Cirrus@Austlit

'Our first general issue for the year once again demonstrates the vitality of Australian studies, exploring topics that range from 1970s feminist activism to postcolonial soundscapes and Cold War intrigues. The work included here continues to broaden thinking on Australian identity, culture and history, and it extends the very live conversation about the place, and its many communities, that we call Australia. This live-ness seems appropriate for our uncertain times in which the horror of international war, the unsettling threats of climate change and, domestically, potential upheavals in our federal political landscape with an upcoming election are playing out amid the uncertainties of the ongoing COVID pandemic and post-lockdown Australia. Within the scholarly field itself, the ongoing assault on the humanities by political leaders represents another source of unease. Yet even in these times of extraordinary pressure, researchers keep producing crucial work.' (Brigid Magner and Emily Potter, Editorial introduction)