Profile

View or download a pdf of this document.

Research Areas

The histories of childhood, education, social welfare, medicine, mental illness, eugenics and disability in late-nineteenth and twentieth century Australia.

I consider the relationship between expert understandings of these areas and popular discourses: how everyday people adapted and responded to new scientific paradigms, and positioned their own experiences in relation to changing professional knowledge.

Education

PhD Candidate, Department of History, The University of Sydney. 2008-2016.

Currently suspended.

Thesis: ‘Help Us, Help Them: How Australian parents understood the problem of mental retardation and what they did about it, 1945-70.’

Supervisor: Professor Stephen Garton.

Associate Supervisor: Stephen Robertson (until mid-2014); Warwick Anderson (mid-2014-2016).

My doctoral research asks how Australian parents understood childhood disabilities in post-war Australia, and examines the measures they took to alleviate what they saw as a pressing social problem. Drawing on previously underutilised archives, the popular press, and a diverse range of private and government publications, my thesis sheds new light on questions of citizenship, welfare, and family life during and after the long 1950s.

BA (Hons), Class 1, The University of Sydney, 2007.

2007.

Thesis: ‘Caring for Their Children, Forever: Parent-run organisations for children with intellectual disabilities in New South Wales, 1950 – 1968.’

Supervisor: Professor Stephen Garton.

My honours thesis took a broadly interdisciplinary approach, examining the emergence of a group of non-government, parent-led organisations which opened schools, sheltered workshops, and other facilities for ‘mentally subnormal children’ in New South Wales after the Second World War. I considered broad changes in post-war conceptions of families, citizenship, voluntarism and the welfare state, and how these changes enabled parents and professionals to conceptualise ‘mental deficiency’ in new, often problematic, ways.

Examiners reports described the thesis as

a very original and insightful analysis of why parental groups emerged in post WWII Australia… [it] incorporates a range of approaches – welfare history, institutional history, and the social and cultural history of institutionalisation… This is an outstanding thesis, one of the best I have examined in the last 20 years.

Publications and Other Output

Publications (Peer Reviewed)

2017. Earl, Dave. ‘Australian Histories of Intellectual Disability’, in Hanes, R., Brown, I., Hansen, N. (Eds) The Routledge History of Disability. Routledge: London: 308-319. <https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351774048 >.

2011. Earl, Dave. ‘”A Group of Parents Game Together”: Parent advocacy groups for children with intellectual disabilities in post-WWII Australia.’ Health and History 13, no. 2: 84-103. <JStor stable url>.

2009. Earl, Dave. ‘Help for Children and Their Families: Presenting “subnormal” and “spastic” children to the public in 1950s New South Wales.’ antiTHESIS 19: 148 – 61.

Publications (Other)

2010. Earl, Dave. ‘Weapons of the Boxer Uprising.’Signals no. 89, Dec 2009 – Feb 2010: 16-20. <Informit stable url>.

Conference Papers

2015. “From the Medical to the Social: ‘Rejected Volunteers,’ Disablement, and Voluntarism During Australia’s Great War,” Missions, Methods and Management: Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine Annual Conference, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, 30th June – 3rd July.

2014. “Why They Are In Children’s Homes: Explaining the Persistence of Residential Care for Unadoptable, Difficult, and otherwise Problematic Disabled Children.” Australasian Social Welfare History Workshop, University of Tasmania, Hobart, 10 – 11 February.

2013. “Transformative technology and disabled bodies in Post-WWII Australia,” Mobilities and Mobilisations in History, Australian Historical Association National Conference, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, 8 – 12 July.

2012. ‘”Habilitating the retarded”: Why sheltered workshops for “mentally retarded” Australians became “terminal”, 1945-1970,’ Connections: Australian Historical Association National Conference, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, 9 – 13th July.

2011. ‘”The Association for Aiding Educable Children Only:” Communities, power, and categories of disability in Australian voluntary organisations for disabled children, 1950 – 1965,’ Welfare and Power, Australasian Welfare History Workshop, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, 15 – 16th November.

