Lynette Wendy Russell, (born 27 April 1960) is an Australian historian, known for her work on the history of
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
; in particular,
anthropological
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
history (especially during the
early colonial period of Australia and the 19th century);
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...
;
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...
and
race, Indigenous
oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people w ...
, and
museum studies
Museology or museum studies is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and education.
Terminology
Th ...
.
Early life and education
Russell was born on 27 April 1960 in an outer
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metr ...
suburb, into a working-class family.
She has traced her
Aboriginal ancestry via her grandmother from western
Victoria and
Tasmania
)
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, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and the
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterw ...
islands, and on her father's side, from
transported convicts.
[
In 1990, Russell graduated with a ]Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
with Honours
Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...
in archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...
from La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora. The university was established in 1964, becoming the third university in the state of Victoria ...
. She then undertook research in sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
and history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as we ...
, completing her Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
at the University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...
in 1995.[
]
Career
Russell has worked in various academic positions in the field of Indigenous studies and history, and has undertaken several interdisciplinary
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...
studies.[ She started her career as a lecturer at the Institute of Koorie Education at ]Deakin University
Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia.
Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Pon ...
after completing her PhD in 1995. From 1998 until 1999, she held a fellowship
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
at the School of Historical Studies at Monash University
Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has ...
, after which she was a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Indigenous Studies at Monash from 2000 until 2001. Russell was appointed Chair (later Director)[ of Monash University's Australian Indigenous Studies program in 2001, and also Deputy Dean of Arts from 2007 to 2010.][
In 2011, Russell was appointed adjunct professor at the Australian Centre for Indigenous History at ]Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
. In the same year she was awarded an Australian Research Council
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...
(ARC) Professorial Fellowship for five years,[ as well as an ARC Discovery Grant with Leigh Boucher from ]Macquarie University
Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of ...
, to undertake a study of Victorian Ethnographer
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject ...
s between 1834 and 1930.[
Russell has collaborated with scholars in archaeology, anthropology and environmental studies, and worked in various Aboriginal organisations. She holds or has held positions on committees and reference groups pertaining to ]Melbourne Museum
The Melbourne Museum is a natural and cultural history museum located in the Carlton Gardens in Melbourne, Australia.
Located adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building, the museum was opened in 2000 as a project of the Government of Victoria ...
, the State Library of Victoria
State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...
and the Collections Council of Australia.[ She is particularly keen on interdisciplinary studies, and also believes that every undergraduate should undertake Indigenous studies as an essential part of the curriculum.]
In October 2017, Russell gave the 2nd Bicentennial Australian History Lecture at the University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...
, with the title of her address being "50,000 years of Australian History: a plea for interdisciplinarity".
Russell was president of the Australian Historical Association from 2016 to 2018.
Recognition
Russell is also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...
, a member of the , the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is a long-established anthropological organisation, and Learned Society, with a global membership. Its remit includes all the component fields of anthropology, such as biolo ...
, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...
in London and a Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University.[ In 2015 she was visiting fellow at ]All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
.[ In 2018 she was elected Fellow of the ]Australian Academy of the Humanities
The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Austr ...
.
Russell was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...
in the 2019 Australia Day Honours for "significant service to higher education, particularly Indigenous history, and to professional organisations".
In October 2019, Russell was awarded an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship with her project, "Global Encounters and First Nations Peoples: 1000 Years of Australian History", funded with million over five years. She was also awarded the 2019 Kathleen Fitzpatrick fellowship, which "recognises one outstanding female Laureate Fellow in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences".
Selected publications
*''Savage Imaginings: Historical and Contemporary Representations of Australian Aboriginalities'' (2001)
*
*''Appropriated Pasts: Archaeology and Indigenous People in Settler Colonies'', coauthored with Ian McNiven (2005)
*''Roving Mariners: Aboriginal Whalers in the Southern Oceans 1790–1870'' (2012)
*''Hunt Them, Hang Them: 'The Tasmanians' in Port Phillip, 1841–42,'' with Kate Auty (2016)
*''First Naturalists'' with Penny Olsen (2019), https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/australias-first-naturalists/
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Lynette
1960 births
20th-century Australian historians
21st-century Australian historians
Australian women historians
Deakin University faculty
Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
Fellows of the Royal Historical Society
La Trobe University alumni
Living people
Members of the Order of Australia
Monash University faculty
University of Melbourne alumni
University of Melbourne women
20th-century Australian women
Academics from Melbourne