At the end of the day I sat down to write up a post about the sessions I had listened to at the Australian Historical Association conference but I struggled to find a common theme in all of them on which I could develop a coherent post. But of course, I chose these sessions because they all said something about my current interests in war, masculinity and belief. I heard some … [Read more...] about War, Masculinity and Belief – day 2, Australian Historical Association Conference
Religion in schools
Review: A History of Australian Schooling
For over a century Australian schools have acted as future-shapers. Since the era of compulsory schooling emerged in the Australian colonies during the late nineteenth-century, every Australian child has spent a number of years in school. Children take at least some of the ideas and behaviours that are developed in the classroom and in the playground with them for the rest of … [Read more...] about Review: A History of Australian Schooling
Queensland’s Bible in State Schools Referendum – 1910
My honours thesis, Queensland's Bible in State Schools Referendum 1910: A Case Study of Democracy, is now available to download from the University of Sydney eScholarship Repository. In it I explore a fascinating era of Queensland's history where women, Labour politicians and the Protestant clergymen of the Bible in State Schools League were key participants in a public debate … [Read more...] about Queensland’s Bible in State Schools Referendum – 1910
Women and Archival Silences
Archives are not neutral. We can't keep everything so choices have to be made and those choices reflect the values of the people making the decisions about what to keep and what to discard. In the past people such as women, non-Europeans, Aborigines, the poor etc were not considered important contributors to our history so their stories are often not portrayed in archival … [Read more...] about Women and Archival Silences
Top 10 Posts for 2011
Blogs and cricket have something important in common - statistics! This week I've enjoyed spending lots of time with my family visiting from interstate and watching the exciting Boxing Day test match between India and Australia. It was a great example of test cricket - four days of see-sawing between the teams until Australia finally won. I tried to write a blog post while … [Read more...] about Top 10 Posts for 2011