Prof Lynette Russell - Researcher Profile

Lynette Russell

Address

Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies
Faculty of Arts, Clayton

Biography

An obsession with history

Professor Lynette Russell’s focus is on developing an anthropological approach to the story of the past. While her historical interests are far ranging – across the 18th to the 20th centuries, from Aboriginal people in the maritime industry, the Gunditjmara and Wurundjeri people of Victoria to the Smoki people in Prescott, Arizona – one of her major concerns is with the history of anthropology itself.

One thing Lynette enjoys most about her position is her engagement with other disciplines – she has co-authored two books with Monash archaeologist Associate Professor Ian J McNiven – and she is eager to help facilitate interdisciplinary opportunities for her graduate students as well.

“As a historian, and anthropological historian, I like working with the archaeologists. I like having the opportunity to work with the anthropologists we have in Geography, and the environmental scientists. I think it’s great for students to be able to bounce idea off two different schools of thought. That works really well for me.”

She also takes her engagement with other communities and cultures very seriously.

“One of those things in the area we work in is that you have to remind yourself that it’s an absolute privilege to work on, and with, indigenous groups and artefacts. It’s really important that you actually take it with a high standard of personal ethics. That includes engaging with the communities that are appropriate, talking to the appropriate people – just being a decent human being.”

Lynette is a strong believer in the importance of Indigenous studies as part of the curriculum.

“I’m very keen to see as many students as possible undertake Aboriginal studies units. Frankly, I think such subjects should be essential for every undergraduate, particularly arts graduates. People need to understand what it means to be living in a continent that had over 600 different tribal groups and 250 different languages.”

One of her most challenging projects has been attempting to learn one of those languages herself.

“It’s important to me, but frankly, it’s really, really hard to learn an Aboriginal language. My tongue does not seem to want to do what I want it to do. It dances in the wrong places, and it trips. So I would love to learn an Aboriginal language, but I think I’m going to have to content myself with maybe two sentences.”

Lynette has just begun an Australian Research Council Professorial fellowship, which will continue until 2016.

Qualifications

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Institution: University of Melbourne
Year awarded: 1996
BACHELOR OF ARTS (HONS)
Institution: La Trobe University
Year awarded: 1990

Publications

Books

McKemmish, S., Russell, L., Castan, M., Iacovino, L. (eds), 2012, Archival Science - Special Issue: Keeping Cultures Alive: Archives and Indigenous Human Rights, Springer, Dordrecht Netherlands.

Russell, L., 2012, Roving Mariners: Australian Aboriginal Whalers and Sealers in the Southern Oceans, 1790-1870, SUNY Press, Albany, United States.

McNiven, I.J., Russell, L., 2005, Appropriated Pasts: Indigenous Peoples and the Colonial Culture of Archaeology, AltaMira Press, Lanham USA.

Russell, L., 2002, A Little Bird Told Me: Family Secrets, Necessary Lies, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest NSW Australia.

Russell, L., 2001, Savage Imaginings: Historical and Contemporary Constructions of Australian Aboriginalities, Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty Ltd, Kew Vic Australia.

Book Chapters

Russell, L., 2012, Procuring passage: Southern Australian aboriginal women and the early maritime industry of sealing, in Indigenous Women and Work: From Labor to Activism, eds Carol Williams, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Illanois, pp. 60-72.

Russell, L.W., 2010, Learning from each other: language, authority, and authenticity in Kate Grenville's The Lieutenant, in Lighting Dark Places: Essays on Kate Grenville, eds Sue Kossew, Rodopi, Amsterdam, NL, pp. 199-210.

Russell, L., 2010, Reflections on Murray Black's writings, in Power and the Passion: Our Ancestors Return Home, eds Shannon Faulkhead and Jim Berg, Koorie Heritage Trust Inc, Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 56-60.

Russell, L., 2008, Imagined Landscapes: Edges of the (un) known, in Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, eds Bruno David and Julian Thomas, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, CA, USA, pp. 638-643.

McNiven, I.J., Russell, L.W., 2008, Towards a postcolonial archaeology of Indigenous Australia, in Handbook of Archaeological Thoeries, eds R Alexander Bentley Herbert D G Maschner and Christopher Chippindale, AltaMira Press, Lanham MD USA, pp. 423-443.

Faulkhead, S., Russell, L., Singh, D.M., McKemmish, S.M., 2007, Is community research possible within the Western academic tradition?, in Researching with Communities: Grounded perspectives on engaging communities in research, eds Andy Williamson and Ruth DeSouza, Muddy Creek Press, New Zealand, pp. 39-55.

Russell, L., 2006, Introduction, in Boundary Writing: An Exploration of Race, Culture, and Gender Binaries in Contemporary Australia, eds Lynette Russell, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu USA, pp. 1-17.

