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9781743058268

A Historian Against the Current

The life and work of Austin Gough

Don Longo

The life and work of Australian historian Austin Gough (1926-1997) reflect the paradoxes and contradictions of Australia's intellectual and political life during the 20th century. After a difficult childhood and dispiriting early careers, he had a meteoric rise in the academy, in the UK (Warwick University) and Australia (Monash and Adelaide), with writings on the Catholic Church and a reputation as an inspirational teacher.

An erudite conservative with a matchless flair for polemics and a taste for controversy, Gough became a harsh critic of a left-leaning academy and the radicalism of the post-1968 generation in the Labor governments from 1975 to 1996. More broadly, his critiques articulate a cultural crisis in the West as new ideological perspectives contested Australia's traditional certainties, the legacies of British colonialism and the post-War social and political compact.

His life and work shed light on what it means to be an Australian public intellectual and academic. They also contain important lessons in personal fortitude and public audacity.

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Donato (Don) Longo is a graduate in history from the University of Adelaide (1980) and completed his doctorate at the Universite de Paris VIII (1985). He worked at Adelaide University from 1985 until his retirement, in university management, languages and multicultural policy, and teaching modern European history. He has written on 20th century French and German history, Australian immigration since the 1920s and World War I. Recent publications include Terra Lasci, Terra Trovi: From Molinara to Adelaide: The History of a Southern Italian Community in South Australia, 1927-2007 (Lythrum Press, 2010) and 'The Ties that Bind': Southern Yorke Peninsula and the Great War 1914-1919: The War Diary and Letters of Sidney P. King, of Koolywurtie, SA (Ardrossan RSL, 2015).

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ISBN   9781743058268
CATEGORY   
IMAGES   Black-and-white sections
PAGE COUNT   282
DIMENSIONS   210 x 140 mm