Join Dr Anna Dziedzic as she presents a lecture on her 2021 National Library Fellowship research about the movement of constitution texts and ideas across Oceania.
Dr Anna Dziedzic is a 2021 National Library of Australia Fellow, supported by the Stokes family.
About Dr Anna Dziedzic’s Fellowship research
There is a long history of constitution-making across the islands of the Pacific. Pacific polities produced some of the world’s earliest written constitutions in the 19th century. Decolonisation in the latter part of the 20th century produced a second wave of written constitutions as colonial territories became independent states. Efforts to make and renew constitutions continue today.
The National Library of Australia holds the working papers of JW Davidson and CJ Lynch, who between them provided advice on independence constitution-making across 7 Pacific states from the 1960s to 1980s. These papers, together with the significant collection of primary and secondary materials relating to the history of the Pacific islands, will be used to develop an understanding of second wave constitution-making that moves beyond official accounts by paying attention to the people, relationships and contexts that lie behind constitutional texts. This research is part of a larger project that traces the patterns and connections between written constitutions, narratives about past constitution-making events, and the development and interpretation of constitutions today.
Entry is free to this event but bookings are essential. You do not need to book a ticket to watch the event online.
Image credit: Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea – Fourth draft of 10 May 1975 (renumbered and revised), Papers of C.J. Lynch 1901-1985, MS Acc11.0776 Box 6 Folder 2/38
For more information visit https://www.nla.gov.au/whats-on/events/waves-and-currents-movement-constitutional-texts-and-ideas-across-oceania-dr-anna
