Claire Brennan
- claire.brennan@jcu.edu.au
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7593-7522
- Senior Lecturer
Projects
1
Publications
48
Awards
0
Biography
Dr Claire Brennan is a lecturer in History at JCU. She teaches and supervises at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and is an active researcher in environmental history.
Claire's honours project led her to an interest in the history of sport hunting, first in New Zealand, then globally. Her University of Melbourne PhD thesis looked at the history of hunting in New Zealand and Australia, and placed it in its global context. Since coming to Townsville Claire's interests have become more tropical. She continues to research the history of hunting (including the history of recreational fishing, of the safari, and of crocodile hunting in northern Australia) and her interest in animal history has extended to include the history of livestock breeding. Her teaching has led her to publish within global history, and her place at James Cook University has led her to an interest in the physical process of early European exploration within the Pacific and across the Australian continent.
Claire is currently working on the Coral Discovery project, and is engaged in digitally mapping all the European scientific voyages that entered the Pacific between 1768 and 1834. Mapping these voyages and providing connections to the journals kept by captains and scientific workers will help address questions about Pacific pasts, support identification of the origins of scientific specimens, and support the work of modern scientists interested in environmental baselines.
Claire is a successful supervisor, and supervises a wide range of topics at doctorate, masters, and honours levels. She is regularly interviewed by the media.
Research
Research Interests
Environmental History of Australia and New Zealand
History of Hunting: Claire has published on this topic and continues to research the history of sport hunting; the history of recreational fishing; and commercial and sport hunting of crocodiles within Australia
Townsville History: Claire has been part of projects supported by small grants to research and produce public exhibitions: Townsville Turns 150: the Old and the News; Between Battles: Commemorating the Cultural Lives of Soldiers. She is part of JCU grant funded projects exploring Tropical Heritage and Townsville naming practises. She is presently completing a Townsville Council-funded project that will make student research conducted a JCU accessible to the public
Digital History: Claire has published an overview of the field of digital history
Projects
Research Data
Teaching
Teaching Interests
Digital History: in 2017-2018 Claire recieved an LTSE grant and updated assessment across the history major to include digital history components
History of Exploration: Claire teaches in this area and has published on debates surrounding Pacific exploration, and on the constraints Cook's ship imposed on his first circumnavigation.
Research Advisor Accreditation
Advisor Type
Mentor
Research Advisor Accreditation
Role
Chair; Independent Academic