Ann Curthoys, (born 5 September 1945) is an Australian historian and academic.

Early life and education

Ann Curthoys face detail, from- Ann Curthoys and Louise Higham interview residents at Moree Aborigial Station 17 Feb 1965 (cropped)

Curthoys was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, New South Wales, on 5 September 1945, and completed her undergraduate degree at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. In 1965, she took part in the Freedom Ride which highlighted racism against Aboriginal Australians in several towns. She completed a PhD at

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

in 1973 and subsequently worked as a tutor and research assistant.

Academic career

In 1976, Curthoys established the Women's Studies Program at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

(ANU) after becoming active in the women's movement in 1970. She taught at the

University of Technology, Sydney The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a public research university located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although its origins are said to trace back to the 1830s, the university was founded in its current form in 1988. As of 2021 ...

from 1978 to 1995, when she returned to the ANU to take up the Chair of History. Curthoys was the

Group of Eight The Group of Eight (G8) was an inter-governmental political forum from 1997 until 2014. It had formed from incorporating Russia into the Group of Seven, or G7, and returned to its previous name after Russia left in 2014. The forum originated ...

Visiting Professor of Australian Studies at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 2003 and 2004. In addition to her teaching work, Curthoys has extensively published on Australian history and

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

. Curthoys retired in 2013, but remains active as a researcher, writer and supervisor of graduate students at the University of Sydney.

Recognition

In 1997, Curthoys was elected to the

Academy of Social Sciences in Australia The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Austr ...

. She was also elected to the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

in 2003. In 2013 she was awarded the Annual History Citation by the History Council of NSW for "her outstanding contributions as an historian to teaching, scholarship and the community". In 2019 the

Australian Historical Association Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

inaugurated the Ann Curthoys Prize, to be awarded for the best unpublished article-length work by an early career researcher. In 2019 Curthoys was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's History Awards for ''Taking Liberty: Indigenous Rights and Settler Self-Government in Colonial Australia, 1830–1890'', co-authored with Jessie Mitchell. Curthoys was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours for "significant service to tertiary education, to social history, and to research".

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curthoys, Ann 1945 births Australian historians Australian National University faculty Members of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of the Humanities Living people Macquarie University alumni People from Sydney University of Sydney alumni University of Sydney faculty University of Technology Sydney faculty