| Message from the CHASS President | Dear ~~first_name~~,
The recent federal budget was a mixture of encouragement and disappointment for the humanities, arts and social sciences. There were backdated adjustments to the indexing of student debt, which will provide some relief at a time of serious cost of living pressures that fall heavily on students. The government estimates that the total relief is $3 billion. Prac payments for students on work placements will assist HASS students in teaching and social work (the payments also covers nursing and midwifery). Rent assistance will support many students, and the government has a suite of equity policies designed to increase participation in tertiary education for underrepresented groups.
CHASS welcomes all of these initiatives. But in one important respect, we have reason for great disappointment. Despite the strong recommendation of the recent Australian Universities Accord, the Job-ready Graduates package remains in place more than two years into the life of the present Labor government. Introduced by the Morrison government in 2020, it has been a lamentable failure. For many HASS students, the cost of study more than doubled with the stated aim of shifting student demand from HASS to areas with supposedly better job prospects. Not only was the claim that HASS study produced inferior graduate employment outcomes to other fields – such as STEM – demonstrably false, economists correctly warned that the package would fail to produce the movement in student demand that the government said it wanted. What it has unquestionably done, however, is increase the price that HASS graduates will have to pay for their study. Maintaining this bad policy is not only lamentable in its own terms, it directly contradicts the present government’s stated aim of increasing the accessibility of higher education since it lands already-disadvantaged students with debts that will increase the financial strain on them once they have graduated. The recently published piece by four historians – including yours truly – sets out some of the objections to the continuation of the ill-considered Morrison-era fee structure and calls for its removal.
CHASS calls for the removal of these discriminatory university fees and their replacement with a more equitable arrangement for HASS students.
On 21 May at the Parramatta campus of Western Sydney University, I had the pleasure of representing CHASS at the launch of the report We deserve to live in a thriving world: Child-centred indicators for climate change. The result of a partnership of UNICEF Australia and the Young & Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University, the project has developed the world’s first child-centred indicators for climate change and climate action.
The project was a wonderful collaboration between adults and young people aged 10 to 18 and, among the pleasures of the launch in the splendid Female Orphan School building, was the opportunity to hear from some of the young people involved, including the remarkable 15-year-old Yehansa Dahanayake. She is one of the report’s co-authors along with project leader Professor Amanda Third, Farzana Chowdhury, Stephanie Hannah, Dr Ümit Kennedy, Dr Girish Lala and Lilly Moody. The indicators set out the kinds of improvements that would mark progress from children’s and young people’s perspectives, but the report is also a rich collection of children’s voices on the most pressing problem of our times. Here is an opportunity for government, business and civil society to listen to voices that have too often been ignored in policy-making – including on an issue like this one in which young people have such a huge stake. The full report can be found here and discussion of the project is available here. The occasion was a reminder of the remarkable and important work being undertaken by our colleagues in the HASS disciplines on the biggest problems humanity faces today.
Finally, I have just returned from China, where I attended the 20th International Conference of Australian Studies in China. Hosted by Xi’an International Studies University on 8 June, and supported generously by the Foundation for Australian Studies in China, it provided this academic visitor (visiting China for the first time) with a great opportunity of learning more about how the history, politics and culture of our country is understood through the eyes – and research efforts – of our Chinese academic colleagues and their students. There was also a solid contingent from Australian universities, and many opportunities for the renewing of old friendships and forging of new ones among all participants. The topics covered in sessions I attended included AUKUS, think tanks, climate governance, China-Australia Antarctic cooperation, the dismissal of the Whitlam government and Labor-Greens relations in Australian federal politics and it was a delight to see students, in particular, taking such a close interest in Australia. Keynote speakers included Professor Louise Edwards (University of New South Wales) on the representation of the Chinese women’s suffrage movement in the Australian press, Professor Caitlin Byrne (Griffith University) on the role of Australian studies in cultural relations, and Professor Tony Hughes D’Aeth (University of Western Australia) comparing Western Australian novelist Randolph Stow with Western China author Jia Pingwa. Chinese keynotes were Professor Huang Meibo (Shanghai University of International Business and Economics) on China-Australian economic and political relations, and Professor Wang Jinghui (China University of Mining and Technology) on Australian public opinion about security. A few days before in Beijing, Professor Colin Mackerras – who also attended the Xi’ian conference – had been honoured for his sixty-year contribution to the study of China, a reminder of the long history of academic exchange between the two countries. I would like to express my personal thanks to our host at XISU, Dr Su Tiping, a great friend of Australian Studies in China, as well as his busy co-chairs, for their hard work in organising such a successful conference. Australian Studies is doing well in China – there are about 40 centres across the country’s universities – and next year’s conference is being hosted by the centre at East China Normal University in Shanghai.
