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Associate Professor Ian Hesketh
Associate Professor

Ian Hesketh

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Phone: 
+61 7 336 56363

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

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Arts, Okanagan University College
  • Masters (Coursework), York University
  • Doctor of Philosophy, York University

Research interests

  • History of Evolution

  • Charles Darwin and Darwinism

  • History of Science

  • Science and Religion

  • Victorian Britain

Works

Search Professor Ian Hesketh’s works on UQ eSpace

56 works between 2008 and 2024

1 - 20 of 56 works

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.

William Crookes and the Imagined History of Thallium

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.

Without a Darwinian clue? Henry Thomas Buckle and the naturalization of history

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

Down under Darwin: Australasian perspectives on Darwin studies

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

A History of Big History

2022

Journal Article

Disciplining the Anthropocene

Hesketh, Ian (2022). Disciplining the Anthropocene. History and Theory, 61 (3), 482-491. doi: 10.1111/hith.12267

Disciplining the Anthropocene

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.

Imagining the Darwinian Revolution: Historical Narratives of Evolution from the Nineteenth Century to the Present

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.

Imagining the Darwinian Revolution in the Nineteenth Century

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

The Psychic Force Serialized: William Crookes and The Quarterly Journal of Science, 1870-1874

2021

Journal Article

What Big History misses

Hesketh, Ian (2021). What Big History misses. Aeon.

What Big History misses

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

Joshua Bennett, God and Progress: Religion and History in British Intellectual Culture, 1845-1914

2021

Journal Article

Narratives of Charles Darwin down under

Hesketh, Ian (2021). Narratives of Charles Darwin down under. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 88, 303-311. doi: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.06.007

Narratives of Charles Darwin down under

2021

Other Outputs

Guide to the classics: Darwin’s The Descent of Man 150 years on — sex, race and our ‘lowly’ ape ancestry

Hesketh, Ian and Meiring, Henry-James (2021, 02 25). Guide to the classics: Darwin’s The Descent of Man 150 years on — sex, race and our ‘lowly’ ape ancestry The Conversation

Guide to the classics: Darwin’s The Descent of Man 150 years on — sex, race and our ‘lowly’ ape ancestry

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

The making of John Tyndall's Darwinian Revolution

2020

Other Outputs

How a 150-year-old experiment with a beam of light showed germs exist – and that a face mask can help filter them out

Hesketh, Ian (2020, 04 20). How a 150-year-old experiment with a beam of light showed germs exist – and that a face mask can help filter them out The Conversation

How a 150-year-old experiment with a beam of light showed germs exist – and that a face mask can help filter them out

2020

Journal Article

The first Darwinian: Alfred Russel Wallace and the meaning of Darwinism

Hesketh, Ian (2020). The first Darwinian: Alfred Russel Wallace and the meaning of Darwinism. Journal of Victorian Culture, 25 (2), 171-184. doi: 10.1093/jvcult/vcz042

The first Darwinian: Alfred Russel Wallace and the meaning of Darwinism

2020

Other Outputs

How Darwin’s sexual selection theory co-stars in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

Hesketh, Ian (2020, 01 29). How Darwin’s sexual selection theory co-stars in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ The Conversation 1-1.

How Darwin’s sexual selection theory co-stars in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

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

Technologies of the Scientific Self: John Tyndall and His Journal

2019

Book Chapter

From Copernicus to Darwin to you: history and the meaning(s) of evolution

Hesketh, Ian (2019). From Copernicus to Darwin to you: history and the meaning(s) of evolution. Rethinking history, science, and religion: an exploration of conflict and the complexity principle. (pp. 191-205) edited by Bernard Lightman. Pittsburgh, PA, United States: University of Pittsburgh Press.

From Copernicus to Darwin to you: history and the meaning(s) of evolution

2019

Book Chapter

Evolution, ethics, and the Metaphysical Society, 1869-1875

Hesketh, Ian (2019). Evolution, ethics, and the Metaphysical Society, 1869-1875. The Metaphysical Society (1869-1880): intellectual life in mid-Victorian England. (pp. 185-203) edited by Catherine Marshall, Bernard Lightman and Richard England. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Evolution, ethics, and the Metaphysical Society, 1869-1875

2018

Journal Article

A big history of the future: Homo Deus: a brief history of tomorrow

Hesketh, Ian (2018). A big history of the future: Homo Deus: a brief history of tomorrow. Sydney Review of Books

A big history of the future: Homo Deus: a brief history of tomorrow

Funding

Past funding

  • 2023 - 2024
    The centenary of Darwin's Origin of Species in global perspective: public narratives of science and belief
    INSBS Small Research Grant
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2023
    Science and Religion Exploring the Spectrum: A Global Perspective (Templeton Religious Trust Grant led by the University of Birmingham)
    University of Birmingham
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2022
    The place of history in science: reassessing the Darwinian revolution
    ARC Future Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2017
    Writing History in the Age of the Anthropocene: The Past and Future of Big History
    UQ Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2013
    The Manufacturing of a Reluctant Literary Sensation in Victorian Britain: J.R. Seeley, Ecce Homo, and the Historical Jesus
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Associate Professor Ian Hesketh is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Media

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