CURRICULUM VITAE

CURRICULUM VITAE

Emeritus Professor Graham Seal AM

Overview

Graham Seal has a distinguished national profile as a founder of folklore studies in Australia and is also a leading and widely-cited international authority on the cultural traditions of the hero in a variety of cultural contexts and configurations. He has had a substantial career in university teaching, research and management and previously worked in government publishing and the music industry. He held a personal chair in Folklore, Australia’s first, at Curtin University, where he was Director of the Australia Asia Pacific Institute from 2007-2019. His contribution to scholarship was acknowledged in 2007 when he was made a Member of the Order of Australia. Graham is also an award winning songwriter, poet and best-selling author of the ‘Great Australian Stories’ series.

Academic Qualifications

BA (Hons) History University of NSW, 1976.

MA (awarded with Distinction) Folklife Studies University of Leeds, 1978.

Graduate Diploma in Media, Australian Film, Television and Radio School, 1986.

PhD Deakin University, 1994.

Curtin University Positions

  • Snr Tutor-Associate Prof School of Communication & Cultural Studies 1985-2001
  • Director Australian Studies, 2002-4
  • Deputy Director Australia Research Institute, 2004-6
  • Director Australian Folklore Research Unit, 2002-
  • Director Centre for Advanced Studies in Australia, Asia and the Pacific, 2007-2011
  • Director Australia Asia Pacific Institute 2011 – 2019

Membership of Professional and Scholarly Associations

  • Australian Studies Association/International Australian Studies Association.
  • Australian Folklore Association.
  • Member Folklore Society (UK).
  • Corresponding Member Australian National Dictionary Centre, ANU.
  • Australian Society of Authors.
  • Member English Folk Dance and Song Society
  • Member British Australian Studies Association
  • Australian Association of University Professors (AAUP)

Offices in Professional and Scholarly Organisations

  • Australian Studies Association: Secretary, 1987; Vice President, 1992.
  • Australian Folklore Association: President, 1991-2; Executive Member, 1992 – now; Secretary, 1994.
  • Australian Folk Trust, Vice-Chairman, 1982-85.
  • Australian Folklore Network, Convenor 2001-present

Past and Current Boards, etc.

  • Editorial Board Perfect Beat 1998-2012
  • Editorial Board Australian Folklore 1992-
  • Editorial Board Journal of Australian Naval History 2010 – 2014
  • Publisher Black Swan Press 1992-2004; 2007-
  • General Editor ‘Studies in Australia, Asia and the Pacific’ series, Black Swan Press
  • Editorial Board Folklife 2014 –
  • ‘Outlaws in Literature, History and Culture’ Series, Ashgate
  • Editorial Board Heroism Science 2016-
  • International Advisory Board Folklore (UK), 2016-

Awards and Distinctions

  • NSW Education Department Teacher Education Scholarship, 1972-76.
  • MA awarded with Distinction, University of Leeds, 1978.
  • Commonwealth Postgraduate Award (not taken up), 1980.
  • National Folklore Fellowship, Australian Folk Trust/Australia Council, 1987. 
  • Invited ‘ Distinguished International Scholar’ American Folklore Society Centennial 1989.  
  • ‘1st Runner Up’ Katharine Briggs Folklore Award, (Folklore Society, UK), 1994, for The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore(Oxford University Press, 1993), jointly edited with G. Beed Davey.
  • American Library Association Award 1994 for The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore (Oxford University Press, 1993), jointly edited with G. Beed Davey.
  • Naomi and Isi Leibler Award (most outstanding PhD thesis in Social Sciences), Deakin University, 1995.
  • Publisher of Black Swan Press team sharing Executive Dean of Humanities Award for Excellence, 1999.
  • Book of the Year award at Tamworth Country Music Festival 2006 for Old Bush Songs: The Centenary Edition of Banjo Paterson’s Classic Collection (jointly edited with W Fahey), Australian Broadcasting Corporation Books, Sydney, 2005.
  • Member of the Order of Australia ‘For service to the preservation and dissemination of Australian folklore, particularly through a range of academic, editorial and research roles.’ 2006.
  • Joint winner National Biography Award for These Few Lines: The Lost Lives of Myra and William Sykes, 2008.
  • Faculty of Humanities best book award, 2012.
  • 2020 Curtin University Research and Engagement Awards – Top Five Media Commentators for the Faculty of Humanities
  • Who’s Who in Australia

