Category: urban history

Conference season, part 1: Romantic Studies Association of Australasia

November 27, 2019

This semester has been quite a whirlwind, but it was great to commence the end of year conference season with a visit to Canberra for the 2019 Romantic Studies Association of Australasia Conference at UNSW’s Canberra campus, from 20-23 November. The programme was diverse but cohesive, and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to … More Conference season, part 1: Romantic Studies Association of Australasia

Balancing Victoria: Prospects for Decentralisation

October 22, 2019

In November 2019 I commenced work on a policy briefing report with Prof. Ralph Horne and Dr. Elizabeth J. Taylor, exploring some of the historical factors which would need to be considered in developing any future decentralisation policy for the state of Victoria. This report, prepared for the bipartisan policy forum Balance Victoria, has just … More Balancing Victoria: Prospects for Decentralisation

Deakin Cultural Heritage seminar, 31 July 2019

July 21, 2019

I’m pleased to be presenting on my book and current works in progress at the first Deakin Cultural Heritage seminar of the semester on 31 July 2019. The seminar title is “Ideal landscapes, planning and heritage in postwar British culture”, and the abstract as follows: While Britain’s postwar planned landscapes, including modernist urban redevelopments and … More Deakin Cultural Heritage seminar, 31 July 2019

Review published: Urban histories of the nation and beyond in Australia and New Zealand

June 13, 2019

I reviewed two excellent books for History Australia journal this summer and the review has just gone to print in the latest issue. Seamus O’Hanlon‘s City Life: The New Urban Australia (NewSouth, 2018) and Ben Schrader’s The Big Smoke: New Zealand Cities, 1840–1920 (Bridget Williams Books, 2016) were interesting to read in dialogue with each … More Review published: Urban histories of the nation and beyond in Australia and New Zealand

New book: Milton Keynes in British Culture

February 6, 2019

I’m excited to announce that my first book, Milton Keynes in British Culture: Imagining England, has been published by Routledge as part of their series Routledge Studies in Modern British History. The publisher page can be found here, and a free preview is available via Google Books. The publisher’s description can be found here: The … More New book: Milton Keynes in British Culture

Historical Materialism Sydney 2018

December 17, 2018

After being stuck in Sydney Airport for an extra day courtesy of bizarre weather, I’ve finally returned from the 2018 Historical Materialism Sydney conference. It was a fantastically invigorating conference, and a very refreshing opportunity to think through important questions with a diverse audience. My paper was entitled “Wars on Brutalism: concrete modernism and imperialist heritage … More Historical Materialism Sydney 2018

New journal article: ‘“We’re full”: Capacity, Finitude, and British Landscapes, 1945‐1979’

October 6, 2018

I’m very excited that my journal article ‘“We’re full”: Capacity, Finitude, and British Landscapes, 1945‐1979’ has been published today in the Australian Journal of Politics and History. This article synthesises ideas from two conference papers; one I presented at a collaborative symposium between the University of Melbourne, University of Glasgow, and University of Tianjin on … More New journal article: ‘“We’re full”: Capacity, Finitude, and British Landscapes, 1945‐1979’

Urban history ephemera: a London A-Z turns up in Westgarth

August 26, 2018

My local polling place for elections in Melbourne is All Saints Parish Hall, which has an excellent charity shop. It’s become a tradition to spend some time going through their excellent book collection after I’ve voted. I’ve bought quite a few E.P. Thompson and Raymond Williams books from them over the years, and after voting … More Urban history ephemera: a London A-Z turns up in Westgarth

Historical lapels: 1980s politics edition

July 21, 2018

My 1980s British badge collection has been continuing to grow. Recent acquisitions include a number of general political badges from a single collection in Northamptonshire. These appear to be from between the 1983 election and 1986 – “Save Jobs: Sack the Tories,” “I didn’t vote Tory”, and a “save the GLC” badge. Possibly these could … More Historical lapels: 1980s politics edition