Russell, L., 2005, ''Either, or, Neither nor'' : Resisting the Production of Gender, Race and Class Dichotomies in the Pre-Colonial Period, in The Archaeology of Plural and Changing Identities, eds E Casella and C Fowler, Kluwer Academic and Plenum Publishers, New York NY USA, pp. 33-51.

Russell, L., 2002, Archaeology and Star Trek: exploring the past in the future, in Digging Holes in Popular Culture: Archaeology and Science Fiction, eds Miles Russell, Oxbow Books, Oxford UK, pp. 19-29.

McNiven, I.J., Russell, L., 2002, Ritual Response: Place marking and the colonial frontier in Australia, in Inscribed Landscapes: marking and making place, eds Bruno David and Meredith Wilson, University of Hawaii Press, Hawaii USA, pp. 27-41.

Russell, L.W., 2001, Introduction, in Colonial Frontiers: Indigenous - European encounters in settler society, eds Lynette Russell, Manchester University Press, Manchester UK, pp. 1-15.

Russell, L.W., 2001, Manikinned Displays, in A Museum for the people, eds Carolyn Rasmussen, Scribe Publications, Carlton Vic Australia, pp. 209-214.

Russell, L.W., McNiven, I.J., 2001, The Wurundjeri of Melbourne, in Endangered Peoples of Oceania: Struggles to Survive, eds Judith M. Fitzpatrick, The Greenwood Press, London UK, pp. 233-247.

Russell, L.W., 2000, Gone walkabout in the 1950s: images of 'Traditional' Australia, in Picturing the 'Primitif': images of race and daily life, Lhr Press, Canada Bay NSW, pp. 195-208.

Journal Articles

Jones, S., Russell, L., 2012, Archaeology, memory and oral tradition: An introduction, International Journal of Historical Archeology [E], vol 16, issue 2, Springer New York LLC, http://www.springer.com/social+sciences/anthropology+%26+archaeology/journal/10761, pp. 267-283.

McKemmish, S., Iacovino, L., Russell, L., Castan, M., 2012, Editors' introduction to Keeping cultures alive: Archives and Indigenous human rights, Archival Science [P], vol 12, issue 2, Springer, Dordrecht Netherlands, pp. 93-111.

Russell, L., 2012, Remembering places never visited: Connections and context in imagined and imaginary landscapes, International Journal of Historical Archeology [E], vol 16, issue 2, Springer, United States, pp. 401-417.

Boucher, L.D., Russell, L., 2012, 'Soliciting sixpences from township to township': moral dilemmas in mid-nineteenth-century Melbourne, Postcolonial Studies [P], vol 15, issue 2, Routledge, United Kingdom, pp. 149-165.

Ma Rhea, Z., Russell, L., 2012, The invisible hand of pedagogy in Australian Indigenous studies and Indigenous education, Australian Journal of Indigenous Education [P], vol 41, issue 2012, Cambridge University Press, UK, pp. 18-25.

Russell, L., 2011, Borrowed dances: appropriation, authenticity and performing 'identity' in Prescott, Arizona, 1921-1990, Australasian Drama Studies [P], vol 59, LaTrobe University Theatre and Drama Program, Australia, pp. 39-49.

McKemmish, S., Faulkhead, S., Russell, L., 2011, Distrust in the archive: Reconciling records, Archival Science [P], vol 11, issue 3-4, Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht Netherlands, pp. 211-239.

McKemmish, S., Iacovino, L., Ketelaar, E., Castan, M., Russell, L., 2011, Resetting relationships: archives and Indigenous human rights in Australia, Archives & Manuscripts [P], vol 39, issue 1, Australian Society of Archivists, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 107-144.

Russell, L., 2010, Repressed, resourceful and respected, The La Trobe Journal [P], vol 85, issue 1, State Library of Victoria Foundation, Australia, pp. 3-12.

Russell, L., 2008, A New Holland Half-Caste: Sealer and whaler Tommy Chaseland, History Australia - Journal of the Australian Historical Association, vol 5, issue 1, Monash University ePress, Victoria, Australia, pp. 08.1-08.15.

Russell, L., 2007, "Dirty domestics and Worse Cooks": Aboriginal women's agency and domestic frontiers, Southern Australia, 1800-1850, Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol 28, issue 1 & 2, University of Nebraska Press, USA, pp. 18-46.

Russell, L., Fee, M., 2007, 'Whiteness' and 'Aboriginality' in Canada and Australia: Conversations and Identities, Feminist Theory, vol 8, issue 2, SAGE Publications, UK, pp. 187-208.

Russell, L., 2006, Indigenous Knowledge and the Archives, Australian Indigenous Knowledge and Libraries, vol 36, issue 2, Australian Academic and research Libraries, Canberra ACT Australia, pp. 169-180.

Russell, L., 2006, Indigenous records and archives: mutual obligations and building trust, Archives and Manuscripts, vol 34, issue 1, Australian Society of Archivists Inc., Dickson ACT Australia, pp. 32-43.

