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 Madeleine Sternberg
QUT Carseldine, Centre for Social Change Research
Thesis Title: The life and work of Dr Elizabeth Marks: a biography of a scientist, an historian and a collector
Research Overview: My research on Dr Elizabeth Marks has provided me with an opportunity to study, in depth, the life and work of a woman who was at the forefront of vital entomological research and education within Australia (especially within Queensland) at a time when women in the scientific field were still considered somewhat of an anomaly. I am interested in the life story of Dr Marks because it offers a narrative view of broader historical issues such as women’s history, female agency in an historical setting and the role of women in society. Issues such are as these are still fairly contemporary additions to the ledger of historical research and discourse.
Aside to the research, I will also be compiling a database that will catalogue the extensive Marks family historical collection. This collection includes art, jewellery and furniture and is spread throughout Queensland in museums, private collections and archives. The aim of this project is to have this information collated in one place and available for public use within 18 months.
My endeavours so far have found me buried under a mountain of information that I have been collecting from books, journals and research papers in order to ground myself solidly within the field of research. I am getting to know Dr Marks’s story a little more each day and in the near future I hope to start talking with those who knew her well and get into various archived records in order to fill in some of the gaps I have encountered with the paper trail. I am hoping to commence writing my thesis very soon.
It is my hope that this research will enrich understanding of Dr Marks’s life and work and highlight the impact she had upon entomological study, education and practice as a pioneering woman within her field.
More information on the remarkable Dr EN Marks can be found on the ISR's Samford Ecological Research Facility (SERF) website: Link [external html]
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