2011. ‘”Our Tasmanian Secretary laments that some teachers in that State… think all their pupils feeble-minded”: Eugenics, rural culture and conceptions of intellectual disability in Australia, 1911 – 1928,’ History at the Edge, Australian Historical Association Regional Conference, University of Tasmania, Launceston, 4 – 8th July.

2010. ‘”A Group of Parents Came Together:” Parent advocacy groups for children with intellectual disabilities in post-WWII Australia,’ Australasian Disability Studies Symposium, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, 6 – 7th August.

2010. ‘Revisiting Dr. Benn: The many meanings of intellectual disability in a murder,’ Reviewing History, Australian Historical Association National Conference, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia, 9th July.

2010 ‘”Homes for our Children”: The establishment of voluntary, parent-run institutions for intellectually disabled children and adults in post-WWII Australia,’ Australasian Social Welfare History Workshop, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 18th February.

2008. ‘Help for children and their families: Presenting “subnormal” and “spastic” children to the public in 1950s New South Wales,’ Exhibitionism: Representing Identities, antiTHESIS Conference, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 25th July.

Invited Papers & Public Talks

2015 ‘From the Medical to the Social: “Rejected Volunteers,” Disablement, and Voluntarism During Australia’s Great War,” NSW History Week Speaker Connect, Yamba Museum, 13th September.

2013. Panellist, ‘Social and Digital Media Panel,’ Presenting the Past: A Symposium on History and the Media, Mitchell Library, Sydney, Australia, 11th September.

2013. ‘Hawkevale Farm Colony,’ A Picture and A Thousand Words, History Council NSW History Week, Sydney, Australia, 9th September.

2013. ‘The Sad Story of John Carey Guest,’ What’s Hot in History, Royal Australian Historical Society, Sydney, Australia, 17th April. <Listen online>.

2011. ‘The Humanities Ph.D. at Sydney,’ Gateway: The PhD and its Future, St. Paul’s College, Sydney University, Australia, 8th August.

2009. ‘Researching Childhood Disability at the Library,’ National Library of Australia, Canberra, 23rd January.

In the Media

2018. Cathy Prior, “The Singular Mind – A History of Autism in Australia,’ ABC The History Listen Podcast, 4th December. <The Singular Mind>

2018. Cathy Prior, ‘As a parent of two kids with autism, I’ve learned how much attitudes have changed,’ ABC News, 6th December. <As a parent of two kids with autism, I’ve learned how much attitudes have changed>

2016. Rick Morton, ‘Making sense of the Common “Disorder” Autism,’ The Australian, 23rd January. <http://bit.ly/2nzVz2A>

2015. ‘Dave Earl: Disability – The New Normal,’ Our Ideas Lead the Way, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sydney University. <http://bit.ly/2kL9iT0>

2013. ‘Dave Earl, Doctoral Candidate, REGS.’ <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcsMDzU3sMo>.

2013. ‘Department of History Celebrates History Week.’ <http://sydney.edu.au/news/arts/2228.html?newsstoryid=12292&gt;.

2013. ‘Presenting the Past: Digital Media and Public Writing.’ <https://histmedia2013.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/digital-media-and-public-writing/>.

2012. ‘Historians, Policymakers Meet in Canberra.’ <http://aph.org.au/historians-policymakers-meet-in-canberra>.

2009. ‘Project Wrap Up.’ <https://anmm.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/project-wrap-up/>.

2009. ‘On and Off the HMVS Cerberus.’ <https://anmm.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/on-and-off-the-hmvs-cerberus/>.

2009. ‘A Mauser in the House?’ <https://anmm.wordpress.com/2009/01/06/a-mauser-in-the-house/>.

2009. ‘National Library of Australia List of Summer Scholars.’ <http://www.nla.gov.au/summer-scholarships/list-of-summer-scholars>.

Awards, Grants and Scholarships (Postgraduate)

2012               Australian Policy & History CAL Internship.

2011                Department of History Grant-In-Aid.

2011                AHA CAL Bursary Workshop, Launceston.

2009                Summer Scholar, The National Library of Australia.

2008 & 2009   PRSS Postgraduate Travel research Scheme.

