Twice forgotten : Assessing the scale and nature of foster care coverage in Australian historical newspapers

Journal article


Musgrove, Nell. (2020). Twice forgotten : Assessing the scale and nature of foster care coverage in Australian historical newspapers. The History of the Family. 25(1), pp. 70-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/1081602X.2019.1647264
AuthorsMusgrove, Nell
Abstract

This article uses a combination of discursive and quantitative big data analysis of digitised historical newspapers to present new findings about the representation of foster care in the Australian press from 1865 through 1954. It argues that despite child welfare more broadly rating as a significant social issue in Australian historical newspapers of this period, the topic of foster care itself was much neglected. This is particularly important to understand at a time when historians are being called upon to create histories that respond to the questions and experiences of survivors of out-of-home care, because it helps explain why foster care has been underrepresented in these histories as compared to children’s institutions – that is, the discursive muting of foster care has a long history. The article engages with some of the practical and theoretical challenges of doing digital history, and concludes that for studies which seek to trace the usage and evolution of a concept over time, an approach which combines close and distant reading can produce useful results. In this case, the big data analysis reveals the low profile of foster care in the press, and a closer reading of a sample of these articles demonstrates that the nature of this coverage was largely negative – another important factor in understanding how public perceptions of foster care have been shaped over time.

Keywordsfoster care; historical newspapers; digital history; child welfare history; australia
Year2020
JournalThe History of the Family
Journal citation25 (1), pp. 70-93
PublisherRoutledge
ISSN1081-602X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/1081602X.2019.1647264
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85079079711
Research or scholarlyResearch
Page range70-93
FunderAustralian Research Council (ARC)
Publisher's version
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Controlled
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online30 Jul 2019
Publication process dates
Deposited09 Dec 2021
ARC Funded ResearchThis output has been funded, wholly or partially, under the Australian Research Council Act 2001
Grant IDARC/DP130104578
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