Other Significant Professional and Scholarly Activities

  • Founder Western Australian Folklore Archive, 1985, John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library.
  • Co-founder & co-editor Australian Folklore, 1987-1992. Editorial Board 1993 –
  • Visiting Scholar to China, Chinese Folk Literature and Art Society, 1988.
  • WA Secondary Education Authority Syllabus Committee for Media Studies, 1989-90.
  • Visiting Scholar Centre for English Cultural Tradition and Language, Sheffield University, 1991.
  • Co-founder/editorial board member and Publisher, Black Swan Press, 1992 -2002. Publisher 2006-
  • Director, Centre for Australian Studies, 1987-89; 1993-4; 2004-
  • Deputy Director Australian Regional Research Unit 2003-2009.
  • Organising Committee 1992 ‘Outside Images of Australia’ international conference, 1990-92.
  • Visiting Scholar, University of Kent at Canterbury, 1996.
  • Visiting Professor, National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, Sheffield University, 1996, 1998/9, 2000.
  • Member Roundtable on Graduate Diploma in Folklife Studies, National Centre for Australian Studies, Monash University, Melbourne, February 1996.
  • WA Secondary Education Authority Syllabus Committee for Australian Studies, 1995-97, 2002-
  • Workplace Harassment Contact Officer, Curtin University, 1994 – 2002.
  • Academic Staff Association Liaison-person, School of Communication & Cultural Studies, 1988-1995.
  • Regular book reviewer and feature writer West Australian newspaper 1995 -2011.
  • Founder and Convenor Australian Folklore Network and editor Transmissions 2002 – 
  • Convenor National Folklore Conference, National Library of Australia, Canberra, 2005 – 
  • Australian Research Council assessor 2007-
  • Founder West Australian Folklore Archive, John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, Curtin University, 2009.
  • External research assessor ANU, 2010.
  • Visiting Research Professor, University of Leeds 2010.
  • Visiting Fellow, University of Sheffield, 2010.
  • Visiting Professor, Elphinstone Institute, Aberdeen University, 2013.
  • ERA History ‘champion’ (Curtin), ERA 2018, ERA 2015, ERA 2012, ERA 2010. 
  • ERA Assessor 2015.
  • ERA Peer Reviewer 2015.

Significant Consultancies

  • Consultant Lithgow Valley Archaeological Survey, 1981 (Sydney University/NSW Government)
  • Principal Consultant Kalamunda Shire ‘Foothills Connection’ community arts project, 1988-1990.
  • Smithsonian Institution Office of Folklife Programs, 1990-91.
  • Australian Folklife Centre, Museum of Australia, Senior Research Associate, 1992-3.
  • National Library of Australia, 2002-
  • National Museum of Australia 2003-4 (‘Outlawed’ exhibition)
  • Submarine Institute of Australia 2007-13

Books

Ned Kelly in Popular Tradition, Hyland House, Melbourne, 1980; 2002.

(ed) Banjo Paterson’s Old Bush Songs, Angus & Robertson, Sydney and London 1983, 1984, 1986.

The Hidden Culture: Folklore in Australian Society, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1989; 1993. 2nd rev. edn. Black Swan Press, Perth, 1998.

Digger Folksong and Verse of World War One: An Annotated Anthology, Centre for Australian Studies, Perth, 1992). 

The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993. (joint ed. and part-author with G. Davey).

(joint ed. with D. Grant) Australia in the World: Perceptions and Possibilities, Black Swan Press, Perth, 1994.

Great Australian Urban Myths, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1995.

The Outlaw Legend: A Cultural Tradition in Britain, America and Australia, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne/Cambridge/New York, 1996.

The Bare Fax, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1996; 1997.

The Lingo: Listening to Australian English, University of New South Wales Press, Randwick, 1998.

The Cane Toad High: Great Australian Urban Myths, HarperCollins, Sydney, 2001, rev. edn. 1996 title).

Encyclopedia of Folk Heroes, ABC-Clio, Oxford/Santa Barbara CA, 2001, 2016.

‘Tell ‘em I Died Game’: The Legend of Ned Kelly, Hyland House, Melbourne, 2002. (Rev. edn. of 1980 title).

A Guide to Australian Folklore (with G. Davey), Simon & Schuster, Sydney, 2003.

Verandah Music: Roots of Australian Tradition (jointly edited with R. Willis), Curtin University Books/Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2003.

Inventing Anzac: The Digger and National Mythology, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, 2004.

