Australia's Empire (Oxford History of the British Empire Companion Series) - Softcover

Schreuder, Deryck

Softcover

ISBN 10: 019956373X ISBN 13: 9780199563739

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2010

Synopsis

This is the first major collaborative reappraisal of Australia's experience of empire since the end of the British Empire itself.

The volume examines the meaning and importance of empire in Australia across a broad spectrum of historical issues-ranging from the disinheritance of the Aborigines to the foundations of a new democratic state. The overriding theme is the distinctive Australian perspective on empire. The country's adherence to imperial ideals and aspirations involved not merely the building of a 'new Britannia' but also the forging of a distinctive new culture and society. It was Australian interests and aspirations which ultimately shaped "Australia's Empire".

While modern Australians have often played down the significance of their British imperial past, the contributors to this book argue that the legacies of empire continue to influence the temper and texture of Australian society today.

About this title

About the Author

Professor Deryck M Schreuder is currently Chair of the Australian Universities' Quality Agency and previously Vice Chancellor of two Australian universities, President of the Australian Vice Chancellors' Committee, and President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Australian Historical Association. An Oxford Rhodes Scholar, he was a founding Professor in History at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario and 4th Challis Professor of History in The University of Sydney. He has published widely in British imperial and colonial studies.

Professor Stuart Ward (Ph.D., Sydney) holds an Associate Professorship at the University of Copenhagen, and is currently a visiting researcher at the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies in London. He is the author of Australia and the British Embrace: The Demise of the Imperial Ideal (2001); and he has edited British Culture and the End of Empire (2001). He is co-editing a documentary history of Australia's changing ties to Britain in the decolonisation era, as well as researching a major study of "The End of Greater Britain."

Review

''This is an important book. It will be seen by many readers as challenging or stimulating...To my knowledge this theme, so wide in its span, has not previously been attempted with such comprehensiveness'' -- Geoffrey Blainey, The Australian Newspaper

''It is part of the unfashionability of the topic that nothing on quite this scale has been attempted since the 1930s. The editors have marshalled an impressive array of talent... [to produce] a fine volume'' -- Jim Davidson, The Age Newspaper

''Deryck Schreuder and Stuart Ward, are both recognised authorities on the subject, and both have done work beyond Australia that enables them to appreciate its distinctive characteristics. The contributors include leading historians who develop their topics with assurance...Together with the editorial introduction and epilogue, these make a persuasive case for bringing the imperial dimension back into Australian historiography'' -- Stuart MacIntyre, The Australian Book Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 019956373X
• ISBN 13: 9780199563739
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 440