Co-designing Sport Histories with Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Communities

Co-design is a scholarly practice that is rarely used by historians. In this presentation, A/Prof Gary Osmond and Prof Murray Phillips evaluate co-design principles through their experiences conducting historical projects with several Australian First Nations communities: in the Torres Strait Islands, Papunya and Yuendumu in central Australia, and the Queensland communities of Barcaldine, Cherbourg, and Yarrabah. These projects have produced, or are producing, outcomes for communities and public audiences that extend beyond academic journal articles to include books, museum exhibitions, and community databases. A/Prof Osmond and Prof Phillips argue that co-design principles can help ensure that outputs are culturally responsive, responsible, and beneficial.

Associate Professor Gary Osmond is lead CI on the ARC Discovery project Torres Strait Islander History: Sport, Culture and Identity (2023-25) and on the UQ Kx&T research project Yarrabah Community, Identity and Pride: A History of Yarrabah Sport (2023).

Professor Murray Phillips is Past President of the North American Society for Sport History, former President of the Australian Society for Sport History, former Editor of the Journal of Sport History and is the lead CI on the ARC Discovery project Pride, Resilience and Identity: Reimagining Aboriginal Sport History (2020-24).