Echoes of Anzac: The Voice of Australians at War, Lothian Books, Melbourne, 2005.

Old Bush Songs: The Centenary Edition of Banjo Paterson’s Classic Collection (jointly edited with W Fahey), ABC Books, Sydney, 2005.

These Few Lines: The Lost Lives of Myra and William Sykes, ABC Books, Sydney, 2006/2008.

(With Smith, S) Place and People: New Dimensions in Regional Research, Black Swan Press, Perth, 2007.

Great Australian Stories: Legends, Yarns and Tall Tales, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2009.

Dog’s Eye and Dead Horse: Australian Rhyming Slang ABC Books/HarperCollins, Sydney, 2009.

Enter at Own Risk: Australia’s Population Questions for the 21st Century, Black Swan Press, Perth, 2010 (edited with Suvendrini Perera and Sue Summers).

Outlaw Heroes in Myth and History, Anthem Press, London/New York, 2011.

Great Australian Stories: Legends, Yarns and Tall Tales, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2009, 2011 (2nd enlarged edition).

Antipodean Traditions: Australian Folklore in the 21st Century, Black Swan Press, Perth, 2011 (edited with J Gall).

Great Anzac Stories, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2013, 2015.

The Soldiers’ Press: Trench Journals in World War One, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2013.

A Century of Service: Australian Submariners 1914-2014, Submarine Institute of Australia/Boolarong Press, 2013.

Larrikins, bush tales and other great Australian stories. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2014, 2015.

John Stephens and Graham Seal, Remembering the Wars: Community Significance of West Australian War Memorials, Black Swan Press, Perth, 2015.

The Savage Shore, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2015. (UK and USA Yale University Press 2016)

Folk Heroes and Heroines Around the World 2nd edn (edited with Kim Kennedy White, ABC/Clio, Oxford/Santa Barbara CA, 2016.

Great Australian Journeys, Allen & Unwin, Sydney 2016, 2018.

Doyle, Timothy and Graham Seal (eds). Indian Ocean futures: new partnerships, new alliances and academic diplomacy, Routledge, 2016.

Great Convict Stories, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2017, 2018.

Great Bush Stories, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 2018, 2020 (forthcoming).

Australia’s Funniest Yarns, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 2019.

Great Australian Mysteries, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2021.

Condemned: The Transported Men, Women and Children Who Built Britain’s Empire, Yale University Press, Newhaven and London, 2021.

Great Australian Mysteries, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2021.

Great Australian Places, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2022.

Australia’s Most Infamous Criminals, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2023.

Australia’s Greatest Stories, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2024.

Major Journal Articles and Book Chapters

‘Azaria Chamberlain and the Media Charivari’, Australian Folklore 1, March 1987.

‘ A ‘Hussitting’ in Berkshire, 1930′, Folklore (UK), 98:1, 1987.

‘Tradition and Protest in Nineteenth Century England and Wales’, Folklore (UK), 100:2, 1988.

‘Septic Tanks Down Under: America and Americans in Australian Folklore’, Overland 112, 1988.

‘Written in the Trenches: Trench Newspapers of the Great War’, Journal of the Australian War Memorial, April, 1990.

‘Two Traditions: The Folklore of the Digger and the Myth of Anzac’, Australian Folklore 5, 1991.

‘The Wild Colonial Boy Rides Again: An Australian Legend Abroad’, Australian Studies, 1993 (British Australian Studies Association).

‘Deep Continuities and Discontinuities in the Outlaw Hero Traditions of Britain, Australia and America’, Lore and Language, 1993.

‘Introduction: What is Folklore?’ (with G. Davey) in Davey, G & Seal, G (eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993.

‘Bushrangers’ in Davey, G & Seal, G (eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore, (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993).

‘Chinese Folklore in Australia’ (with Feng Wei & Lin Zesheng) in Davey, G & Seal, G (eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore, (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993).

‘Folk Tales’, with J.S. Ryan in Davey, G & Seal, G (eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore , (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993).

‘Humour’  in Davey, G & Seal, G (eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore , (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993).

‘Ned Kelly’ in Davey, G & Seal, G (eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore, (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993).

‘Occupational Folklore’ in Davey, G & Seal, G (eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore, (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993).

‘Waltzing Matilda’ in Davey, G & Seal, G (eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore, (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993).

‘Wartime Folklore’ in Davey, G & Seal, G (eds), The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore, (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1993).

