Kirsten McKenzie

Biography

Kirsten McKenzie is a historian specialising in imperial history and the connection between British, South African and Australian history in the period 1780 to 1850. She employs the perspectives of cultural history to ask questions about the relationship between identity, social status and political liberties. Professor McKenzie has been instrumental in establishing the importance of Britain’s southern hemisphere colonies in understanding the ‘imperial meridian’, a pivotal shift in global power structures following the Napoleonic conflict. Her book A Swindler’s Progress was shortlisted for the Nettie Palmer Prize for Non-Fiction, Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, 2010 and the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History, 2011. Professor McKenzie has served on the editorial boards of Australian Historical Studies and the South African Historical Journal and she is currently Deputy Editor of Women’s History Review (UK). In 2015 she chaired the organising committee of the Australian Historical Association Conference. She is currently Professor of History at the University of Sydney.