Lynette Russell

I am Professor of Indigenous Studies (History) at the Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, Monash University, Melbourne. My Aboriginal ancestors were born on the lands of the Wotjabaluk people, who then, through the colonial project, married into the Pallawah people of Tasmania, and I descend from convicts on the other side. I am, as a historian, rather uniquely placed. I specialize in Australian Aboriginal Histories.

My work is deeply interdisciplinary and collaborative. All of my research outputs have sought to show the dynamism of Aboriginal responses to colonialism, their agency, and their subjectivity. I completed a PhD in history at the University of Melbourne in 1996. Since then, I have taught and researched in history, postcolonial studies, and Indigenous studies. I am the author or editor of 21 volumes, with several more in train. I am the only Australian scholar to be elected to the Royal Historical Society (London), the Royal Anthropological Institute (London), the Royal Geographical Society (London), and  in 2023 the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

I am passionate about community outreach and the dissemination of knowledge to the wider community.