‘The Wild Colonial Boy Rides Again: An Australian Legend Abroad’ in Craven, I. (ed), Australian Popular Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994.

‘Ned Kelly: Past, Present and Future’, Australian Folklore 10, 1995.

‘Outlaw Heroes on the Post-Modern Frontier’, Australian Humanities Review 2, July 1996.

‘Unravelling Digger Yarns of World War One’, Journal of Australian Studies 53, 1997. Reprinted in Peter Stanley, (ed), 2015.

‘Applying Folklore: Now and in the Future’, Lore and Language 15, 2002.

‘Folk Literature of Australia’, Assamese Encyclopedia (World Literature and Folk Literature Volume), 2003.

‘Anzac Day: An Australian Folk Custom’, Journal of Indian Folkloristics 2003-2004.

Anzac Day: A Customary Complex, Australian Folklore 18, Nov 2003.

‘Introducing Outlawed!’, Outlawed! Rebels, Revolutionaries and Bushrangers, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, 2003.

‘The Outlaws of the Marsh’, Outlawed! Rebels, Revolutionaries and Bushrangers, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, 2003.

 ‘Chook Raffles, Saints’ Days and Cracker Nights: Australian Folk Customs’, Australian Folklore 20, 2005.

 ‘A L Lloyd in Australia: Some Conclusions’, Folk Music Journal 9:l 2006 (UK).

‘Indigenous Australian Life Histories: A New Genre of ‘Writing’ and a New Paradigm of Publishing?’, International Journal of the Book, 2006.

 ‘ANZAC: The Sacred in the Secular’, Journal of Australian Studies 91, 2007.

Seal ‘The Echo of an Anzac’s Cooee: The Creation, Dissemination and Impact of Digger Culture’ in Australian Studies (UK) vol 20, Nos 1 & 2, 2007.

‘Stories in the Heart: Challenges for the Study of Australian Folk Narrative’, Australian Folklore 22, Nov 2007.

 ‘Finding the Lost Submarine: The Mystery of AE1’, Journal of Australian Naval History, vol. 5 No 1, March 2008.

‘Poor Ned, You’re Better Off Dead’ in Innes, L., Ned Kelly, (Icons of Western Culture series) Helm Information, Hastings, 2008.

‘West Australian Folklife’, entry in Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia, edited by Jenny Gregory and Jan Gothard, UWA Press, 2009.

‘Foreigners and the Folklore of Work’, in Foreigners: Secret Artefacts of Industrialism, edited by Jennifer Harris, Black Swan Press, 2009.

 ‘Remembering and forgetting Anzac Cottage: interpreting the community significance of Australian War Memorials since World War 1’ in Bennett, et al (eds), People, Place and Power: Global and Regional Perspectives, Black Swan Press, 2009.

 ‘Anzac: The Sacred in the Secular’ in Makarand Paranjape (ed) Sacred Australia: post-secular considerations, Clouds of Magellan, Melbourne, 2009. 

‘The Robin Hood Principle: History, Myth and the Social Bandit’, Journal of Folklore Research, 46:1 2009.

‘Australian Submarines at Peace: The J-Boats’, Journal of Australian Naval History 6:2 Sept 2009.

‘Dread, Delusion and Globalisation from Azaria to Schapelle’ chapter in Deborah Staines, Michelle Arrow & Katherine Biber (eds) The Chamberlain Case: Nation, Law, Memory, Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2009.

Mayes, R. and Seal, G.  2009 ‘Women and Anzac Day in Western Australia: newspaper representation in the 1960s’ Proceedings of the Australian Sociology Conference. December 1-4.

 ‘Traditions of ‘The Trade’: The Folklore of Australian Submariners’, Australian Folklore 24, November 2009.

 ‘Seal, Graham. ‘Money and Morale: A Tale of HMA Submarines Oxley and Otway.’ Journal of Australian Naval History 7, no. 1 (2010).

 ‘Digger’ in Australian Symbols edited by Richard White and Melissa Harper, University of NSW Press/National Museum of Australia, 2010.

