French Connection : Australia's cosmopolitan ambitions
AFRAN member, Dr Alexis Bergantz, Lecturer in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University is sharing the news of the forthcoming publication of his book:
French Connection: Australia's Cosmopolitan Ambitions
The French have been integral to the Australian story since European colonisation. Escaped convicts from New Caledonia, wool buyers from Lille, Roubaix and Tourcoing, gold-diggers, artisans, teachers and café owners, they were not always the crème de la crème.
French Connection provides a fascinating insight into how the culture of Frenchness influenced a new nation anxious to prove itself to the world. What did Australian colonists see when they looked to France? How much did the French presence in the Pacific loom over such ideas? And what did the French in Australia themselves make of it all?
Alexis Bergantz uncovers the little known and often surprising history of the French in nineteenth-century Australia and their role in creating a more connected and cosmopolitan nation.
This book is available for pre-order here
Download the flyer with a promotional 20% discount
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