Charlotte Jean Macdonald is a New Zealand historian. After studying as an undergraduate at

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

, she earned her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from

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 ...

and is now a professor at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

Early life

Macdonald has 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 ...

(

Honours Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...

) from

, and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

from the

. The title of her 1986 doctoral thesis was ''Single Women as Immigrant Settlers in New Zealand, 1853–1871''.

Professional career

Macdonald is a professor of history at

. Her areas of expertise include: 19th century colonies and empires; New Zealand history; gender and women's history; and cultural history of bodies, modernity, sport and spectating. Her work has been marked by innovative approaches to historical research methodology and story-telling. For example, in her 1990 book ''A Woman of Good Character'', she analysed the data connected to the lives of over 4,000 women, in combination with more conventional historical archival work, to understand a large migrant group: single women who came to New Zealand in the 19th century. She has also edited a number of collections of New Zealand women's historical primary material, greatly increasing the availability of such material. Macdonald wrote the Te Ara – Encyclopedia of New Zealand entry on "Women and Men" in New Zealand history. Macdonald was awarded a

Marsden Fund Marsden Fund grants are contestable funding for investigator-led fundamental research in New Zealand. Grants are made in all areas of research in science, engineering, and mathematics. The grants are made from the Marsden Fund, which was establish ...

grant in 2014 for a project entitled "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Settler: Garrison and Empire in the Nineteenth Century", which has developed into th
Soldiers of Empire
project. She was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi in 2017.

Selected works

* ''A Woman of Good Character: Single Women as Immigrant Settlers in Nineteenth-century New Zealand''

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It became one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and established an Australian ...

, 1990. * ''The Book of New Zealand Women / Ko kui ma te kaupapa'' with

Merimeri Penfold Merimeri Penfold (née Roberts, 26 May 1920 – 1 April 2014) was a New Zealand Māori educator. She is thought to have been the first Māori woman to teach Māori language at a New Zealand university. Biography Penfold was born at Te Hāpua ...

Bridget Williams Books Bridget Williams Books is a New Zealand book publisher, established in 1990 by Bridget Williams. Establishment Williams established the company in 1990 when the company she was working for, Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a Brit ...

, 1991. * ''The Vote, the Pill and the Demon Drink: A History of Feminist Writing in New Zealand, 1869–1993'',

, 1993. * ''Women in History'' (editor, with

Barbara Brookes Barbara Lesley Brookes (born 1955) is a New Zealand historian and academic. She specialises in women's history and medical history. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2022. Biography Brookes completed a bachelor's ...

and Margaret Tennant), Bridget Williams Books, 1992. *''My Hand Will Write What my Heart Dictates, The Unsettled Lives of Women in Nineteenth-Century New Zealand,''

, 1996''.'' (editor, with Frances Porter), *''Women and Crime in New Zealand Society 1888–1910''

BA (hons) 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 degree ...

thesis,

References

External links

Google Scholar profile

Institutional homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Charlotte 20th-century New Zealand historians 21st-century New Zealand historians Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand Living people Massey University alumni New Zealand women historians University of Auckland alumni Academic staff of Victoria University of Wellington 1950 births Recipients of Marsden grants