‘A Waltz with Thomas Wood: A Constructed Australian Life’, Australian Studies Vol 1 No 2 (second series) October 2010 http://www.nla.gov.au/openpublish/index.php/australian-studies/issue/current

‘Folklore, History and Myth at an Anzac Memorial’, Australian Folklore 25 2010 (invited article)

 ‘ … and in the morning: Adapting and Adopting the Dawn Service’, Journal of Australian Studies, Volume 3,  Issue 1, March 2011 , pages 49 – 63 in print and online at

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title%7Edb=all%7Econtent=t792815826%7Etab=issueslist%7Ebranches=35 – v3535

Scates, B., Frances, R., Reeves, K., Bongiorno, F., Crotty, M., Knapman, G., Seal, G., Becker, A., Reeves, A., Soutphommasane, T., Blackburn, K., Clarke, S. J., Stanley, P., Hoskins, A., Winter, J., Bridge, C., James, L., Wheatley, R., Riches, L., McCosker, A. and Sleight, S. (2012), ‘Anzac Day at Home and Abroad: Towards a History of Australia’s National Day’. History Compass, 10: 523–536. doi: 10.1111/j.1478-0542.2012.00862.x

‘Consuming Outlaws: Tourism, the Common Good and Heritage from Below’, Robertson, I (ed) Heritage from Below, Ashgate, 2012.

Going for a Song: The Cultural Politics of ‘Waltzing Matilda.’ The International Journal of the Book, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2013,  pp. 67-72.

‘We’re Here Because We’re Here’: Trench Culture in the Great War, Folklore, August 2013.

Seal, G. P. 2013. “From Texas to Tamworth via New Zealand: Tex Morton Sings an Australian Song’.” In Telling stories: Australian life and literature, 1935–2012, ed. Tanya Dalziell and Paul Genoni, 8-15. Clayton, Victoria: Monash University Publishing. 

‘Social Bandits’ invited chapter in Jay S Albanese (ed), The Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2014. Published Online: 22 JAN 2014 DOI: 10.1002/9781118517383.wbeccj19

Robyn Mayes and Graham Seal, ‘ANZAC Day media representations of women in Perth, 1960 – 2012’. In Oliver, Bobbie & Summers, Sue (Eds.) Lest We Forget? Marginalised Aspects of Australia at War and Peace. Black Swan Press, Perth, WA, 2014 pp. 117-135.

Graham Seal, Anzac (Australia), in 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, Freie Universität Berlin, February 2015. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15463/ie1418.10558.

Graham Seal, ‘Unravelling digger yarn-spinning in World War 1’, Peter Stanley (ed), World War One in Australia: A Virtual Special Issue of theJournal of Australian Studies, May, 2015. http://explore.tandfonline.com/page/pgas/rjau-vsi (This article was first published in Journal of Australian Studies vol 21, issue 53, 1997 DOI:10.1080/14443059709387324).

Doyle, Timothy and Graham Seal. “Indian Ocean futures: new partnerships, new alliances and academic diplomacy”’ Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, Special Issue: Proceedings from the Australia-Asia-Pacific Conference on Indian Ocean Futures 2014, 11, 1 (2015): 2–7, doi: 10.1080/19480881.2015.1019994.

Graham Seal ‘Transforming Through Ambivalence: Failure, Deviance and Contradiction in Heroism’, in Efthimiou, O. (Ed.), Allison, S. T. (Ed.), Franco, Z. E. (Ed.). Heroism and Wellbeing in the 21st Century. New York: Routledge, 2018.

Seal G.  ‘Fearless, Free and Bold’: The Moral Ecology of Kelly Country. In Griffin C., Jones R., Robertson I. (eds) Moral Ecologies: Histories of Conservation, Dispossession and Resistance. Palgrave Studies in World Environmental History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. 2019. DOI  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06112-8_9

Graham Seal and Carolyn Holbrook), ‘Digger’ in Symbols of Australia, edited by Melissa Harper and Richard White, UNSW Press, Sydney: National Museum of Australia Press, Canberra, 2021 (2nd edn).

Graham Seal, ‘Sustaining Traditions and the Hollow World’,

International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change (IJISSC) 12(3), 2021.

Seal, G. (2023). Folk Heroes and Heroines. In: Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17125-3_249-1

Seal, G., ‘Australia and Oceania’, in Bronner, S (ed), Global Folk Traditions, Open Book Publishers, 2025.

REVIEWS AND OTHER WRITINGS (SELECTED)

Graham Seal (2019): The Life and Legend of a Rebel Leader: Wat Tyler., 

Folklore, DOI: 10.1080/0015587X.2019.1580072

Graham Seal (2019) ‘The Life and Legend of a Rebel Leader: Wat Tyler’. Folklore, 130:4, 420-422, DOI: 10.1080/0015587X.2019.1580072(review)

Graham Seal, ‘The Waltzing Matilda Mysteries Continue’. Review of W Benjamin Lindner, Waltzing Matilda: Australia’s Accidental Anthem. A Forensic History, Boolarong Books, 2019, reviewed in Gristly History post and elsewhere.

