Books published by Monash University Publishing

From the maelstrom of the Depression and World War II, from Communist Party membership in the 1930s-1950s, and early attachment to the feminism and peace, Jean Blackburn emerged as a significant public intellectual. Her life work was the attachment of education policy to the causes of social equality and opportunity. She worked with Peter Karmel on the most significant government report framing school policy in the twentieth century, the blue-print for the Australian Schools Commission. Blackburn was the architect of the Disadvantaged Schools Program, which revolutionised the way that public and Catholic schools delivered education to families marked by many disadvantages, including poverty. She was an architect of the Girls, School and Society report of 1976. Jean Blackburn possessed a charismatic presence, never more in evidence than as she worked on senior secondary school reform in Victoria in the 1980s. As a feminist Blackburn bridged the generations. She was a fiercely independent, courageous, creative and effective social reformer and public intellectual.

Australian society and its leaders generally take for granted the importance and value of this nation's relationship with the United States. The US is commonly thought of as the world's great purveyor of liberal values and the rule of law, and as a powerful friend indispensable to Australian security. In The US Lobby and Australian Defence Policy Vince Scappatura demonstrates how these conceptions are underpinned by the work of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue, Australia's most important, private, pro-US lobby group. As the inner workings of this lobby are unveiled for the first time, Scappatura also discusses the considerable costs to Australia of its strong military ties to the US, draws into question notions of "benign" US power, and demonstrates that suggestions of the US keeping Australia safe from invasion are flatly wrong. For Australia's national security elite, other considerations, to do with power and wealth and spreading political influence, are to the fore...

What was it like to be involved in the heady days of second wave feminism in Australia, when the role of women at home and at work changed decisively? Iola Mathews was one of the founders of the Womens Electoral Lobby, a journalist at The Age, and later a leading ACTU advocate for women workers during the Accord with the Hawke-Keating Government. She was one of the first generation of women trying to have it all with a career and children. In this honest and revealing memoir, she takes us inside the day-to-day groundwork required to bring about reforms in areas like affirmative action, equal pay, superannuation, childcare, parental leave and work-family issues. This is an important record of a pivotal time for women in Australias history. Iola brings wisdom and experience to it, reflecting on where we are today, with suggestions for further reform. Its a vital source for policy makers and all those interested in women, work and families.

Jakarta based Andreas Harsono is one of the most knowledgeable, experienced, high-profile and courageous of reporters and commentators on contemporary Indonesian society. Race, Islam and Power: Ethnic and Religious Violence in Post-Suharto Indonesia is the result of Harsonos fifteen year project to document how, in post-Suharto Indonesia, race and religion have come to be increasingly prevalent within the nations politics. From its westernmost island of Sabang to its easternmost city of Merauke in West Papua, from Miangas Island in the north, near the Philippines border, to Ndana Island, close to the coast of Australia, Harsono reveals the particular cultural identities and localised political dynamics of this internally complex and riven nation. This informed personal travelogue is essential reading for Indonesia watchers and anyone seeking a better understanding of contemporary Indonesia. A passionate seeker of human rights protections, civil liberties, democracy, media freedom, multiculturalism and environmental protection, Harsono reminds us that Indonesians still have not found the light at the end of the tunnel.

Comic actors have made a particularly strong contribution to cultural life in Australia over the past sixty years. They have brought a range of memorable characters to the stage, television and film; they have transformed our image of ourselves, helped to overturn the crippling cultural cringe, and brought Australian humour and satire to the world. The Australian theatre, television and film industries are dynamic in ways that could never have been imagined fifty years ago. These industries have expanded and demonstrated extraordinary vitality, with actors, as the public face of the performing arts, carrying the immediate responsibility for the success of each show. It is the actors, and often the characters they play, that we remember when we recall a favourite television program, film or play, long after we have seen it. In spite of this they are frequently left out of history. This book draws on extensive interviews to present full, rounded portraits of seven significant Australian comic actors: Carol Raye, Barry Humphries, Noeline Brown, Max Gillies, John Clarke, Tony Sheldon, and Denise Scott. Taken together, these actors careers span the period from the Second World War until the present and contributed immensely to the cultural life of millions of Australians.

