Blog
Article Collection
The West Gate Project
Sarah Gregson and I have published a new website, to report on our research into the West Gate Bridge collapse in 1970 and its aftermath. We will add more of our work over time, and have created a resources page collecting together a range of materials on about the...
How Labour Built Neoliberalism
In December I was delighted to launch my first book, How Labour Built Neoliberalism, published with Brill's Studies in Critical Social Sciences Series. From the cover blurb: Why do we always assume it was the New Right that was at the centre of constructing...
Queerstories podcast: My Tabloid Life
I recently spoke at Queerstories in Sydney, about social movements, Andrew Bolt and the wonder that is great friends. Indeed, the photo above is of my friends thinking I'm hilarious. You can listen to the episode online here, or through the embedded link below. ***...
WHS and the West Gate Collapse
Last week Sarah Gregson presented a paper on our behalf, based on our research into the collapse of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne in 1970. The disaster killed 35 workers, and injured many more. Its legacy continues to this day, including the annual memorial...
Thesis Eleven Special Issue: On ‘heroic fury’ and questions of method in Antonio Gramsci
I was most pleased to see our special issue of Thesis Eleven — On ‘heroic fury’ and Antonio Gramsci — published this week. Edited by Ihab Shalbak and myself, it has articles by Peter Thomas, Phil Roberts, Andreas Bieler, Adam Morton, as well as ourselves....
Queerstories: 6 July 2018
On Friday 6 July I'll be speaking at Sydney's Queerstories. A keen audience member, I'll be performing this time around and telling a short story. Maeve Marsden, the host and producer, describes the event like this: It involves 'reflections on lives well lived and...
25th anniversary of Michael Pusey’s Economic Rationalism in Canberra
2016 marked the 25th anniversary of Michael Pusey’s seminal text of economic sociology, Economic Rationalism in Canberra. As a detailed analysis of top bureaucrats in Canberra who had adopted free market ideas and the transformation of public policymaking, Pusey’s...
Work: Past and Present
Work: Past and Present is a monthly seminar investigating Australian and international labour history through the contemporary moment. It is a new series organised by myself, Sarah Gregson (University of New South Wales) and Frances Flanagan (United Voice/University...