Benjamin T. Jones

A new terror to death: Public memory and the disappearance of John Dunmore Lang

John Dunmore Lang was one the most prominent figures in Australian colonial politics. As the founder of the Scots Church in Sydney, a long-serving member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, the editor of his own newspapers and the author of hundreds of books and pamphlets, Lang had an enormous platform to express his views. Despite his prominence in life, Lang’s legacy has been distorted by public memory and his passionate support for an Australian republic has been largely muted. This article examines Lang’s works and his treatment by public memory. This article has been peer-reviewed.

From One Songline to Another: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students’ Study Tour Journey of Indigenous Connection and Solidarity

This chapter examines the experiences of eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander preservice teachers on a study tour with a focus on Indigenous Studies to a Canadian university. Educational activities included: cultural exchange with First Nations Elders, academics, and students; introduction to Canadian Indigenous Studies; and field trips to significant cultural sites. Through semistructured interviews and photo elicitation the participants in this case study reflected upon their experiences of personal and professional development. The analysis of the students’ retrospective accounts reveals emergent themes of connection, identity, language, healing, and action. The students’ interpretations indicate the transformative potential of overseas educational experiences to inform their future teaching practices and foster connections to Indigenous identities and cultures locally and abroad. The sense of shared historical experiences made the inter-cultural connection not just one of solidarity, but also a validation of students’ own experiences of marginalization. The findings speak to the importance of these types of inter-Indigenous exchange as well as a design of outward mobility experiences that recognize the potential for solidarity and healing. The students’ experiences of connection and identity generate the sorts of reflection that are part of a broader global movement amongst Indigenous groups towards cultural renewal.

Tools of Engagement: Using Outbound Mobility to Grow Australia’s Asia Literacy

Moving deeper into the Asian Century, there is an ever-increasing need for Asia literacy and Asia capability in the workforce. Successive Australian governments have stressed the need for greater engagement with the region and the development of intercultural competency. Meanwhile, universities have stressed the need to internationalize their curriculums in order to produce outward-looking graduates with a global perspective. This chapter argues that outbound mobility experiences are the key to fulfilling both goals. Although the benefits of student mobility are well known, there are several barriers to participation. These must be addressed if outbound mobility is to become a mainstream aspect of the student experience in the Asian Century.

Generating and Deepening Reflection Whilst Studying Abroad: Incorporating Photo Elicitation in Transformative Travel

Most study abroad programmes conclude with debriefing activities emphasizing verbal and written reflection, with the visual image used merely as a supplementary aid. Photographs are used to promote programmes with little integration into tertiary pedagogical strategies. This chapter argues that photo elicitation can be an evocative tool within diverse experiential learning settings. Based on this premise, the visual image can trigger students’ introspection and personal growth when sojourning overseas. Photo elicitation has a twofold benefit. First, photos augment the scope of empirical research, and second, images intensify the reflective learning process. Results indicate that the visual image amplifies the transformative power of study abroad and concretizes deeper learning. Greater focus on visual literacy is recommended for future programmes as a qualitative data technique.

The Epitome of Transformation: Enhancing Outbound Mobility Experiences in the Twenty-First Century

As Australia ventures deeper into the Asian Century, the need for outward-looking, global-minded graduates has never been greater. The outbound mobility experience (OME is recognized as one of the most effective tools to facilitate personal transformation and improve cross-cultural competencies. Funded by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching, the project Enhancing Programmes to Integrate Tertiary Outbound Mobility Experiences (EPITOME), launched in 2015, conducted student-focused research into OMEs to provide a comprehensive and usable best-practice guide for tour operators and academic staff and to investigate key challenges to participation in OMEs, as well as lessons learned by experienced facilitators and OME designers. This chapter outlines EPITOME’s research programme and key findings.

Currency Culture: Australian Identity and Nationalism in New South Wales before the Gold Rushes

This article examines the white, native-born population of New South Wales, known as ‘the currency’, between the 1820s and the discovery of gold in the 1850s. While Britishness was the dominant cultural influence before, and after, the gold rushes, the ‘currency lads and lasses’ often found their identity in opposition to British-born colonists, known as ‘the sterling’. This early incarnation of Australian nationalism is significant, it will be argued, as it reveals how quickly indigenous roots were claimed at the expense of Aboriginal Australians. Further, rather than a sense of Australianness within a larger British identity, the currency community held Britishness as part of their larger Australian identity. Drawing on examples of popular culture from the theatre, the press, and the sporting arena, this article explores the nature of this unique community who held Britishness as a secular religion but identified most strongly as white Australians.

Civic republicanism and Sir Robert Menzies: the non-liberal side of the Liberal leader

Robert Menzies was the founder of the Liberal Party and a constitutional monarchist. His political thought, however, often reveals a civic republican understanding of the crucial problems of government and society. This article will examine some key events and influences on Menzies and argue that his political philosophy and understanding of politics can be more accurately understood as classically republican. In his support for a limited monarchy, his defence of public life, and insistence on civic virtue through education, Menzies supported fundamentally republican ideals. This article offers scholars a way to get past some of the seemingly contradictory elements of Menziess career and arguments, along with reassessing the role and understanding of republicanism in Australian political history.