the heritage and museums sectors. You can find more information 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.

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