Iain Duncan McCalman AO FRHS FASSA FAHA (born 6 November 1947) is an Australian historian, social scientist, academic and former Research Professor at the University of Sydney, as well as a prominent multidisciplinary environmental researcher. McCalman was born and raised in Nyasaland (current-day Malawi) before moving to Australia to complete his university degrees in History. He is a specialist in eighteenth-century and early-nineteenth British and European cultural history.
McCalmanâÂÂs research interests include environmentalism and environmental history, history of low and popular culture, history of science and historiography, particularly in relation to emotion in history and the role of historical re-enactments. He was also President of the Academy of the Humanities from 2001 to 2004, co-founder and co-director of the Sydney Environmental Institute from 2013 to 2018. McCalman was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2007.
McCalman was born in the former British protectorate of Nyasaland on 6 November 1947. He and his sister are descended from Australians who remained in Africa following the Boer War. McCalmanâÂÂs father worked as a British civil servant in colonial Nyasaland. McCalman reflected on his childhood as part of the colonial system in Africa: âÂÂ[My father] always told us European colonials were caretakers, not owners, and we'd have to go one day. It really irritated my sister and me. Africa was our home. But he never bought property, always prepared us to leaveâÂÂ.
In 1965, McCalman emigrated to Canberra to study a bachelor of arts with honors in history at the Australian National University (ANU), under Australian historian Manning Clark AC (1915-1991). McCalman also completed his master's degree at ANU before moving to Monash University for his doctorate.
Whilst writing his masterâÂÂs thesis at the Australian National University, McCalman worked as a tutor at Macquarie University in Sydney from 1972. This was where he began teaching modern history and first met his mentor and fellow historian Jill Roe AO FASSA (1940-2017). By 1994, McCalman had established himself as a note-worthy teacher and was awarded the inaugural Vice-ChancellorâÂÂs Award for Teaching Excellence at the ANU.
Upon being elected President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities - a role he served in from 2001 to 2004 - McCalman oriented his agenda towards addressing inequities between how the humanities and the natural sciences were treated in Australia. A major proposal made towards achieving this goal was by âÂÂemphasizing the need to foster creativity and innovation by forging cross-disciplinary alliancesâÂÂ. An example of such an interdisciplinary approach includes âÂÂaddressing social and cultural factors when governments seek to adopt new technologiesâÂÂ.
McCalmanâÂÂs contributions as an academic also extended beyond the academy as he held several consulting or guest positions in media projects. An example of such includes a segment for ABC Radio National titled âÂÂBooks that Changed HumanityâÂÂ, discussing Charles DarwinâÂÂs 1859 book âÂÂOn the Origins of SpeciesâÂÂ. McCalman was also credited as a consultant and presenter for the 2009 documentary, âÂÂDarwinâÂÂs Brave New WorldâÂÂ, which featured historical re-enactments to accompany a discussion of Charles DarwinâÂÂs work on evolution. Additionally, McCalman has contributed to several government projects, particularly in relation to academic and environmental practices. One such contribution was to the Inspiring Australia Report from the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science and Research which aimed to unify and coordinate research into the sciences from a national body.
In 2001, McCalman was awarded the Centenary Medal âÂÂfor [his] service to Australian society and the humanities in the study of historyâÂÂ. Subsequently, in 2007, McCalman was made an Officer of the Order of Australia as part of the QueenâÂÂs Birthday Honours List for âÂÂfor service to history and to the humanities as a teacher, researcher and author, and through administrative, advocacy and advisory roles in academic and public sector organisationsâÂÂ.
Early in his career, McCalman wrote extensively on his specialist field: the cultural history of Nineteenth and eighteenth century Britain and Europe. One of his earliest published academic works on the topic was published in 1980 and presented a revisionist historical approach to the role of women in radical socio-political movements during the early Nineteenth Century. In particular, McCalman found âÂÂthat female involvement in popular radicalism was more extensive than usually believedâ and in some cases exceeded the âÂÂâÂÂsupplementaryâ goalsâ assumed for the role of female radicals. The proceeding few years saw McCalman continue to explore his interest in British culture and radicalism in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries with his 1988 book âÂÂRadical Underworld: Prophets, Revolutionaries and Pornographers in London, 1795-1840âÂÂ. Some reviews of the book note McCalmanâÂÂs ability to âÂÂshift ⦠[the] angle of visionâ of academic research in the over-saturated field of popular radicalism during this period of history. Similarly, a review of the same book by Professor Anne Humphreys from the City University of New York praises McCalmanâÂÂs skills as a researcher, noting that he âÂÂhas done much first-rate detective workâ on the topic, but criticises him for âÂÂproblematicâ àand contradicting interpretations of his sources.
A key voice in the growing study of biographies from a historical approach, an exploration of alternatives to the academic presentation of history exists in McCalmanâÂÂs conference-turned-book, âÂÂNational Biographies and National IdentitiesâÂÂ, wherein a number of essays regarding the value of biographies as a legitimate historical format is discussed. His introduction to the book summarises two major points across the essays: that national biographies also present a âÂÂdistinctive ⦠national characterâ and the historiographical implications of national biographies given their compatibility with digital media. McCalmanâÂÂs work on studying biographies and its value in the study of history also includes a chapter in Brian MatthewâÂÂs 2004 book âÂÂReaders, Writers, PublishersâÂÂ, as well as a âÂÂSession on Dual Biographyâ at a 2006 postgraduate workshop for the ANUâÂÂs Higher Research Centre. McCalman is also a proponent of public history: a historiographical school which promotes the publication of history in formats and works targeted at a general audience as opposed to academics and scholars. During a 2003 interview with the Age, McCalman stated that âÂÂpopular histories have rediscovered the story, something at the heart of history, yet it's a skill many academics have given away. I'm convinced we've got to get it backâÂÂ.
