Inga Clendinnen, AO, FAHA (née Jewell; 17 August 1934 – 8 September 2016) was an Australian author, historian, anthropologist, and academic. Her work focused on social history, and the history of cultural encounters. She was an authority on Aztec civilisation and pre-Columbian ritual human sacrifice. She also wrote about the Holocaust and on first contacts between Indigenous Australians and white explorers. At her death, she was an Emeritus Scholar at La Trobe University, Melbourne.
Early life and education
Clendinnen was born in Geelong, Victoria, in 1934.[1] She was the youngest of four children.[2] Her father owned a cabinet-making business and later became a Geelong City Councillor; her mother was a homemaker. Clendinnen graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours, followed by a Master of Arts in 1975.[3]
Career
Clendinnen's work focused on social history, and the history of cultural encounters. She was considered an authority on Aztec civilisation and pre-Columbian ritual human sacrifice.[4] She also wrote on the Holocaust, and on first contacts between Indigenous Australians and white explorers.[5]
Clendinnen held the post of senior tutor of History at the University of Melbourne from 1955 to 1968, was a lecturer at La Trobe University from 1969 to 1982, and was then a senior lecturer in History until 1989.[3] Forced to curtail her academic activities after contracting hepatitis in 1991, Clendinnen began working on her memoir, Tiger's Eye, which focused on issues of illness and death. She retained an association with La Trobe University, however, as she was appointed Emeritus Scholar.[3]
In 1999, she was invited to present the 40th annual Boyer Lectures.[6] The ideas presented in these lectures, concerning first contacts in Australia, were later published as True Stories.
In the Australia Day 2006 Honours List, Clendinnen was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), with a citation that read:
For service to scholarship as a writer and historian addressing issues of fundamental concern to Australian society and for contributing to shaping public debate on conflicting contemporary issues.[7]
Clendinnen's AO award was noted and a motion paying tribute to her contributions was passed, in the proceedings of the New South Wales State Parliament's Upper House.[8]
Personal life and death
Clendinnen married the philosopher of science John Clendinnen in 1955, and had two children with him.[3][9] Clendinnen died on 8 September 2016 after a short illness.[10][11]
Awards and nominations
- 1988 – received the Herbert Eugene Bolton Memorial Prize for Ambivalent Conquests[5]
- 1999 – winner of the NSW History Awards, Premier's General History Prize for Reading the Holocaust
- 1999 – winner of the National Jewish Book Award in the Holocaust category for Reading the Holocaust[12]
- 1999 – Reading the Holocaust was judged Best Book of the Year by The New York Times
- 2000 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Gleebooks Prize for Critical Writing for Reading the Holocaust
- 2002 – received the Adelaide Festival Award for Innovation for Tiger's Eye
- 2003 – received the New South Wales Premier's History Award for her piece "History Here: a Vier from Outside"
- 2004 – New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-fiction for Dancing with Strangers
- 2005 – recipient of the ASA (Australian Society of Authors) biennial medal[3]
- 2006 – Appointed Officer of the Order of Australia for her services as a writer and historian.[13]
- 2007 – received the Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal[14]
- 2016 – Dan David Prize[5]
Bibliography
Books
Source:[15]
- Ambivalent Conquests: Maya and Spaniard in Yucatán, 1517–1570 (1987)
- Aztecs: An Interpretation (1991)
- Reading the Holocaust (1998)
- True Stories (1999)
- Tiger's Eye: A Memoir (2000)
- Dancing with Strangers: Europeans and Australians at First Contact (2003)
- True Stories: History, Politics, Aboriginality (2008) (2nd ed.)
- The Cost of Courage in Aztec Society: Essays on Mesoamerican Society and Culture (2010)
Essays and Essay Collections
- Agamemnon's Kiss: Selected Essays (2006)
- "The History Question: Who Owns the Past?" (2006) (from the 23rd edition of Quarterly Essay)
Articles
- Clendinnen, Inga. "Backstage at the Republic of Letters" (PDF). Proceedings of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. 28 (2003): 96–107. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
- — (April 2009). "The good soldier: WEH Stanner & "An Appreciation of Difference"". The Monthly. 44: 56–61. Retrieved 31 October 2014. Review of Hinkson, Melinda; Beckett, Jeremy, eds. (2008). An appreciation of difference : W E H Stanner and Aboriginal Australia. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 9780855756604.
References
- ^ Date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF). Retrieved on 2008-07-24.
- ^ Wendt, Jana (16 August 2014). "Warrior of the mind". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Susan Foley; Charles Sowerwine. "Inga Clendinnen". The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth Century Australia. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ Nicolas Rothwell, "That's not all, Volk", The Weekend Australian, 26–27 September 1998, Review, p. 14
- ^ a b c "Laureates 2016 » Past – Social History – New Directions » Prof. Inga Clendinnen | The Dan David Prize". www.dandavidprize.org. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "1999 Dr Inga Clendinnen, Boyer Lectures". Radio National. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
- ^ "Australia Day 2006 Honours" (RTF document). It's An Honour:Australia Celebrating Australians. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
- ^ "Hansard (New South Wales)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New South Wales Legislative Council. 1 March 2006. p. 20807. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011.
- ^ Burstall, Tim (2012). Memoirs of a Young Bastard. Carlton, Melbourne: Miegunyah Press. p. 320. ISBN 9780522858143.
- ^ "Vale, Inga Clendinnen".
- ^ michaell@themonthly.com.au (9 September 2016). "Vale Inga Clendinnen". The Monthly.
- ^ "Past Winners". Jewish Book Council. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
- ^ It's an Honour – Officer in the Order of Australia
- ^ "Arts Mildura – Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal Dinner". www.artsmildura.com.au. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
- ^ "Clendinnen, Inga 1934–". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
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