Professor Erte Xiao Affiliation: Monash UniversityDiscipline: EconomicsYear elected: 2024 What initially drew you to your field of study? I’ve always been curious about how people make decisions—often in ways that differ from traditional economic predictions. Behavioural economics allows me to combine insights from psychology and economics to better understand human motivation and decision-making. It’s a field…
In this issue, keep up with upcoming announcements, preparations for Gala Dinner, and meet our Featured Fellow for October, Professor Matthew Hornsey.
As part of the Australian Government’s 2025 Strategic Examination of Research and Development, six issue papers were released and feedback requested about the impact of research, development and innovation (RD&I). The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia submitted a response to Paper 1: National coordination (National coordination for RD&I impact) on 25 September 2025.…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has announced the winners of the 2025 Paul Bourke Awards, recognising four of the nation’s most exceptional early career researchers in the social sciences. Academy President Professor Kate Darian-Smith congratulated the awardees for their contributions across diverse disciplines and the role their work plays in advancing our…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 Workshops Program grants. Over $70,000 has been allocated to eight teams of researchers to host multidisciplinary workshops to develop innovative approaches, foster network connections and tackle critical issues in national research and policy. The funded workshops will bring…
This is a reprint of the online article “Kirk’s death highlights the fragility of free speech everywhere” published in the Australian Financial Review, Saturday 20 September 2025 by The Hon Robert French AC. Robert French is Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and a former Chief Justice of Australia. He has…
A Social Sciences Week special eventTuesday 9 September Join us for an evening of compelling debate as six of Australia’s premier academics tackle the complex question of whether Australia’s history unites us. TEAM AFFIRMATIVE:⭐️ Georgina Downer GAICD, CEO of the Robert Menzies Institute,⭐️ Professor Jakelin Troy FASSA, Director, Indigenous Research at University of Sydney, and⭐️ Professor Frank Bongiorno…
Monday 8 September marks the official beginning of Social Sciences Week 2025, a nationwide celebration highlighting the vital role of the social sciences in understanding our world and shaping our future. Running from 8–14 September 2025, Social Sciences Week offers a packed program of public lectures, panel discussions, workshops, film screenings and webinars hosted by…
Isaiah Berlin is well known as a defender of liberal democracy in the Cold War. In this path-breaking study, George Crowder argues that Berlin’s ideas have application beyond their original context to the problems of our own time. Focusing on three central themes – liberty, identity, and value pluralism – Crowder presents a fresh interpretation…
The Academy is delighted to continue its international engagement through the Australia-France Indo-Pacific Studies Program (AFIPS Program). 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). As part of the Australia–France Roadmap: A New Agenda…
Four First Nations researchers have received grants from the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia with support from the Wilhelm, Martha, and Otto Rechnitz Memorial Fund. This year’s recipients are David Windsor, a Kaurareg descendant from Kirriri Island in Zendath Kes (Torres Strait Islands); Pekeri Ruska, a Goenpul woman from Terrangerri | Minjerribah |…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is delighted to announce the Round 1 Visiting Fellowship recipients under the Australia-France Indo-Pacific Studies (AFIPS) Program. Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and delivered from 2024–2027 by the Academy as part of the France–Australia Roadmap, this visiting fellowship component supports early-career social…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has deep concerns about the current risks to critical research infrastructure that underpins the work of Australia’s social science and humanities workforce, and which allows us to answer nationally important questions and provide expert advice to decision-makers about the complex challenges and opportunities facing Australia. This erosion…
Social Sciences Week 2025 is almost here, with an impressive line-up of events happening across Australia between 8 and 14 September. The 2025 program features some of Australia’s brightest social scientists and a broad range of topics including outdoor therapy, AI, cryptocrime, disaster recovery, urban swimming and panda diplomacy. Social Sciences Week Principal Sponsor RMIT…
This message originally appeared in the Academy’s August 2025 newsletter. This is a difficult time in the Australian higher education sector, with fluctuations in domestic and international student enrolments among the factors resulting in some major restructures within Australian universities. While no disciplines are completely immune, it is clear that Humanities, Arts and Social Science…
Read the August issue. Update on the State of the Social Sciences, Social Sciences Week Spark Grant recipients, and an invitation to the Academy Gala Dinner.
On Tuesday 29 July, 2025, the Academy partnered with The Melbourne Institute of Applied Social and Economic Research and CEDA to convene 10 leading experts for a rapid-fire forum focused on immediate priorities for boosting Australia’s productivity. The discussion was moderated by ABC finance presenter Alan Kohler AM, and featured 5-minute presentations from experts…
This book examines the intertwined histories of television and migration in Australia, told from the perspectives of migrants who worked in the screen industry and the many more who watched television. Their stories demonstrate how Australia’s growing cultural diversity has challenged conventional representations of ‘Australianness’ on television, and how ongoing advocacy has supported the growing…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia congratulates Fellows Professor Margaret Davies and Professor Marilyn Lake AO on their election as International Fellows of The British Academy, in Law and Modern History respectively. Margaret Davies FASSA FAAL is a Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Law at Flinders University, South Australia. She studied law and…
The Academy of the Social Science in Australia is pleased to announce ten recipients of the inaugural Spark Grants program, providing funding of up to $1,000 for events planned for Social Sciences Week 8 to 14 September 2025. Spark Grants were decided using a lottery system, a process found to reduce the influence of conscious…
Honours and awards for Academy Fellows, a fabulous post-election workshop, a public lecture by Antony Green, and updates on policy and international grant recipients.
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is proud to support collaborative research across Australia, France and the Indo-Pacific. We are pleased to congratulate and announce the awarded projects for the 2025 Australia-France Collaborative Research Program in partnership with the Embassy of France in Australia, and, recipients of the Australia-France Indo-Pacific Studies Program (AFIPS)…
There wasn’t a spare seat to be found at ANU’s Kambri Hall on Friday 13 June, with more than 500 Antony Green fans braving the Canberra cold to hear the ABC Chief Election Analyst reflect on his 36-year career, ‘Bungy jumping on election night’. Antony shared the highs, lows, laughs and embarrassments from his time…
The Australian Research Council (ARC) has announced $65.2 million in funding over 5 years for 17 Australian Laureate Fellowships, including three Academy Fellows – Professor Felicity Meakins, Professor Tiffany Morrison and Professor Julie Henry. Professor Felicity Meakins Amplifying Indigenous Ecological Knowledge in Western Science with Language Professor Meakins aims to explore how Indigenous languages encode ecological…