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
2015
Journal Article
Review of: On Historical Distance by Mark Salber Phillips
Hesketh, Ian (2015). Review of: On Historical Distance by Mark Salber Phillips. Histoire sociale/Social history, 47 (96), 333-335. doi: 10.1353/his.2015.0009
2015
Journal Article
A good Darwinian? Winwood Reade and the making of a late Victorian evolutionary epic
Hesketh, Ian (2015). A good Darwinian? Winwood Reade and the making of a late Victorian evolutionary epic. Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 51, 44-52. doi: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2015.01.013
2015
Journal Article
The Aesthetics of Scale
Hesketh, Ian and Peden, Knox (2015). The Aesthetics of Scale. Journal of the Philosophy of History, 9 (2), 169-175. doi: 10.1163/18722636-12341298
2015
Book Chapter
Fanatical hatred or brotherly love? Rethinking E. A. Freeman's feud with J. A. Froude
Hesketh, Ian (2015). Fanatical hatred or brotherly love? Rethinking E. A. Freeman's feud with J. A. Froude. Making History: Edward Augustus Freeman and Victorian Cultural Politics. (pp. 255-272) edited by G. A. Bremner and Jonathan Conlin. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.5871/bacad/9780197265871.003.0014
2015
Journal Article
The recurrence of the evolutionary epic
Hesketh, Ian (2015). The recurrence of the evolutionary epic. Journal of the Philosophy of History, 9 (2), 196-219. doi: 10.1163/18722636-12341300
2014
Journal Article
Darwinian we are not: counterfactualism as the natural course of history
Hesketh, Ian (2014). Darwinian we are not: counterfactualism as the natural course of history. History and Theory, 53 (2), 295-303. doi: 10.1111/hith.10712
2014
Journal Article
"History is past politics, and politics present history': who said it?
Hesketh, Ian (2014). "History is past politics, and politics present history': who said it?. Notes and Queries, 61 (1), 105-108. doi: 10.1093/notesj/gjt244
2013
Book Chapter
Frederick Temple and the essays and reviews controversy
Hesketh, Ian (2013). Frederick Temple and the essays and reviews controversy. Cultural Olympians: Rugby School's intellectual and spiritual leaders. (pp. 123-136) edited by Patrick Derham. London: University of Buckingham Press.
2012
Journal Article
Review of: Edward Adams, liberal epic: the Victorian practice of history from Gibbon to Churchill
Hesketh, Ian (2012). Review of: Edward Adams, liberal epic: the Victorian practice of history from Gibbon to Churchill. Journal of British Studies, 51 (3), 750-752. doi: 10.1086/665393
2012
Journal Article
Review of: Theodore Koditschek, Liberalism, imperialism, and the historical imagination: nineteenth-century visions of a greater Britain
Hesketh, Ian (2012). Review of: Theodore Koditschek, Liberalism, imperialism, and the historical imagination: nineteenth-century visions of a greater Britain. Victorian Review, 38 (2)
2012
Journal Article
Behold the (Anonymous) man: J. R. Seeley and Ecce Homo
Hesketh, Ian (2012). Behold the (Anonymous) man: J. R. Seeley and Ecce Homo. Victorian Review, 38 (1), 93-112. doi: 10.1353/vcr.2012.0044
2012
Book
The Oxford history of historical writing, vol. 2: 400–1400
Sarah Foot, Chase F. Robinson and Ian Hesketh eds. (2012). The Oxford history of historical writing, vol. 2: 400–1400. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
2011
Journal Article
Weapons of another kind: Henry Thomas Buckle and the case of Thomas Pooley
Hesketh, Ian (2011). Weapons of another kind: Henry Thomas Buckle and the case of Thomas Pooley. Left History, 15 (1), 87-110.
2011
Journal Article
Writing history in Macaulay’s Shadow: J.R. Seeley, E.A. Freeman, and the audience for scientific history in late Victorian Britain
Hesketh, Ian (2011). Writing history in Macaulay’s Shadow: J.R. Seeley, E.A. Freeman, and the audience for scientific history in late Victorian Britain. Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, 22 (2), 30-56. doi: 10.7202/1008977ar
2011
Journal Article
The remains of the Freeman–Froude controversy: the religious dimension
Hesketh, Ian (2011). The remains of the Freeman–Froude controversy: the religious dimension. Canadian Society of Church History, 211-223.
2010
Journal Article
Reflections on the Origin’s anniversary and the perpetuation of an eternal myth
Hesketh, Ian (2010). Reflections on the Origin’s anniversary and the perpetuation of an eternal myth. University of Toronto Press Blog
2010
Journal Article
Review of: Cosmopolitan Islanders: British Historians and the European Continent
Hesketh, Ian (2010). Review of: Cosmopolitan Islanders: British Historians and the European Continent. Canadian Journal of History, 45 (3), 621-622.
2008
Journal Article
Diagnosing Froude's disease: boundary work and the discipline of history in late-Victorian Britain
Hesketh, Ian (2008). Diagnosing Froude's disease: boundary work and the discipline of history in late-Victorian Britain. History and Theory, 47 (3), 373-395. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2303.2008.00460.x
2008
Journal Article
Review of: Frontiers of history: historical inquiry in the twentieth century
Hesketh, Ian (2008). Review of: Frontiers of history: historical inquiry in the twentieth century. Canadian Journal of History, 43 (1), 209-211.
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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