SHAPS Digest (February 2023)

Ángel Alcalde (History) was interviewed by SBS Español about Spanish opinion on Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Oleg Beyda (Hansen Lecturer in Russian History) was interviewed by Radio Liberty (in Russian) about his work investigating the life of Christian von Schalburg, a Russian aristocrat and a high-ranking Danish collaborator during World War II.

Liam Byrne (Honorary Fellow, History) and Emma Shortis (RMIT) assessed Joe Biden’s place in history for the Conversation.

Margaret Cameron, Head of School, explored ancient ideas and contemporary ethics alongside jazz great Paul Grabowsky, in their performance/presentation, ‘Is Philosophy a Way of Life?‘, at Sophia Club.

Mark Edele reviewed Keir Giles’s book Russia’s War on Everybody in the Conversation.

Girlhood in nineteenth-century Victoria is the subject of a new display at the Immigration Museum curated by Cat Gay (Hansen PhD Scholar in History and Research Associate at Museums Victoria) in collaboration with senior curators and staff at the museum.

Based on Cat’s PhD research, the display explores the diverse stories of migrant girls who came to and grew up in Victoria from the 1840s to the 1880s. It showcases these girls’ creativity and usefulness, their ‘Mending and Making’, through objects they sewed and crafted.

More about the lives of girls featured in the display can be found on the Museums Victoria website.

Thomas Kehoe (Honorary Fellow, History and Historian, Cancer Council Victoria) curated a new exhibition at ACMI on the history of anti-tobacco advertising in Australia. Tom recently discussed the exhibition, which will run for two years, on ABC Radio National’s Late Night Live, with Phillip Adams.  

Caitlin Mahar‘s (PhD in History, 2016) new book, The Good Death Through Time, has recently featured on a number of media platforms. This included a discussion on ABC’s Mornings program and a number of reviews, including on The Conversation and Inside Story. 

The Loong conservation project, involving Grimwade Conservation Services and staff and students from the Grimwade Centre has continued to receive media attention. It featured on SBS in articles in both Mandarin and English, as well as on BBC World News, as reported by the Faculty of Arts News. 

History alumnus Jesse Seeberg-Gordon, now based at the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory, interviewed British journalist Edward Lucas on the Putin regime’s weaponisation of history.

A new series of videos has been produced by the Faculty of Arts introducing the different programs within SHAPS. 

Academic Publications

Julie Fedor (History) and George Fforde (PhD student, History), ‘Studying the KGB’s History in the Light of Newly Available Documents: A Survey of the Archival and Historiographical Landscape’, Osteuropa 11–12 (2022) (in German). 

New and unprecedented opportunities for studying the history of the Soviet state security apparatus have opened up in recent years, as parts of the former borderlands of the Soviet empire have undergone a fresh round of archival revolution. Precious fragments of the Soviet state security archives survived in various parts of the former empire, and in Ukraine and the Baltic states, they have been made openly available to researchers. Most recently, and most significantly, in 2015, the largest existing collection of such materials outside the Russian Federation was declassified in Ukraine, while in 2018, Latvia opened up materials that include a unique KGB agent card-file collection. This time around, the archival revolution has also been digitised—including as a matter of deliberate strategy with the aim of ensuring that this revolution will be irreversible. 

In this review essay, we set out to take stock of these developments. We begin by briefly surveying the recent historiography on KGB history, with a special focus on works that draw upon newly declassified archival materials. Next, we discuss some of the ways in which the Soviet state security archives have been framed, constructed, imagined, and used, with a particular focus on their use in contemporary Russian public life by state actors and state-aligned actors in the Putin era. Finally, we map out the terrain of this new archival revolution, providing an overview of what KGB materials are now available to researchers.  

Thomas Kehoe (Honorary Fellow, History), Cancer Data for Good: A History of the Victorian Cancer Registry (Palgrave Macmillan)

This book examines the history of the Victorian Cancer Registry (VCR) in Australia from its establishment in the late 1930s through to the present day. It sheds new light on the history of medicine and the broader social and cultural histories affected by advances in cancer control science, providing a historical account of cancer registration that is empirically grounded in new archival and oral sources. It addresses the obstacles that proponents of cancer registration faced, how governments came to support permanent registries, and the subsequent contributions of the VCR and other registries to cancer research. In charting this history, the book discusses some of the political, social, and cultural implications of registry-driven science, and the links between developments in scientific knowledge and campaigning for policy changes around cancer. 

