History Commons^™

Here For Good: Anzac Spirituality, Daniel Reynaud

Daniel Reynaud

Here For Good is a podcast series from leading researchers at Avondale College of Higher Education. This episode features Anzac historian Associate Professor Daniel Reynaud in conversation with Associate Dean (Research) Dr Carolyn Rickett.

From The Trenches: Cross-Campus Digital History Collaboration, Amy E. Lucadamo, Ian A. Isherwood, R.C. Miessler, Jenna Fleming, Meghan E. O'Donnell

R.C. Miessler

In September 2015, our team launched The First World War Letters of H.J.C. Peirs (www.jackpeirs.org), a digital history initiative built on collaboration between faculty, students, and library staff. The project is founded on amazing primary source material, but with limited financial support and little dedicated staff time. We leveraged the creativity and hard work of our team members to build a website that is maintained by students and enhanced whenever possible with features and commentary from faculty and staff. Members of #TeamPeirs discussed the evolution of the project, the nature of our collaboration, and the intersection of audiences …

Running Wires: Digital History In The Classroom And The Field, Ian A. Isherwood, Amy E. Lucadamo, R.C. Miessler

R.C. Miessler

The First World War Letters of H.J.C. Peirs is a digital history project that publishes the letters of a British World War I officer 100 years to the day they were written. By telling the story of one person, we have aimed to humanize a dehumanizing war and supported the effort to commemorate the centennial of the conflict. While the project was conceived with pedagogy in mind, it has grown beyond the letters and crossed boundaries: from the analog to the digital, from the classroom to the public, and from the archives to the field.

The People In The Papers: The Seaman Identification Card Of Joseph Sofka, Elizabeth D. James

Elizabeth D. James

According to the enclosed documents, at the age of eighteen, Joseph Sofka enlisted as a Merchant Marine in Pittsburgh after traveling there from his hometown of Wheeling. A frequently little known branch of the armed forces, Merchant Marines were responsible for ferrying cargo from the United States to the front lines in Europe and the Pacific, and were instrumental in maintaining supply lines to sustain the troops overseas. Merchant Marine ships had to avoid submarines, ships, and mines from the enemy, making a seemingly simple task into a deadly effort. As a result, the Merchant Marines had the highest casualty …

The Strategic Assessment Model (Stratam): Studying And Preventing Strategic Failure, Hans-Joachim Klaus Ruff-Stahl

Hans-Joachim Ruff-Stahl

The purpose of this study is to introduce the Strategic Assessment Model (STRATAM), a model designed to assist in the prevention of strategic failure. STRATAM aids firstly in the assessment of a strategy, as well as its crafting and evolution; secondly, it aims to enable and possibly streamline civil-military strategic debates on military operations. It is argued that strategic blunders in many cases result from latent organizational failures on one’s own side. Therefore, STRATAM combines Clausewitz’ theory of war and strategy with organizational failure theory. To demonstrate the use of this model, this paper uses Operation Cast Lead (or the …

Canal Boy To President 1881 Miller Ed.Pdf, Jon Miller

Jon Miller

No abstract provided.

War Aims And War Aims Discussions (China), Lukas K. Danner

Dr. Lukas K. Danner

No abstract provided.

Serbia Under The Swastika: A World War Ii Occupation, Nick Miller

Nick Miller

Part 4: Battle With Uss Kearsarge, Jack L. Dickinson

Jack L Dickinson

“June 19: Lying off Cherbourg. Moderate breeze from the westward. At 10:20 am discovered the Alabama steaming out of the port of Cherbourg, accompanied by a French ironclad steamer and a fore-and-aft rigged steamer, showing the white English ensign. Beat to general quarters and cleared for action. Steamed ahead, standing offshore, being distant from land about 2 leagues; altered our course and approached the Alabama." Official Records of Union and Confederate Navies, I, 3, p.64.

