Profiles
Imogen Wegman
Imogen Wegman
Lecturer
History & Classics
Humanities Building , Sandy Bay Campus
+61 3 6226 7804 (phone)
Imogen Wegman is a lecturer in history, focused within the Diploma of Family History. She researches the everyday life of a colony, and she uses digital tools to uncover the stories of the people living on these lands.
Biography
Having grown up in Hobart, Imogen has a strong connection to her island home. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Tasmania, before moving to the UK to join the University of East Anglia’s Landscape History MA program. Her dissertation examined the creation of ‘isolated’ parish churches – those that stand in the middle of a field, far from their village. She returned to Tasmania to complete her PhD in History at the University of Tasmania, examining the differences between land grants given to convicts and free settlers. Her research continues to examine the practicalities of the life in the early years of a colony, using digital tools such as GIS (mapping) to understand the historic landscape and extract its stories.
Imogen is now a lecturer in history at the University of Tasmania, teaching into the Diploma of Family History and the Bachelor of Arts. She continues to nerd out about maps with her students, teaching them how to find and interpret them for their own research.
Imogen has a keen interest in public histories and has held a range of non-academic roles that have connected her research with the public. As a tour guide she converted her thesis into a commentary designed for tourists with little to no background knowledge. She also worked behind the help desk in a public library, helping clients research their family history, find information about their house, or pursue other historical questions. She is a popular public speaker and is regularly invited to speak to diverse audiences. In 2016 she co-founded A Pint of History – a monthly pub-based history event in Hobart, which continues to a provide a space for academics and experts to present their historical research to a large general audience.
Career summary
Qualifications
| Degree | Title of Thesis | University | Country | Awarded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhD | Profitable and Unprofitable Acres: Patterns of European expansion across Van Diemen's Land, 1803-35 | University of Tasmania | Australia | 2018 |
| Grad.Cert in Research | University of Tasmania | Australia | 2018 | |
| MA in Landscape History | A study of 'common-edge drift' in Norfolk | University of East Anglia | UK | 2013 |
| BA LLB | University of Tasmania | Australia | 2012 |
Memberships
Professional practice
Tasmanian Historical Research Association, general committee member
Administrative expertise
Coordinator, Humanities in Place Engagement Scholarships
Teaching
Teaching expertise
Imogen has extensive expertise in teaching online, in both asynchronous and synchronous settings. She can confidently guide student learning using only discussion boards, and student feedback regularly highlights her strength in creating community through online platforms. Imogen’s long history of teaching non-traditional students leads her to imaginative innovations in designing lessons that teach the materials while also developing students’ digital literacy and academic skills.
Imogen’s expertise in providing student-centred teaching has been recognised through Teaching Merit Certificates, Commendations for Student Satisfaction, and she is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).
Teaching responsibility
View more on Dr Imogen Wegman in WARP
Expertise
Imogen’s research that uses a combination of archival research and spatial manipulation through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to explore colonial history as preserved in the landscape. This spatial approach enables her to create a network of artwork, diaries, government records, and cartographic scraps that use geographic coordinates as a common denominator. By pinning a written description to a location, it can be directly compared to environmental conditions, land boundaries, paintings, or other sources. This research looks beyond the official record to help us better understand the choices made by different groups who met on newly claimed lands.
- Colonial cartography
- History of surveying and exploration
- Tasmanian history
- Historic GIS / GeoHumanities / Spatial Humanities
- Environmental / Agricultural history
Research Themes
Imogen’s research primarily relates to the University’s research theme of Creativity, Culture and Society, with some components touching on Data, Knowledge and Decisions. Her research uses GIS (mapping) to relate modern and historic datasets to cartographic resources. By exploring colonial history through the landscape, fresh stories of problem-solving and daily priorities emerge. In recent years, Imogen has been involved with several convict projects, including ‘Founders and Survivors’ and ‘Digital Panopticon’. Through mapping patterns of convict birthplaces, professions and other elements, we can better understand geographical circumstances that affected an individual’s likelihood of offending. Her current research examines the earliest years of colonies beyond Van Diemen’s Land, to compare how government instructions were adapted to local conditions.
