History Now: histories of capitalism
- Past Event
Hannah Forsyth and Sophie Loy-Wilson discuss the ways in which historicising capitalism is changing our approach to history in Australia.
Event Information
1 Shakespeare Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia
+61 292731414
History Now seminars explore current and compelling issues affecting the practice of contemporary history. It is a long-running series of public talks and discussions, bringing new perspectives to all aspects of historical practice. This year History Now is a collaboration between the History Council of NSW (HCNSW), the State Library of NSW and the Australian Centre for Public History (ACPH) at UTS.
Hannah Forsyth and Sophie Loy-Wilson discuss the ways in which historicising capitalism is changing our approach to history in Australia.
Dr Hannah Forsyth is a historian and author of Virtue Capitalists: The Rise and Fall of the Professional Class in the Anglophone World 1870–2008 (Cambridge, 2023) and A History of the Modern Australian University (NewSouth, 2014). Until recently she was Associate Professor of History at the Australian Catholic University. Hannah now works part-time at Jobs and Skills Australia and as a freelance writer. You can follow her writing at https://hannahforsyth.substack.com/
Dr Sophie Loy-Wilson is a Senior Lecturer in Australian history at the University of Sydney. She is a historian of Chinese Australian communities. Her first book, Australians in Shanghai (Routledge 2017) was a study of China–Australia relations in the interwar years, seen through the prism of Chinese Australian communities in Shanghai. In this book, Loy-Wilson highlighted the importance of economic archives for immigration historians; these archives often preserve migrant agency. Loy-Wilson combines methodological insights from labour history, overseas Chinese history, and the New History of Capitalism to bring a ‘New Materialist’ approach to Australia’s multiethnic and multilingual past.
Dr Mike Beggs is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney. His research concentrates on the evolution of economic policy. He has written books on the history of macroeconomic policy in Australia and central banking in China. His interests include the history of monetary theory and policy, labour institutions and macroeconomic policy, and socialism and social democracy. He is currently working on a book for Verso on market socialism and workplace democracy.
History Now is short and sweet. The tone is conversational, and the format is two speakers, each talking for 15–20 minutes, followed by a Q&A facilitated by a chairperson. History Now is usually an in-person event unless otherwise stated. History Now 2024 is programmed by Jesse Adams Stein (Vice President of HCNSW/Member of ACPH).
