Deakin history professor appointed to prestigious Australia-Japan program

Professor David Lowe is Chair of Contemporary History with Deakin’s Faculty of Arts and Education and will take up his position as Visiting Professor in Australian Studies at the Centre for Pacific and American Studies, University of Tokyo, in 2019.

The visiting professor program is supported by the Australia-Japan Foundation and is designed to deepen academic co-operation between the two nations and enable Japanese students to learn in depth about Australian society.

Professor Lowe is a leading historian of Australia’s international relations in the Asia-Pacific, and has published several books in the area including a biography of Percy Spender and other studies of the Cold War and Australian public diplomacy.

During the visiting fellowship he will teach Australian history and contemporary society to undergraduate and postgraduate students and conduct research on the connections between Australia and Japan in the area of foreign aid.

Professor Lowe said he was delighted to be chosen for the visiting fellowship and looked forward to engaging with Japanese students.

“These types of programs are very important in building the kinds of educational and other connections that thicken relationships between Australia and countries such as Japan so I’m looking forward to playing a part in this important work,” Professor Lowe said.

“Such posts, and this one is no exception, also work with the relevant Australian embassy to build bridges of information between academic and public groups and can make a difference to the ways in which Australians grow to understand and connect with dynamics of change in Asia, and vice-versa.

“At a personal level they provide an incredibly stimulating opportunity to see the world, including Australia, through the eyes of others.”

Professor Lowe said he was also looking forward to the research aspect of his post.

“The Centre for Pacific and American Studies has a strong research remit and I will be undertaking work on public diplomacy in Australian and Japanese overseas relations, and researching connections between the two countries in their respective foreign aid programs,” he said.

“I am also keen to connect with scholars who share the interests of Deakin's Contemporary Histories Research Group (CHRG) in showing the historical underpinnings and lessons for current policy debates. Groups of scholars in Tokyo and Osaka have been conducting work that is close to what we in CHRG have been promoting and this is an opportunity to strengthen connections between us.”

The Visiting Professor in Australian Studies program is supported by the Australia-Japan Foundation (AJF) a non-statutory, bilateral foundation in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and administered by the International Australian Studies Association (InASA), the peak global Australian Studies organisation.