I am content. The professor I chose for my historiography class has approved my choice of a research topic with no reservations or criticism: the formation of the Australian sense of self in the period 1890-1915.
Do not read unless you’re interested in a relatively minor aspect of my academic career.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Sounds interesting, Christopher. Will that necessitate a trip to Oz?
Is that ‘sense of self’ as in ‘national identity’, Christopher?
Boadicea: unfortunately, no. There are enough resources available here to preclude the need from flying to Australia.
Bearsy: yes, it is — Australia as an entity separate from Britain.
I am interested to know why you stop at 1915, during the Great War, as opposed to the end or even its beginning. I would have thought the war, more than most events, helped define the Australian identity and as such must be examined in its entirety. I appreciate that Gallipoli played a particularly significant role, but even that went on until 1916 and its consequences must have impacted the Australian psyche. Or was the Gallipoli campaign itself deliberately chosen as the termination point of the study, and if so, may I ask why?
Boadicea and I discussed your research topic on the smoking terrace; we came up with quite a range of different dimensions that you may already be considering for exploration – like “which national identity?”, and “in which socio-economic grouping?”, and “was Federation actually a driver?”, and so on.
Edited by Boadicea
Good luck, Christopher. It is a very interesting topic indeed.
Sipu: the problem with this paper is that I am being given very little freedom in how it is written. It is also a critical paper — the one on which my getting a history paper depends.
I chose 1915 because of Gallipoli, yes. Because of space limitations I had to pare everything down to just what is necessary for the overall topic. The problem with going too much into detail with Gallipoli is that I would have to, according to the assignment requirements, change the topic to the impact of Gallipoli on the Australian psyche. That topic might be somewhat too ambitious and on this paper I simply cannot afford to be too ambitious for my own good.
Boadicea: keeping within the frame of time, it would be an Australian identity, but within a greater British world. (Australia as a country in its own right, but lacking its own citizenship and complete independence de jure or de facto, federation was an important detail, but it was still only a step towards full independence) The bulk of the research and materials used would focus on the middle class, though I would out of necessity touch on the pollies.
Shermeen: thank you for your kind words.
Actually, Christopher it was Bearsy who wrote #5!
It sounds as if you are fairly restricted in what you can cover.
I love the way you describe federation as a ‘detail’! In reality, it was probably the 1986 Australia Act that finally set the seal on ‘Independence’ – and there are many who will never regard Australia as truly independent until it is a Republic.
Boadicea: yes, I am. I have to have a certain per centage of primary sources, a certain percentage of secondary sources, and I have to use technical language.
I described “detail” as such because Australia was not truly independent and, according to many of the primary sources I have already read, many continued to call Britain “home” and the “mother country”. This would continue for some time, yes, well beyond Gallipoli. Thus, my paper would have to deal with Australianess in a highly nebulous form.
Hi Chris, thanks for your response. Answers my question nicely.
Actually Christopher, I wrote a far longer comment which my dear partner and Chariot Supremo, Boadicea, in her infinite wisdom, ‘editorialised’ beyond recognition.
Any words that remain are hers alone, so you were correct to address your reply to her.
Dulce et decorum est pro uxore mori, … sed –
Just wait until the next technical problem crops up! 😀
Sounds like a difficult task, Christopher, to remain objective in your paper, since I presume a lot of your sources will be very subjective. Good luck.
Bearsy, you used the wrong verb. For “mori” substitute “tacere”.
I take it this will be a hand written dissertation with some form of high quality writing implement? 🙂
I trust the Elite is still tweaking your gabbleblotchits?
Sheona – that’s the very word! I can only plead senility! 😳
Interesting choice, Christopher.
Good luck.
Ferret: no, I am not even given the choice of font! It has to be Times New Roman, 12-point, with 1.25 inch margins using the Chicago Manual of Style. I do, however, find that my high quality writing instrument is in need of a graphite-filled companion, *hint* *hint*.
Sheona: I tend to be very dispassionate when it comes to academic things. I try to balance things to make it as accurate as possible — something which, sadly, many of my peers feel no need to do.
Araminta: thank you for your kind words.