Rate My Professor Victoria Haskins

Professor Victoria Haskins is Professor of History in the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle. She earned her PhD and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Sydney. A social and cultural historian, her research centers on colonialism and domestic labour, with a focus on cross-cultural relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women in settler colonial histories. Her methodological interests include personal narratives, visual and material culture, and the historical archive. Key research areas encompass Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, history of empires, imperialism and colonialism, and gender history. She currently leads the ARC Discovery project 'Ayahs and Amahs: Transcolonial Servants in Asia and Britain 1780-1945' with colleagues Claire Lowrie and Swapna Banerjee, producing the online exhibition Transcolonial Journeys. As founding co-director of the Purai Global Indigenous History Centre with John Maynard, she prioritizes respect, collaboration, and reciprocity in sharing marginalized histories.

Haskins joined the University of Newcastle in 2006 as Lecturer in Australian History, advancing to Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, and Professor in 2016. Prior roles include Lecturer at Flinders University (2000-2006) and Curator at the National Museum of Australia (1998-1999). She has held visiting positions at Harvard University (2005), Trinity College Cambridge (2023), City University of New York (2023), Birkbeck College University of London (2017), and Monash University (2009). Administrative roles include Deputy Head of School (Teaching & Learning, 2014-2016), President of the Academic Senate (2020-2022), ARC College of Experts (2022), and Council member of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (2023-2025). She serves on the editorial board of Australian Feminist Studies since 2006. Major publications include One Bright Spot (2005), Matrons and Maids: Regulating Indian Domestic Service in Tucson, 1914-1934 (2012), Colonization and Domestic Service: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (co-edited with Claire Lowrie, 2015), Living with the Locals: Early Europeans' Experience of Indigenous Life (co-authored with John Maynard, 2016), and Colonialism and Male Domestic Service across the Asia Pacific (co-authored, 2019). Awards include Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (2022), Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales (2024), ARC Future Fellowship (2009-2013), multiple ARC Discovery and LIEF grants, NSW Centenary of Anzac Commemoration History Fellowship (2013-2015), Mary Bennett Prize (2002), and University Medal (1990).