Paul Sendziuk

Dr Paul Sendziuk

Associate Professor

School of Humanities

Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


Paul Sendziuk is a graduate of the University of Western Australia and Monash University. He specialises in Australian History, with particular interests in the histories of immigration, public health, disease, labour and manufacturing. Paul's doctoral thesis, 'Learning to Trust: A History of Australian Responses to AIDS', was awarded the 2002 Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal. A revised version of this text, published by UNSW Press and University of Washington Press, was short-listed for the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's 2004 Human Rights Award (non-fiction section).

Paul's current research project, 'People, Places and Promises: Social Histories of Holden in Australia', is a history of General Motors-Holden's workers and workplace culture, and the places were Holden's factories were situated. It is a collaboration between the research team (CIs Sendziuk, Jennifer Clark, Alistair Thomson, Graeme Davison and Carolyn Collins) and General Motors-Holden, the National Library of Australia and the National Motor Museum. The team received an Australian Research Council Linkage grant (LP170100860) to conduct the project in 2018-21. So far, outcomes include an exhibition at the National Motor Museum titled 'Holden & Me: Treasures from a Working Life', and an article published in Studies in Oral History.

Paul has recently completed three other large-scale research and publication projects. The first examined the history of volunteerism during the HIV/AIDS crisis, which was conducted in collaboration with A/Prof. Shirleene Robinson and Prof. Robert Reynolds and supported by an ARC Discovery grant (DP160103552). Outcomes included a monograph, In the Eye of the Storm: Volunteers and Australia's Response to HIV/AIDS (UNSW Press, 2021), which won the Oral History Australia Book Award (2021); scholarly articles; articles in The Conversation and for the ABC's website; and an exhibition about the AIDS crisis and volunteering that was held at Sydney's M2 Gallery (with a permanent online component).

The second project, titled 'The Art of AIDS Prevention: Cultural Responses to HIV/AIDS in Australia, South Africa and the United States', explored the nexus between art and health promotion and the way in which artists can save lives. Outcomes include a website containing essays, oral histories with artists, and galleries of images. Further findings will be published in a book under contract with Palgrave Macmillan.

The third project, titled 'A Forgotten Odyssey: A Study of Polish-Australian Displacement, Identity and Memory through Life Stories and Material Culture', investigated the poorly understood experience of Polish displaced persons who migrated to Australia after World War Two. Outcomes of this project include a collection of oral histories held at the National Library of Australia, and articles published in History Australia and Oral History Australia Journal.

Paul also researches and publishes on the history of South Australia. His most recent book in this field, A History of South Australia, was co-authored with Robert Foster and published by Cambridge University Press in 2018. The book was awarded the Keain Medal by the Historical Society of South Australia for the best book on a South Australian history topic.

At undergraduate level, Paul teaches 'Australia and the World', 'Colonial Australia' and 'Migrants, Refugees and the Making of Modern Australia'. At Honours level, he teaches 'Themes and Debates in South Australian History' and the 'Common Course' (a course in historical method and theory). He also supervises a number of Honours and postgraduate students.

In recognition of his teaching, Paul was awarded the Executive Dean's Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007, and the University's highest teaching honour, the Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in Teaching, in 2009. More recently he was the recipient of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning. For his work as a supervisor in 2017 he won the Faculty of Arts Excellence in Postgraduate Supervision Prize, a Beacon Commendation for Implementing Effective HDR Supervision Practices, and his second Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in HDR Supervisory Practice.

Paul has held a variety of leadership positions, including Head of the Department of History. Between 2014-2018 Paul was a member of the Australian Historical Association's Executive Committee and served two two-year terms as the AHA's Treasurer. He is currently the Vice-President of the Australasian Board of the International Society of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in History, and is a Council Member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine. He also serves on the Editorial Board of the journals 'Health and History' and 'New Zealand Journal of History'.

Paul also co-hosts a regular Australian History program on ABC radio, Adelaide. Recent programs have included 'The Referendum to Ban the Communist Party' and 'Who Were the Convicts?'.