Russell, L., 2005, Kangaroo Island Sealers and their Descendants: Ethnic and gender ambiguities in the archaeology of a creolised community, Australian Archaeology, vol 60, issue 1, Flinders University, SA Australia, pp. 1-5.

Russell, L., 2004, Drinking from the penholder: intentionality and archaelogical theory, Cambridge Archaeological Journal, vol 14, issue 1, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, pp. 64-67.

Russell, L., 2004, Indigenous community aspirationsheritage, education and the possibility of self-determination, The Artefact, vol 27, Archaeological and Anthropological Society of Victoria Inc., Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 23-28.

Russell, L., 2001, Bunjilaka Brooding, Meanjin, vol 60, issue 4, Meanjin Company Limited, Carlton Vic Australia, pp. 99-103.

Russell, L., 2001, 'The Wonderful beings they had captured': Reading the Exhibition of the Australian Wild Children, Journal of Australian Studies: Romancing the Nation, vol 70, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, pp. 57-62.

Russell, L., 2001, Where is the Past? Locating archaeological discourses and narratives in the Melbourne Museum, The Artefact, vol 23, Archaeological Society of Victoria, Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 3-8.

Russell, L., 2001, Writing a biographical history, Meanjin, vol 60, issue 3, Meanjin Company Limited, Carlton Vic Australia, pp. 142-151.

Russell, L., 2000, Well nigh impossible to describe: dioramas, displays and representations of Australian Aborigines, Australian Aboriginal Studies, vol issue 2, AIATSIS, Canberra ACT Australia, pp. 35-45.

Conference Proceedings

Russell, L., 2007, Indigenous Records and Archives: mutual Obligations and Building Trust, Made, Kept & Used, Celebrating 30 years of the Australian Society of Archivists, 5 April 2005, Australian Society of Archivists Inc., ACT, Australia, pp. 28-35.

Russell, L., 2003, Public records, private life: the study of one Aboriginal woman and her journey from non-citizen to citizen, From Study to Forum: Australian Women and Citizenship, 25 April 2003 to 26 April 2003, Aust. Fed.of University Women and the Monash School of Historical Studies, Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 48-53.

Other

Russell, L., 2006, Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800, The Australia Journal of Indigenous Education, vol 35, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit, Australia, pp. 117-119.

Russell, L., 2006, Shared Landscapes:Archaeologies of attachment and the pastoral industry in NSW, Australian Archaeology, vol 62, Australian Archaeological Assoc., Sydney NSW Australia, pp. 58-59.

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
'Mapping Dja Dja Wurrung and Yorta Yorta: Locating Identity in Time, Space and Kinship Networks' .
Supervisors:
Russell, L (Associate), Standfield, R (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
A place of not knowing: the history that forgot us and the lost generations.
Supervisors:
Russell, L (Main), Bradley, J (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Aboriginal Visual Histories: Photographing Indigenous Australians.
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main), Casey, M (Associate), Russell, L (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Aboriginal people and access to justice: Are their rights being protected..
Supervisors:
Castan, M (Joint-co), Russell, L (Joint).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Don McLeod of the Pilbara.
Supervisors:
Russell, L (Main), Hocking, J (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Mapping of Indigeneity in 'post-colonial' Australia.
Supervisors:
Gunstone, A (Main), Russell, L (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
The co-production of cultural knowledge in the Anmatyerr region.
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main), Russell, L (Associate), Brady, L (Associate), Standfield, R (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Unregistered and Invisible: An Examination of Indigenous Birth Certification and Registration in Aus.
Supervisors:
Castan, M (Joint-co), Russell, L (Joint).

Completed Supervision

Student:
Convery, S.
Program of Study:
Literature as political activism: literary representations of Indigenous Australia by Anglo and Indigenous writers & Big River. (PHD) 2012.
Supervisors:
Lokuge, C (Main), Russell, L (Associate).
Student:
Ellender, I.
Program of Study:
PITH-HELMETED EXPERTS AND GREENHORNS - APPROACHES TO CONDUCTING RESEARCH WITH INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES. (Masters) 2004.
Supervisors:
Russell, L (Main), Grindrod, J (Associate).
Student:
Faulkhead, S.
Program of Study:
Narratives of Koorie Victoria. (PHD) 2008.
Supervisors:
Russell, L (Main), Mckemmish, S (Associate).
Student:
Judd, B.
Program of Study:
Australian game, Australian identity: (post) colonial identity in football. (PHD) 2007.
Supervisors:
Russell, L (Main), Pritchard, S (Associate).
Student:
Woods, D.
Program of Study:
Why weren't we taught that in school? Australian Indigenous Studies is an Investment in the Nation. (Masters) 2004.
Supervisors:
Russell, L (Main).