AustLit

'A little over five years ago, I was in the middle of a PhD candidature in literature at James Cook University in northern Queensland. With the relative security of a scholarship, my submission deadline felt like an eternity away and I had the good fortune of being part of a lively cohort of doctoral candidates in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Together, we had reintroduced annual postgraduate conferences in the college and established weekly meetings on the Townsville campus where eager researchers gathered to discuss ideas, politics and literature. At the college level, there were regular critical theory workshops, reading circles and seminar sessions. I encountered impressive and generous minds— many of whom have appeared in volumes of this journal. These were times before deep funding cuts and a global pandemic ravaged universities across the country. I worry that a new generation of postgraduate students—particularly those at regional institutions—won’t be afforded the time, funding or intellectual climate to take risks like starting conferences or establishing postgraduate little magazines like this one. Out of more than mere vanity, I hope the little stone we have thrown continues to roll on for a while longer until it is replaced with something more fitting for the times. This short essay purports to provide a retrospective of the first three volumes of Sūdō Journal and an assessment of its place among the various journals and little magazines of northern Queensland that have been published over the decades. It is adapted from a presentation I delivered on this subject at the James Cook University College of Arts, Society and Education postgraduate conference in 2020.' 

(Introduction)