A new seminar series from Australian Policy and History
Amid war, genocide, a surge in far right populism, the looming climate crisis, and growing uncertainty about the future of our region, many of us are asking: how did we get here?
Australian Policy and History: History of the Present brings together leading scholars to help us understand the answers to this question. We propose that more nuanced understandings of our shared past could help us to find new solutions to entrenched problems.
Through nuanced conversation with a range of historical experts on the key issues facing Australia today, we reveal how seemingly inevitable issues in Australian politics are in fact highly contingent: emerging from decades of deliberate choices by the state and different actors in our community. We explore how ideas about the past – both history and memory – are used and abused to shape the present in politics, and recommend pathways forward that are better informed by historical knowledge.
Following each seminar, we will publish a background briefing paper for scholars, policymakers, and the general public to use.
Our first seminar is History of the Present: Australia’s China Debate, 30th September 2026, 5.30pm. Get your tickets here!
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