Cirrus@Austlit

'It is my pleasure to welcome you to the eighth issue of the Australian Academy of the Humanities’ flagship publication, Humanities Australia, edited by Emeritus Professors Elizabeth Webby and Graham Tulloch. This publication is one of the many ways in which our Academy supports excellence in the humanities and communicates their value to the public. It showcases some of the most exciting current work of humanities researchers throughout Australia. For almost fifty years, the Academy has been dedicated to advancing scholarship and promoting understanding of the humanities across our education and research sectors, and in the broader community. Founded by Royal Charter in 1969, the Academy now comprises close to six hundred Fellows elected on the basis of the excellence and impact of their scholarship. Our Fellows have been recognised nationally and internationally for outstanding work in the disciplines of archaeology, art, Asian and European studies, classical and modern literature, cultural and communication studies, language and linguistics, philosophy, musicology, history and religion. Humanities Australia draws on the ideas and inspiration of its Fellows and others in the community with an interest in the humanities. It aims to demonstrate that an understanding of cultures and communities, of how people experience the world and their place in it, have a major role to play in discussions about Australia and its future. We hope you enjoy the selection of essays, stories and poems presented here – a small taste of the quality, range and depth of research currently under way in the humanities in Australia' (John Fitzgerald Welcome)