Frank Bongiorno AM
CHASS President | | Congress of HASS: November 25th - November 29th, 2024 | This year's Congress of HASS will be held at the University of Western Australia. Many associations are already involved in the planning (see list below). If you would like your association to be involved, please contact CHASS Vice-President (Congress) Dimitris Vardoulakis.
Currently confirmed participating associations:
- Australasian Association of Continental Philosophy
- Australasian Association of Philosophy
- Australian and New Zealand Association of Medieval and Early Modern Studies
- Applied Linguistics Association of Australia
- Australian Anthropological Society
- Academy of Social Sciences in Australia
- Australian Historical Association
- Australian Political Studies Association
- Australian University Heads of English
- Australian Women’s & Gender Studies Association
- Deans of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities
- SHAPE Futures
- The Australian Sociological Association
- Murdoch University (annual Murdoch Colloquium - 20th anniversary edition focusing on "Philosophy and Indigenous Knowledges")
| CHASS will be offering a few prizes again this year. We will include details in a subsequent newsletter.
In other Prize news:
- The Academy of the Social Sciences Australia's Paul Bourke awards will open nominations for 2024 in May. For more details, visit their site.
- The International Australian Studies Association's biennial Lyndall Ryan Thesis Prize is open for applications. This award comes with a $1,000 prize which Professor Ryan is generously sponsoring to support emerging scholars in Australian Studies. Applications close 30 June. For more details, visit their site.
- Oral History Australia (OHA) is inviting applications for its three awards – the Hazel de Berg Award for Excellence in Oral History and the OHA book and media awards – with recipients to be announced during the Biennial Conference in Melbourne in November 2024.
Nomination and application deadline: 31 August
- NEW: The Wes Smythe Award for a Community and Rugby League Project
The objective of this award is to encourage partnerships between researchers and rugby league communities to assist and enhance the operations of the latter.
The Award will honour the memory of Wes Smythe, who was a keen supporter of the Tom Brock Lecture. The Smythe family donated some money for this award.
Application deadline: 28 June
| Research Funding: AIJA
The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration Inc. regularly provides financial and in-kind support to research in their areas of interest. These areas of interest are:
- Indigenous justice as it relates to the administration of justice.
- Technology as it relates to the administration of justice.
- Vulnerable communities as they relate to the administration of justice.
- Paths to excellence in judicial administration.
The AIJA is particularly interested in data driven research which provides specific recommendations to further improve the administration of justice.
Those interested in applying for this support should read their Guide to applying for AIJA research support. Applicants should note in particular the guidance on what elements of the research the AIJA funding may be used for and what costs will not generally be funded.
Having read the Guide, applicants should complete their Research Support Application Form which may be submitted via email to aija@aija.org.au
| NEW: The Forrest Research Foundation is offering up to five prestigious three-year postdoctoral Fellowships in 2025 to outstanding researchers from around the world to conduct paradigm-shifting research based at any of Western Australia’s five universities.
The Fellowships will be open to candidates from all countries and all disciplines and are intended to accelerate opportunities for outstanding researchers.
| The Australian Catholic University (ACU) is offering one (1) full-time PhD scholarship to conduct doctoral research as part of an Australian Research Council Discovery Project, ‘Populism’s Heartlands: Place, Identity, and Localism in Populist Politics’ (DP230100001, 2024-2026).
The Australian Linguistic Society is currently seeking application for the Susan Kaldor Scholarship, which funds international summer school or intensive programs for Australian linguistics students. The Susan Kaldor Scholarship provides funding of up to $2,500 to assist an ALS student member to attend an international institute, summer school or similar intensive course (for example the Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute; the LOT Summer School (The Netherlands); etc).
NEW: The Queensland University of Technology is now open to applications for their Clare Burton Memorial Scholarship. Successful applicants will receive a scholarship of $10,000 as a one-off payment as a research allowance. This scholarship is for current research students pursuing research where the major piece of work is focussed on gender equity. This encompasses women and equality in all spheres of endeavour including (but not limited to) employment, education, health, communications, engineering and science.
| Symposiums
Everyday Heritage and Difficult Legacies - Congress of HASS
Everyday Heritage & Australian Historical Association
Thursday November 28th, 10am - 5pm, UWA
The Everyday Heritage Symposium is a partnership event with the Australian Historical Association (AHA), the Congress of the Humanities, Arts, and Social Science (CHASS), University of Canberra, University of Western Australia, and Business Events Perth (BEPerth).
