Alexis Bergantz

Dr Alexis Bergantz is a Senior Lecturer in Global & Language Studies in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies

Dr Bergantz is a historian of Australia’s entanglements with France and the French Pacific, particularly New Caledonia. His first book, French Connection: Australia’s Cosmopolitan Ambitions was published by NewSouth in 2021 and won the 2022 NSW Premier's Australian History Award. Dr Bergantz's current project investigates aspects of Australia’s historical relationship with the French Pacific in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It has received support from the Australian Academy of the Humanities and the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in partnership with the French Embassy in Canberra.

Dr Bergantz holds a PhD in History from the Australian National University (2016) for which he was awarded the ANU J. G. Crawford Prize for Academic Excellence, the John Molony Prize for best thesis in History, and was shortlisted for the Serle Award for best PhD thesis in Australian history by the Australian Historical Association.

Since 2020 Dr Bergantz has been leading the research efforts of the Institute for the Study of French-Australian Relations (ISFAR) (https://www.isfar.org.au/) as co-chair of its Research Committee (with Elizabeth Rechniewski). He also acts as General Editor of the French-Australian Dictionary of Biography and serves on the Editorial Committee of The French Australian Review. Dr Bergantz has written for Inside Story, Meanjin Blog, the Canberra Times, the Australian Policy and History Network and has provided expert commentary on historical and contemporary French-Australian relations for national and local radio programs such as SBS World News, ABC RN’s Late Night Live, Nightlife, Focus, ABC Weekend, 3RRR’s Uncommon Sense and SBS French.

At RMIT Dr Bergantz coordinates the French program, teaches across all levels of French and teaches the core subject Global History in the Bachelor of International Studies.

X/Twitter: @alexisbergantz and @theISFAR