  • Appointments

    Date Position Institution name
    2011 - ongoing Associate Professor The University of Adelaide
    2008 - 2011 Senior Lecturer The University of Adelaide
    2005 - 2007 Lecturer The University of Adelaide
    2003 - 2005 Postdoctoral Fellow Monash University
  • Awards and Achievements

    Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
    2021 Award Oral History Australia Book Award, for In the Eye of the Storm: Volunteers and Australia's Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis Oral History Australia Australia $1500
    2019 Award Keain Medal awarded by the Historical Society of South Australia Historical Society of South Australia Australia -
    2017 Teaching Award Excellence in Postgraduate Supervision Prize Faculty of Arts, The University of Adelaide Australia $1000
    2017 Teaching Award Beacon Commendation for the Enhancement and Innovation of Student Learning The University of Adelaide Australia $2000
    2017 Teaching Award Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in HDR Supervisory Practice The University of Adelaide Australia $8000
    2012 Research Award Visiting Researcher at Brocher Foundation Brocher Foundation Switzerland $20,000
    2011 Teaching Award Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning Australian Learning & Teaching Council - $10,000
    2009 Teaching Award Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in Teaching The University of Adelaide - $10,000
    2007 Teaching Award Executive Dean's Excellence in Teaching Award The University of Adelaide - $3,000
    2004 Award Short-listed, 2004 Human Rights Award (non-fiction section) Australian Human Rights Commission Australia -
    2002 Award Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal, Monash University Monash University Australia -
    2001 Scholarship Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship to Russia, 2001-02 - - -
  • Education

    Date Institution name Country Title
    2008 - 2009 The University of Adelaide Australia Grad. Cert. Ed. (Higher Education)
    2002 Monash University Australia PhD
    1992 - 1995 The University of Western Australia Australia BA (Hons)

Large, nationally-competitive grants

  • Project leader, Australian Research Council, Linkage Grant, ‘Assembling for War: General Motors-Holden and the Mobilisation of Private Industry in World War II', 2022-24, $403,236
  • CI, Australian Research Council, Linkage Grant, ‘People, Places and Promises: Social Histories of Holden in Australia’, 2019-21, $354,866
  • CI, Australian Research Council, Discovery Grant, ‘Volunteers in Crisis: Analysing Responses to HIV/AIDS in Australia’, 2016-18, $214,131
  • Project leader, Australian Research Council, Linkage Grant, ‘The Art of AIDS Prevention: Cultural Responses to HIV/AIDS in Australia and the United States’, 2007-09, $122,045

Smaller competitive grants

  • Department of Environment and Water (SA), Research Grant, 'A History of Gladstone Gaol, 1880-1975', 2022, $20,000
  • History SA, South Australian History Fund Research Grant, ‘A Forgotten Odyssey: A Study of Polish-Australian Displacement, Identity and Memory through Life Stories and Material Culture’, 2013, $3,300
  • Ian Potter Foundation Conference Hosting Grant, 2010, $5000
  • Conference Hosting Grant, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Adelaide, 2010, $5,000
  • Faculty Small Grant, ‘Stalin’s Poles: Oral Histories of Displacement from Poland to Australia’, The University of Adelaide, 2009, $8,000
  • Faculty Small Grant, ‘Recording the History of Cultural Responses to AIDS in South Africa: An Oral and Electronic Database’, The University of Adelaide, 2006, $6,500
  • Faculty Strategic Initiatives Grant, The University of Adelaide, 2006, $1,000
  • Conference Travel Grants, The University of Adelaide, 2005 ($1,000) and $2000 (2007)
  • Small Grant, ‘Recording the History of Cultural Responses to AIDS in Australia and the United States: An Oral and Electronic Database’, Monash University, 2003-04, $8,000

Funded fellowships

  • Scholar in Residence, St Mark's College, Adelaide, 2022
  • Scholar in Residence, Brocher Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland, September and October 2012
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, La Trobe University, 2005-07 (offer declined)
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Faculty of Arts, Monash University, 2003-05

At undergraduate level, Paul teaches 'Australia and the World in the Twentieth Century', 'Colonial Australia' and 'Migrants, Refugees and the Making of Modern Australia'. At Honours level, he teaches 'Themes and Debates in South Australian History' and the 'Common Course' (a course in historical method and theory). He also supervises Honours and postgraduate students. Paul's excellence in the area of teaching and supervision has been recognised with the following university and national awards:

  • Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in HDR Supervisory Practice, 2017. This is the University's highest honour for supervisors and awarded to only one person per year.
  • Faculty of Arts Excellence in HDR Supervision Award, The University of Adelaide, 2017
  • Beacon Commendation for the Enhancement and Innovation of Student Learning, The University of Adelaide, 2017
  • Australian Learning & Teaching Council Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, 2011
  • Stephen Cole the Elder Award for Excellence in Teaching – the University of Adelaide’s highest teaching and learning honour, 2009
  • Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award, The University of Adelaide, 2007

Paul was invited to participate in the 'History Passion Project' and videos of him speaking about his approach to teaching History can be viewed here and here.

