The National Museum of Australia in partnership with the Humanities Research Centre at the Australian National University are delighted to welcome the inaugural summer scholars to Canberra in January and February 2023.
The summer scholars program provides scholarships for students who are in the third or fourth year of an undergraduate degree or undertaking early-stage postgraduate program. Applications were invited from students specialising in humanities and social sciences fields, who were interested in exploring traditional and non-traditional research outcomes.
2023 summer scholars (from left) Samuel Farr, Emily Tomlinson, Jade Croft and Evelyn Lambeth with National Museum Senior Curator Libby Stewart (centre)
Meet our 2023 summer scholars
Jade Croft
I am Jade Croft, an Indigenous student at James Cook University in North Queensland. I am in my final semester of a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English and Women’s Studies. I grew up in Innisfail, Queensland, on Mamu Country and my interest in Indigenous studies has inspired my research project for this summer scholars program. I wish to illuminate the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities, specifically the Torres Strait Islands. Through the Museum’s collections, I hope to showcase the resilience and adaptability of these communities as well as their rich culture.
Samuel Farr
Hello, I am Samuel, I’m a Master of Museum and Heritage Studies student at the Australian National University, originally from New Zealand. I am absolutely thrilled to be working on the National Museum of Australia’s new priority collection project relating to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer+ (LGBTIQ+) people, groups and communities.
Over the summer I am focusing in on early political activism in Australia, looking at the grassroots movements and the build-up to the gay liberation movement of the 1970s. Who were the organisations, people and places that started the push for social change here in Australia?
Evelyn Lambeth
Hi, my name is Evelyn Lambeth. I live, study, and work in lutruwita, Tasmania. My research interrogates colonial legacies, particularly how these legacies affect our food systems. I utilise an interdisciplinary approach, connecting history to food safety, multiculturalism, and food sustainability. I am thrilled to be working in conjunction with Australia National University and National Museum Australia as a summer scholar.
My chosen project will interrogate colonial legacies of wheat production in New South Wales and the subsequent effects on our changing climate. I hope to creatively give a voice to more-than-human beings such as seeds, soil, and water who have been harnessed by humans to transform natural landscapes. Objects from the National Museum’s collection as well as archival sources within Australia National University’s libraries will guide my research alongside First Nations scholarship and scientific knowledge to encapsulate the entire picture, or 'sow the wholegrain'.
Emily Tomlinson
Hi, I’m Emily Tomlinson and I am a proud Yuin woman. I have a strong interest in Australian Indigenous histories, cultures, and knowledges as well as early-modern Europe. I have an Honours degree in history and a bachelor’s degree in history and the history and philosophy of science, I am commencing my Master of Museum and Heritage Studies at the Australian National University.
My project with the National Museum of Australia and the Australian National University Humanities Research Centre is focused on Indigenous truth-telling. My project discusses truth-telling through visual material, with a focus on Aboriginal art. Truth-telling is important to Indigenous communities and reconciliation, as it allows us to show and express our culture, it also allows us to correct narratives that have long ignored and misrepresented our people.
Contact
For further information or inquiries, please contact:
Libby Stewart
Senior Curator, Research and Partnerships
National Museum of Australia
libby.stewart@nma.gov.au
Professor Kylie Message
Head, Humanities Research Centre
Australian National University
kylie.message@anu.edu.au
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