School of Historical and Philosophical Studies - Theses
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ItemGeorge Eliot as historian : the social and political background to Middlemarch( 1974)Since its first publication in 1871-2, George Eliot's Middlemarch, has been studied and re-studied by literary critics of all castes and in the course of their resulting assessments many extreme statements have been made about its factual and historical veracity. This thesis has attempted to modify and rationalize such statements by the use of historical rather than literary criteria and to balance extravagant assertions about Eliot's ability as historian and social observer. From an historical point of view, Middlemarch contains a wealth of material for the scholar to study, covering as it does the period of agitation leading up to the passing of the 1832 Reform Act and comprehending the whole stratum of provincial society at that time. For the purpose of this thesis, it was impossible to cover all of the diverse elements included in the novel and many aspects which could well have found a place have of necessity been omitted. Some of these are the phenomenon of the successful Businessman of Evangelical leanings embodied in Mr. Bulstrode, the concept of early nineteenth century philanthropy as developed through the characters of Dorothea, Mr. Brooke and Mr. Bulstrode and the suggestion of an element of "women's liberation" in the outspokenness of the elder Miss Brooke. The aim of this thesis has been to discover, by means of a comparison with contemporary materials, whether Middlemarch may with Justice be used by the historian as a piece of documentary evidence and, following on this, whether any novel may be used in this way.
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ItemMcCrea, a matter of paradigms( 1980)
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ItemReligion and freethought in Melbourne, 1870 to 1890( 1960)The men and women who appear in this thesis are partof the first generation in the history of Europe to debatewidely and to reject religious belief. In Victoria theywere isolated from the main scenes of the struggle, theirnumbers were relatively insignificant, they made no originalor very influential contributions to the arguments,yet for them, a part of Europe on this tiny colonial stage,the drama was no less demanding on their consciences. Butbecause the stage was smaller, the central issues of thedebate emerge more clearly and simply than they do inEngland and America. By studying a microcosm of the controversyover "Religion and Science" in Victoria, we cangain some idea of the causes, and the magnitude of thegreat disturbance of belief that swept through the Christianworld in the later part of the Nineteenth Century.
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ItemShow business: a history of theatre in Victoria 1835-1948( 1949)...The material available to the student of the theatrical history of this State and Nation, is relatively sparse, and extremely scattered. Much has been covered in newspaper articles, but no attempt has ever been made to pull the material together and show it as part of a continuous story, superimposed upon the background of the political, social and economic history of the State. That is what I now attempt to do. If it does nothing more than bring the basic information within reasonable compass, I will not feel I have failed. If, on the other hand, it should arouse an interest in either the history or the practice of Theatre, in its widest sense, so that a multitude of young men and women may be rescued from the slough of saccharine sentimentality into which Hollywood has led them, to an increasing interest in legitimate Theatre, the development of which is considered by some to be a concomitant of National greatness, then I shall feel that I have indeed succeeded. (From introduction)
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ItemHow the south-east was held: aspects of the quadripartite interaction of Mount Gambier, Portland, Adelaide and Melbourne 1860-1917( 1977)This thesis examines aspects of the "perennial theme of discussion", acknowledging the involvement of four participants, viz., Mt. Gambier, Portland, Adelaide and Melbourne. The assertion of regional generality was supported by the fact that between 1866 and 1921 the Mt. Gambier district rarely contained less than 39% of the total population of the South-East of South Australia. Indeed, in 1911, over 48% of the region's population lived in the vicinity of Mt. Gambier. Furthermore, as Hirst noted, Mt. Gambier was the only old South Australian country town to maintain a steady rate of growth between 1870 and 1917. These facts contributed to the belief, to be longheld by both Adelaide and Melbourne, that Mt. Gambier was the key to the South-East of South Australia. The holding of Mt. Gambier was then thought to be a necessary precursor to the holding of the South-East. Learmonth and Logan have each produced very useful studies of the Victorian port of Portland and its hinterland. Their perceptions, however, remain essentially "Victorian". While the proximity of the border between Victoria and South Australia was acknowledged, no rigorous attempt was made to study historically its regional influence. This thesis also aims to remedy that situation. (From introduction)