Radical history - which seeks to address the historical perspectives of those who opposed the status quo in the past - came to the Southern Highlands last week.
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It arrived with the launch of a much-anticipated book at the University of Wollongong (UOW) Southern Highlands campus on Wednesday, December 15.
The Barber Who Read History, a collection of critical essays by Dr Rowan Cahill and Dr Terry Irving, authors steeped in the tradition of radical history, is about the writing and practice of history, and the social and political roles of historians.
The authors are senior historians with honorary associations with UOW, and Dr Cahill is also a long-standing and much-loved tutor at the UOW Southern Highlands campus in Moss Vale.
Launching their new book (which is already generating national and international interest) from the UOW Southern Highlands campus was a deliberate choice by the authors, emphasising the significance of the University's regional campus network.
Assoc Prof Sharon Crozier-De Rosa, UOW discipline leader in history, launched the book describing it as one that "roams over a vast, complex and diverse terrain, held together by a commitment to furthering social justice through the democratisation of research and knowledge".
Vice-Chancellor Prof Patricia Davidson, in a letter of congratulations said the book "is a significant achievement and a fitting dedication to honour the late Dr Anthony Ashbolt."
Dr Ashbolt was a long-serving lecturer in politics at UOW who sadly passed away this year. The book is dedicated to Dr Ashbolt; his widow Shelley attended the launch with leading historians from the Southern Highlands, Wollongong and Sydney, hearing first-hand about how much he inspired the authors' work and established a legacy of critical thought and activism in our communities.
The Barber Who Read History: Essays in Radical History (Bull Ant Press, St Peters, 2021) is available at the New International Book Shop.
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