Obituary for Hugh Anderson,  Folklore, 2017.

Graham Seal review of Carolyn Holbrook, Anzac: The Unauthorised Biography, NewSouth, History Australia.

Review of Peter FitzSimons, Ned Kelly. Bantam Press, London, 2016 in BBC History Magazine, March 2016.

‘Lost Treasures and How to Find Them’, The Conversation, April 25 2016.

‘Myths That Make History’, Yale University Press blog, May 2016

Seal, Graham. How to read a folktale: The ‘Ibonia’ epic from Madagascar [Book Review] [online]. The Oral History Association of Australia Journal, No. 36, 2014: 88-89. <http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=837133315857355;res=IELHSS&gt; ISSN: 0158-7366. 

“Ten things you need to know to prepare for the Anzac centenary”, The Conversation.  October 31, 2014

http://theconversation.com/ten-things-you-need-to-know-to-prepare-for-the-anzac-centenary-29828

Major Conference Papers

‘Oral History, Folklore and Oral Culture’, Oral History Association of Australia Conference, Melbourne University, 1985.

‘The Digger: Unofficial Image and Official Myth’, 3rd Australian Studies Association Conference, Perth, 1987.

‘Folksong and Poetry of Australians at War from Gallipoli to Vietnam’, Australian War Memorial History Conference, Canberra, 1987.

‘Narrative Structure and Cultural Function in the Highwayman Tradition’, invited paper presented to Centennial Meeting of American Folklore Society, Philadelphia, 1989.

‘The History of Folksong Scholarship in Australia’, International Seminar, Department of Folklore and Folklife, University of Philadelphia, 1989.

‘Working for a Laugh: Occupational Humour and Power’, Australian Studies Association Conference, University of Melbourne, 1990.

‘The Highwayman Tradition in Britain, America and Australia’, Graduate Seminar, School of English, University of Sheffield, May, 1991.

‘The Wild Colonial Boy rides again and again: An Australian Legend Abroad’, British Australian Studies Association Conference, London University, September, 1992.

‘The Last Laugh? Applying Folklore to Combat Racism’, 5th National Folklife Conference, Melbourne, 1992.

‘Folklore and Education’, 5th National Folklife Conference, Melbourne, 1992.

‘The Lore and the Law: Ballads as Subversion and Resistance’, 26th International Ballad Conference, University of Wales, Swansea, July 1996.

‘Applying Folklore: Now and in the Future’, Folklore Seminar, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, July 1996.

‘Fragments of Fear: Talking About the Claremont Killer’, Fear and Taboo in Contemporary Culture: An Interdisciplinary Conference, University of Ballarat, December, 1997.

‘Jack Donohoe and the Irish Wood Stove: Ambivalent Irishness in Australian Folklore’, Irish-Australian Conference, Murdoch University/Notre Dame University 2000.

‘Talking Fear: The Claremont Killer’, International Society for Contemporary Legend Research, Edinburgh University 2000.

‘Narrating Nation: Ned Kelly and the Ambivalence of Folk Heroism’, International Society for Folk Narrative Research 13th International Congress, Melbourne University, July 2001.

‘Why Some Communities Thrive’ with S. Smith and B. Melotte, to Second Meeting of the Academic Forum of Regional Government for Sustainable Development, Notre Dame University, Fremantle, 17 – 19 September 2003.

‘The Representation of Outlaw Heroes: A Global Tradition’, keynote address to ‘Representing Outlaws’ international conference, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, February 2004.

‘The Echo of an Anzac’s Cooee’: The Creation, Dissemination and Impact of Digger Culture, British Australian Studies Association (BASA) ‘Projecting Australia Conference’, Cardiff University, September 2004.

‘The A L Lloyd Controversy’, National Australian Folklore Conference, National Library of Australia, Easter 2004.

‘Lindy, Schapelle and the Media Charivari’, invited paper to The Chamberlain 25 Years Symposium, Macquarie University, August 2005.

‘Osama bin Hood: Outlaw Heroes and the Roots of Terror’, Third International Conference on the Humanities, August, 2005 (virtual paper).

‘Indigenous Australian Life Histories: A New Genre of ‘Writing’ and a New Paradigm of Publishing?’, Third International Conference on the Book, Oxford, September 2005.

