Sean Scalmer

Sean Scalmer is Professor of Australian History in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. He studied political economy and political science at the University of Sydney before completing a PhD at Macquarie University on intellectuals and class in the Australian labour movement. Scalmer began his academic career as a research fellow at Macquarie University from 1998 to 2004 and continued there as a lecturer from 2004 to 2006. In 2007, he joined the University of Melbourne, where he has advanced to full professorship and served roles including Deputy Associate Dean in the Faculty of Arts.

Scalmer's research specializations encompass the histories of social movements, class, and activism, with focused work on labour history, struggles over working time, direct action tactics, Gandhian nonviolence, and transnational activism in the Anglo-world. He is the author of seven books on these topics, including A Fair Day's Work: The Quest to Win Back Time, Democratic Adventurer: Graham Berry and the Making of Australian Politics, Gandhi in the West: The Mahatma and the Rise of Radical Protest, Dissent Events: Protest, the Media and Contemporary Democracy, The Little History of Australian Unionism, Activist Wisdom: Practical Knowledge and Creative Tension in Social Movements, and The Transnational Activist: Transformations and Comparisons from the Anglo-World since the Nineteenth Century. Notable articles include 'Direct Action: The Invention of a Transnational Concept' (2023), 'Union Struggles and Working Time in Australia: Past, Present, and Future' (2024), and 'Gandhi and the Humanitarians of Empire: Influence, Resistance and the Invention of Nonviolent Politics' (2016). Scalmer was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA) in 2021 and held the Coral Thomas Fellowship at the State Library of New South Wales in 2022-23. His scholarship has earned recognition through prize-winning studies and contributions to public discourse via lectures, media appearances, and interviews on Australian history and social movements.

Professional Email: sscalmer@unimelb.edu.au