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…
Wednesday 30 July 2025 | Canberra The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia convened a Policy Roundtable exploring how integrated government data can support more effective, efficient policy development and the barriers to use and equitable access. The invitation only Roundtable connected researchers and other data users with funders and data custodians in government…
The Academy congratulates Dr Beverley Kingston AM FASSA and Professor Skye McDonald AO FASSA, who were both recognised in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List. Professor Skye McDonald was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to clinical neuropsychology, and to research into social cognition disorders after traumatic brain injury.…
Medicine on a Larger Scale: Global Histories of Social Medicine Edited by Warwick Anderson, Anne Kveim Lie and Jeremy A. Greene The book includes separate chapters by him and Hans Pols FAHA FASSA FRSN. This groundbreaking collection draws together case studies of social medicine in the Global South, radically shifting our understanding of social science…
Social Science Week is set to be bigger and more engaging than ever before with the addition in 2025 of Spark Grants. With support of the amazing SSW sponsors, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is offering grants of up to $1,000 to support engaging social sciences week events and activities across the…
On Wednesday 28 November, 2025, Immediate Past President Professor Richard Holden FES FASSA and Nobel Laureate and former Vice Chancellor of the Australian National University Professor Brian Schmidt AC FAA FTSE addressed the National Press Club on the topic ‘Securing Australia’s Sovereign Research Capability’.
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia’s Federal Election Series holds up a mirror to Australia’s evolving democratic system and the unique electoral landscape resulting from compulsory voting and preferential ballots. By convening leading researchers and political practitioners, the Academy has helped foster a collaborative space for in-depth analysis of the past 10 Federal elections, from 1996…
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has deep concerns about the US Government’s moves to place conditions on and withdraw funding from collaborative international research activities. Academy President Professor Kate Darian-Smith FASSA said that the move could create significant challenges, with potentially negative consequences for both Australia and the US in bilateral and…
Friday 21 March 2025 | Canberra The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia convened a Policy Roundtable with the Australian Centre for Evaluation (ACE) on the topic of Advancing policy and program evaluation in Australian Government. The invitation only Roundtable connected research, government and industry stakeholders to explore how evaluation can support better policy…
‘Our goal is to better understand the world around and within us’ – Academy attends the 3rd General Assembly of the International Science Council in Muscat, Oman. The Academy’s international engagements for 2025 is off to a strong start with a focus on interdisciplinary collaboration at the Muscat Global Knowledge Dialogue and the 3rd General…
The Academy’s International Committee Chair Professor Adam Possamai, and International Director Claire Rioult joined a delegation of nine representatives from Australian learned academies and university networks on a visit to French Polynesia arranged by the Embassy of France to Australia on 6 – 7 February. The delegation visited world-class research and higher education centres in…
Future Cities Making: Mission-oriented Research for Urban Sustainability Transitions in Australia Edited by Niki Frantzeskaki, Magnus Moglia, Peter Newton, Deo Prasad and Melissa Pineda Pinto This open access book describes the complex dynamics that coevolve in cities and from cities, to inform agendas for urban research and urban policy with a view to future city…
On 6 November 2024, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia’s Victorian Branch hosted a panel session on The Future of Higher Education. Featuring panellists Professor Greg Bamber FASSA, Dr Alison Barnes, Professor Allan Fels AO FASSA and Professor Jenny Lewis FASSA, the event sparked lively discussions about the challenges and opportunities facing Australian…