‘A Waltz with Thomas Wood: A Constructed Australian Life’, British Australian Studies Association (BASA) Australian Lives Conference, Exeter University/Combined Universities in Cornwall, September 2006.

Invited paper ‘Observing Anzac’, ‘When the Soldiers Return’ Conference 28-30 November 2007, University of Queensland, Brisbane.

Keynote speaker for the 2nd New Zealand Folklore Symposium, National Library of New Zealand, Wellington, Dec 2, 2007.

‘Roast Pork the Jack Lang: Australian Rhyming Slang’, National Australian Folklore Conference, National Library of Australia, Canberra, Easter 2008. (Also Convenor of the conference)

‘Elephant in the Nation: Englishness in Australian Tradition’, International Society for Ethnology and Folklore (SIEF) Transcending “European Heritages”: Liberating the Ethnological Imagination. University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, June 16-20, 2008.

‘The Culture of the Trench: Soldier Newspapers of the Great War’, 2010 Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities, January 13-16 2010.

‘The Language of the Trenches’, School of English, University of Leeds, October 14, 2010

‘Written in the Trenches: The Soldiers’ Press of the Great War’, School of English, University of Leeds October 20, 2010.

‘J-Boats, Oxley and Otway – Past. Present and Future’, 5th Biennial Conference of the Submarine Institute of Australia, WA Maritime Museum, November 9-11, 2010.

‘Going for a Song: The Controversial Publishing History of Waltzing Matilda’, 10th International Conference on the Book, Abbat Oliba University, Barcelona, 2012.

‘Trench Publishing: Soldier Periodicals of World War 1’, 11th International Conference on the Book, Regensberg University, September 2013.

‘Thomas Wood: Forgotten Folksong Scholar and Cultural Conspiracist’, EFDSS Folksong Conference, London, October 2013.

‘Folklore and Sustainability’, Folklore Society conference, University of Sheffield,‘2014

Graham Seal convened a workshop on ‘Folklore and Family History’, Cygnet Folk Festival, January 9, 2016.

Graham Seal convened the 11th National Folklore Conference, National Library of Australia, March 24, 2016.

‘The Robin Hood Principle: A Cultural Approach to Outlaw Heroes’, invited paper to ‘The Rise and Future of Heroism Science international conference, Murdoch University, July 2016.

‘Fifty Years of Folk and Lore, 1968-2018: The Collection, Preservation and Dissemination of Australian Folklore’, Public Lecture at the National Library of Australia in celebration of the Library’s fifty years in its present building, March 29, 2018.

Major Research Grants and Activities

  • Myer Foundation 1989-90
  • Indian Ocean Centre for Peace Studies, 1991
  • Australian Folk Trust, 1992
  • Australian War Memorial, 1991-2, 1992-3
  • Vice-Chancellor’s Fund 1998 
  • Curtin Postgraduate Course Development 1999 
  • Revisioning the Socratic Method, LEAP online learning project, Division of Humanities, Curtin University of Technology 2001-2002 
  • Peel Regional Research Strategy, project manager, 2002-4
  • Peel Heritage Tourism Project, project manager, 2002-5
  • ARC LIEF Preserving Australia’s Sound Heritage’, 2003- 2005 (UWA, Monash, Curtin, Screensound) CI
  • WA Folklife Project (National Library of Australia) 2004-
  • Liveable Communities (Curtin DOH), 2004, CI.
  • ARC Linkage ‘Remembering the Wars’, 2006-2010’, CI.
  • ARC Linkage ‘Childhood, Tradition and Change’, 2007-2011, CI
  • ARC Linkage ‘Centenary History of Anzac Day’ 2011-2014, CI

Journals and academic publisher reviews (selected)

  • British Journal of Sociology
  • Folklore The Folklore Society, UK)
  • Folksong (English Folk Dance & Song Society)
  • Australian Studies
  • Journal of Australian Studies
  • Journal of Peasant Studies
  • Journal of Australian Naval History
  • History Australia
  • Australian Journal of Sociology
  • Perfect Beat
  • Australian Folklore
  • University of NSW Press
  • University of Western Australia Press
  • Black Swan Press
  • Labour History
  • Australian Journal of Politics and History
  • Heroism Science
  • Western Folklore (USA)

SELECTED REVIEWER OPINIONS OF GRAHAM SEAL’S WORK

Encyclopedia of Folk Heroes, ABC-Clio, 2001

‘… an impressive discussion of the current thought and definition of folk heroes in culture and history.’
– American Reference Books Annual

‘A strong introduction defines the attributes, qualities, and origins of a folk hero as well as cultural and communal interpretations of heroism … this entertaining and wide-ranging work is a valuable addition to most libraries.’
– Library Journal (USA)

The Legend of Ned Kelly, Hyland House, 2002

‘Seal was the first to tie together the disparate threads of history, folklore and popular culture in a sustained analysis of Ned Kelly and the Kelly Outbreak.’ 

