Mateship Conference: Call for Papers
Conference Announcement and Call for Papers: 'Mateship: Trust and Exclusion in Australian History'
'Mateship, Trust and Exclusion in Australian History' is a cross-disciplinary conference organised by the School of Historical Studies, Monash University, in conjunction with History Australia and Eras. We hope to bring together researchers interested in the historical, political, social and cultural guises of mateship, that allegedly unique Australian bond of friendship. We welcome contributions that seek to place mateship in historical and ideological context, investigating the themes and languages of solidarity and class, exclusions of gender and race, and the relationships between trust and friendship. Therefore mateship should be interpreted in the widest possible sense. However a particular concern is the dialogue between past and present and future possibilities.Whilst the conference seeks diversity particular areas of concern are:
- What are the historical bases of mateship? What did, or does it stand for, if anything? Who was excluded and why?
- How does its rural idealisation relate to its urban construction?
- What, if any, are the connections between historical mythology and lived experience?
- Can a politics of emancipation and radicalism be salvaged from the past and current meanings of mateship?
The organisers welcome papers from all disciplines of the humanities, including overseas and postgraduate students. Interested parties are asked to submit abstracts of no more than 200 words by 31 October 2005 . Presentations will be limited to 20-30 minutes each, with 10 minutes for questions. People or parties offering film, video, performance or other contributions, should also send a brief proposal by 31 October. Proposals for complete panels and streams of papers are also welcomed. Presenters shall be notified of acceptance of their paper by early December or sooner if possible. Papers will be later published on the web. A selection of further refereed papers will hopefully be published in an edited volume.