The 2024-2027 Australia–France Indo-Pacific Studies Program (AFIPS) is a flagship initiative delivered by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, with support from the Australian Government (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade). Anchored in the shared strategic commitment to advancing peace, resilience, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, the program supports interdisciplinary, policy-relevant social science research…
Top row (L to R): Professor Michael Berk AO FASSA FAHMS, Professor Justin Kenardy AO FASSA & Professor Mike Young AO FASSAMiddle row: Professor Rosemary Rayfuse AM FASSA , Professor Chandra Athukorala AM FASSA & Professor Steve Zubrick AM FASSA FAHMSBottom row: Professor Colin MacLeod AM FASSA, Professor Louise Chappell AM FASSA & Professor Greg…
In this issue, the Academy is on the hunt for a new CEO, congratulations are in order for many Fellows, mark your calendars with upcoming events and consider a tax-time donation to support the Academy’s work. View the June 2026 newsletter.
Playing on the Edge: Sport, Society and Culture in Asia and Oceania Contemporary global sport is in constant, sometimes bewildering flux. This book goes beyond orthodox globalisation theory, deploying the metaphor of ‘playing on the edge’ in analysing the dynamic process of making and remaking sport culture in Asia and Oceania. Beyond sport’s traditionally dominant…
Professor Emerita Billie Giles-Corti Affiliation: RMIT Centre for Urban Research Discipline: Built environment and design Year elected: 2023 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? My research is about how to design cities to make people healthy. What role do the social sciences play in your work? The social sciences have underpinned…
The Academy of the Social Sciences congratulates the inaugural commissioners appointed to the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, including Fellow Dr Stephen Duckett FASSA. Australia’s tertiary education sector equips our future workforce with the professional and technical for a range of careers and drive research and innovation. More than a simple qualification and route to employment,…
What initially drew you to your field of study? I’ve long been drawn to the stories Australia doesn’t always tell about itself—histories of colonisation, race relations, and cross-cultural encounters that sit just beneath the surface of national narratives. Like many non-Indigenous Australians, these histories are not abstract, but difficult, powerful and embodied and are threaded though my own family story too. Early…
A Research Agenda for Critical LiteraciesChallenges and Possibilities in Troubling Times Edited by Hilary Janks, Emerita Professor, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, Barbara Comber, Emerita Professor, Adelaide University, Australia and Vivian Vasquez, Distinguished Professor, American University, USA This cutting-edge Research Agenda offers a way forward for critical literacies that takes into account current conditions of…
Pictured above: Kiesha Wear (left), Coordinator of Data Sovereignty at Wungening Aboriginal Corporation and Distinguished Professor Emerita Maggie Walter FASSA at the 2025 Global Indigenous Data Sovereignty (GIDSov) Conference. (Image credit: Wolflab Media) For decades, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been among the most counted populations in Australia, and among the least heard. Governments…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is seeking a Chief Executive Officer of a nationally significant institution at a time when social science has never been more critical to Australia’s prosperity, resilience, and policy direction. Why this role? This is a rare opportunity to partner with the President and Board to deliver the…
A series of reports prepared by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering for Safe Work Australia maps the national work health and safety (WHS) and workers’ compensation research landscape. The project used an innovative research methodology, combining a taxonomy based scoping review, case study…
Professor Adam Possamai Affiliation: Western Sydney University Discipline: Sociology Year elected: 2023 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? As everyone has an opinion about religion, being a believer, ex-believer, atheist, sceptic or someone who grew up with a religion, I always find it challenging to speak about my research. I have found that…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, jointly with The Embassy of France in Australia, proudly congratulates two convening teams of researchers who have received Australia-France Social Science Collaborative Workshops grants for 2026. Details of the two research teams and their projects are listed below. Dependencies, Disruptions, and Futures: Building an Australia-France Alliance on…
Professor Emerita Joan Beaumont Affiliation: Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University Discipline: History, heritage and archaeology Year elected: 1997 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? Historians of the two world wars and Australia’s role in these. What role do the social sciences play in your work? I draw…
In this issue, find updates from leadership, opportunities to get involved, upcoming events, featured stories, and a selection of things to read, watch, and listen to. View the May 2026 newsletter.
This insightful book presents a fresh approach to debate and decision making in liberal democracies. Linda Courtenay Botterill explores the significance of personal values and value trade-offs in politics and policy, underlining the importance of more civil and constructive democratic processes.
What are the social sciences? What do they cover? And who’s involved – as students, teachers, scholars and professionals? How do the social sciences contribute to society? How are they funded? What are their strengths and weaknesses, within disciplines and across sectors? What are the success stories? And what are the ‘grand societal challenges’ that…
Affiliation: University of MelbourneDiscipline: History, heritage and archaeologyYear elected: 2023 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? I am interested in memory activism or how different actors mobilise the past for different ends especially for the purposes of challenging harmful historical discourses and achieving meaningful social change. What initially drew you to your field…
*Distinguished Professor Bessant is pictured above with her dog, Frankie. Frankie’s social science qualifications are not listed here, but can be supplied upon request. Affiliation: RMIT School of Global, Urban and Social StudiesDiscipline: SociologyYear elected: 2024 What initially drew you to your field of study? I was first drawn to youth studies and to related…
Affiliation: UNSW Law & JusticeDiscipline: Law and Legal StudiesYear elected: 2023 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? If I was at a dinner party right now, I’d tell people that I focus on the law of the sea and that’s concerned with laws between different countries over maritime issues. So I look at the closing of the Strait of…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia will soon farewell CEO Dr Chris Hatherly, as he moves to a new leadership role in the health sector. Chris joined the Academy in mid-2019, and has worked with the Board, Fellows and the National Office team to drive significant growth and change in the Academy’s initiatives…
Four researchers have secured funds for collaborative research projects under the Indo-Pacific Strategic Environmental Grants program through the Academy of the Social Sciences of Australia. As part of the DFAT-funded 2024–2027 AFIPS Program, the Indo-Pacific Strategic Grants provide up to AUD 10,000 for academic exchange, projects, and public outreach on the Indo-Pacific strategic and economic…
Affiliation: Monash UniversityDiscipline: Health SciencesYear elected: 2023 How would you describe your work at a dinner party? I help systems put evidence into action with communities, especially those most impacted by disadvantage, by centring lived experience and moving beyond Western, Eurocentric, and colonised assumptions to achieve fair and equitable health and wellbeing across the lifespan. What role do the…
A collection of writings over the past half-century from the acclaimed professor of politics and gay rights activist. From the inauguration of Richard Nixon to Trump’s America, from Gay Liberation to the AIDS crisis and beyond, Dennis Altman has been both a participant in the changing times and an acute observer. The publication of Homosexual: Oppression…