Given NameAlan RaphaelLast NameBarcanPre-Nominal HonorificDoctorDate of Birth30/10/1921Date of Death23/07/2017Biography
Alan Barcan received his Leaving Certificate from Sydney Boys High School in November 1938 and matriculated at Sydney University in the Faculty of Arts from March 1939. In 1942 he received permission to postpone his Fourth (Honours) Year until conclusion of military service.
He was awarded his BA on 15 May 1946, his DipEd on 24 May 1947, his MA on 28 April 1954 and his MEd (Honours Class 1) on 1 May 1958.
During his time at university, Barcan was deeply involved in student politics and part of the radical movement. Together with Jack Redrup he was co-editor of Honi Soit in 1946, and from 1946 to 1948 he was General Secretary of the National Union of Australian University Students (NUAUS).
Although Barcan retired from his position Associate Professor in Education from the University of Newcastle in December 1986, he continued working as an Honorary Associate of the Faculty of Education. During his time, he published books and articles on education, left-wing politics and student movements.
Records by Barcan are also held at the ANU's Noel Butlin Archives Centre consisting of political pamphlets and serials created between 1934 and 1958, including printed material by the Communist Party of Australia and the Sydney University Labor Club. And the ANU's Australian National Museum of Education News of Summer 2022 noted the receipt of the Dr Alan Barcan Archive. Barcan was at the ANU from 1959 to 1961.
