‘Reading biographies to overcome loneliness’: Reflections of an accidental biographer
Seminar
Frank Moorhouse (1938–2022) is best known as a writer of literary fiction. All of his fiction is connected, with his many books sharing characters and experiences, including across generations, and covering much of the 20th century: one of the most sustained feats of the imagination in Australia’s…
In Conversation with Kerrie Davies at Harry Hartog
Book launch
This event is hosted by Harry Hartog ANU in conjunction with the National Centre of BiographyOn 14 July Dr Kerrie Davies will be in conversation with Dr Michelle Staff on Davies' new book, Miles Franklin Undercover: The little-known years when she created her own brilliant career (Allen…
Explanatory Realism
Lecture
The cement of the universe is not causation: it is explanatory dependence. Reality is a network of facts connected by a single, irreducible, mind-independent “because”. It is widely held that explanation is a sort, interest-sensitive practice that aims to provide information only about other things…
Connecting the Dots: Ayahs and Empire in Australian Settler Society
Lecture
What can the stories of South Asian ayahs – nursemaids and domestic servants – tell us about the significance of race and women’s domestic labour in Australia’s settler colonial history – and why do these stories remain so elusive? In this talk, Victoria Haskins reflects on the obscure lives of…