ANU history students bring journal back to life

20 May, 2019

When the ANU Historical Journal was first published on 3^rd November 1964, it made news in The Canberra Times the following day. Editors Anne Kingston, Ron Fraser and Alistair Davidson founded a publication that for the next 23 years assembled the finest work of undergraduate and postgraduate history students at ANU and beyond.

Many significant figures contributed to the publication over that time including writer and publisher John Iremonger, Margaret George who became highly regarded for her perceptive analysis and work on Australian foreign policy history, historian Manning Clark AC, founding editor of Australian Feminist Studies Susan Magarey, and award-winning author and historian Ken Inglis AO.

After ceasing publishing in 1987, three students from ANU School of History have brought the publication back to life, carrying on the best traditions of its past and expanding its content and reach in the digital age. Editors Emily Gallagher, Jessica Urwin and Madalyn Grant bring together outstanding historical writing and research from generations of authors, exploring topics across Australia and the world in the revived edition.

The new journal, launched on May 16^th is an open-access, peer-reviewed publication supported by the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, ANU College of Asia and Pacific, and the ANU School of History.

Published by ANU Press, the new journal is available online and in print: https://press.anu.edu.au/publications/journals/anu-historical-journal/anu-historical-journal-ii-number-1 as well as its own website: https://anuhj.com.au

The first edition, dedicated to late founding editor Anne Kingston, features articles on topics from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, and the place of convicts and Indigenous people in evangelical discourse, to international subjects including Civil War atrocities in Lebanon, and sexuality in Prussia.

“The current issue includes several memoirs from editors of the first Journal as a way of exploring some of the history of ANU,” explains Emily Gallagher, a PhD candidate in the School of History.

These include former editors Ian Britain who would go on to serve as Editor of Australia’s largest independent literary journal Meanjin, and Caroline Turner, whose 40 year career in international cultural relations includes roles with the ANU Humanities Research Centre and ANU Indonesia Institute.