Kansas State University

History scholar from Australia visits K-State through Oz to Oz program

Submitted by Tiffany Roney

Chris Dixon, holder of the 2017-2018 Fulbright Scholarship in Australian-U.S. Alliance Studies, will visit Kansas State University April 23-25 as part of the Oz to Oz program.

Dixon, who is a professor of history at Macquarie University in Sydney, will present a seminar on his historical research at 3:30 p.m. Monday, April 24, in 301 Calvin Hall.

Dixon has received an Australian Research Council Discovery Award for his research focusing on the social and cultural dimensions of war. He is currently completing "African Americans and the Pacific War: Race, Nationality and the Fight for Freedom," to be published by Cambridge University Press.

During his visit to K-State, he hopes to deepen his knowledge about the interactions between the U.S. and Australia, especially during times of war. In particular, he is looking forward to meeting with members of the Institute for Military History and Twentieth Century Studies, based in K-State's history department.

"Our two countries have forged a long and deep relationship based on many shared values and priorities," Dixon said. "On the other hand, the relationship also highlights differences between our two societies, cultures and political systems."

Individuals who would like to visit with Dixon during his visit to K-State should contact the history department at 785-532-6730.

Dixon has served two terms as president of the Australian and New Zealand American Studies Association and one term as president of the International Society for Cultural History.

His published books include:

• "The South Seas: A Reception History from Daniel Defoe to Dorothy Lamour."
• "Hollywood's South Seas and the Pacific War: Searching for Dorothy Lamour."
• "Coast to Coast and the Islands in Between: Case Studies in Modern Pacific Crossings."
• "Competing Voices from the Pacific War: Fighting Words."
• "Conflict in the Pacific, 1937-1951."
• "Conflict in Indochina, 1954-1979."
• "African America and Haiti: Emigration and Black Nationalism in the Nineteenth Century."
• "Perfecting the Family: Antislavery Marriages in Nineteenth-Century America."

The Oz to Oz program establishes working relationships between researchers from K-State and Australia. The program sends faculty from K-State to Australia and hosts Australian Fulbright scholars at K-State. Visiting faculty present their research through seminar presentations and connect with host faculty members.

The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program provides faculty and professionals from around the world grants to conduct research and lecture in the United States. The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind and was created by U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright and the U.S. government in 1946. With the goal of promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, the program operates between the U.S. and 155 countries.