The ‘Save-the-Date’ flyer for the symposium can be accessed here.
The ideas & ideals of Australia: The Lucky Country turns sixty
Australian Academy of the Humanities
Canberra
Thursday 14 - Friday 15 November 2024
Beyond Media Diversity: Media Practice and Media Studies in the Age of #BlackLivesMatter
International Association for Media and Communication Research
University of New South Wales
Thursday 9:00AM - 5:00PM 27 June 2024
The International Symposium on Electronic Art
ISEA International
Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
Friday 21 - Saturday 29 June 2024
Workshops
NEW: Messing with Methods: HDR Workshop
Western Sydney University, University of Sydney
Parramatta City Campus
Thursday 9:00AM - 5:00PM 11 July 2024
Conferences
Home Truths
Australian Historical Association
Flinders University
Monday 1 - Thursday 4 July 2024
9th Biennial ACSPRI Social Science Methodology Conference
Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Incorporated
University of Sydney, Holme Building
Wednesday 27 - Friday 29 November 2024
Earlybird registration opens: Late August
Earlybird registration deadline: 11 October
Abstract submission deadline: 20 September
Short videos submission deadline: 13 November
Enhancing Safe Practice: A National Justice Forum on Sexual Assault
Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration
Supreme Court of New South Wales
Friday 2 - Sunday 4 August 2024
Early registration closes 60 days before the conference.
Kia Tōnui – Flourish: 2024
Drama New Zealand & Drama Australia
Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington, New Zealand
Friday 27 - Monday 30 September 2024
Public Lecture
Shape the Nation
Academy of Social Sciences Australia
Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley is confirmed for the Academy’s ‘Shape the Nation’ lecture as part of the CHASS Congress of HASS on Thursday 28 November from 5-7pm. More details to follow soon.
| All of the below articles are available on open access:
Lutfun Nahar Lata, Tim Reddel, Brian W Head, Luke Craven, Advancing collaborative social outcomes through place-based solutions—aligning policy and funding systems, Policy and Society, 2024;, puae018, https://doi.org/10.1093/polsoc/puae018
Burns, E. 2024. Culture, Denial, Recycling, Tree-Hugging: Many registers learning the seriousness of climate change. In: Bowell, T et al (eds.), Revitalising Higher Education. Cardiff: Cardiff University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18573/conf2.l
Andrejevic, M., O’Neill, C., Smith, G., Selwyn, N., & Gu, X. (2024). Granular biopolitics: Facial recognition, pandemics and the securitization of circulation. New Media & Society, 26(3), 1204-1226. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231201638
Schmidt, M., Aberdeen, L., Carlon, C., & Eversole, R. (2024). Invisible innovation: Intellectual labour on regional university campuses in Australia. Journal of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1177/14407833241252711
Mildren, K. (2024). ‘It needs to be within the bounds of what is acceptable and required of us’: Governing hair in Queensland high schools. Journal of Sociology, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14407833241253020
Newsinger, J., Kennedy, H., & Aust, R. (2024). Is television reformable? The ‘reformist tendency’ in inequality research in the cultural and creative industries. Media, Culture & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437241254331
McDonald, S., Stahl, G. ‘Girls do this, guys do that’: how first-in-family students negotiate working-class gendered subjectivities during a time of social change. Aust. Educ. Res. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-024-00717-0
Moore, S., & Lookadoo, K. (2024). Communicating Clear Guidance: Advice for Generative AI Policy Development in Higher Education. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294906241254786
Hayaert (with images by David Bond), V. (2024). Taking the Law with a Pinch of Salt: A Brief Collection of Emblems for Bonus Dives Imaginosus. Law, Culture and the Humanities. https://doi.org/10.1177/17438721241254334
Hanckel, B., Garnett, E., & Green, J. (2024). Risk ambassadors and saviours: Children and futuring public health interventions. Sociology of Health & Illness, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13802
Burns, B., Grace, R., Drake, G., & Avery, S. (2024). What are Aboriginal children and young people in out-of-home care telling us? A review of the child voice literature to understanding perspectives and experiences of the statutory care system. Children & Society, 00, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12880
Ralph, B., Duncan, T., Roberts, S., Savic, M., Robards, B., & Elliott, K. (2024). Drinking as affective labour: A discussion of Australian men working in hospitality and corporate workplaces. Sociology of Health & Illness, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.13792 | Non-representational Performed Research: Beyond the ‘Authenticity’ Debate
This article investigates the power of performed research outside of traditional ‘ethnographic’ or ‘verbatim’ categories, and amongst diverse audiences. Comparing a performance at a New York dance studio, with performing similar material for an ‘academic’ audience, allows us to interrogate the interplay between performers and audience, as well as scholarly evocation ‘versus’ representation. We draw on the seven tenets of non-representational theory (Thrift, 2008) as a way of considering both performative and onto-epistemological questions for the future of multi-modal performed research, audience response, and performance theory.
