Overview
Background
Ian Hesketh is Associate Professor of History in the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry at the University of Queensland. Most broadly, his research considers the relationship between history, science, and religion with a focus on nineteenth-century Britain. More specifically, he has written extensively on the Darwinian Revolution, nineteenth-century physics, and large-scale forms of history from the nineteenth century to the present. His latest books include A History of Big History (Cambridge University Press, 2023) and, the edited collection, Imagining the Darwinian Revolution: Historical Narratives of Evolution from the Nineteenth Century to the Present (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2022). He is currently writing a monograph entitled "The Making of Darwin, Darwinians, and Darwinism."
He teaches courses on historiography (HIST2312; HUMN6600), revolutions in history (HIST2024), American history (HIST2023), and British history (HIST2417).
Availability
- Associate Professor Ian Hesketh is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Arts, Okanagan University College
- Masters (Coursework), York University
- Doctor of Philosophy, York University
Research interests
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History of Science
Darwin and Darwinism; John Tyndall and Victorian physics
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Historiography
History of large-scale forms of history-writing (e.g. Big History)
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Victorian Britain
History of Victorian ideas
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Science and Religion
Works
Search Professor Ian Hesketh’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2025
Journal Article
Darwin's scientific gardener: John Scott, the 'physiological test' and the importance of character in Victorian science
Hesketh, Ian (2025). Darwin's scientific gardener: John Scott, the 'physiological test' and the importance of character in Victorian science. British Journal for the History of Science, 58 (1), 19-37. doi: 10.1017/s0007087425000226
Featured
2023
Book
A History of Big History
Hesketh, Ian (2023). A History of Big History. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781009036399
Featured
2022
Book
Imagining the Darwinian Revolution: Historical Narratives of Evolution from the Nineteenth Century to the Present
Hesketh, Ian ed. (2022). Imagining the Darwinian Revolution: Historical Narratives of Evolution from the Nineteenth Century to the Present. Pittsburgh, PA United States: University of Pittsburgh Press.
Featured
2020
Journal Article
The making of John Tyndall's Darwinian Revolution
Hesketh, Ian (2020). The making of John Tyndall's Darwinian Revolution. Annals of Science, 77 (4), 524-548. doi: 10.1080/00033790.2020.1808243
Featured
2019
Journal Article
Technologies of the Scientific Self: John Tyndall and His Journal
Hesketh, Ian (2019). Technologies of the Scientific Self: John Tyndall and His Journal. Isis, 110 (3), 460-482. doi: 10.1086/704672
Featured
2017
Book
Victorian Jesus: J.R. Seeley, religion, and the cultural significance of anonymity
Hesketh, Ian (2017). Victorian Jesus: J.R. Seeley, religion, and the cultural significance of anonymity. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Featured
2014
Journal Article
The story of Big History
Hesketh, Ian (2014). The story of Big History. History of the Present, 4 (2), 171-202. doi: 10.5406/historypresent.4.2.0171
Featured
2012
Book
The Oxford history of historical writing vol 3 1400 - 1800
José Rabasa, Masayuki Sato, Edoardo Tortarolo, Daniel Woolf and Ian Hesketh eds. (2012). The Oxford history of historical writing vol 3 1400 - 1800. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Featured
2011
Book
The science of history in Victorian Britain: making the past speak
Hesketh, Ian (2011). The science of history in Victorian Britain: making the past speak. London United Kingdom: Pickering and Chatto.
Featured
2009
Book
Of apes and ancestors : evolution, Christianity, and the Oxford debate
Hesketh, Ian (2009). Of apes and ancestors : evolution, Christianity, and the Oxford debate. Toronoto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
2024
Book Chapter
William Crookes and the Imagined History of Thallium
Hesketh, Ian (2024). William Crookes and the Imagined History of Thallium. Reckoning with History: Essays on the Uses of the Past. (pp. 180-202) edited by K. J. Kesselring and Matthew Neufeld. Montreal, Canada: McGill-Queens University Press.
2024
Journal Article
Review of Scientific History: Experiments in History and Politics from the Bolshevik Revolution to the End of the Cold War. By Elena Aronova. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2021.
Hesketh, Ian (2024). Review of Scientific History: Experiments in History and Politics from the Bolshevik Revolution to the End of the Cold War. By Elena Aronova. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2021. . Journal of Modern History, 96 (3), 695-697. doi: 10.1086/730039
2024
Book Chapter
Without a Darwinian clue? Henry Thomas Buckle and the naturalization of history
Hesketh, Ian (2024). Without a Darwinian clue? Henry Thomas Buckle and the naturalization of history. Victorian interdisciplinarity and the sciences: rethinking the specialization thesis. (pp. 81-96) edited by Bernard Lightman and Efram Sera-Shriar. Pittsburgh, PA, United States: University of Pittsburgh Press.
2024
Other Outputs
Commemorating Darwin: global perspectives on evolutionary science, religion and politics
Barnes, Joel and Hesketh, Ian (2024, 04 16). Commemorating Darwin: global perspectives on evolutionary science, religion and politics International Research Network for the Study of Science and Belief in Society
2024
Journal Article
Down under Darwin: Australasian perspectives on Darwin studies
Hesketh, Ian, Barton, Ruth and Richards, Evelleen (2024). Down under Darwin: Australasian perspectives on Darwin studies. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 103, 69-76. doi: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2023.11.004
2022
Journal Article
Disciplining the Anthropocene
Hesketh, Ian (2022). Disciplining the Anthropocene. History and Theory, 61 (3), 482-491. doi: 10.1111/hith.12267
2022
Book Chapter
Imagining the Darwinian Revolution in the Nineteenth Century
Hesketh, Ian (2022). Imagining the Darwinian Revolution in the Nineteenth Century. Imagining the Darwinian Revolution: Historical Narratives of Evolution from the Nineteenth Century to the Present. (pp. 21-36) edited by Hesketh, Ian. Pittsburgh, PA United States: University of Pittsburgh Press.
2022
Journal Article
The Psychic Force Serialized: William Crookes and The Quarterly Journal of Science, 1870-1874
Hesketh, Ian (2022). The Psychic Force Serialized: William Crookes and The Quarterly Journal of Science, 1870-1874. Aries, 22 (1), 13-41. doi: 10.1163/15700593-02201002
2021
Journal Article
What Big History misses
Hesketh, Ian (2021). What Big History misses. Aeon.
2021
Journal Article
Joshua Bennett, God and Progress: Religion and History in British Intellectual Culture, 1845-1914
Hesketh, Ian (2021). Joshua Bennett, God and Progress: Religion and History in British Intellectual Culture, 1845-1914. The American Historical Review, 126 (4), 1685-1686. doi: 10.1093/ahr/rhab626
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Ian Hesketh is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
John Tyndall: Science and the State in Victorian Britain
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Geoff Ginn
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Reading Morals: Charles Darwin and the Descent of Morality
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Peter Harrison
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2025
Doctor Philosophy
Female Troubles: Reproductive 'Dysfunction' and Medical Control in Mid-Twentieth Century Australia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Peter Cryle, Professor Lisa Featherstone
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
The Origins of the "Conflict Thesis": Draper, White, and the Protestant Tradition
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tom Aechtner, Emeritus Professor Peter Harrison
Media
Enquiries
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