Conferences & Symposia - Institute for Public History
The Institute for Public History develops collaborative public events, such as conferences, lectures and and symposia designed to stimulate public interest and discussion on historical issues. If you have any questions regarding past or future conferences or would like to join our mailing list please email kerrie.alexander@monash.edu
Future Conferences
Communities of Memory 07 to 09 October 2011 (with Oral History Workshops on 6 October 2011)
Biennial Conference of the Oral History Association of Australia,
Conference Partners:
Oral History Assocation of Australia (convenors)
Oral History Association of Australia (Victoria Branch) (convenors)
State Library of Victoria
Institute for Public History at Monash University
Museum Victoria
Professional Historians Association of Australia
National Film and Sound Archives (Oral History Branch)
Graduates and Students of the Masters Oral History Program at Monash University
Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Conference website: https://sites.google.com/site/communitiesofmemory/
Join the conference mailing list at: ohaa2011@gmail.com
Past Conferences & Symposia
2010: Atrocity Photography & War: A Symposium. Convened by Associate Professor Christina Twomey and Monash research fellows Drs Jane Lydon and Keir Reeves and supported by the Institute for Public History, academics from eigh different countries gathered in Monash Prato's centre mid June 2010 to discuss their research on the relationship between atrocity, war and photography. They keynote address was given by Professor Joanna Burke of Birkbeck College London who spoke about the changing aesthetics of atrocity photography. Speakers approached the conference theme from a variety of perspectives including photographs as art; historical artefacts and and as evidence.
These issues were explored through a variety of contexts, ranging from the American Civil war, 19th century Indian famines, both World Wars, to conflicts in Vietnam, Laos and Iraq. A selection of papers from the symposium will be published in a special issue of the journal of Photography in 2011.
2009: National Museums In a Transnational Age: A conversation between Historians and Museum Professionals
1-4 November 2009 Monash University Prato Centre.
Convened by Professor Graeme Davison, Foundation Director of the Institute for Public History, and sponsored by the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements and the National Museum of Australia, with support from the National Museum of American History (Smithsonian) and the University of Technology Sydney, this conference drew 30 invited participants, including leading museum curators and academics from Europe, North America, Mexico, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Among the topics discussed were: Why have national museums become lightning rods for political conflict? How well do they negotiate the diverse expectations of foreigners and nationals? Is it possible to accommodate demands, on the one hand, to recognise plural identities and, on the other, to promote national cohesion? How effective have national museums been as agents of national restitution and reconciliation? In due course, contributions to the conference will appear as a book.
2009: Talk about Town: Urban Lives and Oral Sources in 20th Century Australia. In August 2009 the Institute for Public History together with the State Library of Victoria, Melbourne Museum, University of Melbourne & LaTrobe University sponsored a two day conference. Over 40 papers were presented and a special volume of conference papers were published late 2010 in an edition of the the Australian Historical Association's journal.
2005: Seeking Asylum in Australia
At the end of 2005 the Institute for Public History and the Australian Centre for the Study of Jewish Civilization co-sponsored a two-day conference,Seeking Asylum in Australia 1995-2005: Experiences and Policies.
2004: Making Connections
In November 2004, the Institute for Public History organised a one-day symposium, Making Connections: New Directions in Family History, supported by the State Library of Victoria.