2008                Australian Postgraduate Award.

2008                Australian Pioneer’s Club Travel Bursary.

2008                Postgraduate Master Class, University of Tasmania.

Awards, Prizes and Scholarships (Undergraduate)

2007                University of Sydney Honours Scholarship.

2006 & 2007   Walter Reid Book Prize.

2006                Venour V. Nathan Essay Prize for Australian History.

2006                Sydney University Arts Association Prize in History III.

2006                University of Sydney Continuing Undergraduate Scholarship.

2005 & 2006   Dean’s List of Meritorious Students.

2005                George Arnold Wood Memorial Prize for History II.

Other Awards

2014               Archived in Pandora <http://pandora.nla.gov.au/tep/146900>.

2013               Australian Historical Association Featured Blog (January).

Teaching Awards

2014                ITL Student Commendation (HSTY2614: Living in Modern Australia).

2013               ITL Student Commendation (HSTY2677: Australia Politics and Nation).

2013               Dean’s Citation for Excellence in Teaching.

2012               ITL Student Commendation (HSTY2614: Australian Social History).

Professional Service

2015 – 2016                 Councillor, New South Wales History Council.

2015                              Co-Communications Officer, IFPH Student and New Professional Committee, International Federation for Public History – Fédération Internationale Pour l’Histoire Publique

2014 – Current           Reviewer, Health and History.

2013                               Convenor, A Picture and A Thousand Words, NSW History Council History week.

2013                                Co-convenor, “THATCamp #OzHA2013,” Wollongong.

2012 – Current           Book Reviewer, History Australia.

2011 – Current            Reviewer, History in the Making.

2010 – 2013                Postgraduate Representative to the Australian Historical Association.

2010                                 Co-convenor, “New Directions,” Sydney University History Postgraduate Conference.

2009 – Current            Book Reviewer, H-Disability, H-Net (http://www.h-net.org/~disabil/).

2008 – 2009                Postgraduate Representative to the History Department, University of Sydney.

Teaching Expertise

Australian social history.

Welfare history.

Social movements and protest.

Theory, method and historiography.

Transnational and international history.

Teaching Experience

I have taught and lectured in a broad range of subject areas, but specialise in teaching Australian social and political history.

I have a particular interest in teaching intensive or disruptive format courses. I’ve co-ordinated Winter School intensives in in the Department of History, and Block Mode history units in the University’s Indigenous Education Program, at Sydney University.

As lecturer and coordinator in these units, I have been responsible for assessment, lecture and seminar delivery, and administration. I have also had the opportunity to substantially revise their curricula, often integrating web 3.0 technologies such as Twitter into the courses.

Student surveys on my teaching and lecturing have consistently emphasised my enthusiasm, subject knowledge, and preparation. Students frequently record comments such as “Dave is the best lecturer I’ve ever had” in survey forms.

A teaching portfolio, including all student feedback received since 2009, can be viewed at <https://davegearl.com/teaching>.

Lecturer, Modern History Senior Stage Six

Semester 1, 2015.

Indigenous Education Program, Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney.

I was sole lecturer for this modern history survey course taught in the Faculty of Education and Social Work. This unit was taught as part of a Bachelor of Education (Secondary: Aboriginal Studies) Block Mode degree, which enables students of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds to undertake study whilst living in their communities away from Sydney.

In preparation for teaching this course, which examined the twentieth century in a global context, I substantially re-worked the curriculum, re-developed the course readers, and Unit of Study Outline.

I was responsible for the preparation and delivery of all lectures and tutorials in this unit, as well as all marking and feedback for the students.

Student feedback, as expressed ITL Unit of Study questionnaires, was excellent. Over 80% of students agreed or strongly agreed that they were “guided by helpful feedback on [their] learning,” were “satisfied with the quality of teaching by the teacher, ” and not a single student disagreed with these propositions. Comments included “Dave has made this subject very interesting” and “The content of this subject was very interesting and I learnt a lot of useful things.”

Associate Lecturer/Course Coordinator, World War One to Whitlam

Semester 2, 2014.

Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney.

I was sole lecturer for this social history survey course taught in the Koori Centre, Faculty of Education and Social Work.

This unit was taught as part of a Bachelor of Education (Secondary: Aboriginal Studies), which enables students of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds to undertake study whilst living in their communities away from Sydney.