Part 5: Exploration & Excavation, Jack L. Dickinson

Jack L Dickinson

During June and July 2001, the American CSS Alabama Association and the French Association CSS Alabama carried out an archaeological investigation of the remains of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama. Under the direction of Dr. Gordon P. Watts Jr., American and French archaeologists, French volunteer divers and French Navy personnel cooperated in an examination of the wreck that took place between 6 June and 4 July. Objectives for the investigation included video and 35mm photographic documentation of the wreck, limited test excavation in the officer’s quarters and recovery of selected artifacts exposed on the bottom surface. Unfortunately the most …

Part 6: Miscellaneous And Bibliography, Jack L. Dickinson

Jack L Dickinson

The Alabama claims were a diplomatic dispute between the United States and Great Britain that arose out of the U.S. Civil War. The peaceful resolution of these claims 7 years after the war ended set an important precedent for solving serious international disputes through arbitration, and laid the foundation for greatly improved relations between Britain and the United States.

Part 2: Officers And Crew, Jack L. Dickinson

Jack L Dickinson

During the Civil War naval officers were divided into four categories for purposes of berthing and messing aboard ship: cabin, wardroom, steerage, and forward officers. The captain had a private state room, and higher ranking officers had small cabins, while lower ranks only had individual lockers. This was the arrangement of the officers of the CSS Alabama.

Part 3: Cruise Of The Alabama, Jack L. Dickinson

Jack L Dickinson

“The Alabama was built for speed rather than battle. Her lines were symmetrical and fine; her material of the best. In fifteen minutes her propeller could be hoisted, and she could go through every evolution under sail without any impediment. In less time her propeller could be lowered; with sails furled, and yards braced within two points of a headwind, she was a perfect steamer. Her speed, independent, was from ten to twelve knots; combined, and under favorable circumstances, she could make fifteen knots. When ready for sea she drew fifteen feet of water.” Century Magazine, 31, April 1886, p.911.

Part 1: Building Ship No. 290, Jack L. Dickinson

Jack L Dickinson

Classified as a bark-rigged sloop-of-war known as “hull 290,” built by Laird Shipbuilders in England, launched 15 May 1862.

Revisiting The Secular Anzac: The Anzacs And Religion, Daniel Reynaud

Daniel Reynaud

One of the 'givens' of the Anzac myth is that by and large the Australian soldier is not interested in religion.

Session B-2: Pirates: Past And Present, Kitty Lam

Kitty Lam

Piracy has endured for as long as maritime trade has existed. From the ancient Mediterranean world to the modern-day Somali coast, pirates have threatened merchant ships. The legacy of piracy has inspired countless songs, poems, novels, and movies. Who were pirates? What did they want? Where did they go? How did they interact with states? Students have internalized stereotypes about pirates from popular culture, but rarely consider these questions about piracy. This workshop will examine the significance of piracy in world history through texts and visual material. Case studies will be global, but focus on the early modern period.

Napalm: More Than A Weapon, Edwin Martini

Edwin A. Martini

This book will explore the military, political, and cultural history of napalm across time and space. Moving beyond the Vietnam War, this book will examine the use of napalm by the United States in World War Two, Korea, and elsewhere, and its proliferation in other countries’ arsenals as well. It will also explore the many cultural representations of napalm in the post-Vietnam war world.

Review: Sylvia Martin, 'Ink In Her Veins: The Troubled Life Of Aileen Palmer', (Crawley: Uwa Publishing, 2016)., Rowan Cahill

Rowan Cahill

Review: Sylvia Martin, 'Ink In Her Veins: The Troubled Life Of Aileen Palmer', (Crawley: Uwa Publishing, 2016)., Rowan Cahill

Rowan Cahill

Religion And The Anzac Legend On Screen, Daniel Reynaud

Daniel Reynaud

This article explores the (non)relationship between religion and the Anzac story in Australian cinema and television dramas. It draws parallels between the absence of religious discussion in written literature and popular memory and the same absences in Anzac cinema. Anzac cinema has idealised and glorified the Anzac soldier, relocating spirituality from a religious force to a secular nationalism. The rare productions that show an engagement between religion and Anzac portray religion as a spent force in comparison to the new spirit of secular Anzac.

