USQ academics explore Anglican Church history

When senior members of the Anglican Church challenged USQ lecturers and historians Dr Lindsay Henderson and Mr Marcus Harmes to develop at short notice a conference that opened the Anglican Church and its history to academic scrutiny, they only hesitated for a moment.

After inviting fellow historians Dr Gillian Colclough and Dr Catherine Dewhirst to form a committee, planning began.

With music lecturer Dr Phillip Gearing also offering his expertise, the committee swung into action, notifying history and theology disciplines in most Australian universities, organising printing of Conference Proceedings and accepting the Anglican Church’s offer of use of its facilities at the historic St Francis’ Theological College in Brisbane. It also successfully applied for PMRC funding.

Held over the weekend of February 12-14 and opened by dignitaries including the Anglican Primate of Australia, Dr Phillip Aspinall and USQ Faculty of Arts Dean, Professor Peter Goodall, the conference was an outstanding success, attracting scholars from Australia and overseas, two publishing offers and the attention of ABC Radio National, who recorded some sessions.

Expressions of interest from another institution and the positive feedback of attendees and presenters have inspired planning for a repeat conference in 2012, for which a USQ Community Moodle site has already been established.

This successful enterprise reflects the ongoing community engagement of the PMRC and the organising skills of USQ staff: with three of the organising committee contract lecturers, it also demonstrates the positive contributions and commitment of USQ casual academic staff.