Ronald T Ridley (Professor Emeritus, Classics & Archaeology), The Birth of History: From the Third Millennium to Herodotos (Peeters) 

One of the not frequently mentioned characteristics of us as humans is both an interest in the past and a desire to leave records of our own time, place or selves. This is not necessarily, however, the same thing as ‘history’, which has a very clear meaning, namely ‘enquiry’. The very essence of history is the asking of questions and the search for answers to them. These questions concern especially causation (why?), or responsibility (who?).  

This book is a bold attempt to survey narratives from the beginning of written records in Egypt and Mesopotamia through the major pre-classical cultures down to Herodotos, whom Cicero named ‘The Father of History’, to test the accuracy of that epithet, against a current fashion of denigration of the Greek’s achievement. 

The fascinating pre-classical cultures, usually neglected by classicists, were certainly interested in the past and recording the present, but never asked questions about them. The narrative was already fixed, governed overwhelmingly by divine control and designed usually to glorify the ruler in question. An entirely new world is revealed by Herodotos, who never stopped asking questions. History was born.

Awards & Appointments

Mia Martin Hobbs‘s (PhD in History, 2018, Honorary, SHAPS) book, Return to Vietnam, has been shortlisted for the 2023 Memory Studies Association First Book Award. 

Teaching Associates (Periodic) 

We have a new group of Teaching Associates Periodic with two-year appointments starting this semester: 

• Dr Alexandra Cain (Philosophy) 
• Dr Ashleigh Green (C&A) 
• Dr James Keating (History) 
• Dr James Kent (Philosophy) 
• Dr Kathryn Ticehurst (History) 
• Dr Martin Bush (HPS) 
• Dr Patrick McGrath (History)  
• Dr Shannon Gilmore-Kuziow (History) 

Graduate Research Teaching Fellows 

• Cassandra Kiely (C&A) 
• Arthur Knight (History) 
• Ines Jahudka (History) 
• Aleksandra Riabichenko (History) 
• Turhan Yolcu (Philosophy) 

Returning Graduate Research Teaching Fellows 

• Callum Alpass (Philosophy)
• John Cleary (Philosophy)
• Georgia Comte (History)
• Fergus Prien (Philosophy)

Felicity Hodgson has been appointed Administrative Assistant to History Discipline Chair Catherine Kovesi.

PhD Completions 

Caroline James-Garrod, ‘Pressed for Time: A Study of Digital Journalists’ Ethical and Temporal Conundrums’ (PhD in Philosophy)

This thesis argues digital print journalists experience social and time ethics pressures due to constant responsibilities to stay connected to mobile work-related online communications. It claims this identifies a social phenomenon – cyber time poverty. It examines its research topic by studying original qualitative data collected from survey questionnaires and interviews of 288 working Australian digital print journalists between 2019 and 2020. It interprets its data using textual and discourse analyses and original concept lenses: its Social Time Ethics Framework (STEF) and its Journalism Applied Ethics Scaffold (JAES). Findings include almost all working digital print journalists (96.4%; n=243) who contributed to its survey are time poor and about 64.9% of respondents meet the definition of cyber time poverty (n=159). When work mobile-communications demands exceed available time, sufferers use various time-saving strategies, most commonly ‘giving less time to others’ including sources, peers and readers, family, friends, and self (69.8%; n=137). Running late is the next most common time-saving strategy, a tactic used by almost 62% of respondents (61.7%, n=121), while almost 50% block communications with potential or current sources, personal or work peers. Finally, when lacking sufficient time to do ethically good journalism, they are most likely to breach JAES applied ethics ideals by failing to give sources fair opportunity to reply, and/or avoiding or delaying correcting published errors.

The author concludes that digital journalists do, often, suffer cyber time poverty in quests to be morally responsible public interest news reporters, making it typical that sufferers lack opportunity to do ethical journalism. With significant parts of society mistrusting journalists and online information in general, the author proposes these critical responses: the need to boost digital news literacy; reform online discourse; close the epistemic gap that harms all cyber time poverty sufferers; and prioritise pursuit of original journalism.

