Jill Julius Matthews (born 1949) is an Australian social and feminist historian. She is emeritus professor in the College of Arts and Social Sciences 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 ...

. Matthews was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1949. She studied at Grange Primary School and then won a scholarship to Methodist Ladies College in Adelaide. She then went to the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

where she began a law degree, changed to arts/law and graduated with a BA (hons) in 1970. While tutoring at Flinders University, Matthews began a PhD, supervised by

Hugh Stretton Emeritus, Professor emeritus Hugh Stretton (15 July 1924 – 18 July 2015) was an Australian historian who wrote books on politics, urban planning and economics, and a Rhodes Scholar. He was a key figure in the development and implementation of ...

, at the University of Adelaide. While completing her PhD she worked as part-time tutor and lecturer and a number of tertiary institutions in Adelaide. She rewrote her PhD thesis, which was published as ''Good and Mad Women: The Historical Construction of Femininity in Twentieth Century Australia'' by

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

. In her 1987 review, British historian Catherine Hall considered it to be an "essential starting point for British readers into the rapidly extending world of Australian feminist history". Matthews was awarded a Nancy Keesing Fellowship by the State Library of New South Wales in 2004. Her 2005 book, ''Dance Hall and Picture Palace,'' won the prize for best monograph presented by the Film and History Association of Australia and New Zealand. It was also shortlisted for the

Queensland Premier's Literary Award The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

for History. Her papers are held in the Australian National University Archives.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Jill Julius 1949 births Living people University of Adelaide alumni Australian National University faculty Australian women historians