Ten years of politics through Australian cartoons
Through their witty, often scathing images and text, political cartoons can cut through the noise and comment on issues in a way that words find difficult to achieve.
In a new book edited by Russ Radcliffe, Dirt Files: A decade of best Australian political cartoons, brings together over 400 of the best cartoons to reveal how Australia’s political cartoonists have interpreted the most pressing domestic and international political events over the last 10 years.
To celebrate the launch of the book, the ANU is hosting a political cartoons forum, followed by an exhibition of cartoons from the book and official book launch.
At the forum, some of Australia’s experts on political cartoons, satire and Australian politics will debate important questions about the role of political cartoons in society.
“Many questions arise about the political roles of cartoons,” says Professor John Uhr, forum moderator and Director of the Centre for the Study of Australian Politics.
“I look forward to engaging with our guests on issues such as what cartoons are really saying through their images and text, how Australian political cartoons are viewed internationally, and whether we can have democracy without political cartoons.”
Lucien Leon from the School of Art, who has published political animations across Australian media outlets, will also moderate the forum.
Forum speakers
Guy Hansen, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Historical Research, National Museum of Australia.
Associate Professor Robert Phiddian, Deputy Dean of the School of Humanities at Flinders University and Chair, Adelaide Festival of Ideas. Research interests include political satire and parody, especially current Australian political cartoons.
Dr Mark Rolfe, Politics, University of New South Wales, writer on politics and humour. Research interests include political language, propaganda, and Australian politics.
Jack Waterford, AM, Editor at Large, the Canberra Times, commentator on Australian politics for over forty years.
The political cartoons forum will be followed by the exhibition viewing, book launch and panel discussion between the editor and contributing cartoonists.
Event details
4:00 - 5:00pm: Political cartoons forum
5:15pm: Light refreshments and exhibition viewing
6:00pm: Book launch and panel discussion with the editor and contributing cartoonists
Register for the Dirt Files event
This event is part of the ANU/Canberra Times Meet the Author series 2013 and is supported by the ANU School of Art, ANU School of Politics & International Relations and the ANU College of Arts & Social Sciences.