2015 Professor David Merrett: Whither business history? Memory, message and meaning

You can watch the lecture online on the ANU YouTube channel.

About the lecture

Professor David Merrett, the University of Melbourne explores the past 25 years as it experienced marked shifts in both the demand for and supply of business history. What are the consequences for specialist archives such as the Noel Butlin Archives Centre? On a positive note, the demand for information about business is very high. However, the demand from the current audience of investors, analysts, regulators and those looking for salacious gossip want up to the minute information rather than whole of life histories.

About the speaker

David Merrett has published widely in twentieth century Australian economic and business history. His books include ANZ Bank (1985), The Big End of Town (2004) with Grant Fleming and Simon Ville, and The Internationalisation Strategies of Small-Country Firms (2007), edited with Howard Dick. He has published 70 book chapters and refereed articles, the latter have appeared in Australian and international journals. He is a past editor of the Australian Economic History Review and currently serves on its editorial board. He served on the University of Melbourne Archives Advisory Board for a number of years.