Fields of Research
- Australian history (430302)
- Global and world history (430310)
- Biography (430303)
- British history (430304)
- Heritage collections and interpretations (430206)
- Heritage, archive and museum studies (430299)
- Historical studies (430399)
- Human geography (440699)
- Other history, heritage and archaeology (439999)
- Impacts of tourism (350801)
- Migration history (430319)
- History of empires, imperialism and colonialism (430313)
- Environmental history (430307)
Research Objectives
- Expanding knowledge in history, heritage and archaeology (280113)
- Understanding Australia's past (130703)
- Heritage (130499)
- Understanding Europe's past (130704)
- Conserving the historic environment (130405)
Publications
Total publications
34
Highlighted publications
(3 outputs)| Year | Type | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Other Public Output | Wegman I, 'A Belgian farmer moved a rock and accidentally annexed France: the weird and wonderful history of man-made borders', The Conversation, Australia, 6 May (2021) [Magazine Article] | |
| 2020 | Journal Article | Wegman I, ' A truly sublime appearance': using GIS to find the traces of pre-colonial landscapes and land use', History Australia, 17, (1) pp. 59-86. ISSN 1449-0854 (2020) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2017 | Journal Article | Wegman I, 'Casual Expansion by Land Grantees in Van Diemen's Land', Tasmanian Historical Studies, 22 pp. 1-17. ISSN 1324-048X (2017) [Refereed Article] |
Journal Article
(6 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Wegman I, 'Anything but common: why Van Diemen's Land never had commons', Landscape History, 43, (1) pp. 87-104. ISSN 0143-3768 (2022) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'Love it? Hate it? It's still Tasmania's history', Public History Weekly, 9, (7) pp. 1-6. ISSN 2197-6376 (2021) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2020 | Wegman I, ' A truly sublime appearance': using GIS to find the traces of pre-colonial landscapes and land use', History Australia, 17, (1) pp. 59-86. ISSN 1449-0854 (2020) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2018 | Wegman I, 'Water wise: How rivers shaped a colony', Tasmanian Historical Research Association. Papers and Proceedings, 65, (3) pp. 45-60. ISSN 0039-9809 (2018) [Non Refereed Article] | |
| 2017 | Wegman I, 'Casual Expansion by Land Grantees in Van Diemen's Land', Tasmanian Historical Studies, 22 pp. 1-17. ISSN 1324-048X (2017) [Refereed Article] | |
| 2016 | Wegman I, 'The causes of common-edge drift: a Norfolk study', Norfolk Archaeology, XLVII pp. 356-373. ISSN 0142-7962 (2016) [Refereed Article] |
Book
(1 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Harman K, Wegman I, Brodie N, Champion C, 'The Van Diemen Anthology 2019', Forty South Publishing, Hobart, Tasmania, pp. 112. ISBN 0648532852 (2019) [Edited Book] Co-authors: Harman K; Brodie N |
Conference Publication
(2 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Wegman I, 'The map and the land: hidden Tasmanian histories', Proceedings of the 9th National Cartographic Conference GeoCart'2018 46th Australian and New Zealand Map Society Conference, 5-7 September 2018, Wellington, NZ, pp. 62-63. ISBN 978-0-473-45257-5 (2018) [Conference Extract] | |
| 2016 | Wegman I, 'Van Diemen's Land-Scapes', Globalisation, Entrepreneurship and the South Pacific: Reframing Australian Colonial Architecture 1800-1850, 17-18 October 2018, Hobart, Tasmania, pp. 66-71. ISBN 9781922016355 (2016) [Non Refereed Conference Paper] |
Other Creative Work
(2 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Wegman I, 'Birthplaces of transported convicts in urban London, 1780-1830', London Metropolitan Archives, London, pp. 1 (2017) [Minor Creative Work] | |
| 2015 | Wegman I, 'Land Grants in Early Colonial Van Diemen's Land', Esri StoryMaps, Online, pp. Online (2015) [Minor Creative Work] |
Thesis
(2 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Wegman IC, 'Profitable and Unprofitable Acres: Patterns of European expansion across Van Diemen's Land, 1803-35' (2018) [PhD] | |
