2020 Graduates

Chris Bendle, ‘The Office of Magister Militum in the 4th Century CE: A Study into the Political and Military History of the Later Roman Empire’ (MA in Classics & Archaeology, 2020) The magistri militum were the highest-ranking generals of the late Roman imperial army. Emperor Constantine I created this office in the early part of […]

Andrew Black, ‘The Victorian Farmers’ Union, Country, and National Party, 1916-2000: Survival, Adaptation, and Evolution‘ (PhD in History, 2020) This thesis undertakes a detailed analysis of the Country-National Party in Victorian state politics from its formation as the Victorian Farmers’ Union during the First World War through to the defeat of the Kennett Liberal-National Coalition […]

Stephen Campbell-Wright, ‘Point Cook: The Crucible of Air Force Capability in Australia’ (PhD in History, 2020) This thesis argues that place can have an influence on cultural heritage. A site can have a profound effect on the cultural heritage of a community or institution through the influence it exerts on public memory and sense of […]

Rhys Cooper, ‘The Transformation of Australian Military Heroism during the First World War’ (PhD in History, 2020). This thesis examines how Australian heroism was defined and represented during the First World War. I present an in-depth analysis of two sets of primary sources: Victoria Cross (VC) medal citations and Australian wartime newspapers. Victoria Cross citations […]

Rebekah Currer, ‘Dissent, Discussion and Dissemination: The Strategies of the Kensington Society in the mid-Victorian Women’s Movement’ (PhD in History, 2020) This thesis investigates the strategic communication of mid-nineteenth century British feminism through the activism and networking of the Kensington Society (1850–1890). Collectively and individually, the 68 members of Britain’s first female-only discussion society practised […]

Kate Davison, ‘Sex, Psychiatry and the Cold War: A Transnational History of Homosexual Aversion Therapy, 1948–1981′ (PhD in History, 2020) Aversion therapy was a method of ‘treatment’ for sexual ‘deviation’ adopted by some psychiatrists and psychologists in the decades following the Second World War. There were several variations of the procedure, but most involved subjecting […]

Spiridoula Demetriou, ‘Imagining Modern Greece: Mesologgi, Philhellenism and Art in the 19th century’ (PhD in History, 2020) Renowned as the site of Byron’s death, and the centre of war operations in western mainland Greece during the Greek War of Independence [1821–1832], Mesologgi duly became a focus of Philhellene propaganda in the revolt against Ottoman rule. […]

Gretel Evans, ‘Through Fire and Flood: Migrant Memories of Displacement and Belonging in Australia’ (PhD in History, 2020) Natural disasters are a significant feature of the Australian environment. In a country with a rich history of immigration, it is therefore surprising that historians have not yet examined the specific challenges faced by immigrants within this […]

Michael Francis, ‘”The Bishop with 150 Wives“: Interrogating the Missionary and Ecclesiastical Career of Monsignor Francis Xavier Gsell MSC (1872–1960)’ (PhD in History, 2020). This thesis provides the first comprehensive scholarly investigation into the missionary and ecclesiastical career of Monsignor Francis Xavier Gsell MSC (1872-1960). Remembered as the apocryphal ‘Bishop with 150 Wives’, Gsell is […]

Ashleigh Green, ‘Birds in Roman Life & Myth‘ (PhD in Classics & Archaeology, 2020) In Ancient Rome, the role of birds in everyday life and myth was one of critical importance. This thesis examines birds in their assigned roles of divine messengers, heralds, hunting quarry, domestic flocks, and companion animals, focusing primarily on the transitional […]

Daniel Hannington-Pinto, ‘The Social and Moral Campaigning of Australian Trade Unions, 1960s to 2015’ (PhD in History, 2020) Although wages and working conditions have long been their ‘bread and butter’, trade unions have frequently campaigned on broader social and moral issues. In the Australian context, however, the labour history literature remains relatively silent on these […]

Phoebe Kelloway, ‘Three Major Industrial Disputes 1928–30, Rank-and-File Action and the Communist Party of Australia’ (Phd in History, 2020) At the start of the Depression in Australia, workers in three industries waged determined struggles against significant cuts to their wages and conditions: waterside workers in 1928, timber workers in 1929, and coalminers of the NSW […]

Martin Kovacic, ‘The Buddhist Ethics of Killing: Metaphysics, Phenomenology, Ethics’ (PhD in Philosophy, 2020) Significant media interest and academic scholarship has in recent years brought attention to the normative status of killing in Buddhism, concurrent with the worst genocidal event since the last century, committed by apparent Buddhists, in Rakhine State in Myanmar, in August-September […]

Katherine Mannell, ‘Young Adults, Mobile Messaging, and the Negotiation of (Un)Availability’ (PhD, History & Philosophy of Science, 2020) With a mobile phone, a person can reach and be reached anytime, anywhere. As many scholars have noted, this creates mutual expectations of availability, particularly among young adults whose friendships typically involve high rates of mobile messaging. […]

Daniel Nott, ‘Talking Sense to the American People: The Appeal of Adlai Stevenson in the McCarthy Era’ (MA in History, 2020) The purpose of the thesis is to investigate the enduring popularity of Adlai Stevenson with the liberal elements of the Democratic Party during the 1950s. This is worth investigating as he was the overwhelming […]

Christopher Orrell, ‘Communicable Knowledge: Medical Communication, Professionalisation, and Medical Reform in Colonial Victoria, 1855–66′ (MA in History & Philosophy of Science, 2020) This thesis examines the process of medical professionalisation in colonial Victoria from 1855 to 1866. During this eleven-year period the medical profession of colonial Victoria were able to create Australia’s first long lasting […]