My name is Olga Prokopis and I live and work on unceded Brayakaulung country, Gippsland. I am a disabled scholar and graduate researcher in History at the Centre for Contemporary Histories, Deakin University, Australia. I returned to university as a non-traditional student in late 2014, aged 38, as an amateur (and newish) history enthusiast and blogger. I finished my undergraduate studies at Deakin in 2021, earning a Bachelor of Arts in History and English Literature, and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in History. My Honours thesis focused on a historical reading of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Richard III, which is currently in development as a manuscript. I commenced my doctoral studies in late 2022. During my doctoral research, I have developed a conceptual model of ‘historical reputation’, an area of historical inquiry that examines cultural influences on the creation of historical reputations and how misinformation and stereotypes are disseminated through popular history. My doctoral thesis focuses on the resounding impact of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Richard III on King Richard III of England’s historical reputation.
In previous decades I have studied at the Victorian College of The Arts, the Australian College of Journalism, and worked as a chef and a second-hand bookseller. I also love food history, folklore and fairy tales, children’s literature, and book collecting.
I live in Gippsland with my partner, poet and writer C.S. Hughes, and our fearless leader Princess Ayonami.
In 2025 the cat distribution system sent the tiny Susuwatari to join the household.