Fighting Mac: The Anzac Chaplain, Daniel Reynaud

Daniel Reynaud

Ask Australians who was the most famous Anzac of the First World War and most will probably answer, "Simpson, the man with the donkey". But while Simpson is a household name in Australia today, the soldiers who fought in the First World War would give a different answer.

“The Geographic Science Of War: The Archduke Carl, Habsburg Military Theory And Reaction To Revolution.”, Lee Eysturlid

Lee W. Eysturlid

This paper will explore the theoretical, and in places practical application, of the works of the Archduke Carl as commander of Habsburg forces between 1794 and 1809. It will also look at the broader, systematic writings that he engaged in after his permanent retirement in 1815. These created a measured response that combined geographic and military thinking in a way uniquely suited to the Habsburg political and social reality.

Session A-1: The Cuban Missile Crisis: Understanding The Impact Of Personality On Leadership, Lee Eysturlid

Lee W. Eysturlid

This session will explore the impact of the various types of personalities that were involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis. These differences had a direct impact on the way each leader reacted to the stresses and demands of the crisis as well as their own political objectives. Attendees will come away with an immediately teachable topic on world leadership and the Cuban Crisis as an event.

Session B-2: Why World War I? Being Intelligent About The Causes, Lee Eysturlid

Lee W. Eysturlid

This presentation will guide attendees through the complicated and often misrepresented ideas that have formed around understanding why it is that World War I started the way that it did. The focus will be mostly on the military and technological elements. Participants will be ready to teach the topic when they leave, and it suits US and World History teachers (and middle school).

The Power Of The Purse, George W. Geib

George W. Geib

The Army finance office was born two centuries ago in the midst of the American Revolution. From the golden orle insignia that legend reports was first authorized by George Washington, to the outline of its modern functions and limitations that emerged during the war, the service took form in the critical years of the struggle for independence.

The Horns Of The North: Historical Sources Of J. R. R. Tolkien's Trilogy, George Geib

George W. Geib

Few books have enjoyed the publishing success seen in the last decade by J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Since the time of its paperback appearance in 1965 the work has not only attracted wide popular readership but has also stimulated a considerable body of scholarly criticism.1 As a work of fantasy, Tolkien's tale of struggle surrounding a ring of power has attracted most of its commentators to the areas of myth and linguistics, two of the sources upon which the author relied most heavily. Yet for all its epic dimensions, the trilogy has …

The Diary Of Calvin Fletcher And The Historians, George W. Geib

George W. Geib

While we all make New Year's resolutions, few of us ever keep them with the tenacity that Calvin Fletcher kept the one he apparently made on this day. The diary that he had begun in fragmentary fashion in 1817 and continued intermittently to 1829, he maintained religiously thereafter. In so doing, he provided us with an extraordinary record of his life and times. Published in nine volumes by the Indiana Historical Society from 1972 to 1983, The Diary of Calvin Fletcher represents perhaps the single most important printed source for understanding Indiana's history. In commemoration of Fletcher's two-hundredth birthday on …

The Use Of Miniatures In Gaming, George W. Geib

George W. Geib

The world of the miniature lies somewhere between the collector's and the historian's and owes its current popularity to the world of wargaming. But the origins of the miniature lie far from the simulation in the field of artisan crafts.

Heroic Gunners Saved The Day, Mark Jamieson

Mark Jamieson

A PUSH is underway to have Australian gunners who repelled one of the biggest enemy attacks of the Vietnam War honoured for their role.The men overcame catastrophic command and intelligence failures to win the Battle of Coral in May 1968 but have received little recognition.

Denis Kevans: Poet, Rowan Cahill

Rowan Cahill

A brief account of the poetry of Australian social movement poet Denis Kevans (1939-2005).