AustLit

'Welcome to the 12th edition of the Australian Academy of the Humanities’ flagship journal Humanities Australia, showcasing some of the outstanding research and writing being carried out by our Fellows, grants and awards alumni and those involved in our annual lecture series. It is an essential part of our commitment to supporting excellence in the humanities and communicating their value to the public.

'This year’s edition of Humanities Australia again demonstrates the ability and effectiveness of the humanities in addressing current challenges, with articles covering a wide range of topics: from the value of the arts in times of crisis, to conceptions of loneliness in the past and present, to the ongoing legacy of frontier violence, colonisation, and Indigenous dispossession.

'As in previous years, it also features an edited version of our annual Trendall lecture, and work by our Crawford Medal recipient,  providing a platform for readers to engage with research from across the humanities community.

'We hope that you enjoy reading the wonderful research on display in this edition and that it can begin to convey the excitement we feel about the humanities disciplines and their potential to address important issues facing our nation, both directly and through reflections on the past.' (Publication summary)

'This year’s issue of Humanities Australia continues the tradition of showing the range and vitality of humanities research through articles by Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. The articles in this issue cover a wide range of topics and, typically for contemporary research in the humanities, they often extend beyond one discipline to interdisciplinary study. We are also proud to feature in this issue articles by the joint recipients of the 2016 Max Crawford Medal, awarded by the Academy to an Australia-based early career scholar for outstanding achievement in the humanities.'  (Graham Tulloch : Editor's Introduction)

'It is my pleasure to welcome you to the eighth issue of the Australian Academy of the Humanities’ flagship publication, Humanities Australia, edited by Emeritus Professors Elizabeth Webby and Graham Tulloch. This publication is one of the many ways in which our Academy supports excellence in the humanities and communicates their value to the public. It showcases some of the most exciting current work of humanities researchers throughout Australia. For almost fifty years, the Academy has been dedicated to advancing scholarship and promoting understanding of the humanities across our education and research sectors, and in the broader community. Founded by Royal Charter in 1969, the Academy now comprises close to six hundred Fellows elected on the basis of the excellence and impact of their scholarship. Our Fellows have been recognised nationally and internationally for outstanding work in the disciplines of archaeology, art, Asian and European studies, classical and modern literature, cultural and communication studies, language and linguistics, philosophy, musicology, history and religion. Humanities Australia draws on the ideas and inspiration of its Fellows and others in the community with an interest in the humanities. It aims to demonstrate that an understanding of cultures and communities, of how people experience the world and their place in it, have a major role to play in discussions about Australia and its future. We hope you enjoy the selection of essays, stories and poems presented here – a small taste of the quality, range and depth of research currently under way in the humanities in Australia' (John Fitzgerald Welcome)

''Welcome to the 2016 edition of Humanities Australia which again aims to present a small sample of the outstanding research and writing being carried out by humanities scholars and arts practitioners in Australia and internationally. Several of the essays this year deal with interactions between the human and natural worlds, involving the hunting and collecting of animals and insects, across various times and cultures. Others deal with the hunting and collecting of information, whether in fifteenth-century Florence or contemporary Australia. This remains an essential part of humanities scholarship despite the vast difference between an illuminated manuscript and a computer database.' (Editorial Introduction)