Australian politicians and the uses of history: from Federation to the present

This project will be the first comprehensive study of the uses of history and historians by Australian politicians since federation. It will be innovative in bridging the fields of Australian politics/political history and the study and uses of history in Australian public life. It will explore how federal politicians have read and thought about histories, both Australian and international, and have themselves popularised certain understandings of historical episodes in political and therefore persuasive contexts. It will provide an excellent foundation for further research into Australian political culture and the significance of history in public life.