History at Western Sydney University

Welcome to History at Western Sydney University.

We are a vibrant historical community at Western Sydney University engaged in high quality teaching and research. Composed of over 20 professional historians, we are one of Australia's leading centres for the study of Australian, Asian, European and world history. We teach historical subjects and have published widely on Asian history (Japan, China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, and Thailand), European history (Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Austria), Australian history, Aboriginal history, American history, and African history (South Africa).

Historians at Western Sydney University educate many of Western Sydney and Australia's future history teachers, academic and public historians, and citizens. We participate within the University and the community to disseminate accurate historical information and to make meaningful connections between research, teaching, and public policy.

We can be found teaching and working at the Bankstown, Parramatta, and Penrith campuses of the University.

News

Mapping print, charting enlightenment

Professor Simon Burrows (Western Sydney), Professor Paul Arthur (Western Sydney), Dr Jason Ensor (Western Sydney), Professor Angus Martin (University of Sydney), Professor Dan Edelstein (Stanford University)

This project aims to reconstruct popular reading trends to revise understanding of European enlightenment and the transformational impact of print. Through an innovative, industry-wide digital survey of unprecedented scope and sophistication, tracking millions of copies of thousands of titles and all sectors of the book trade – legal, pirate and contraband – it asks: What books were widely read? Where were they produced and consumed? What was the relative scale and nature of key parts of the trade – notably religious and illegal publishing? How cosmopolitan was popular reading? The project also aims to reflect on its digital methods and develop transferable technologies for studying print's impact across time and space.

Dr Elizabeth Roberts-Pedersen was awarded a DECRA grant for her project to be undertaken at the University of Newcastle, while our colleague Dr Benjamin Jones was also successful in his DECRA application with the Australian National University.

Recent publications include two books by Dr Brett Bennett. See our publications page for details.