During the early 2000s, McCalmanâÂÂs research interests pivoted from European and British cultural history to historiography and the value of historical re-enactments in the study of the past. This turn was inspired by his experience on the 2002 BBC program âÂÂThe Ship: Retracing CookâÂÂs Endeavor Voyageâ whereby a group of volunteers, including McCalman, from a variety of backgrounds re-enact a stretch of CookâÂÂs voyage on a replica of the Endeavor. The journey, which demanded the sailors follow the original Endeavor crewâÂÂs conditions and routines, followed CookâÂÂs original route between Cairns, Australia, àand Batavia, Indonesia. McCalman reflected on this experience in a 2003 memoir and article for the journal Meanjin, comparing his difficult journey to George OrwellâÂÂs 1984: âÂÂBig Brother demands a maximum of discomfort, danger and humiliationâÂÂ.
Inspired by the ordeal, McCalman would continue to publish work related to historical re-enactments and popular history. Such works include the 2010 book âÂÂHistorical Reenactment: from Realism to the Affective Turnâ which explores the role of emotion in history through popular forms of history, contributing to the discourse surrounding historyâÂÂs affective turn. McCalman also wrote, in a 2004 article for the academic journal Criticism, which recycles parts of his 2003 memoir of the voyage, âÂÂEndeavoring RealityâÂÂ, to argue for the value of such unique experiences from an academicâÂÂs perspective in the digital era.
Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, McCalman has written extensively on the topic of scientific discovery and the environment from a historical and humanities perspective. Focusing, in particular, on the scientific voyages by the likes of Charles Darwin, Matthew Flinders and James Cook, McCalman discusses in his works the exploration of the Pacific and Oceanic regions. This research has manifested in books such as âÂÂIn the Wake of the Beagle: Science in the Southern Oceans in the Age of Darwinâ and âÂÂDarwinâÂÂs ArmadaâÂÂ. The latter book also inspired several museum exhibitions, including one from the University of SydneyâÂÂs Macleay Museum titled âÂÂAccidental EncountersâÂÂ, and a 2009 documentary titled âÂÂDarwinâÂÂs Brave New WorldâÂÂ.
McCalman, during this period, also began exploring the environment through humanities as well as interdisciplinary practices. A defining example of this approach is found in the introduction of the 2014 book âÂÂRethinking Invasion Ecologies from the Environmental HumanitiesâÂÂ. McCalman and his co-editor, an environmental historian, argue for the value of examining invasive flora and fauna through the lens of the humanities given that the transfer or introduction of species involve, not just biology, but human and cultural elements. The majority of the book, thus, is dedicated to âÂÂdemonstrating how research derived from a humanities perspectives can transform our understandings of the character and implications of invasion ecologiesâÂÂ. McCalman has, in his solo works since then, adopted this humanities-based approach to discussions surrounding the environment. Such works include 2013 book âÂÂThe Reef: A Passionate HistoryâÂÂ.
McCalman has written several commercially successful works, including trade books such as âÂÂThe Seven Ordeals of Count CagliostroâÂÂ. This 2003 book, also known as âÂÂThe Last AlchemistâÂÂ, was published by Harper Collins Australia and details the life of Giuseppe Balsamo, an eighteenth-Century healer and alchemist. McCalman presented the history of Balsamo through seven stories, describing him through the eyes of those around him. To promote this book, McCalman was interviewed by Phillip Adams on the ABC Radio National programme Late Night Live during July 2003. Additionally, an interview of McCalman by the Age was published on 10 August 2003 and draws parallels between himself and Balsamo: âÂÂI was drawn to Balsamo because we shared a bogus African identity . . . During his years of fame, he'd pretended to be an Egyptian prince and prophet. In a way Cagliostro and I were both African pretendersâÂÂ. In a review by the Sydney Morning Herald, the book was described as âÂÂneither a fully-fledged biography nor a thorough cultural history, but a little of both ⦠It provides an admirable introduction to one of the most curious facets of the eighteenth-centuryâÂÂ.
McCalmanâÂÂs third trade book, titled âÂÂThe Reef: a Passionate HistoryâÂÂ, was published in 2013 by Penguin Australia and once again adopts the format of featuring individual stories to depict an image of the subject: AustraliaâÂÂs Great Barrier Reef. The book, which features stories from CookâÂÂs voyage in 1770 and Matthew Findersâ to the ship-wrecked Barbara Thomas, is an example of public history. As George Roff writes in his review: âÂÂMcCalman has produced a fascinating book that is open to both scientists and general readers: almost anyone with a sense of curiosity about natural history will be intrigued by this work".
To promote the book, McCalman was a guest on the ABC Podcast series Conversations, hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski, in 2015. In a report from the Australian Academy of the Humanities, titled âÂÂthe Power of the HumanitiesâÂÂ, the book lead to John Büsst, a resident of Mission Beach which suffered damage from a cycle, approaching McCalman who helped âÂÂ[secure] state heritage listing for BüsstâÂÂs home ⦠It is destined to become a centre for artists, and for reef and rainforest environmental researchâÂÂ.