Karen Hughes is Associate Professor in Indigenous Studies and History. She is the recipient of the 70th Anniversary 2020 Fulbright Scholar Award in Honour of Jill Kerr Conway. Her project tells the story of Indigenous Australian WW2 brides in the USA. Karen’s research embraces the intersecting fields of history, anthropology and gender studies with a focus on Indigenous and minority histories in Australia and North America.
She is currently completing a project with the Ngarrindjeri community of South Australia, to preserve significant photographic and other heritage in an accessible interactive record for members of the Stolen Generations and their descendants, supported by the Stolen Generations Community Repatriation fund, South Australian Government.
Recognised for the quality and impact of her research in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History, Karen has been awarded a 2019 and Research Impact Award (Swinburne), a 2010 Excellence in Teaching Award (Monash) and the 2012 Mary Bennet Award for Women’s History, among other achievements. Before entering academia Karen was an accomplished journalist and documentary filmmaker and she incorporates these attributes into her research and teaching.