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HUMANITIES RESEARCH CENTRE:
A HISTORY OF THE FIRST 30 YEARS OF THE HRC
AT THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

PUBLISHED BY ANU E-PRESS

Glen St John Barclay and Caroline Turner Humanities Research Centre: A History of the first 30 years of the HRC at The Australian National University, ANU E-Press, The Australian National University, Canberra, 2004.

Professor Richard Rorty, one of the most acclaimed and influential philosophers of the present age, told the Committee reviewing the Humanities Research Centre (HRC) in 1995 that in his view the Centre had “been the principal means of communication and collaboration between Australian scholars in the humanities and their colleagues throughout the world. It has an absolutely impeccable reputation in the international scholarly community, and is thought to be one of the most successful think-tanks in the world.”

This book tells the story of the first thirty years of the HRC. It is at once an account of a struggle for survival and a record of triumphant response to the challenges of inadequate resources in an increasingly uncongenial era for the humanities. A large number of illustrations make it possible to put faces to the names, and six appendices record its devoted and always minimal staff, its visitors who include many of the most distinguished scholars in the academic world, its tide of conferences and at least some of the enormous number of publications produced during or in consequence of academic sojourns at the Centre.

But the story of such an institution must be a story of more than just the institution itself. In the words of historian Malcolm I. Thomis:

“This book may claim to be no more than a history of the HRC at the ANU. It is, of course, much more than that. It is certainly an examination of the role and predicament of the humanities within universities and the wider community, and it contributes substantially to the ongoing debate on an Australian identity.”

NOTE: Preparation on the appendices was a complex task. The HRC and the authors welcome corrections and additions, which we will endeavour to include in the online book and subsequent print copies.

Sebsequent additions: Visting Fellows and their projects 2005-2009 and Conference Visitors 2005-2007

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ORDER FORM

This book is published by ANU E press and is also available on line.
Price for print on demand copy A$29.95 (including GST)
Plus postage and packing (A$10.00 international; A$3.30 within Australia)

The HRC is taking the opportunity to invite donations to the HRC Student Scholarship Fund. All donations are tax-deductible. Those who make a donation when purchasing the book will receive a copy of the book signed by authors and Directors.