Supervisors: Dr Andrew Alexandra, Associate Professor Christopher Cordner

Diana Tay, ‘Building a Conservation Material Record: A Study of Paintings by Cheong Soo Pieng and Georgette Chen’ (PhD in Cultural Materials Conservation)

Despite the growing visibility of prominent figures in modern Singafporean art history, there is limited material knowledge of the art practices of paintings from Nanyang artists such as Georgette Chen (1906–1993) and Cheong Soo Pieng (1917–1983). Scholarly interest in Singaporean artist materials and techniques has focused attention on the study of easel paintings through art historical and technical art history methodologies. There are art material and conservation records, but to compare these studies, the consistency and structure of the data collection make it challenging.

In response, this thesis re-assesses the development of accessible documentation methods for studying paintings by considering the type of data to be collected, the structure of the record, and whether it is possible to produce quality insights without solely relying on advanced material analysis. Employing a standard technical art history methodology, a total of 67 artworks from Cheong Soo Pieng and Georgette Chen, dated from the 1940s to the 1980s, were examined through a combination of historical and archival sources, visual examination, technical photography, and advanced material analysis. To extend the data and produce quality insights, a robust documentation record was produced where observations were recorded outlining 110 defining properties of each painting, resulting in verifiable data points to be analysed.

Differences in access to paintings and availability of archival sources affected the methodologies that could be used to gain insights. This meant that although only eight Georgette Chen paintings were studied, but nevertheless, solid correlations and consistency in canvas preparation and painting techniques were still uncovered. In a more extensive study of 59 Cheong Soo Pieng artworks, where samples were removed and analysed, the data produced improved the depth and quality of the artist’s record. In addition, the data structure of the documentation record enabled datasets to be extracted and visualised through visual graphics to uncover patterns of each artist’s art practice.

The datasets from Cheong Soo Pieng provided depth to undertake unsupervised machine learning with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and k-means to uncover relationships from data generated from non-invasive techniques and results from the material analysis. This clustered data on Cheong Soo Pieng’s practice into four clusters, and its characteristics were examined using an interactive Microsoft Power BI dashboard. The methodologies proposed in this study aim to build a material record of Singaporean artists that can accommodate future datasets to build onto. Using the large amounts of text and image-based data produced by this study, machine learning algorithms, including deep learning models, were explored to discover possible future uses to improve efficiencies between text and technical image diagnostics. In light of such a data rich field, the presented methodologies showcase how knowledge discovery can be accessed by employing data science methods that produce evidential, verifiable and quality data through data structure. In doing so, a better understanding of Cheong Soo Pieng and Georgette Chen’s practice is produced, contributing to the development of a robust material record and our knowledge about paintings in Singapore and potentially the wider Southeast Asian region.

Supervisors: Dr Nicole Tse, Professor Robyn Sloggett

Diana Tay is also the founder of a new studio in Singapore: BARC Labs (Beneath Art Research and Conservation Labs), a research-driven conservation studio specialising in the conservation and care of Southeast Asian paintings. 

Neville Yeomans, ‘A History of Australia’s Immigrant Doctors, 1838–2021: Colonial Beginnings, Contemporary Challenges’ (PhD in History)

Since colonisation in 1788, Australia has been populated by immigrants. Among them, for all this period, there have been practitioners of Western medicine who qualified overseas. This thesis is about them, now termed International Medical Graduates (IMGs). Starting in 1838, when the first colonial medical Acts were promulgated, it explores who those graduates were, from where they came, why they migrated at specific times in response to geopolitical and other events, how were they received and what were their experiences. Their history is integral to the history of medical practice and medical politics in Australia. It has not previously been examined across the longue durée researched here; the purpose has been to better understand the evolving and continuous process of medical immigration, rather than the fragments that constitute the current historiography.

