David Carter

Biography

David Carter was educated at the University of Melbourne where he was Lockie Fellow in Australian Literature in 1981. After working in Literary Studies at Deakin University, he was appointed to the Humanities area at Griffith University in 1987. In 2001 he took up the position of Director of the Australian Studies Centre at the University of Queensland and in 2006 became Professor of Australian Literature and Cultural History there.

David has extensive international experience: he managed the Australian Studies in China Program on behalf of the Australia-China Council (DFAT) and was a member of the Australia-Japan Foundation (1998-2004). He is currently lead Chief Investigator and Chair of the National Board of AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature.

David has published widely on Australian literature and popular culture. His A Career in Writing: Judah Waten and the Cultural Politics of a Literary Career was awarded the Walter McRae Russell Award for Australian Literary Scholarship in 1998. He has held research fellowships at the Australian National University, the National Library of Australia, the Centre for the History of the Book at the University of Edinburgh and in 2007-8 was Visiting Professor in Australian Studies at Tokyo University.

David was made Member (AM) in the General Division of The Order of Australia in the 2021 Queens Birthday Honours List for his significant service to tertiary education, and to cultural and literary studies.