Desley Deacon (born 1941) is an Australian sociologist, historian and biographer. She has been professor emeritus 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 ...

since 2009.

Early life and education

Deacon was born in Pomona,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in 1941. She is the daughter of Molly (née Head) and Frank Straker. She boarded at

St Margaret's Anglican Girls School St Margaret's Anglican Girls School is a private, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls. The school is located in Ascot, an inner-northern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school was founded in 1895 by the Sisters of the So ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

for her high school education. In 1963 she graduated from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

with a BA (Hons). She was awarded a PhD in Sociology in 1986 by the Australian National University.

Career

Following her graduation, in 1964 Deacon won a place in the Administrative Training Program established by the Commonwealth Public Service Board. Her career there was, however, interrupted when she married Allan Deacon, a diplomat and accompanied him on postings to Cairo, Malta and Saigon. Returning to Canberra in 1975 she was employed as a research assistant at the ANU's Research School of Social Sciences. Moving to the Sociology Department at the ANU as tutor in 1979, she enrolled in PhD studies. Deacon married John Higley in 1985 and moved to the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, working initially as a lecturer in government and later assistant professor. She was co-director of the Clark Center for Australian Studies there from 1988 to 1991 and in 1999 was appointed director of women's and gender studies. Returning to the Research School of Social Sciences in Canberra in 2001, she was appointed professor of gender history. As head of the Department of History for two terms, 2002–2004 and 2007–2008, she oversaw the foundation of both the Australian Centre for Indigenous Studies (2003) and the National Centre of Biography (2008). Deacon was elected Fellow of the

Academy of the 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 ...

in 2002. Deacon has served on a number of editorial boards, including of three journals '' Genders,'' ''History Australia'' and ''ANU Lives'', and the

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...

and ANU E-Press. On her retirement from the Australian National University in 2009 she was appointed professor emeritus. A two-day symposium, organised by the ANU School of History, with the title "Entitled Gender, Biography, Modernity & Film", honoured Deacon's career. She lives in Sydney, New South Wales and is a reviewer for the

Australian Book Review ''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are 'to ...

. Her biography of Judith Anderson was shortlisted for the 2019 George Freedley Memorial Award by the Theatre Library Association in the United States.

Works

* * * * * * *

References

External links

*
2013 interview
with Katie Valenta
Desley Deacon
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deacon, Desley 1941 births Living people University of Queensland alumni Australian National University alumni Academic staff of the Australian National University Australian sociologists Australian women historians Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia People educated at St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School