Lecturer
Overview
Dr Cassandra Byrnes (she/her) is a History Lecturer at the University of Queensland, Australia, and researches histories of gender and sexuality focusing on reproductive rights and control. She is working on a history of reproductive coercion in Australia’s recent past, and how that directly influences our current understandings of laws and social practices. Her past research has examined reproduction regulation in Queensland in the mid-to-late twentieth century, illustrating how political, moral, and social control over contracepting bodies influenced broader attitudes regarding agency and autonomy. She was a National Library of Australia Summer Scholar and a Global Change Scholar at UQ, collaborating with peers in interdisciplinary networks, and has recently completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship on the interdisciplinary project The Limits of Consent.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy of History, The University of Queensland
- Bachelor (Honours) of Arts, The University of Queensland
- Bachelor of Arts, The University of Queensland
Publications
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Book: The Limits of Consent : Sexual Assault and Affirmative Consent
Featherstone, Lisa, Byrnes, Cassandra, Maturi, Jenny, Minto, Kiara, Mickelburgh, Renée and Donaghy, Paige (2024). The Limits of Consent : Sexual Assault and Affirmative Consent. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-46622-9
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Conference Publication: ‘Child Obscenity’ and ‘Sex Pamphlets’: Women’s Liberation and Sex Education in 1970s Queensland
Byrnes, Cassandra (2023). ‘Child Obscenity’ and ‘Sex Pamphlets’: Women’s Liberation and Sex Education in 1970s Queensland. Lilith Symposium, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 27-28 September 2023.
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Conference Publication: Histories of Reproductive Coercion and Consent in Mid-to-Late Twentieth Century Australia
Byrnes, Cassandra (2022). Histories of Reproductive Coercion and Consent in Mid-to-Late Twentieth Century Australia. Australian Women and Gender Studies Association Conference, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 28-30 November 2022.
Supervision
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The Political History of Modern Queensland
Doctor Philosophy
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Not Born, But Made: Understanding the Provenance and Evolution of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse in Twentieth-Century Australia Through Perceptions of Childhood
Doctor Philosophy
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THE WAY BACK HOME Social Remembering from Huian Women (1368-2020)
Doctor Philosophy
Publications
Book
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The Limits of Consent : Sexual Assault and Affirmative Consent
Featherstone, Lisa, Byrnes, Cassandra, Maturi, Jenny, Minto, Kiara, Mickelburgh, Renée and Donaghy, Paige (2024). The Limits of Consent : Sexual Assault and Affirmative Consent. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-46622-9
Book Chapter
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Featherstone, Lisa and Byrnes, Cassandra (2018). A history of gender. Gender: time. (pp. 85-102) edited by Karin Sellberg. New York, NY, United States: Macmillan Reference USA.
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‘The Abstract Beauties of Female Education’: A History of University Women in Brisbane
Byrnes, Cassandra (2018). ‘The Abstract Beauties of Female Education’: A History of University Women in Brisbane. Brisbane: Training, Teaching and Turmoil – Tertiary Education 1825-2018. (pp. 1-1) edited by William Metcalf and Barry Shaw. Salisbury, QLD Brisbane: Boolarong Press.
Conference Publication
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‘Child Obscenity’ and ‘Sex Pamphlets’: Women’s Liberation and Sex Education in 1970s Queensland
Byrnes, Cassandra (2023). ‘Child Obscenity’ and ‘Sex Pamphlets’: Women’s Liberation and Sex Education in 1970s Queensland. Lilith Symposium, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 27-28 September 2023.
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Histories of Reproductive Coercion and Consent in Mid-to-Late Twentieth Century Australia
Byrnes, Cassandra (2022). Histories of Reproductive Coercion and Consent in Mid-to-Late Twentieth Century Australia. Australian Women and Gender Studies Association Conference, Melbourne, VIC Australia, 28-30 November 2022.
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Byrnes, Cassandra (2022). Reproducing Foucault. Foucault’s Methods Symposium, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 27 September 2022.
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Understanding Consent in Twentieth-Century Australia
Byrnes, Cassandra (2022). Understanding Consent in Twentieth-Century Australia. Australian Historical Association Conference, Geelong, VIC Australia, 27 June - 1 July 2022.
PhD and MPhil Supervision
Current Supervision
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The Political History of Modern Queensland
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
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Not Born, But Made: Understanding the Provenance and Evolution of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse in Twentieth-Century Australia Through Perceptions of Childhood
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
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THE WAY BACK HOME Social Remembering from Huian Women (1368-2020)
Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor
Other advisors:
