'Historical inquiry is inextricably linked to the political, economic and social events that have influenced and ultimately shaped the individual, the community and the nation. Historians of today are asking broader and more informed questions than ever before and are exploring new and innovative, but ironically, ever present sources and methodologies to unravel how such events have sculpted Australia and Australians. Words and speaking, listening and engagement, literacy — or the lack of an ability to perform these skills — seem to have by-passed the historians' notice as a means of seeking answers to questions of gender, race or class power struggles that have forged a uniquely Australian identity and resulted in the development of Australian English...' (Introduction)
