Synopsis

This presentation draws on my almost decade long search to discover Joice Nankivell Loch. I first heard of Joice Nankivell Loch from a colleague at Monash University who heard that I was researching my Greek ancestry and  about the expulsion of thousands of diaspora Hellenes, including my Yiayia Soultana, from Asia Minor in 1922. My initial reading of Blue Ribbons Bitter Bread, certainly grabbed by interest but raised many questions in my mind, both about Joice Lock and also about the book. The book read like an expanded version of Joice’s own ‘autobiography’ and seemed under researched; it made reference to a handful of Joice’s letters and a limited number of newspaper articles. More importantly, it presented a version of Joice Loch that often did not correspond with what I was discovering in the original sources. In this talk I highlight my search for primary sources, and present a brief summary of my rediscovery of the great Australian.

Bio

Dr Harry Ballis is a sociologist by training and completed his PhD at Latrobe University in 1992. He worked at Monash University for 25 years, lecturing in sociology of work and organisations, and on the sociology of health. Over the years he has held a variety of senior management roles at Monash University, including Head of Sociology, Head of the School of Humanities and Communications, was an Associate Dean for the Faculty of Arts and oversaw the arts program at the Gippsland, Berwick, and at the University’s Malaysia Campus in Kuala Lumpur.He has published five books on themes ranging from the sociology of career change, the sociology of work, and the sociology of religion. He co-authored with Professor Roger Magnusson the controversial study, Angels of Death : Exploring the Euthanasia Underground (Melbourne University Press, and Yale University Press), that examined how health professionals carry out euthanasia in the absence of legal provisions.

How to Participate

This is an in-person only event, so please join us at the Greek Centre, on Level M.

See our speaker live, ask questions during the Q&A and hobnob with fellow participants before and after the event.

We look forward to seeing you there.