John McQuilton, Labour History, November 2003.

‘ … presents his ideas in a comprehensive and entirely readable style. His approach to the Kelly legend overall is thought-provoking and refreshing.’ 

Bailup bushranger website, 12 August 2002.

Verandah Music: Roots of Australian Tradition (edited with Rob Willis), Curtin University Books/Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2003.

‘This wonderful book…’ 

Ken Ferguson West Australian 20/12/03

‘Verandah Music has obvious scholarly value’ 

Tony Smith, JAS Review of Books, March 2004.

Inventing Anzac: The Digger and National Mythology, University of Queensland Press, 2004

‘…an engaging contribution to the existing literature.’

David Ritter, JAS Review of Books, March 2005

‘… it is hard to imagine any future serious historical analysis failing to acknowledge Seal’s useful distinction.’ [between the digger and Anzac]. 

Richard Fotheringham, Australian Book Review October 2004.

‘ … There is much in this book that is worth pondering’.

Professor Geoffrey Grey, Boomerang Books review, 2005.

‘ … the first comprehensive account of the evolution of Anzac Day …’

Peter Stanley, Principal Historian Australian War Memorial, Canberra Times, April 10, 2004.

‘ … a book to redefine how we think and respond to Anzac …’

Christopher Bantick, West Australian, April 24, 2004.

‘With this book, Seal has effectively accomplished a rarity in contemporary

scholarly writing: an academic work of cultural history that wears its theory lightly,

and is both of interest and accessible to the general public’.

Captain Lachlan Mead, Australian Army Journal vol 2, no 2 (2005)

Echoes of Anzac: The Voice of Australians at War, Lothian Books 2005.

‘ … a gem …’

 Red Harrison, Weekend Australian 23 April 2005.

‘…clever, incisive and very, very funny …’  

Herald Sun, 23 April 2005.

‘ … this marvellous collection …’ 

Michael McKernan, Canberra Times 23 April 2005. 

These Few Lines: The Lost Lives of Myra and William Sykes ABC Books 2006

‘…a powerful, moving and uncommon biography.’

National Biography Award citation, 2008.

Outlaw Heroes in Myth and History, Anthem Press 2011

‘This book, in its general structure and treatment of the material, is quite original; and the scholarship is in my opinion very sound. It chooses a wide range of material – in my experience the widest yet available – and sifts it for understandings of how sociological and psychological factors interact with each other in this particular manifestation of the human predicament.’

Anonymous reviewer for Anthem Press, 2011.

‘ … it will stand on the shelf alongside the other world classics about the discipline of folklore produced in the opening years of the twenty first century.’
Professor John Ryan, University of New England in Australian Folklore 26, November 2011, p. 71.

The Soldiers’ Press: Trench Journals in the First World War, Palgrave MacMillan, 2014

“Fortunately, this is the sort of book that can help to shake off First World War fatigue and foster confidence that it is possible to view the conflict in fresh ways. There is, of course, always more to say.” – Adrian Bingham, University of Sheffield 
  
“The author is a knowledgeable guide to the community of the front-lines, and one of the key strengths of this work is the way in which the texts are connected to both the lived experience of the troops and the oral culture of the trenches.” – Adrian Bingham, University of Sheffield

“The Soldiers’ Press does not supersede the older work on trench journalism, but it provides the most comprehensive and detailed overview thus far of a fascinating genre.” – Adrian Bingham, University of Sheffield, Reviews in History, July 2014. http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/1616

The Savage Shore Allen & Unwin/Yale University Press, 2015 and 2016.

‘Informed, measured and very readable’, Sydney Morning Herald, 2015

Condemned: The Transported Men, Women and Children Who Built Britain’s Empire, Yale University Press, Newhaven and London, 2021.

‘What good history can do, and what it needs to be to be good, is shown by Australian historian Graham Seal’s Condemned…’  Guy Rundle,Crikey, 17 September, 2021, p. 14, https://www.crikey.com.au/2021/09/17/rundle-historians-versus-hysterians/