George Seddon

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For the cabinentmaker of the same name see, George Seddon (cabinetmaker).

George Seddon AM; BA (Hons); MSc; PhD, University of Minnesota; Hon D.Lit, University of Western Australia; Hon FAILA; Hon FRAPI; FTS is an Australian academic.

[edit] Introduction

George Seddon is an Australian academic who has held university chairs in a range of subjects. His research interests and understanding of how these disciplines connect, has led him to write about these subjects for wide audiences. His popular books on the Australian landscape embrace diverse points of view as well as physical, ecological, historical and cultural elements. As of 2006 he is Senior Honorary Research Fellow English, Communication and Cultural Studies - University of W.A., Perth, Western Australia and Emeritus Professor of Environmental Science University of Melbourne.

[edit] Brief Biography

George Seddon was born in 1927, studied English at the University of Melbourne, and later took out an MSc and a PhD in Geology at the University of Minnesota. He held the Chair of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of NSW and later became Director of the Centre for Environmental Studies. Across five decades he has held Chairs in four different disciplines (English, UWA; Geology, Oregon; History and Philosophy of Science, UNSW; Environmental Science, Melbourne) and taught at universities in Lisbon, Toronto, Bologna, Rome, Venice, Minnesota and Oregon.

George Seddon has published 217 papers and numerous of books many of which have won awards (see below). These awards include three Robin Boyd Environmental Awards, the Eureka Prize from the Australian Museum in 1995,for the Snowy book, and the Mawson Medal from the Academy of Science, in 1996. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Planning Institute; Fellow of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects; Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering; and an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. In 1998 he became a Member of the Order of Australia; in 2000 he was made an Honorary Doctor of Litterae Humaniores by the University of Western Australia, and in December, a Festschrift was organised jointly by ANU, La Trobe, Murdoch and UWA universities, with delegates from other institutions. He was made citizen of the Year in Fremantle for 2001. He has a son, Jack Seddon living in the Hills of Perth and a daughter Polly who lives in Melbourne.

[edit] Representative Publications

• 1970 Swan River Landscapes Perth: University of Western Australia Press.
• 1972 Sense of Place Perth: University of Western Australia Press.
• 1976 Man and landscape in Australia: towards an ecological vision (Aust. UNESCO Committee for Man and the Biosphere, pub No. 2) Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.
• 1987 A City and Its Setting: Images of Perth. Fremantle: Fremantle Arts Centre Press.
• 1994 Searching for the Snowy: an Environmental History. St Leonards, Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
• 1994 "The Australian Back Yard" in Australian Popular Culture ed. Ian Craven. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• 1995 Swan Song: reflections on Perth and Western Australia. 1956 -1995, Centre for Studies in Australian Literature: University of Western Australia
• 1997 Landprints: Reflections on Place and Landscape. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• 1998 "Return to Portugal" in Craven, Peter, Best Essays of 1998, Melbourne: Bookman Press.
• 1998 "Imagining the West" in Imagining Australia, ed. Silvia Albertazzi, Sheila M. Downing, Monica Turci. Rome: Vecchiarelli Editore.
• 1999 Land and Language Meanjin, University of Melbourne
• 2000 Looking at an Old Suburb: A Walking Guide to Four Blocks of Fremantle (with Barbara Haddy), Fremantle Arts Centre Press.
• 2005 The Old Country: Australian Landscapes, Plants and People Cambridge University Press.