Book Review of "W.E.H. Stanner: Selected Writings" by W.E.H. Stanner. Melbourne, Australia, La Trobe University Press, 2024. ISBN 9781760644048

Bradshaw, Wayne

Abstract

[Extract] The works of W.E.H. Stanner loom large within the Australian tradition of progressive writing on Aboriginal and settler relations. Before Henry Reynolds rewrote the history of Australian settlement, Bill Stanner revolutionised Australian anthropology. In any format, Stanner should be considered mandatory reading for settler Australians, and the new edition of his essays and lectures published by La Trobe University Press in conjunction with Black Inc. is currently the best way to engage with this important body of work. It contains all the pieces found in the 2009 collection, The Dreaming & Other Essays, with the addition of “Aboriginal Humour” from 1956. Stanner’s greatest contribution to Australia’s intellectual life was, however, helping to create space for more suitable authors to take up the work at hand, primarily through his role in helping to establish the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS), but also by lending his name and authority to the Stanner Award, established by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) after his death. The award provides valuable support for Indigenous researchers seeking to publish their work. This year, the Stanner Award was presented to the Gugu Badhun scholar, Dr Janine Gertz, to assist with the publication of her research on Aboriginal sovereignty as a monograph.

Journal

Australian Policy and History

Publication Name

N/A

Volume

3 April 2024

ISBN/ISSN

N/A

Edition

N/A

Issue

N/A

Pages Count

Location

N/A

Publisher

Deakin University

Publisher Url

N/A

Publisher Location

N/A

Publish Date

N/A

Url

N/A

Date

N/A

EISSN

N/A

DOI

N/A