In 1969 car crashes killed over 1000 Victorians, making Victorias roads some of the worlds most deadly. By 2016, the fatality rate had been cut by 85% and Victorians are now taking seriously the goal of eliminating death on the roads altogether. This extraordinary achievement is the product of sustained and ground-breaking approaches to preventing injury, saving lives and optimising recovery. Beginning with the worlds first seatbelt legislation in 1970, Victorians repeatedly charted new territory in health and public policy. In 2001 the system to care for severely injured people received a major overhaul. The new Victorian State Trauma System halved the risk anyone injured would die, and became the envy of the world. From Roadside to Recovery is the story of the evolution, implementation and impact of the Victorian State Trauma System, and those who championed it. It is a story of vision, leadership, determination, and achievement, about which there is much to celebrate. As road trauma is now one of the worlds leading causes of death there is also much to learn from it. For those who care about making a difference, this story will guide and inspire showing what is possible when a community is determined to address the tragedy and cost of road trauma.

In a world of fake news and populist politics, elections can seem like theatre. With growing rates of informal votes and a perceived narrowing of differences between the major parties, do Australian elections really matter? Taking ten examples, this book argues that elections do matter (even when you think they dont). It is not just elections with memorable jingles or triumphant campaigns from opposition to government that can shape the nation. Could it be that the Labor loss in 1969 formed the country more than the famous win in 1972? Or did the return of the Coalition in 1954 have more impact than securing government in 1949? Elections Matter looks at prime ministers and policies that never were and examines how the democratic process could have produced a different country. Had key elections taken a different turn, Australia might have had a different constitution, a different head of state, a different health and education system and a different foreign policy approach. This book looks at ten elections that formed Australia.--

"The University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane, 10 March - 8 July 2018. Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne, 21 July - 22 September 2018"--Final page.

In Creativity Crisis Robert Nelson argues that university education is systematically uncreative and suggests how this might be changed. Constructive alignment, the centrepiece of todays university pedagogy, promotes mechanistic thinking and the anxious gathering of manipulative skills. Learning happens more effectively when students take their study in new directions derived from their intimate, imagined relations with the new material they are encountering. Richly steeped in the history of ideas, from ancient Greece to the present, this book radically revises the concept of student-centredness, explores the language that encourages creativity, and helps teachers cultivate imaginative enthusiasm. Creativity Crisis is essential reading for those concerned with the nature and quality of instruction at university level. This book is one of a kind. Roberts purpose is to arrive at a creative new vision, where education is less constrained, less instrumentalist, more encouraging and open to the imagination. Professor David Boud, Director, Centre For Research In Assessment And Digital Learning, Deakin University, Melbourne.

In November 2011, the cognitive scientist, philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky arrived in Australia to receive the Sydney Peace Prize. He delivered lectures and answered questions about economics, history, international relations, linguistics, philosophy, justice and much more: What is unique about human language? How is it related to core components of human nature: cognition, moral judgment and other human activity? How can peace in the Middle East be achieved? What does the rise of China mean? What ought to be done about global economic problems? Is there a difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter?Chomsky''s intellectual stature has been compared to that of Galileo, Newton and Descartes. His influence has been felt in fields as diverse as artificial intelligence, cognitive neurology, music theory, anthropology, law and theology. His moral stature has been described as prophetic. He was the only scientist or philosopher on the White House ''Enemies List''. His Sydney Peace Prize citation reads, in part, ''For inspiring the convictions of millions about a common humanity and for unfailing moral courage''. This book is an edited reconstruction of public lectures, extemporaneous talks and interviews given during his few days in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

The Australian publishing industry has transformed itself from a colonial outpost of British publishing to a central node in a truly global publishing industry. Despite challenges, including reduced government support for home-grown authors and the arts, small presses thrive and Australian consumers have access to an unprecedented range of foreign and domestic titles. Social media, big data, print on demand, subscription and new compensation models are subtly reshaping an industry that now also relies on more freelance labour than ever before. Publishing Means Business examines the current state of this exciting and unpredictable industry, while also asking questions about the broader role of publishing within our culture.

Living with drought is one of the biggest issues of our times. Climate change scenarios suggest that in the next fifty years global warming will increase both the frequency and severity of these phenomena. Stories of drought are familiar to us, accompanied by images of dead sheep, dry dams, cracked earth, farmers leaving their lands, and rural economic stagnation. Drought is indeed a catastrophe, played out slowly. But as Rebecca Jones reveals in this sensitive account of families living on the Australian land, the story of drought in this driest continent is as much about resilience, adaptation, strength of community, ingenious planning for, and creative responses to, persistent absences of rainfall. The histories of eight farming families, stretching from the 1870s to the 1950s, are related, with a focus on private lives and inner thoughts, revealed by personal diaries. The story is brought up to the present with the authors discussions with contemporary farmers and pastoralists. In greatly enriching our understanding of the human dimensions of drought, Slow Catastrophes provides us with vital resources to face our ecological future.