I was responsible for the preparation and delivery of all lectures and tutorials in this unit, as well as all marking and feedback for the students. This was the second time I have delivered this unit, and was able to substantially re-work the curriculum and assessments.

Open responses included: “Dave was a truly outstanding lecturer… Without a doubt Dave is one of the most committed and friendly academics I have encountered in 5 years at Sydney,” “I have never before enjoyed Australian history, [but] this is easily one of the best units of history I have studied so far,” and “What are the best aspects of this unit of study? Dave Earl.”

Course Coordinator, Living in Modern Australia

Winter Session, 2014.

Department of History, The University of Sydney.

I was solely responsible for the preparation and delivery of all lectures and tutorials in this unit, as well as all marking and feedback for the students.

I substantially re-worked the curriculum for this unit, broadening its focus and including aspects of my own broad interests, including integrating welfare and disability history into the unit. A copy of the course outline is available at: http://bit.ly/1wHID5L.

Student responses to the “Teaching in Lectures” and “Unit of Study” evaluations were, as usual, outstanding, gaining a mean score across all indicators of 4.68 and 4.55 respectively. 100 per cent. of students agreed or strongly agreed with every proposition in the “Unit of Study” evaluation. 91.7 per cent. of students strongly agreed that I used “audio-visual aids appropriately” (with the remainder agreeing). 100 per cent. of students agreed that I “stimulated their interest in the topic area,” “was enthusiastic,” “helped [students] understand the relevance of the topic,” “explained important concepts in ways that I could understand,” and so forth.

Open responses included: “Dave was really passionate about teaching how Australian history shaped us today and that really encouraged me;” “I particularly enjoyed hearing his slant on Australian history in light of his areas of interest;” “Have enjoyed this unit a lot, would consider taking more Australian history due to this course;” ” During the concluding lecture, Dave really demonstrated how the events of Australian history had led to the state of our society today;” and ” Dave was one of the best lecturers I have ever had. His passion is really well seen and makes the course engaging and interesting.”

The full student responses are available at: http://bit.ly/1sJlFXX and http://bit.ly/105bGoY.

I also received a ITL Student Commendation for this course. The citation read in part that:

I found Mr Earl to be a very compassionate teacher who listened carefully to the thoughts and ideas of his students, and was also willing to share his own personal thoughts on Australia’s past, thoughts that I found to be very insightful

Associate Lecturer, Australia: World War One to Whitlam

Semester 2, 2013.

The Koori Centre, The University of Sydney.

I was sole lecturer for this social history survey course taught in the Koori Centre, Faculty of Education and Social Work. This unit was taught as part of a Bachelor of Education (Secondary: Aboriginal Studies), which enables students of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds to undertake study whilst living in their communities away from Sydney.

I was responsible for the preparation and delivery of all lectures and tutorials in this unit, as well as all marking and feedback for the students.

While student attendance in the final block of the unit prevented statistically significant feedback being collected, open responses to a “Teaching in Lectures” evaluation indicated that students were satisfied with the course: “Dave was very enthusiastic about the topic area,” “had a great understanding of the content,” “spoke in an engaging manner” and “Dave was able to use language that connected me to the past.”

Course Coordinator, Australia: Politics and Nation

Winter Session, 2013.

Department of History, The University of Sydney.

I was course co-ordinator and lecturer in this small (8 student) Winter School intensive course. The Winter School session allows students to complete a full semesters’ study in a turbo-charged timeframe: two lectures and one tutorial a day, four days a week, for three weeks.

I further developed the curriculum Matt Allen and I had prepared for the previous semester, replacing a small number of readings that were poorly received, and substantially re-drafting the assessment tasks.

Responses to both the “Teaching in Lectures” and “Unit of Study” evaluations were outstanding, gaining a mean score across all indicators of 4.68 and 4.58 respectively. For instance, 100 per cent. of students strongly agreed that I had great lecture slides and audio visual aids; 100 per cent of students agreed that I was enthusiastic about the topic; 100 per cent of students agreed that I stimulated their interest in the topic area; and so forth.

