Dr Geraldine Fela, from the Department of History and Archaeology, has been recognsied as a dynamic early-career research talent, being selected for the ABC TOP 5 Media Residency Program 2023 in the Humanities category.
Each year, the program puts out a call to Australia's higher education sector and research organisations to find the top 5 early career scholars in three categories: Humanities, Science and the Arts.
The ABC TOP 5 is a unique opportunity for talented young researchers to go behind-the-scenes with the ABC's expert communicators. Participants will spend two weeks “in residence” at ABC Radio National, working with some of Australia’s best journalists and broadcasters, learning first-hand about the craft of delivery through radio, television and digital platforms.
“I’m thrilled to have been selected for the ABC TOP 5 Program. As an oral historian, I am lucky enough to spend my days listening to, and recording, extraordinary life stories. I am always looking for ways to reach new audiences with these stories, and this program is an exciting opportunity to develop skills in this area,” says Geraldine.
Geraldine’s research expertise sits at the intersection of labour history, histories of gender and sexuality and social history.
“My doctoral research, which I am currently working to turn into a manuscript, combined archival evidence with oral history testimony to tell, for the first time, the story of how Australian nurses responded to HIV and AIDS in Australia prior to the introduction of effective treatment in 1996.”
Geraldine has recently commenced a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Macquarie University – an oral history of the 1998 waterfront dispute between Patrick Stevedores and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).