Boat People Long History of Immigration Conference

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Conference: 'Boat People': The Long History of Immigration

Western Sydney University, Parramatta Campus 

12-13 June 2014
Convenors: Jayne Persian (University of Wollongong) and Kate Matthew (Western Sydney University)

This very successful conference was held in June and the convenors are now in the process of preparing a publication.

Immigration, and particularly what to do about refugees and 'asylum seekers', is a hot-button topic in Australian politics, encapsulated by the phrase 'stop the boats'. What is missing from the polemic is a sense of the long history of various types of immigration to this country. From the First Peoples 40,000 years ago to the Ten Pound Poms of the 1960s, the majority of Australians arrived in this island nation by boat. Some 'asylum seekers' still arrive by boat. This conference aims to provide a reframing and contextualisation of the current debate as the latest iteration of an ongoing cultural conversation. We will explore the long history of immigration in Australia through papers by academic and public history researchers within this field. Papers will explore themes of immigration, asylum seekers and refugees, including Indigenous and pre-contact exposures, international and domestic political contexts, experiences of people entering the country, responses to the new arrivals by those already here, and issues surrounding the representation, memory and commemoration of the immigrant experience, as well as speaking directly to the current debate from a historical perspective.

The convenors intend to publish a selection of papers from the conference as a special edition of a high-quality peer-reviewed journal that will help take this debate to a wider audience.

Keynote speaker: Professor Klaus Neumann, Swinburne University of Technology

Discussion Panel: How does the long view of immigration history in Australia contribute to the current debate? 

Panellists: 
Ann-Mari Jordens 
Dr Ruth Balint, University of New South Wales
Dr Denise Phillips, University of New England
Dr Robert Mason, University of Southern Queensland 

Discussant: Dr David Burchell, Western Sydney University