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A global network of researchers, jointly headed by Swinburne's Professor Klaus Neumann and Dr Chris Healy of the University of Melbourne, is exploring how democratic societies across the globe forget and remember the victimisation of minorities in the past.

Neumann believes the so-called History Wars represented a lost opportunity to engage with how Australian society grapples with the legacy of its colonial past. "Rather than focus on missing footnotes, we should have talked about the histories and memories we use to keep the past at bay. And we should have looked beyond Australia."

In his own research, Neumann is looking at how historical actors are identified as victims or as perpetrators. His project spans four countries: Germany, Austria, Australia and New Zealand.

"The usual approach is to do case studies concerned with memories of comparable pasts. We say it is immaterial whether or not the pasts themselves are compatible. What interests us is what we can learn from juxtaposing comparable presents," Neumann said.

"Outside perspectives from colleagues writing about memories of the Dirty War in Argentina or human rights violations perpetrated by the French in Algeria could help us gain a fresh understanding of how we make sense of the past in Australia."

Collaborators include scholars in Australia, Europe and the Americas. Among them is renowned sociologist, Professor Jeffrey Olick from the University of Virginia. He has just received a Swinburne Visiting Professor Award, which will allow him to visit Melbourne next year to work with Neumann and his colleagues at Swinburne's Institute for Social Research.

Neumann and Healy are also recruiting junior scholars from Australia and overseas who are interested in doing postgraduate research about issues of historical justice. The two researchers have identified a broad range of case studies suitable for PhD projects. They are attracting students from a range of disciplines, including history, political science, sociology, philosophy, media studies, and cultural and literary studies.

Potential topics include debates over Spain's 2007 Law of Historical Memory, public memories of Japanese World War II internment in the United States, ‘bystanders' and the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the memorialisation of the persecution of Roma (‘Gypsies') in Austria.

Swinburne is currently offering a range of mid-year entry scholarships for Australian and overseas students, and Neumann is hoping that scholars who share his passionate interest in social memory and historical justice will be among the successful applicants.

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Media Contact: Lea Kivivali, Tel: (03) 9214 5428 or 0410 569 311

30.04.2008

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