This series brings together some of Melbourne’s most iconic cultural institutions to consider how, after one hundred years, the changes ushered in during the First World War still resonate today. It follows in the footsteps of past Australian academics, who presented public lectures in 1915 to help make sense of the conflict. The centenary lectures are held in partnership with the Shrine of Remembrance, National Gallery of Victoria and Museum Victoria.
The commemoration of war expresses a celebration of service and a remembrance of the fallen. Yet it can also privilege certain forms of service over others. This forum will discuss the silences and absences in the commemoration of War, drawing on a major new exhibition by artist Brook Andrew at the Ian Potter Museum of Art. Professor Marcia Langton, Dr Vincent Alessi and Brook Andrew join Maxine McKew to examine the omission of Indigenous service from official forms of commemoration, and relate them to Indigenous issues today. It draws on a major new exhibition, Brook Andrew Sanctuary: Tombs of the outcasts at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, and is part of the University of Melbourne ANZAC Centenary Lectures.
The First World War involved the mass enlistment of doctors, dentists and health professionals, supported by new networks of medical researchers at universities.
The First World War involved the mass enlistment of doctors, dentists and health professionals, supported by new networks of medical researchers at universities. The war introduced extraordinary medical conditions — such as disfiguring wounds, trench foot and trench mouth, venereal disease, and the viral epidemic of Spanish influenza — which prompted scientific innovations that had lasting affects on the practice of medicine. This event examines the medical response to World War I, and the changes that it introduced. It contrasts the responses from World War I with the approach to similar problems today. With expert panel guests: Dr Warren Crossley, Royal Dental Hospital, Professor Peter Doherty, Melbourne Medical School, Professor Doug Hilton, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Professor Sharon Lewin, Peter Doherty Institute Moderator: Professor Kate Darian-Smith, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies 20th May, Melbourne Brain Centre, Kenneth Myer Building
Read next: Commemorating a vital part of the Anzac story
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