The Humanities Research Centre (HRC) was established in 1972 as a national and international centre for excellence in the humanities and a catalyst for innovative and interdisciplinary humanities research within the Australian National University and beyond. As one of Australia’s prime gateways to humanities scholarship throughout the world, the HRC promotes advanced research in and across the humanities through an annual Visiting Fellowship Program and a range of conferences, workshops, seminars, and symposia that it supports and hosts under an annual theme. Beyond this, and beyond its annual theme, the role of the HRC is one of outreach and advocacy for the humanities, engaging with major cultural institutions and with the public at large on issues of immediate concern to the intellectual and cultural life of the nation.