True Biographies of Nations?

Exploring the Cultural Journeys of Dictionaries of National Biography
30 June-2 July 2016
In 2004, the chairman of the supervisory committee of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Keith Thomas, concluded the Leslie Stephen Special Lecture by expressing his hope that the genre of the biographical dictionary would develop into a “database so vast as to be a true national biography”. Given that 2016 is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first volume of the Australian Dictionary of Biography, it is timely to consider the cultural journey that dictionaries of biography have taken and assess the extent to which they are developing into “true” national biographies.
The conference will be held over three days, beginning with a reception on Thursday, 30 June, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of volume one of the Australian Dictionary of Biography. The following two days will consist of papers and panels relating to national dictionary projects.
Venues: Australian National University, Acton, and National Library of Australia, Parkes Place, Canberra
Dates: 30 June-2 July 2016
Reception: 30 June, FREE
Conference: 1-2 July, Cost $120 ($70 concession); Daily rate $60 ($35 concession)
Click here to register at Eventbrite for the RECEPTION
Click here to register at Eventbrite for the CONFERENCE
* Please note you must register for the reception and conference separately.
Enquiries: ncb@anu.edu.au or (02) 6125 2676
Draft Conference program
Thursday 30 June: Reception: Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the publication of the first volume of the ADB
Venue: Great Hall, University House, Australian National University
Time: 5-8pm
Sir Robert Menzies, a great supporter of the ADB, was invited to launch its first volume in 1966 at University House. We are returning to this venue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that event.
5.30pm Paul House (Ngambri-Ngurmal and Ngunnawal-Wallabollooa), welcome to country and musical performance on the didgeridoo
5.50pm speeches: guest of honour TBA
Friday 1 July: State of the Art: Opportunities to Transform National Dictionaries of Biography
Venue: National Library of Australia, Parkes Place, Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra
8.30-9.00 Registration
9.00-9.30NLA & ANU welcomes
NLA welcome: Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, Director-General
ANU welcome: TBA
9.30-11.00Using Lives? Utilizing the rich databases we are creating
Prof. Melanie Nolan (ADB & ANU), ‘Using Lives: the ADB and its related corpora’
Christine Fernon and Scott Yeadon (ADB, ANU), ‘NCB/ADB websites: The value of value adding’
Chair: Dr Malcolm Allbrook
11.00-11.30 Morning Tea
11.30-1.00Global biography? The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, big data and transnational networks
Dr Philip Carter (ODNB and Oxford University), ‘What is national biography for? Past, Present and Future Journeys’
Prof. Sir David Cannadine (ODNB and Princeton University), ‘Oxford in the World: The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and Global Biography’
1.00-2.00 Exhibition of biographical dictionaries
2.00-3.30Bringing the nation back in? A debate on the contemporary role of national dictionary projects
Em. Prof. Jock Phillips, Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
TBA, A Dictionary of Indigenous Australian Biography
Kent Fitch, computing and database specialist
3.30-4.00 Afternoon Tea
4.00-5.30Panel discussion: Revising dictionaries
Prof. Susan Ware (American National Biography & Harvard), ‘Why Gender Matters: Fostering Diversity in the American National Biography’
Turlough O'Riordan (Dictionary of Irish Biography & Royal Irish Academy) ‘The Irish World: How to revise a long-standing dictionary project’
Prof. Elizabeth Ewan (Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women & University of Guelph) ‘Taking the Dictionary of Scottish women online’
Chair: Prof. Ira Nadel (former editor Dictionary of Literary Biography, University of British Columbia)
Saturday 2 July: Challenges Facing Digital
Biographical Dictionary Projects
Venue: National Library of Australia Parkes Place, Parliamentary Triangle, Canberra
8.30-9.00 Registration
9.00-11.00 Building on the Past: Looking to the Future
Roundtable on Dictionary resources within the nation
Moderator: Dr Karen Fox (ADB, ANU): Setting the scene: History of Australasian biographical dictionaries and the issues they face
Kerry Kilner, University of Queensland (AustLit)
TBA, Australian Women’s Register
TBA, Dictionary of the Senate
Dr Malcolm Allbrook, Dictionary of Indigenous Biography
Ass. Prof. Gavan McCarthy, eScholarship Research Centre (Encyclopedia of Australian Science)
11.00-11.30 Morning Tea
11.30-12.30 Publishing in the Digital Age: privacy and access, rights
Dr Philip Carter (ODNB)
Prof. Melanie Nolan (ADB)
Prof. Susan Ware (ANB)
followed by general questions from the audience.
12.30-1.30 Lunch
1.30-3.00 Beyond the Nation: Writing a Dictionary of World Biography
Barry Jones, AC FAA FACE FAHA FASSA FTSE, in conversation with Prof. Sir David Cannadine
3.00 Conference End
Location
Australian National University (for reception) and Theatre, National Library of Australia, Parkes, Canberra (for conference)
Contact
- National Centre of Biography, ANU