RESEARCH PROFILE
- Research income: Funding from the Australian and British Governments, Monash University, the Menzies Memorial Foundation and subscriptions from a number of Australian universities, and occasionally from the British Academy, Arts and Humanities Research Council and other such bodies.
- Current number of academic staff: 3.
- Current number of research students: 2 full-time, 4 part-time PhDs; 2 funded postdoctoral research fellows.
- Recent publications:
- The British World: Diaspora, Culture, Identity.
- A Delicate Mission: the Washington Diaries of RG Casey, 1940-2.
- Mid-Victorian Reading and the Antipodes.
- The Ethics of Fellowship in Two Antipodean War Films: Peter Weir's Gallipoli and Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.
- Changing the Face of Advertising: Australia's Advertising Industry in the Early Days of Television.
- Current research projects:
- The Australian Diaspora in Britain 1901-2001.
- A short biography of WM Hughes.
- Representation of Aboriginality in Art, Literature and Film.
- History of sexuality in Australia.
- Reading the Antipodes.
KEY FACTS
Student destinations
Civil service, media, museums and galleries, publishing, academia, the City, journalism.
Head of group/division
Professor Carl Bridge
Duration
Expected to be: MPhil two years FT, three years PT; PhD three years FT, four-six years PT.
Location
Strand Campus.
Year of entry 2013
Offered by
School of Arts and Humanities
Menzies Centre for Australian Studies
Closing date
Check with Centre if applying for funding.
Intake
No set number.
Fees
CONTACTS
Contact information
Centre for Arts & Sciences Admissions
King’s College London, Strand Campus
Strand, London WC2R 2LS
Tel +44 (0)20 7848 2736
Email
Website
RESEARCH DESCRIPTION
The Centre offers research degrees at MPhil and PhD levels in Australian history, politics, literature and film or in other areas of Australian studies by arrangement. We offer access to a number of libraries which together constitute the best resources on Australian subjects in Europe. These include our own Maughan Library, the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library, which holds one of the largest collections of social science materials relating to Australia, and the extensive Australia House Collection (at the University of London's Senate House Library).
Staff interests associated with the research programme and its research groups
Interests:
- Intersections between Australian domestic politics, diplomacy and military decision-making, particularly during two world wars and the cold war
- Setting Australian history in its comparative context, particularly as part of the imagined ‘British world’ from the 1880s to the 1960s
- The social history of Australians in the United Kingdom
- Carl Bridge has published extensively on Australia’s relations with Britain, the United States and New Zealand
Tel:
020 7848 7392
Fax:
Email:
Website:
Interests:
Australian literature and film, especially their complex reception by diverse readers and audiences.
Tel:
+44 (0)20 7848 7394
Fax:
020 7848 2052
Email:
Website:
ACADEMIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
General entry advice
Normally an MA in an appropriate subject area and a first or 2:1 BA first degree or overseas equivalent.
APPLYING TO KING'S
To apply for graduate study at King's you will need to complete our graduate online application form. Applying online makes applying easier and quicker for you, and means we can receive your application faster and more securely.
King's does not normally accept paper copies of the graduate application form as applications must be made online. However, if you are unable to access the online graduate application form, please contact the relevant admissions/School Office at King's for advice.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
Please contact us before applying to discuss your proposed research project. Admission will initially be for the MPhil but students may transfer to the PhD after an appropriate period, by agreement with their supervisor and the Departmental Postgraduate and Research Committee.
PERSONAL STATEMENT & SUPPORTING INFORMATION
No information required.
FUNDING
AHRC; Graduate School and School of Arts & Humanities studentships and bursaries; self-funded.
Staff profiles
Menzies Centre for Australian Studies MPhil/PhD
I’m a staff member in the Menzies Centre for Australian Studies and the History Department at King’s. The Centre itself was originally established by the Australian Government in 1982 and we’ve been in King’s College since 1999. We’re the only Australian Studies Centre in the United Kingdom.
I teach the MA modules ‘Indigenous, European and Australian: Aboriginal Politics and History’ and ‘Australian Politics: An Historical Approach’. These examine the themes of colonialism, identity and power relations in the context of a particular settler society, exploring Australia’s development as part of a global empire and then as a post-imperial nation that is nevertheless constantly pressed to come to terms with its colonial origins. My own research has been focused on various aspects of Australian political, labour and cultural history, especially from the 1880s to the present, so I treat my MA teaching as a great opportunity to pool ideas in a shared enterprise.
Students who work with us gain the benefit of access to our rich programme of seminars, symposia and briefings on various aspects of Australian history, culture and society, often presented by visiting academics from Australia. The Centre is used as a base by such academics while they are in London, and they contribute something valuable to its intellectual vitality. I feel fortunate to be a part of a wonderful College and yet also connected in these ways with my country of origin and main historical interest.