The methodology is quantitative and qualitative. First, a prosopography was constructed comprising all IMGs registered in each colony, state, and territory from 1838 to 1984, supplemented by data from a random sample of contemporary IMGs to bridge to the present. From this, the time course, profile of donor countries, and characteristics of successive waves of IMGs has been documented, then linked to causal historical events, including the changing and frequently obstructive medical legislation. Throughout the colonial period and the first half of the twentieth century, nearly all immigrant doctors had trained in Great Britain and Ireland, often motivated by difficulties establishing practice at home and attracted by opportunities in a new land, but with source countries restricted by the Medical Acts. Then, as Australia opened to migrants from the rest of the world in the second half of the twentieth century, so the spectrum of IMGs expanded immensely—approximately, but not completely matching that of the immigrant populations overall.

Currently, about 30 percent of the Australian medical workforce was born and trained overseas. A second aim was to understand and learn from the experiences of living IMGs. For this, 89 oral histories were recorded—using criterion-referenced, random, and snowball sampling. Many were negotiating the pathways to medical registration, under the now national regulator, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). The thesis gives them a voice, and illustrates their difficulties and crises—sometimes at the hands of what seems to have been a Kafkaesque bureaucracy. The other pathway for some has been to persuade a specialist college that their overseas qualification is comparable to that of the Australian college. Interviews with college and AHPRA representatives confirm the author’s impression that much has been done recently to improve the fairness of those processes; but the thesis also provides evidence in the oral histories of what appear to be historical and recent injustices. Australia owes much to its IMGs. The thesis allows us to learn from their history during almost two centuries. It concludes with recommendations for how we can still assure the paramount need to protect Australian patients, yet also improve the effectiveness and fairness of our current processes for registering and supporting those who received their medical training overseas.

Supervisors: late Laureate Professor Emeritus Stuart Macintyre AO, Professor Sean Scalmer, Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor Emerita Janet McCalman AC, and Dr James Bradley.

Research Higher Degree Milestones

Robyn Cooper (MA completion seminar, Classics & Archaeology), ‘Romans, Religion, and Residences. Investigating the Relationship of Domestic Cult Spaces and Roman Homes throughout Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Iberian Peninsula’

Using domestic cult spaces, this project explores how the nature of space within Roman residences influenced the expression of religious beliefs. As domestic cult spaces acted as ritual centres, they can reveal much about how a household’s beliefs interacted with the wider domestic sphere. Several methods including space syntax were utilised, focusing on location, function, decoration, accessibility, and visibility. Using evidence from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the Iberian Peninsula, over 800 cult spaces were analysed. The aim of this project is to increase our understanding of the interaction between religious and domestic space as well as provide insight into Roman domestic religion as a whole.

Belinda Gourley (MA completion seminar, Grimwade Centre) ‘The Paper Negatives of Reverend George Wilson Bridges: A Preliminary Investigation into their History, Materials and Techniques’

Reverend George Wilson Bridges (1788–1863) was a historically noted English clergyman, writer, and early photographer. With the aim of enhancing the preservation of his photographs within the Museums Victoria collection, this research sought to explore the scope of Bridges’s photographic oeuvre, and more specifically, the characteristic materials and techniques he used to create his paper negatives. This was completed through a review of relevant historic literature, alongside presentation of results gained from visually examining a range of his paper negatives.

Natham McCall (MA completion seminar, History) ‘Divergent Dominions: Comparing Pre-First World War Defence Policies of British Dominions and their Effects on the Introduction of Wartime Conscription’

Pre-WW1 defence policies, ideologies and attitudes toward compulsion in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand played a significant role in shaping the outcomes of First World War conscription debates. By examining those policies, it is possible to better understand why, during the war, there were such varied responses to calls for the implementation of compulsion to maintain dominion war efforts and why Australia, alone among the three dominions, twice rejected the introduction of conscription.

Start of the New Academic Year

The undergrad UniMelb History Society produced a showcase video presenting the events and activities they have lined up for 2023.

The Melbourne University Classics & Archaeology Student Society (MUCLASS), has a new-look website and have recently released a promo video on YouTube, and had a stall for O-Week to introduce the society to students.

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SHAPS staff, fellows, students, alumni: if you have news items for the monthly SHAPS digest, email us the details.

Feature image: UniMelb History Society & MUCLASS welcomed students during O-Week Summerfest’s Clubs & Societies Expo