Repeating history
by Rebecca Gill
A
70-year-old English immigrant seems like an unlikely candidate for a PhD
in South Australian history, but Jenny Booth – now Dr Jenny Booth – has
proven that you don’t necessarily have to fit the mould to wear the
glove.
Dr Booth, who attained her doctorate in September, says that being the oldest person in her class never deterred her from her studies.
“It was great because I wasn’t under any pressure. Many students were
doing it to get into a career, whereas I was doing it for pure
self-indulgence,” Dr Booth said.
Entitled Rethinking South Australia: 1829 to 1841 – aspects of governance
and empire, Dr Booth’s unique thesis explores “the things you don’t learn in
history class”.
Since a young age, Booth had wanted to become an archivist because she was fascinated with recording the past. But it wasn’t until 1977, when she was 42, that she had a chance to pursue a tertiary education. A further gap followed before she began her Masters in 1994.
Being a history major, her classmates sometimes claimed that her age gave her an unfair advantage.
“I did remember some of the course material first hand. However, my age didn’t help me with much history – well, at least not South Australian history – because I lived in England until 1962,” Dr Booth said.
“When I was 24 I arrived in Australia on a working holiday and I just never went back to England to live.
“My favourite part of studying at UniSA was definitely the research. Australian history is so recent you can touch it.
“Integrating the theory was the most challenging part. My supervisors gave me a lot of support in that area, but they also pushed me to go out to different lectures and broaden my knowledge, for which I am thankful.”
She also thinks that Magill campus provided an inspiring and somewhat thematic study environment.
“I would have a chat with the parrots perched in the gum trees and visit my supervisor in historic Murray House.”
Since graduating, Booth is enjoying the fruits of her labour. She has had one article published in The Journal of Australian Studies, and she has two more articles under consideration.
She also wears the new title proudly.
“People certainly listen to you more when you have a Dr in front of your name.”