Bruce Charles Scates,

FASSA The Fassa Valley ( Ladin: ''Fascia'', , ) is a valley in the Dolomites in Trentino, northern Italy. The valley composes an administrative valley community (Italian: ''Comunità di valle'', German: ''Talgemeinschaft'') of Trentino, known as Fascia ...

(born 1957) is an Australian historian, academic, novelist and documentary film producer at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

Early life and education

Bruce Scates was born in

Sunshine, Victoria Sunshine is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Brimbank Local government areas of Victoria, local gove ...

in 1957. He left Mornington High School in 1975 having been awarded School

Dux ''Dux'' (, : ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux'' coul ...

and a Special Distinction in English Literature for his Higher School Certificate. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(

First Class Honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

) from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

in 1980 before completing a

Diploma of Education The Diploma of Education, often abbreviated to DipEd or GradDipEd, is a postgraduate qualification offered in many Commonwealth countries including Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Overview The diploma can build on th ...

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...

in 1984. He then returned to Monash, where he completed a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in history, graduating in 1987 with a thesis titled ''"Faddists and Extremists": Radicalism and the Labour Movement in South Eastern Australia, 1886–1898''.

Academic career

He began his teaching career as a tutor at

and the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. He then served as a lecturer first at

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

(1987–1989) and then at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

(1989–1992). He was appointed associate professor at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

before becoming Professor Of History and Australian studies in a return to Monash in 2007. From 1987 to 2000 he shared all academic appointments with his partner, Rae Frances. Scates moved to the

in 2017, where he is a professor of history in the Research School of Social Sciences. He is currently an Australian

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

senior scholar, having been awarded a Fulbright 70th Anniversary Scholar Award in 2020. Since 1989, Scates has been the author and/or editor of 14 academic books and a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

. Over the course of his career he has worked in partnership with a number of public institutions, including the

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...

, the Western Front Interpretive Centre, the Australian National Archives, the

Shrine of Remembrance The Shrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to as The Shrine) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in ...

, History Council of NSW, History Teacher's Association of NSW and the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

. He has also acted as a policy advisor to various Australian government institutions on public history and education. This includes acting as an advisor to the Office of the

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

, the

Department of Education (New South Wales) The New South Wales Department of Education, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for the delivery and co-ordination of early childhood, primary school, secondary school, vocational education, adult, migrant and hi ...

, the

Department of Education (Western Australia) The Department of Education is the Government of Western Australia, state government department responsible for education in Western Australia as well as on Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The Department's head office, commonly ...

and the

NSW Board of Studies The Board of Studies was the state government education board in New South Wales, Australia from 1990 to 2013. It provided educational leadership by developing the curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12 and awarding the secondary school credent ...

. In 2004 he was part of the Department of Defence National Committee to investigate and confirm the presence of mass graves on the site of the

Attack at Fromelles The Attack at Fromelles ( (Battle of Fromelles, Battle of Fleurbaix or ) 19–20 July 1916, was a military operation on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was carried out by British and Australian troops and was subsidiary ...

at Pheasant Wood, France. His research in

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

also meant that he served as chair of the History Working Party advising the Anzac Centenary Board. With historian

Susan Carland Susan Janet Carland (born 1980) is an Australian academic, author and television presenter best known for her ongoing media presence speaking on her academic speciality of women in Islam. Early life and education Carland attended public schoo ...

he presented a documentary video series titled ''Australian Journey'', filmed around Australia and involving more than 50 major cultural institutions.

''On Dangerous Ground''

In 2012, Scates published his first, and to date only, historical novel. Titled ''On Dangerous Ground: a Gallipoli Story,'' the book drew on both his historical research and experiences working with government advisory bodies to tell a story about the

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

campaign and its aftermath through the perspectives of a soldier on the frontline, CEW Bean and a historian investigating

war grave A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to b ...

s in 2015.

