Pascoe's PhD thesis at Murdoch University was published as The Manufacture of Australian History (1979) and was short listed for the Oxford Quincentenary Award 1978. He wrote his first (unpublished) novel in Latin at the age of 15, and gained further experience by writing newsletters for his family and friends in Scouts. As Dean, Faculty of Arts, Victoria University of Technology he wrote many academic papers on humanities education and reform in Australia. He also wrote extensively on history and historiography, as well as local histories, especially exploring the immigration experience, and dealing with themes from Italy to Aussie Rules. In 1982 he was awarded the Charles Warren Fellowship, adding time at Harvard already gained from his 1981 Harkness Fellowship award.