Open responses included: “Dave was a truly outstanding lecturer… Without a doubt Dave is one of the most committed and friendly academics I have encountered in 5 years at Sydney,” “I have never before enjoyed Australian history, [but] this is easily one of the best units of history I have studied so far,” and “What are the best aspects of this unit of study? Dave Earl.”

Tutor & Guest Lecturer, The Human Rights Revolution

Semester 1, 2013.

Department of History, The University of Sydney.

Course Coordinator: Dr. Marco Duranti.

I tutored three classes of 25 students in course, which surveyed the remarkable rise of human rights discourse in the twentieth century. I also presented a guest lecture on the history of human rights and disability, with a particular focus on the sexual sterilisation of women and girls with intellectual disabilities.

82% of students agreed or strongly agreed that I effectively supported their learning (with the majority of the remainder neutral). 94 per cent. of students agreed that I had a firm grasp of the subject matter, and 94 also agreed that I came to class well prepared. Open responses included “great tutor, really enjoyed the course,” and “Dave was a very insightful tutor, who provided interesting viewpoints which engaged my learning within tutorials.”

Guest Lecturer, Australia Politics and Nation

Semester 1, 2013.

Department of History, The University of Sydney.

Course Coordinator: Mr. Matt Allen.

Matt Allen and I substantially reworked this course, originally drafted by James Curran. We aimed to focus more on the social aspects of Australian history. Believing that the words of politicians only have purchase when embraced by “ordinary Australians,” we sought to contextualise the course’s straightforward “political” aspects with broader considerations of the Australian people, and particularly conceptions of what it has meant to “be Australian” at different times.

I presented two guest lectures to the course, which explored immigration in Australia from settlement until the present day, and considered the effect of immigration policy and practice on our conceptions of nationhood and citizenship. These lectures were well-received. A podcast of the first lecture is available at: http://bit.ly/161kBGg.

This course was very well received by students, gaining an average assessment feedback mean of above 4.43 out of 5. 100 per cent. of students agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the quality of the course. These results are a testament to Matt’s impressive teaching abilities, as well as to the planning and structure of the unit.

Tutor & Guest Lecturer, Australian Social History

Semester 1, 2012.

Department of History, The University of Sydney.

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Penny Russell.

As the sole tutor to this large (150+ student) course, I am responsible for co-ordinating tutorials for five classes, and undertaking all marking for this unit. The course has allowed me to utilise (and further develop) my broad, contextual understandings of Australian history.

A summary of student feedback about my teaching during the course is available on my teaching page. I’ve also reflected on my experiments with Twitter during the course.

I presented a guest lecture to the unit entitled ‘Suburban Domesticity: A dream come true?’. The lecture situated new understandings of masculinity, femininity, and ‘the Australian way of life’ in the broader context of post-Second World War Australia.

Guest Lecturer, Australian Social History

Summer School, 2012.

Department of History, The University of Sydney.

Course Coordinator: Mr Matthew Allen.

“The Rise of the Nuclear Family in Australia.”

In this course I presented a guest lecture to the Department’s Summer School. The lecture drew a broad-brush picture of changes in Australian society which led to nuclear families being understood as a fundamental element of the ‘Australian way of life’. Areas covered included the extension of compulsory education, suburban expansion, child welfare measures, and changing understandings of masculinities and femininities, and representations of families in Australian popular culture.

Tutor, The Spanish Civil War

Semester 2, 2009.

Department of History, The University of Sydney.

Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Judith Keene.

My duties in this position included tutoring three classes and marking approximately half of the unit’s assessments. This was a challenging, but fulfilling, unit to teach as it was outside my major area of expertise. Open-format feedback showed that my students were overwhelmingly pleased with the quality of my teaching and the course as a whole.

Professional Development

2009                  Tutor’s Development Course, Faculty of Arts, The University of Sydney.

2008 – 2009    Intern, Curatorial Department, Australian National Maritime Museum.

Professional Memberships

2008 – 2017            Australian Historical Association.

2009 – 2017            Disability Historians’ Association.

2010 – 2017           History Council NSW.

2011 – 2017            Australia and New Zealand Society for the History of Medicine.

Last updated January 2020.