Alpha History authors

Alpha History’s authors and contributors are listed on this page. All are degree qualified academics, teachers and writers with an interest in history and history education. If you are interested in contributing to Alpha History, please make contact and tell us about yourself and your historical interests, as well as any writing experience you have.

Alpha History staff

Brian Doone

Brian Doone (BA MA DipTch) is a retired history and social studies teacher from Mosman, Australia. Australian history is Brian’s passion but he has taught senior history courses on everything from ancient Rome to Pol Pot’s Cambodia. Brian is a co-founder of Alpha History.

Jennifer Llewellyn

Jennifer Llewellyn (BA MA DipEd) is a former history teacher from Gosford, Australia. Though most interested in ancient and medieval Europe, Jennifer has taught across a number of history courses and time periods. She also works as a volunteer tour guide. Jennifer is a lead author at Alpha History and currently oversees editing, reviewing and permissions.

Steve Thompson

Steve Thompson (BA MLitt DipEd) is a former teacher, writer and editor from Melbourne, Australia. He has specialised in US and Modern European history and is the author of several textbooks, including a prominent text on the American Revolution. Steve is a lead author and website manager at Alpha History.

Contributing authors

Marian Anderson

Marian Anderson (BA MA MEd) lives in Vancouver, Canada, and is a former history teacher and academic. Her historical interests include the Renaissance, Victorian Britain and British imperialism in Canada, Australia and Africa. She is active in local history and currently involved in writing and developing a genealogical website.

Rebecca Cairns

Rebecca Cairns (BA MA DipEd) lives in Geelong, Australia. She is currently researching the development and enactment of senior history curriculum, as part of a Masters in Education. Rebecca previously taught history at a girls’ secondary college in Geelong. Her main area of interest is the revolutionary period in China, where she recently lived for a year.

Dan Fisch

Dan Fisch (BA DipEd) is a former teacher from Caboolture, Queensland. His areas of historical interest include the Weimar Republic, Nazi Germany, World War II and the Holocaust. Dan managed The Study Room, one of our antecedent websites, and was an important contributor to the development of Alpha History.

Glenn Kucha

Glenn Kucha (BA MA) is a former academic from Middleton, UK. Glenn’s historical interests are Victorian Britain and 20th century Europe. He has contributed as a reviewer for Alpha History and also provides some material for our Twitter feeds.

Michael McConnell

Michael McConnell (BA DipEd) is a retired teacher from Melbourne, Australia, now living in New South Wales. Michael has taught several senior history courses including VCE, HSC and IB History. He contributes to Alpha History as a reviewer and also oversaw the student forums in their last year of operation (2012).

Katya Morgunova

Katya Morgunova (BA MPhil PhD) is a historian and educator based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Katya has taught multiple undergraduate courses in Modern European History at two universities in London, UK. Her main areas of interest include Eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, politics and culture in interwar Europe, and the history of science and medicine.

Rebekah Poole

Rebekah Poole (BA MA BTeach, CertEd) teaches history at an independent girls’ school in Sydney, Australia. She is a marker for HSC Modern History and has been published multiple times by the History Teacher’s Association of NSW. Rebekah’s areas of historical interest are the Troubles in Northern Ireland (1968-1998), Scottish and Irish history in the Middle Ages, and the archaeology of Neolithic Orkney.

Kieren Prowse

Kieren Prowse (BAppSci DipEd) teaches humanities and history at a Catholic secondary school in Victoria, Australia. Kieren is an exam assessor for VCE History, a senior history course in Australia. He has also presented lectures for the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria. Kieren’s historical passions are the French Revolution, Nazi Germany and medieval British history.

John Rae

John Rae (MA PhD pending) is a writer, university tutor and doctoral student from London, United Kingdom. John’s area of historical interest is 20th century Asia, particularly revolutionary China and the post-World War II evolution of Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

Jim Southey

Jim Southey (MA MEd) was born in North Carolina, United States and has taught history in four different countries, mainly in Australia and his native USA. Jim’s areas of interest include medieval Europe, 20th century Vietnam and the Cold War. He is currently writing a book on the foreign policy of the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

Sara Taylor

Sara Taylor (BA MAppSci DipEd) is a retired history, English and literature teacher from regional Victoria, Australia. Her historical interests are the Chinese and Russian revolutions. Sara has completed study tours and consortiums in China, Taiwan and Hawaii. She has co-authored a Chinese history text, presented at Asian studies conferences and worked as an exam assessor.

Bryan Williams

Bryan Williams (BA BBus) is an economist and former teacher, currently resident in Christchurch, New Zealand. Bryan is interested in periods of history where economic factors or phenomena have created social and political change, particularly the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression and the New Deal.