School of History, Australian National University

School of History, Australian National University

The School of History at the Australian National University is a major centre for historical scholarship in Canberra, offering undergraduate and postgraduate training and conducting research on Australian, Asian, European, Pacific, and global histories. It is housed within the College of Arts and Social Sciences and has links to institutions such as the National Library of Australia, the National Archives of Australia, and the Australian War Memorial. The School has produced scholars active in public debate, serving in roles at the High Court of Australia, the Department of Defence (Australia), and international bodies like the United Nations.

History

The School traces intellectual roots to early ANU foundations influenced by figures associated with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Australian School of Pacific Administration, and the postwar expansion that followed the Sydney Peace Conference era and the aftermath of the Second World War. Early faculty included academics who had worked on projects connected to the League of Nations archives, the Imperial War Graves Commission, and studies of the British Empire. Throughout the Cold War period the School engaged with scholarship connected to the Yalta Conference, the Korean War, and debates informed by contacts with scholars from the British Museum, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Smithsonian Institution. In recent decades the School expanded its regional focus to include research on the Meiji Restoration, the Taiping Rebellion, the Vietnam War, and transnational themes such as migration following the Partition of India and the Treaty of Waitangi settlements.

Academic Programs

The School offers undergraduate majors and honours programs and postgraduate degrees including the Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Philosophy with specialisations covering Australian history, Asian history, European history, Pacific history, and global and environmental histories. Courses draw on archival methods taught with materials from the National Archives of Australia, the Trove digital service, and collections comparable to those of the Imperial War Museum and the British Library. Collaborative teaching occurs with the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy, and the ANU College of Law, preparing graduates for roles in institutions such as the Australian Public Service, the Reserve Bank of Australia, and international organisations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Research and Centres

Research at the School is organised through centres and projects that have partnered with the Australian Research Council, the Asia-Pacific War Archives Project, and the Benchmarks in Democratic Studies initiatives. The School hosts research clusters in areas associated with the Pacific Islands Forum, the Sixth Asian Pacific Ministers Meeting, and studies linked to the Colombo Plan. Cross-institutional links include collaborations with the National Centre of Biography, the Crawford School, the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, and the ANU Centre for European Studies. Major thematic projects have produced work on topics such as the Great Depression, the Spanish Civil War, the Russian Revolution, settler colonialism in contexts like the Mabo case, and environmental histories connected to events like the Dust Bowl and Chernobyl disaster.

Faculty and Staff

Faculty have included historians who specialise in fields associated with the First World War, the Second World War, the Cold War, the French Revolution, the American Civil War, and the Ottoman Empire. Staff have held fellowships from the Australian Academy of the Humanities, the British Academy, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. Visiting scholars have come from institutions such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, the University of Tokyo, the National University of Singapore, and the University of California, Berkeley. The School’s teaching staff contribute to journals and presses including the Australian Historical Studies, the Journal of Asian Studies, the English Historical Review, and publishers like Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press.

Student Life and Alumni

Students participate in seminars, conferences, and public lectures often held in partnership with the National Museum of Australia, the Australian War Memorial, and legal and policy forums linked to the High Court of Australia and the Attorney-General's Department (Australia). Alumni have pursued careers in academia at universities such as the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, the University of Oxford, and the University of British Columbia; in public service roles at the Parliament of Australia and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia); and in cultural institutions like the State Library of New South Wales and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Notable graduates have been involved in inquiries related to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, policy debates influenced by the Keating government, and international negotiations connected to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Category:Australian National University