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2024 Principal Supervisor The role of private charities in Adelaide during the Depression Decade 1927-37 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Liam Michael Horwood
    2024 Principal Supervisor How did the defection of Australian communists to the Australia First Movement shape fascism in Australia? Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Alexander James McKenny
    2023 Principal Supervisor Tackling the Far Right in Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Ella Nora Byrne
    2022 Principal Supervisor Labour-Environmentalism in Australia, c. 1975-2020 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Nicholas James Herriot
    2021 Principal Supervisor Artistic Communities and Non-Profit Responses to the HIV/AIDS Crisis in New York City Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Caitlin Amy Merlin
    2019 Principal Supervisor Documenting Suicides by South Australian First World War Veterans. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Jessie Kate Lewcock
    2019 Principal Supervisor Intimacy, Power, and Separation: The Impact of Military Service on Marital Relationships in World War II Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Emma Gwen Carson
  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2020 - 2023 Principal Supervisor “Dear Daddy”: Australian Children and their Servicemen Fathers during the Second World War Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Miss Jade Tayla Ryles
    2020 - 2023 Co-Supervisor South Australian Art Needlework 1876-1909 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Jodie Lee Vandepeer
    2019 - 2023 Co-Supervisor ‘Three Great Forces are at Work Trying to Control Events’: Australian Anglican Views on the League of Nations, Communism, and Fascism, 1927-1939 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Alexander Charles Parsons
    2016 - 2020 Principal Supervisor In a State of War: Women's Experiences of the South Australian Home Front, 1939-45 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Rachel Diane Harris
    2016 - 2022 Co-Supervisor History, Territory and Sovereignty: Celebrating Settler Nationalism in South Australia, 1900–1968 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Dr Carmel Rosalie Pascale
    2015 - 2021 Principal Supervisor The Solidarity Wave: Settlement Experiences and their Influence on the
    Identity of Polish Migrants Arriving in Australia During the 1980s
    Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Jessica Jocher
    2013 - 2017 Co-Supervisor Banking on Hearts and Minds: American Banks, Popular Confidence, and the Public Sphere During the Gilded Age and Progressive Era Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Thomas Ashley Mackay
    2012 - 2016 Co-Supervisor 'Plenty of Opal Back Then: Opal Pulkah': A History of Aboriginal Engagement in the Northern South Australian Opal Industry c.1940-1980 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Mike Harding
    2012 - 2016 Principal Supervisor 'Those Women With Banners': A history of the Save Our Sons movement, 1965-1973. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Carolyn Maree Collins
    2011 - 2017 Principal Supervisor Formidable Rivals: Canada, Australia, and the Pursuit of British Agricultural Migrants, 1896 - 1914 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Jill Allison MacKenzie
    2011 - 2013 Co-Supervisor 'Yet we are told that Australians do not sympathise with Ireland.' A study of South Australian support for Irish Home Rule, 1883 - 1912 Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Dr Fidelma McCorry
    2011 - 2016 Principal Supervisor Death of a Spectacle: The Transition from Public to Private Executions in Colonial Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Steven Glenn Anderson
    2011 - 2017 Principal Supervisor "We Are Entitled To Some Control": The Australian Army Medical Corps in the First World War Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mrs Alexia Moncrieff
    2010 - 2013 Principal Supervisor Abortion, Homosexuality and the Slippery Slope: Legislating 'Moral' Behaviour in South Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Clare Parker
    2007 - 2012 Principal Supervisor Orphans of Vietnam: A History of Intercountry Adoption Policy and Practice in Australia 1968-1975 Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Joshua Forkert
    2006 - 2009 Co-Supervisor Gospel Power for Civilization: The CMS Missionary Perspective on Maori Culture Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Sarah Dingle
  • Editorial Boards

    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2022 - ongoing Board Member Labour History: a journal of labour and social history The University of Adelaide Australia
    2019 - ongoing Board Member New Zealand Journal of History The University of Auckland New Zealand
    2012 - ongoing Board Member Health and History - -
  • Offices Held

    Date Office Name Institution Country
    2019 - ongoing Vice-President, Australasian Board International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in History Australia
    2013 - ongoing Treasurer, Australian Historical Association Australian Historical Association -
    2009 - ongoing Council member, Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine Australian and New Zealand Society of the History of Medicine -
  • Position: Associate Professor
  • Phone: 83137562
  • Email: paul.sendziuk@adelaide.edu.au
  • Fax: 83134341
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Napier, floor Fifth Floor
  • Room: 512
  • Org Unit: School of Humanities

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