| 2013 | Wegman IC, 'A study of 'common-edge drift' in Norfolk' (2013) [Masters Coursework] |
Other Public Output
(21 outputs)| Year | Citation | Altmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Wegman I, ''Physical and Digitised Hstoric Maps', Interview with Leon Compton', ABC Radio-Mornings Leon Compton, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia, 26 April 2022 (2022) [Media Interview] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'Radio Interview', Your Afternoon with Helen Shield, ABC Radio Hobart, Hobart, Tasmania, 21 January (2021) [Media Interview] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'Breakfast ABC Hobart radio: interview with Joel Rheinberger', ABC News, Australia (2021) [Media Interview] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'Radio interview', Drive with Richard Glover, ABC Sydney radio, Sydney, Australia, 6 May (2021) [Media Interview] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'Radio interview', Evenings with David Astle, ABC Radio Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 10 May (2021) [Media Interview] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'Radio interview', Evenings with Paul McIntyre, ABC Radio Hobart, Hobart, Australia, 18 May (2021) [Media Interview] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'Life Matters with Hilary Harper and Michael Mackenzie', ABC Radio National, ABC Radio National, Australia, 20 May (2021) [Media Interview] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'How early Australian settlers drew maps to erase Indigenous people and push ideas of colonial superiority', The Conversation, Australia, 27 May (2021) [Magazine Article] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'Radio interview', Your Afternoon with Mel Bush, ABC Radio Hobart, Hobart, Australia, 31 May (2021) [Media Interview] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'Public History in Tasmania', Australian and Aotearoa NZ Public History Network, 16 May (2021) [Magazine Article] | |
| 2021 | Wegman I, 'A Belgian farmer moved a rock and accidentally annexed France: the weird and wonderful history of man-made borders', The Conversation, Australia, 6 May (2021) [Magazine Article] | |
| 2020 | Wegman I, 'On paper, on screen, on site: family history in the 21st century', Traces Magazine, Executive Media Pty Ltd, Melbourne, 10 (2020) [Magazine Article] | |
| 2020 | Wegman I, 'Understanding colonial maps', Traces, Executive Media, Australia, 13 (2020) [Magazine Article] | |
| 2019 | Wegman I, 'How To Be a Tour Guide', Australian Historical Association: Early Career Researchers, Australian Historical Association, Wollongong, 15 February 2019 (2019) [Magazine Article] | |
| 2019 | Wegman I, 'Surviving the conference marathon', The Thesis Whisperer, Australia (2019) [Magazine Article] | |
| 2019 | Wegman I, 'Tour guiding and Tasmanian history: Interview with Louise Grimmer', Sunday Afternoon program presented by Louise Grimmer, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Radio, Hobart, Tasmania, July 14 (2019) [Media Interview] | |
| 2019 | Wegman I, 'The latest on tools & methods from the Digital HASS Champions', July 12 (2019) [Report Other] | |
| 2019 | Wegman I, Wise N, 'So you want to be a genealogist: Interview with Traces', Traces Magazine, Executive Media Pty Ltd, Melbourne, pp. 30-32. (2019) [Media Interview] | |
| 2018 | Wegman I, 'Colonial maps and land grants: Interview with Chris Wisbey', Weekends with Chris Wisbey, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Hobart, Tasmania, 22 April 2018 (2018) [Media Interview] | |
| 2018 | Wegman I, 'The road to here: rivers were the highways of Australia's colonial history', The Conversation, The Conversation Media Group Ltd, Australia, 2 october 2018 (2018) [Magazine Article] | |
| 2017 | Wegman I, 'A home for everyone? Property ownership has been about status and wealth since our convict days', The Conversation, The Conversation Media Group Ltd, Australia, 12 September (2017) [Magazine Article] |