Topic: The memory landscape of the Cowpastures in memorials, monuments, and murals.
Lecture by Dr Ian Willis OAM.
Abstract
All around the community in the Macarthur region are cultural artefacts that are representations of the settlercolonial narrative of the Cowpastures, which was variously a colonial frontier, a government reserve, and a…[Read more]

In 2015 the Office of Art and Archives focused on adding more art and archival content to the History, Art & Archives website (http://history.house.gov/). The website is a collaborative effort: curators and archivists in the Office of Art and Archives and Office of the Historian staff work on and contribute content. The Office of Art and Archives…[Read more]

The Camden Historical Society has published a new anthology of the Camden History Journal. There are many stories of events and local personalities from the Camden area.

In 1964, the Campbelltown-Ingleburn News ran a banner headline on its front page, Symbol of Progress, over a story about opening a new council administration building as part of a proposed civic centre precinct in the town centre.
The newspaper headline expressed confidence in Campbelltown’s planned declaration as a satellite city by the state…[Read more]

This newspaper article examines the history of the teamsters that operated on the Yerranderie Road between the Yerranderie silver mines in the Burragorang Valley and the railhead at Camden NSW. The carriers’ teams of horses supported an ecology of farmers growing hay and corn for stock feed, blacksmiths at The Oaks and Camden, horse breeders, w…[Read more]

This blog post discusses the mid-century houses of the Camden NSW area that were built as part of the economic growth and development created by the Burragorang coalfields. These houses were built between the Second World War and the early 1970s, have a variety of residential architectural styles and are located south of the town centre, in…[Read more]

This short-form article explores the various presentations of “the Middle” within Valentinian authored documents (the Gospel of Truth and Gospel of Philip) and sources which report about the Valentinians (Irenaeus and his report about Ptolemy’s theology). It suggests underscores the deep distinctions each view has and suggests that these may be…[Read more]

This blog post tells the story behind the Camden Teamsters Memorial in John Street, Camden, NSW.
The memorial is a tribute to the teamsters, bullockies and carriage drivers who travelled the Yerranderie Road between the mining town of Yerranderie and Camden through the Burragorang Valley.
The memorial has a rear wheel from a flat-top wagon, a…[Read more]

This article re-analyses in detail the meaning of the expression ludi Graeci which appears in two of Cicero’s letters (Ad Fam. 7,1 and Ad Att. 15,5). A careful examination of the first instance reveals that ludi Graeci indeed referred to theatrical performances in Greek language and not merely to Latin plays that followed Greek models. A brief s…[Read more]

This blog post gives an overview of the Camden Material and Colour Guide. The guide provides property owners of heritage buildings in the Camden Heritage Conservation Area with tips and hints on restoration and conservation of their houses. The guide provides colour schemes on building exteriors and interiors by housing styles between 1840 and…[Read more]

At Christmas, Christians celebrate that Jesus was born on December 25 as the son of God andthe Virgin Mary. But this event is not unique. In this article, I show that the birth of Jesus hasseveral non-Christian predecessors, whereby various elements of the ritual dynamics have beenChristianized and implemented into the figure we know today as Jesus Christ.

At Christmas, Christians celebrate that Jesus was born on December 25 as the son of God andthe Virgin Mary. But this event is not unique. In this article, I show that the birth of Jesus hasseveral non-Christian predecessors, whereby various elements of the ritual dynamics have beenChristianized and implemented into the figure we know today as Jesus Christ.

In this essay, we share how a small, independent, academic open access (OA) press, punctum books, has survived and can maybe thrive financially, but also in terms of human quality of life dividends, in the very precarious landscape of making and funding open books. Tracing the history of the press and our bumpy road to better financial…[Read more]

This blog post is about a spring festival in Camden, NSW, called Celebrate Camden.
The brainchild of Vicki Sutherland from the Camden Chamber of Commerce, it aimed to promote Camden as a viable tourist and shopping destination.
The festival had mixed success and was held in 1994 and 1995, to be replaced by the Cowpastures Bicentennial.

All around the community in the Macarthur region are cultural artefacts that are representations of the settler-colonial narrative of the Cowpastures, which was variously a colonial frontier, a government reserve, and a formal region.
Today, the material culture of the Cowpastures is hidden in plain sight and appears to have been ‘forgotten’ by…[Read more]

This is a preprint of the Conclusion to a book called A History of Camden Chinese Market Gardeners 1899-1993 edited by Ian Willis and others

Comprised of soft glacial cliffs and sandy beaches, the southeastern coastline of Ireland is dominated by unconsolidated Quaternary-aged sediments with fewer rock exposures than Ireland’s other coasts. Facing Britain across a rough sea, County Wexford has been prone to incursions from both political and environmental forces throughout history. T…[Read more]

In comics: how ancient rabbis upend “traditional” ideas of reproduction, gender, and humanity. A blog post commissioned by UC Press Blog about the book When a Human Gives Birth to a Raven: Rabbis and the Reproduction of Species.

Link: htt…[Read more]

Núñez-Muley abstract

The Edict of 1567, or Anti-Morisco Edict, was promulgated by Spanish King Philip II on January 1, after being approved in Madrid on November 17, 1566. Its purpose was to eliminate specific Morisco customs, such as their language, dress, and dances. Núñez Muley’s Petition is an attempt to persuade Christian authorities to de…[Read more]

This article presents a model for pricing complex CDO structures and compute the sensitivities of the risk factors. The complex CDO structures need to be priced using the market information on tranche losses at multiple points of time. Currently, the model is being used for the valuation of forward starting CDO trades (FSCDO) and loss-trigger…[Read more]