Academic specialisations

His work covers a wide range of historical fields including war commemoration, the memory of conflict, history of

Anzac Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

labour history Labor history is a sub-discipline of social history which specializes on the history of the working classes and the labor movement. Labor historians may concern themselves with issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and other factors besides class ...

environmental history Environmental history is the study of Human impact on the environment, human interaction with the natural world over time, emphasising the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs and vice versa. Environmental history first emerged ...

, the history of mourning and bereavement, the politics of memorialisation, the history of protest, Indigenous history,

gender history Gender history is a sub-field of history and gender studies, which looks at the past from the perspective of gender. It is in many ways, an outgrowth of women's history. The discipline considers in what ways historical events and periodization im ...

and

digital history Digital history is the use of digital media to further historical analysis, presentation, and research. It is a branch of the digital humanities and an extension of quantitative history, cliometrics, and computing. Digital history is commonly know ...

Public history

Concurrent with his academic career, Scates has also acted as a public historian, through public appearances, lectures and opinion articles. He has written several opinion pieces for the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

and

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

newspapers, mostly on the topic of war remembrance and commemoration. He has also been involved in the production of documentaries for the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and

Māori Television Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

. In 1994 Scates was part of consultation with Karrajarri people that resulted in the addition of an extra plaque on Freemantle's Explorers' Monument, adding a

counter-narrative Dominant narratives, sometimes called dominant cultural narratives, are frequently-repeated stories that are shared in society through various social and cultural institutions. The term is most frequently used in pedagogy, the study of education. Do ...

to the monument's account of the La Grange expedition and massacre.

Awards and recognition

2020 – Fulbright 70th Anniversary Scholar Award 2017 – History Teachers' Association Award for Excellent and Sustained Contribution to the Teaching and Learning of History 2015 – Mevlana Fellowship (awarded by the

Government of Turkey The Government of Turkey () is the Central government, national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential system, presidential representative democracy and a Constitution of Turkey, constitutional republic wit ...

) 2015 – Ferguson Prize for Labour History 2014 – Elected Fellow of the

Academy of the 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 Aus ...

2014 – Shortlisted for the

Ernest Scott Sir Ernest Scott (21 June 1867 – 6 December 1939) was an Australian historian and professor of history at the University of Melbourne from 1913 to 1936. Early life Scott was born in Northampton, England, on 21 June 1867, the son of Hannah ...

Prize 2003 – NSW Quality Teaching Award 2002 – Australian Award for Outstanding University Teaching 1999 – NSW History Fellowship 1998 – NSW Premiers' Children's History Prize

Notable works

Scates, B. and Oppenheimer, M., ''The Last Battle: Soldier Settlement in Australia,'' Cambridge,

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2016 Scates, B., Wheatley, R. and James, L., ''World War One: A History in 100 Stories'',

Penguin Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...

, Melbourne, 2015 Scates, B. et al. ''Anzac Journeys: Returning to the Battlefields of World War II,'' Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013 Scates, B. ''On Dangerous Ground: A Gallipoli Story,''

University of Western Australia Press UWA Publishing, formerly known as the Text Books Board and then University of Western Australia Press, is a Western Australian publisher established in 1935 by the University of Western Australia. It produces a range of non-fiction and fiction ...

, 2012 Scates, B ''A Place to Remember: A History of the Shrine of Remembrance'', Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2009 Scates, B. ''Return to Gallipoli: Walking the Battlefields of the Great War'', Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2006 Scates, B. ''A New Australia: Citizenship, Radicalism and Labour’s First Republic'', Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997 Scates, B. and Frances, R., ''Women and the Great War, Cambridge'', Cambridge University Press, 1997

Personal

Bruce Scates lives in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

with his partner, Rae Frances; they have two adult children.

References

__FORCETOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Scates, Bruce 1957 births Living people Monash University alumni University of Melbourne alumni Academic staff of the Australian National University 20th-century Australian historians Australian documentary film producers Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia People from Sunshine, Victoria Academics from Melbourne 21st-century Australian historians Academic staff of Murdoch University Academic staff of Monash University Academic staff of the University of Auckland Academic staff of the University of New South Wales