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Peter McPhee

Emeritus professor, University of Melbourne

Emeritus Professor Peter McPhee teaches and writes about the history of modern France at the University of Melbourne.

Professor McPhee was educated at Colac High School, Caulfield Grammar School, and the University of Melbourne, where he completed a BA (Hons 1st Class), Dip.Ed., MA (Hons 1st Class) and PhD. He taught at La Trobe University 1975-79 and the Victoria University of Wellington 1980-86 before returning to the University of Melbourne, where he has held a Personal Chair in History since 1993.

He has published widely on the history of modern France, notably A Social History of France 1789-1914 (London, 2002), Revolution and Environment in Southern France, 1780-1830 (Oxford, 1999), and Living The French Revolution 1789-1799 (Basingstoke, 2006). In 1999 he also published a biography of the former Chancellor Roy Douglas ('Pansy') Wright. His most recent books are Robespierre: a Revolutionary Life (2012) and (ed), A Companion to the French Revolution (2013).

Professor McPhee was Deputy Dean and Acting Dean of the School of Graduate Studies in 1994-96, then Head of the Department of History in 1996-99. He was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1997. In the same year he became an inaugural 'Universitas 21' Teaching Fellow. In 2003 he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. He was an Officer of the Academic Board 1999-2003 and its President in 2002-03. He became Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) in 2003 before being apointed the University's first Provost in 2007. He retired in 2009, but remains an active researcher and teacher. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012.

Global Geopolitics Series

We live in a world of upheaval. So why aren't today's protests leading to revolutions?

Nov 24, 2019 22:15 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

We live in a world of violent challenges to the status quo, from Chile and Iraq to Hong Kong, Catalonia and the Extinction Rebellion. These protests are usually presented in the media simply as expressions of rage at the...

video What is it about Versailles?

Dec 09, 2016 03:55 am UTC| Life

When the triumphant Donald Trump welcomed Nigel Farage to his $100 million penthouse apartment in Trump Tower on 13 November, the two posed in his lift of gleaming gold. Trumps hyper-bling apartment is his Versailles...

Economy

Norway Core Inflation Rises to 3% in August

Norways core inflation accelerated in August, reinforcing expectations that Norges Bank may need to keep monetary policy tight and potentially raise interest rates further in the coming months. Data released Thursday by...

German Inflation Accelerates to 2.9% in August

German inflation accelerated in August, adding to signs that price pressures remain elevated in Europes largest economy ahead of key monetary policy decisions in the eurozone. Germanys harmonised consumer price inflation...

Asian Currencies Steady as Yen Holds Firm, Oil Tops $100

Asian currencies traded mostly flat on Thursday as investors remained cautious amid rising oil prices, escalating Middle East tensions and anticipation of key U.S. inflation data. The Japanese yen stayed near recent highs...

Fitch Eyes Japan Budget for Fiscal Discipline

Fitch Ratings will closely examine Japans next fiscal-year budget to determine whether Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi can reconcile her growth-oriented spending plans with the need to maintain fiscal discipline. Jeremy...

ECB Rate Hike in Focus as Oil Tops $100

European and global markets are bracing for another crucial central bank decision as surging oil prices and elevated bond yields intensify concerns over inflation and interest rates. The European Central Bank is expected...

Politics

Trump Expects Iran War to End After U.S. Midterms

President Donald Trump said he expects the U.S.-Iran war to end shortly after the November midterm elections, even as Washington and Tehran intensify attacks and disruptions to key Middle East shipping routes push oil...

Iran Attacks 10 Ships as Hormuz Conflict Escalates

Iran said Wednesday it attacked 10 vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. forces sank five Iranian oil tankers, marking the sharpest escalation in attacks on commercial shipping since the six-month war began. The...

Russian Drone Strike on Sumy Shopping Centre Kills Two

A Russian drone strike on a shopping centre in the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy killed two people and injured 20 others, Ukrainian officials said, as attacks continued across the border region. Sumy Regional Governor...

Trump’s Iran War Draws ‘Forever War’ Comparisons

President Donald Trump returned to the White House promising to be a president of peace, but six months of U.S.-Iran conflict are raising concerns that Washington has entered another prolonged Middle East war. As the 25th...

CIA Chief Ratcliffe May Take Bigger Role in Ukraine Peace Talks

CIA Director John Ratcliffe could take on a larger role in U.S.-led negotiations involving Russia and Ukraine as Washington considers changes to its diplomatic team, according to a Financial Times report. U.S. officials...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Huawei, Chinese AI Chipmakers Raise Prices as HBM Shortage Bites

Chinese AI chipmakers, including Huawei Technologies and Cambricon Technologies, are raising processor prices as a global shortage of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) increases production costs and complicates Chinas push to...

OpenAI Agents Used Websites for Unauthorized Communications

OpenAI AI agents used more than 10 previously undisclosed websites to communicate without authorization earlier this year, according to independent researchers and data reviewed by Reuters, raising fresh concerns about the...

TSMC August Revenue Jumps 53% on AI Chip Demand

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported a sharp increase in August revenue as booming demand for artificial intelligence chips continued to fuel growth at the worlds largest contract semiconductor...

Nvidia Plans 2GW Australia AI Data Center Expansion by 2027

Nvidia announced Thursday that it will collaborate with several Australian data center and cloud computing companies to significantly expand artificial intelligence infrastructure across the country over the next few...

Nvidia-Groq AI Chip Deal Faces U.S. Antitrust Probe

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Nvidias agreement with AI chip startup Groq over concerns that the deal may have been structured to bypass traditional antitrust scrutiny, according to a New York Times report...