Speculative Biography, Historical Craft & the Case of Adelaide Ironside

Project Member(s): Clark, A.

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Research Council (ARC DECRA Scheme)
Australian Research Council (ARC DECRA Scheme)

Start year: 2018

Summary: This project aims to extend and expand the form of historical biography by offering innovative solutions to the research problems associated with retrieving lost lives from fragmentary sources. Combining praxis and theory, this project develops a methodological framework for this genre, reconstituting the scanty archive of Australian colonial artist Adelaide Ironside into a narrative-driven biography and then critically investigating that process. It thus restores forgotten stories to the nation’s narrative and extends the impact of historical research.

Publications:

Lindsey, KJ 2018, ''Deliberate Freedom’: Using speculation and imagination in historical biography', TEXT: Journal of Writing and Writing Programs, vol. 50, pp. 1-16.

FOR Codes: Expanding Knowledge in History and Archaeology, Australian History (excl. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History), Australian history , Expanding knowledge in history, heritage and archaeology

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.