Dimensions
167 x 233 x 14mm
On the other hand, debates about the past, and its meaning for the present - such as the recent controversy over statues - have never been more rancorous. Is there a way beyond the history wars that began under John Howard? And in an age of free-floating fears about the global, digital future, is history any longer relevant, let alone equal to the task of grounding the nation?
In this essay, Mark McKenna takes what we have learnt from recent groundbreaking historical writing and links this to the deeper currents of a country on the brink of a more complete commonwealth. He considers the frontier, the Anzac legacy, deep time, culture wars and political leadership. He drags some fascinating scholarship into the light, and pushes the debate about history beyond the familiar polarities.
