University of New England historian, Associate Professor Richard Scully, has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (RHS) in the United Kingdom.
Fellowships to the time-honoured institution are awarded to applicants whose body of scholarly work is deemed to have made “an original contribution to historical scholarship.” All applications are peer reviewed and must be supported by an existing Fellow.
“I'm extremely honoured to have joined the RHS. For a scholar of British and European history, it's an important touchstone with the heart of the field,” A/Prof. Scully said.
“I hope to be able to continue to advance the study of cartoon history - and history more broadly - in the future. It's always important to 'give back' to the institutions and communities that have supported you, and that's one of the key reasons I sought election to the Society.”
A/Prof. Scully’s election was based on his publications in the history of political cartoons, and modern European history, especially his monographs: British Images of Germany: Admiration, Antagonism, and Ambivalence, 1860-1914 (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012); and his seminal work entitled Eminent Victorian Cartoonists, 3 Volumes (London: The Political Cartoon Society, 2018).
The election admits A/Prof. Scully to a select group of Australians who are Fellows and Members of the Society.
“While Australians certainly do join as Fellows and Members of the Society, there aren't many. My mentors at Monash University, Professor Barbara Caine and Professor Mark Peel, are both Fellows. So is my colleague and friend at UNE - Dr Francois Soyer. Francois was my nominator for election, so I'm very grateful to him for supporting my application.”
Richard is currently exploring the history of communist and fascist cartooning in inter-war Britain (c.1919-1939); as well as working-up a collaborative project exploring the history of Australian political cartoons, with colleagues from Flinders University, Monash University, and the ANU. This team is partnering with the National Cartoon Gallery (The Bunker, Coffs Harbour), and the Australian Cartoonists Association, as well as other industry stakeholders.
Founded in 1868 and awarded its royal charter by Queen Victoria, the Society is based at University College, London. It is the foremost society of its kind today and promotes the work of historians by representing history as a discipline and historians as a group; by promoting the vitality of historical scholarship through support for research and publication; by advocating best practice in history teaching in universities and schools; by providing a forum for all historians to meet and exchange ideas; and by supporting and encouraging early-career historians.
