The Militarisation of Australian History

Marilyn Lake grew up in Tasmania, where she completed her undergraduate and Master’s degrees in History. Marilyn moved to Melbourne in 1976 and enrolled in a PhD degree in History at Monash University.
Marilyn subsequently held academic positions at Monash University, The University of Melbourne and La Trobe University, where she also served as Associate Dean Research and was appointed Charles La Trobe Professor in History in 2010.

Marilyn held Visiting Professorial Fellowships at Stockholm University, ANU, the University of Sydney, the University of Western Australia and the University of Maryland. Between 2001 and 2002 she held the Chair in Australian Studies at Harvard University.

In the last ten years Marilyn has mainly been in research positions supported by two ARC Australian Professorial Fellowships.

Marilyn Lake was elected Fellow of the Academy of Humanities of Australia in 1995; and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia in 1999. She is currently President of the Australian Historical Association.

Marilyn has published widely on the impact of war on Australian society. The Limits of Hope: Soldier Settlement in Victoria 1915-38 won the Harbison-Higinbotham prize and was short-listed for the Age Book of the Year in 1987. Other books include her biography FAITH: Faith Bandler Gentle Activist which won the HREOC award for non-fiction in 2002; Creating a Nation written with Patricia Grimshaw, Ann McGrath and Marian Quartly which also won the HREOC prize for non-fiction in 1994, while Drawing the Global Colour Line: White Men’s Countries and the Question of Racial Equality won the Prime Minister’s prize for non-fiction in 2009.

Marilyn is also the co-author of “What’s Wrong with ANZAC? The Militarisation of Australian History” published by NewSouth in 2010; whose blurb states:
“In recent years Anzac – an idea as much as an actual army corps – has become the dominant force within Australian history, overshadowing everything else. The commemoration of Anzac Day is bigger than ever, while Remembrance Day, VE Day, VP Day and other military anniversaries grow in significance each year. Pilgrimages to Gallipoli, the Somme and Kokoda are commonplace and popular military history dominates the bestseller lists. Anzac has seemingly become a sacred, untouchable element of the nation. In this brave and controversial book, some of Australia’s leading historians dare to criticise Anzac. They show that the Anzac obsession distorts the rest of Australia’s history.”

Defence security policy requires you to advise the RUSI Office of your attendance and the name of all your guests, either by email to martin.holme@defence.gov.au or phone 9282 5918. These names are provided to Security to issue Access Passes. If your name is not on the list, you will experience a delay in gaining access and thus the lecture. Please remember to bring a photo ID with you.

Time: 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Coffee and tea from 11:30 a.m.

Date: 25 September 2014.

Location: Auditorium 1, Defence Plaza, 661 Bourke Street, Melbourne.

Entrance fee: $10.00