War Stories:

Inquiry, Empathy, Imagination in the Telling of History

A Symposium at the Anzac Memorial Hyde Park in conjunction with The University of Sydney

Programme

War Stories programme 9.15-9.30am | Acknowledgment of Country and Introduction

Acknowledgment of Country

Julia Horne, University Historian, University of Sydney and Co-Director, Beyond 1914—The University of Sydney and the Great War

9.30-10am | Keynote address: History in the Classroom

Kate Smyth, Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney

10-10.15am | Morning tea

10.15-11.30am | Inquiry

• Curators, librarians, archivists and historians reveal a favourite historical item
• The role of objects, records, photographs and diaries in historical inquiry and the history and commemoration of war.
• Do historical items have stories to tell? How can they further historical inquiry

Brad Manera, Senior Historian and Curator, Anzac Memorial Hyde Park Nyree Morrison, Senior Archivist, University of Sydney Archives and Co-Director,
Beyond 1914—The University of Sydney and the Great War
Elise Edmonds, Senior Curator, State Library of New South Wales
Helen Anu, Curator First Peoples Project, Indigenous Programs, Australian National Maritime Museum

11.30–1pm | Imagination and creativity

• What do we mean by ‘historical imagination’ or the ‘historical imaginary’? Should imagination be part of the historian’s toolkit?
• What is the place of creativity in the telling of history?
• How can creativity and imagination assist with the teaching and re-presentation of the history and commemoration of war?

Anna Clark, Future Fellow and Associate Professor, School of Communication,
University of Technology Sydney
Robyn Ewing, Professor of Teacher Education and the Arts, University of Sydney
Ann Dawson, Principal, St James School, Yamba
Sarah Gurich, Director, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery

12.45-1.30pm | Lunch

1.30-3pm | The Anzac Memorial Learning Program – a creative approach to learning about history

Chair: Stephanie Hutchison, Head of Learning, Anzac Memorial Hyde Park

This session will explore the role theatre can play to ignite the imagination and bring history to life. Taking Morris Gleitzman’s monologue Loyal Creatures as an example of historical fiction, we will discuss how this is incorporated inWar-Stories-programmeto the Anzac Memorial’s Learning program and the ways in which students and teachers respond to the work.

3-3.15pm | Afternoon Tea

3.15 – 4.15pm | Empathy

• Is empathy important in history? Should empathy be in the historian’s toolkit?
• How does empathy help in the history and commemoration of war in the classroom?
• Do facts get in the way of a good story and how can ‘empathy’ help to keep true to history?

Alison O’Grady, Lecturer, Sydney School of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney
Anne-Maree Lewis, Teacher, St James Primary School, Yamba
Liz Gillroy, Project Officer, Beyond 1914—The University of Sydney and the Great War
Julia Horne, Associate Professor in History, University of Sydney

EVENING SESSION

4.30-5.45pm | The Star Ceremony + tour of exhibition spaces

6pm | Keynote Address

Stephen Gapps, Curator, Australian National Maritime Museum and author of The Sydney Wars–Conflict in the Early Colony 1788 – 1817 (New South 2018)

The first years of British occupation of Sydney continue to be depicted as a benign period of colonisation, marked by clashes, but rarely thought of as a period of war. Yet close scrutiny of the historical record suggests otherwise. Stephen Gapps will discuss how a ‘new military history’ approach can help us comprehend the conflict and violence of this period as war.

7pm | Drinks and Canapés

Download the War Stories programme (PDF 412KB)
Click here for map

More information
history.beyond1914@sydney.edu.au