Emma Carson

Emma Carson

Higher Degree by Research Candidate

School of Humanities

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

Emma Carson is a Ph.D. candidate in Department of Historical and Classical Studies at the University of Adelaide. Her current project specialises in Australian military history and the history of emotions, although she is also generally interested in twentieth-century history, memory politics, and gender history.

My Ph.D. dissertation looks at the impact of military service and separation on married couples during World War II. This is an extension of my first-class Honours thesis from 2018, 'Separated Spouses and the Construction of Intimacy in World War II', for which I was awarded both the Lynda Tapp Prize in Honours History and the Tinline Scholarship in History. I am especially interested in exploring how couples constructed intimacy, power, and devotion in their letters to one another while apart and how these constructions ultimately affected their relationships after the war. 

I previously collaborated with the Tate Museum as part of a Summer Research Scholarship at the University of Adelaide, which resulted in me presenting a paper at the Council of Australian Museums and Collections Symposium at Australian National University in April 2018. I am also currently working on a paper based on my Honours thesis, which I hope to publish within the next twelve months. 

  • Awards and Achievements
    Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
    2022 Award AHA Conference Australian Women’s History Network Support Scheme Australian Women's History Network Australia $500
    2022 Distinction The People’s Choice Award for Ongoing Research at the Department of Historical and Classical Studies Postgraduate Conference Department of Historical and Classical Studies, University of Adelaide Australia -
    2021 Award Highly Commended Paper at the Lilith Feminist History Symposium Australian Women's History Network Australia -
    2020 Award Australian Historical Association/Copyright Agency Travel and Writing Bursary Australian Historical Association/Copyright Agency Australia $800
    2020 Research Award Hugh Martin Weir Prize University of Adelaide Australia $2,000
    2019 Scholarship Research Training Stipend University of Adelaide Australia $27,596 p.a.
    2018 Award Lynda Tapp Prize in Honours History University of Adelaide Australia $450
    2018 Award Tinline Scholarship in History University of Adelaide Australia $1,500
    2017 Award Lynda Tapp Essay Prize in History University of Adelaide Australia $900
    2017 Scholarship Summer Research Scholarship University of Adelaide Australia $1,200
    2017 Award Bundey Prize for English Verse University of Adelaide Australia $300

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2019 University of Adelaide Australia Doctor of Philosophy (History)
    2018 - 2018 University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Arts (Honours)
    2015 - 2017 University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Arts

  • Research Interests
    Australian History Culture, Gender, Sexuality History

  • Book Chapters
    Year Citation
    2022 Carson, E. (2022). Loneliness, the Love Letter and the Performance of Romance During Wartime Separation, 1939–1945. In The Routledge History of Loneliness (pp. 434-451). Routledge.
    DOI

I have teaching experience in the following areas: 

Marking and Teaching Assistance

HIST 2093: The Family, Memory and Identity (Level II)

ARTS3011: Humans and Technology: From Stone Tools to Cyborgs (Level III)

Lecturing

HIST 3071: History of Warfare (Level III) 

Tutoring

HIST 1108: Empires in World History (Level I)

HIST 3034: Migrants and the Making of Modern Australia (Level III)

  • Memberships
    Date Role Membership Country
    2022 - ongoing Member Society for the History of Emotions Australia
    2021 - ongoing Member Australian Historical Association Australia
    2016 - ongoing Member Golden Key International Honour Society Australia

  • Community Engagement
    Date Title Engagement Type Institution Country
    2022 - 2022 'Stories from the Archives, from Foundation to Federation', South Australia's History Festival Public Community Engagement History Trust of South Australia, Barr Smith Library, and State Records of South Australia -
    2021 - ongoing 'War Letters and Family History', South Australia's History Festival Public Community Engagement History Trust of South Australia Australia
    2020 - 2020 Interview on love letters during World War II, ABC Radio Adelaide, Weekends with Deb Tribe Public Community Engagement ABC Radio Adelaide Australia

  • Editorial Boards
    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2022 - ongoing Board Member Lilith: a feminist history journal Australian Women's History Network Australia

  • Offices Held
    Date Office Name Institution Country
    2020 - 2021 Postgraduate Representative of the History Department University of Adelaide Australia

  • Presentation
    Date Topic Presented at Institution Country
    2022 - ongoing 'Do you know why he called her Spanner?' Writing Sex and Innuendo in Second World War Letters Australian Historical Association Conference Deakin University Australia
    2022 - ongoing Sex and the Physical Body in Letters, 1939-1945 Department of Historical and Classical Studies Postgraduate Conference University of Adelaide Australia
    2021 - ongoing Separated Spouses and the Construction of Intimacy in World War II Australian Historical Association Conference UNSW Sydney Australia
    2021 - ongoing 'Patrolling the Borders of Intimacy': Censorship in the Letters of Australian Servicemen and their Partners, 1939-1945 Conflict & Society UNSW Canberra Australia
    2021 - ongoing Separation, Letters, and Negotiating Gender in World War II Lilith Feminist History Symposium Australian Women's History Network Australia
    2019 - ongoing Constructing Intimacy in the Letters of Australian Servicemen during World War II Postgraduate Research Conference University of Adelaide Australia
    2019 - 2019 Constructing Intimacy in the Letters of Australian Servicemen, 1939-1945 Letter-Writing and Emotions Workshop (ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions) University of Adelaide Australia
    2018 - ongoing The Legacy of Douglas Mawson and Narratives at the Tate Museum The Council of Australian University Museums and Collections Symposium Australian National University Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles