One chapter closes and another begins for The University of Queensland’s Dr Gary Osmond – currently in the news for two of his books.
Dr Osmond, a senior lecturer in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, has won a literary award, just weeks after unveiling his latest release, Sport History in the Digital Era.
The $20,000 New South Wales Premier’s Literary Award (Multiculturalism) relates to Dr Osmond’s previous publication, Black and Proud, co-authored with Dr Matthew Klugman of Victoria University, about Indigenous AFL star Nicky Winmar’s stand against racism.
“My research and teaching focus primarily on race and visual representations of sport, so Black and Proud was really a perfect convergence,” Dr Osmond said.
“Previously the book was nominated for a 2014 Walkley Award and other awards in Victoria and North America.”
Judges described Black and Proud as “dynamic and evocative”. They said it captivated the interest of a wide audience with a “tale of resistance, power, pride and triumph”.
The authors have pledged the prizemoney from the award towards an Indigenous charity, along with royalties from book sales.
Dr Osmond was raised in Canada and has been an Australian resident for 28 years.
Previously he has conducted research around Australian Olympian Peter Norman and the 1968 “Black Power” salute, Chinese-Australian sport pioneers the Kong Sing brothers and Hawaiian surf legend Duke Kahanamoku.
His latest book Sport History in the Digital Era was co-edited with UQ colleague Associate Professor Murray Phillips.
“At a time when a communications revolution has changed the way sports fans relate to their teams, we show the best digital history goes far beyond a static cache of documents,” Dr Osmond said.
“Digital media has almost untapped potential for historians to explore public sentiment in places such as blogs, chat rooms and on gambling sites.
“Scholars can now invite the public to grapple with, rather than passively absorb, evidence and statistics that are offered.”
Dr Osmond this week began a sabbatical in Chicago where he will be researching swimming history.
Contact: Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences communications manager: Robert Burgin +61 7 3346 3035, +61 7 448 410 364, r.burgin@uq.edu.au.
