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Centre for Cultural History
The Centre for Cultural History was established in the Division of Humanities in late 2006. Formed to provide an institutional base for Macquarie’s national and international visibility as a centre of research excellence in Cultural History. The Co-Directors of the Centre are Dr Nicole Moore, Associate Professor Mary Spongberg and Professor Angela Woollacott.
Over the last five years the Division of Humanities has developed new strengths in the interdisciplinary field of Cultural History, particularly in the areas of feminist and postcolonial studies, gender and sexuality, literary history and critical theory. At Macquarie this new concentration is the result of several appointments, especially in Modern History, a spate of important publications by centre members and increasing recognition by external funding bodies. Our growing profile in Cultural History is linked to the international growth of this research area.
Cultural History that foregrounds feminist and postcolonial studies, gender and sexuality has become a high-profile field in the humanities internationally. Macquarie now has greater visibility in the field than any other Australian university. In part, this is because Australian Feminist Studies, after twenty years at its foundational home at the University of Adelaide, came to Macquarie last year under the editorship of Associate Professor Mary Spongberg (Modern History) and reviews editor Dr. Nicole Moore (English). AFS is the only Australian journal in the field to have ISI citation index ranking. It is one of the leading venues for the publication of cultural history in the Southern hemisphere.
Because no other institution in Australia has such prominence in this field or has come to represent this important international area, Macquarie is ideally placed to house such a Centre. The Centre for Cultural History will host conferences and symposia, attract postgraduate students, develop international connections, and support interdisciplinary collaborations amongst its members.