Opening the Multilingual Archive of Australia brings together historical materials from national and international collections in languages other than English. We seek to rethink and enlarge narratives about Australia that come solely from English-language sources, by showing modern Australia to be a complex multilingual creation. This project is funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant.
The site consists of collections of text-based articles, newspapers, images and interviews. You can explore these and carry out searches through the ‘go to archive’ button and clicking on the different categories.
We acknowledge the First Nations peoples of Australia and other sites referred to in this collection of documents. The University of Sydney, where we are based, is on the unceded land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, and we pay particular respect to them.
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this site may contain or link to material which could be culturally sensitive, including records of people who have passed away.
We are holding a conference in December 2024
The 2024 Opening the Multilingual Archive of Australia Conference
The University of Sydney will host the 2024 Opening the Multilingual Archive of Australia (OMAA, https://omaa-arts.sydney.edu.au/) Conference, which will explore themes of ‘Multilingual archives and histories’ and ‘Multilingualism in translation’. The Conference will be held at the University of Sydney on December 2 and 3, 2024.
Australian Anglocentrism raises essential questions about the dynamics of living in a multilingual society. This conference aims to mobilise Australia’s considerable, under-utilised non-English language resources to rethink our migrant and settler history.
Contributors are grappling with the following questions:
- How do non-English language sources challenge and enrich ‘mainstream’ narratives of Australian history by generating new perspectives?
- What difference does language make in the ways people engage with and ultimately think of themselves as ‘Australian’ or not?
- What constitutes a ‘multilingual approach’, and what theoretical insights from other disciplines help us import pluralism into historical narration?
- How can language diversity equip scholars, policymakers and the public to confront the challenge of cultural pluralism today?
- How does the history of translation and translation theory challenge dominant modes of historical practice in Australia?
A special issue of Australian Historical Studies dealing with multilingual Australia will also be launched at the Conference.
To view the program and to register to attend (there is no registration fee), visit https://www.eventbrite.com.au/o/opening-the-multilingual-archive-of-australia-93249457743
Please send any enquiries to Adrian Vickers (adrian.vickers@sydney.edu.au) and Siobhan Campbell (siobhan.campbell@sydney.edu.au)