Local LGBTQ+ Legacies: Uncovering Migrant and Multicultural Contributions to Sydney's LGBTQ+ History
Up till now, there has been limited exploration of how LGBTQ+ people of migrant and multicultural backgrounds have contributed to Sydney’s queer history. This resource has three key aims: first, to provide an overview of what is currently known about such contributions; second, to explore the narratives of individuals who have made contributions through primary research; third, to offer directions for future research to expand what is currently known about migrant and multicultural contributions. This resource aims to foster ongoing work that expands our understandings of, and approaches to LGBTQ+ history to better encapsulate the diversity of communities.
| Are Women Better At Multitasking
A podcast called MissPerceived, hosted by Leah Ruppanner, recently had an episode discussing the stereotype: "women are better multitaskers".
The podcast can be found here.
Why so many women philosophers are forgotten and what to do about it
A podcast called Late Night Live, recently had an episode hosted by Phillip Adams, taking a look back through the history of philosophy to understand why it’s become one of the most male dominated areas of the humanities.
The podcast can be found here. | A new book called "Teaching Music Performance in Higher Education", edited by Helen Julia Minors, Stefan Östersjö, Gilvano Dalagna and Jorge Salgado Correia, is about the potential of artistic research in various higher education contexts.
The full text can be accessed here.
The full text can be accessed here.
| | HASS Employment Opportunities | NEW: Lecturer in Arabic Studies - Teaching Specialist
Full Time
University of Melbourne
NEW: Lecturer - History
Full Time
Monash University
NEW: Postdoctoral Research Associate - The Ethel Mary Chettle Bequest
Full Time
University of Sydney
NEW: Director - Projects, Partnerships and Consultancies
Full Time
National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA)
NEW: Policy Officer
Full Time or Part Time
National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA)
| Calling all sociologists and others!
We (Nick Osbaldiston and Rachel Busbridge) are running a research project on social theory use in Australia exploring how social theories are used and valued in their contemporary classroom and research spaces. We are looking for anyone who identifies as a sociologist or related discipline, who is currently employed or a graduate student in an Australian university. If this is you and you are interested in this project, please visit our questionnaire to fill out a short 15minute survey on your experiences with social theory. The survey is completely anonymous and no personal information is collected other than general demographic detail.
Should you have any questions feel free to contact us directly via email: nick.osbaldiston@jcu.edu.au and rachel.busbridge@acu.edu.au.
| | Call for Expression of Interest | SHAPE Futures EMCR Network Executive Committee Positions
Call for Expressions of Interest
The SHAPE Futures EMCR Network aims to support, connect and advocate for early and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) working in the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts for People and Environment (SHAPE) disciplines across Australia. The SHAPE Futures Executive Committee is recruiting EMCRs interested in these objectives to take on a role within the Network Executive. All members of the executive are expected to attend the monthly meetings (held via Zoom), with other tasks allocated that are aligned to the position description. The time commitment will vary each month, depending on the role held by an individual. On average, it is anticipated a time commitment of 1-2 hours per week would be necessary.
The three positions currently available are Deputy Chairperson, Website Officer and Social Media Officer.
For details, read on... | We encourage you to support the HASS sector by sharing details about your discipline/department via this newsletter. No news is too small of too big. Any mention of HASS is of value to our sector and we plan on continuing to extend the reach of our newsletter overtime. Please submit all content to CHASS Digital Publications via digitalpublications@chass.org.au . Suggested content includes, but is not limited to:
- Awards and Prizes
- Call for Papers (journals/conferences)
- Call for Book Chapters
- Competitions
- Discipline/Department news
- Industry connections
- Funding Opportunities
- Job and/or scholarship opportunities (these will also be listed on our publicly searchable website directory)
- Publications, especially those with free full access
- Social sciences week events
- Other upcoming events
- Submissions
- Social gatherings
| | Increasing our Newsletter Reach | You can help increase our newsletter's reach by sharing the below link with your friends and colleagues. The link will enable them to be added to the mailing list for our newsletter.
| Contact CHASS Digital Publications:
digitalpublications@chass.org.au | Supporting CHASS 2024 Congress:
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