Dr Michael Ondaatje

Work Phone	(02) 4921 5219
Fax	(02) 4921 6940
Email	Michael.Ondaatje@newcastle.edu.au
Position	Senior Lecturer School of Humanities and Social Science The University of Newcastle, Australia
Office	MCLG26a, McMullin Building

Biography

Michael Ondaatje is Senior Lecturer, Head of History and Co-Director of International Operations in the School of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Newcastle.

Born in Perth, Western Australia, Michael was awarded his PhD, with Distinction, from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2008. That year his thesis on black conservatism was recognised with the Robert Street Prize for the most outstanding PhD across all of the University's disciplines. In 2010, Michael's first book, Black Conservative Intellectuals in Modern America, was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press and became a Top 20 International Bestseller in U.S. history. In 2011, the book was recognised with the University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence, and in 2012 was shortlisted for the Australian Historical Association's W.K. Hancock Prize (receiving a High Commendation).

Michael's research has been supported by grants and fellowships from the Australian Academy of the Humanities, the United States Studies Centre (at the University of Sydney) and the Rothermere American Institute in Oxford. In 2011/12, he was a Senior Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford, a Researcher-in-Residence at the United States Studies Centre in Sydney, and a member of the Emerging Research Leaders Program at the University of Newcastle.

Michael is also the winner of several major teaching awards at the national, university and faculty level, including an ALTC Award for Teaching Excellence (2011); an ALTC Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2010); the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence (Newcastle, 2010); and a Faculty of Education and Arts Award for Teaching Excellence (Newcastle, 2009). He has supervised 15 Honours theses to completion and is currently involved in the supervision of 7 PhDs.

Beyond the walls of the University, Michael is a regular media commentator on American history and politics, having been interviewed on hundreds of occasions on the ABC (television and radio), Channel Ten, Sky News and SBS, as well as in the United States. Since 2009, he has also been invited to deliver a number of keynote addresses, most notably the Annual Human Rights Day Address at the United Nations Association of Australia in 2011. Michael is currently co-editor of the Australasian Journal of American Studies and a member of the Executive of the Australian Historical Association.

In 2012 the Australian Academy of the Humanities awarded Michael the Max Crawford Medal, ‘Australia’s most prestigious award for achievement and promise in the humanities’. The Crawford Medal is ‘granted to early career Australian researchers for outstanding scholarly achievement in the humanities in Australia, and to those whose publications make an exceptional contribution to the understanding of humanities disciplines by the general public’.

Michael has also recently been selected by the U.S. Embassy in Australia for the International Visitor Leadership Program, the flagship exchange program of the U.S. State Department (details: http://osce.usmission.gov/archive/misc/press_ivp.html). In June 2013, he will be part of a program in Washington DC called “Decision-Making in US Foreign Policy.”

Michael is currently working on a number of projects in two broad research fields: African American political history and the history of American foreign policy (with special emphasis on US-Australia relations). Two new books in these areas are due to be completed in 2013/14.

Qualifications

PhD, University of Western Australia, 2008
Bachelor of Arts (Honours), University of Western Australia, 2001

Research

Research keywords

African American History
American Foreign Policy
American-Australian Relations
History of Ideas
Transnational History

Research expertise

My research up to now has focused on nineteenth and twentieth century African American history, with a particular emphasis on the history of black conservatism. However, I also have developing research interests in American foreign policy and transnational history.

Languages

English

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
210312	North American History	90
220209	History Of Ideas	10

Centres and Groups

Centre

Humanities Research Institute

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

Member - Australia New Zealand American Studies Association (ANZASA)
Member - American Historical Association (AHA)
Member - Organization of American Historians (OAH)

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

Member - Executive Committee, Australia New Zealand American Studies Association (ANZASA)

Editorial Board.

Member - Australasian Journal of American Studies (AJAS)

Appointments

Research Associate United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney (Australia)	01/01/2013 - 01/12/2013
Researcher-in-Residence United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney (Australia)	01/01/2012 - 01/12/2012
Senior Visiting Research Fellow Rothermere American Institute, University of Oxford (United Kingdom)	01/01/2011 - 01/04/2011
Research Associate United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney (Australia)	01/01/2011 - 01/12/2011
Whitfeld Research Fellow University of Western Australia (Australia)	01/07/2007 - 01/02/2008

Awards

Recognition.

2013	International Visitor Leadership Program U.S. State Department (United States) .
2012	Emerging Research Leader University of Newcastle (Australia) Emerging Research Leaders Program
2011	National Award for Teaching Excellence (Early Career) Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) (Australia) Excellence in Teaching
2010	Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence (Early Career) University of Newcastle (Australia) Excellence in teaching
2010	Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) (Australia) For creating exceptionally engaging teaching environments and embedding innovative resources in newly-developed American history courses that have inspired and motivated students to learn.
2009	Excellence in Teaching Award Faculty of Education and Arts, University of Newcastle (Australia) Excellence in teaching
2008	Valedictorian University of Western Australia (Australia) Graduation Ceremony
2007	Excellence in Teaching Award (Early Career) University of Western Australia (Australia) Excellence in teaching

Research Award.

2012	Max Crawford Medal Australian Academy of the Humanities (Australia) Awarded to early career Australian researchers for "outstanding scholarly achievement in the humanities in Australia, and to those whose publications make an exceptional contribution to the understanding of humanities disciplines by the general public."
2012	W.K. Hancock Prize (High Commendation) Australian Historical Association (Australia) Black Conservative Intellectuals in Modern America (best first book by an Australian scholar in any field of history)
2011	Vice-Chancellor's Award for Research Excellence (Black Conservative Intellectuals in Modern America) University of Newcastle (Australia) :
2008	Robert Street Prize - Best PhD across all disciplines at the University of Western Australia in 2008 University of Western Australia (Australia) “The prize is awarded to the student whose PhD thesis, of all theses passed with distinction in a designated 12-month period, has, in the opinion of the Board of the Graduate Research School, made the most outstanding contribution to its field.”
2006	Peter Coleman Award Australasian Journal of American Studies (Australia) Best article published in the Australasian Journal of American Studies over a two year period – “Counterfeit Heroes or Colour-Blind Visionaries”

Invitations

Keynote Address: John Turner Memorial Lecture University of Newcastle, Australia (Keynote Address)	2012
Keynote Address: Martin Luther King, the United Nations and the Struggle for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Day Address United Nations Association of Australia, Australia (Keynote Address)	2011
Keynote Address: Saviors or Sellouts? Black Conservative Intellectuals in Modern America, Perspectives on Power Conference University of Queensland, Australia (Keynote Address)	2011
Keynote Address: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race: An Historical Perspective, Limina Conference University of Western Australia, Australia (Keynote Address)	2009

The University of Newcastle, Australia