I grew up in Mudgee, in central west New South Wales, and after graduating from the University of Western Australia (BA) and the University of Queensland (MA & PhD), taught at the universities of Southern Queensland, Queensland and Wollongong. In between my MA and PhD I taught English in the city of Fukushima in northern Japan. My research interest is mainly in Australian literature, and for nearly fifteen years I edited the academic journal "Australian Literary Studies".
My major publications are a book titled "The Enchantment of English" (published by Sydney University Press in 2012), on the history of teaching literatures in English in Australian Universities, and "Responses to Self Harm: An Historical Analysis of Medical, Religious, Military and Psychological Perspectives" (McFarland, 2015) which is a history of the representation of self harm. My other essays and book chapters deal with postcolonial literatures and higher education.