Extract: Nation, Memory, Myth by Steve Vizard
Posted on 11 Jun 2025
How does myth generate meaning for a nation and its citizens? How does a national myth transform into symbolic performances of cultural memory and kinship?
John Rickard is Emeritus Professor of History at Monash University. He is the author of H. B. Higgins: The Rebel as Judge, The Age Non-fiction Book of the Year for 1984, Australia: A Cultural History, Packaging the Past?: Public Histories, A Family Romance: The Deakins at Home and An Imperial Affair: Portrait of an Australian Marriage.
Emeritus Professor Peter Spearritt is an urban and environmental historian. His Sydney’s Century: a history, won the NSW Premier’s prize in 2000, and the third edition of his The Sydney Harbour Bridge: a life was published in 2011. His Where History Happened: the hidden past of Australia’s towns and places appeared in 2018. He is the co-editor of the websites victorianplaces.com.au and queenslandplaces.com.au and is currently working on urban water futures for Brisbane and Sydney.
Posted on 11 Jun 2025
How does myth generate meaning for a nation and its citizens? How does a national myth transform into symbolic performances of cultural memory and kinship?
Posted on 11 Jun 2025
Why has Antarctica long loomed large in Australian psyche? How did Australia come to see Antarctica as a natural extension of our territory and why…
Posted on 11 Jun 2025
Culture, society and human behaviour have forever been linked to nature. In her thought-provoking book, Lesley Head, geographer and Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor Emeritus at…
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We started the year by moving tens of thousands of physical books across state lines, swam through oceans of metadata and updated our back-end systems…
Fri 27 June at 12:00PM
Four Seasons Hotel, 199 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Join Chris Hammer in conversation with ABC's Fran Kelly to discuss the updated edition of The River.
Thu 26 June at 6:00PM
Readings Carlton, 309 Lygon St, Carlton VIC 3053
Join us to hear Steve Vizard in conversation about Nation, Memory, Myth.
Tue 08 July at 6:00PM
Readings Hawthorn, 687 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn VIC 3122
Join us to hear Chris Hammer in conversation about his bestselling classic book, The River.
Thu 10 July at 6:30PM
Burnside Library, 401 Greenhill Road Tusmore, SA 5065
Learn more about author Chris Hammer's prize-winning non-fiction book about the Murray Darling Basin.