Archaeobotanist Dr Anna Florin is the recipient of the 2026 Max Crawford Medal for her groundbreaking scholarship of ancient foodways.
Power of the humanities
Explore stories about the social benefits and impact of the Humanities and the remarkable outcomes that can be achieved when humanities researchers collaborate on national and global challenges. Visit our Newsroom to explore stories about our people, community and research.
In new research, Emeritus Professor Robert Cribb FAHA and Professor Sandra Wilson FAHA focus on the individuals committing war crimes, rather than the crimes themselves, revealing the motivations and circumstances in which they happened.
Julia Kindt FAHA, Professor of Ancient History on why the biggest takeaway from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is an appreciation for all the humanities offer us.
With a new re-telling sweeping theatres, The Odyssey’s popularity is enduring. But why? Emeritus Professor Elizabeth Minchin OAM FAHA, a classicist specialising in the Homeric epics, breaks down the storytelling devices behind Homer’s ongoing appeal.
The Australian Academy of the Humanities (AAH) has welcomed the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) renewed commitment to excellent early-stage research following the release of the Final Report of the review of the National Competitive Grants Program.
The Australian Academy of the Humanities has announced the eight outstanding early-career researchers who will receive 2026 Humanities Travelling Fellowships. Their projects address issues of national and international significance, from preserving the testimonies of Bosnian concentration camp survivors and tracing Aboriginal histories in the Vatican archives, to advancing ethical approaches to cultural repatriation and developing new ways to counter misinformation while respecting democratic values.
The 1950s gave us the FJ Holden, the Hills Hoist, the Melbourne Olympics, and … polio. While the first three have become icons of post-war Australia, polio is largely forgotten. Thanks to vaccination, it has almost disappeared from public memory—except for those whose lives were, and continue to be, shaped by it. Drawing on her mother’s experience of contracting polio in 1950, Professor Catharine Coleborne FAHA explores how oral histories help us understand the experiences of survivors and the profound social, cultural and medical impacts of the epidemic on post-war Australia.
A Humanities Travelling Fellowship will support University of Sydney researcher Dr Tiania Stevens to travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a race against time to digitise and archive testimonies and oral histories of Bosnian concentration camp survivors.
New research shows connections between the colonisation of Australia and slavery in the Atlantic world. So why have these bonds gone largely unrecognised for so long, and what does this mean for Australia’s history? Professor Jane Lydon FAHA and Professor Zoë Laidlaw’s latest publication, Legacies of British slavery in Australia and New Zealand, prompts us to seek not just new understandings of the past but also ways to navigate its present-day implications.
Recipient of the 2026 John Mulvaney Fellowship, Aaron Wyatt is a Noongar man, musician, composer, conductor and PhD candidate at Monash University. Under the Fellowship, Aaron will travel to New Norcia to access musical material, alongside records of Yuen and Noongar language to inspire new musical work.
New research by Dr Marion McCutcheon, Associate Professor Scott Brook, and Professor Stuart Cunningham FAHA maps the relationship between formal qualifications and employment in Australia’s creative industries, revealing a far more coherent and dynamic picture than is reflected in the unexamined view that these skills are inherent, unteachable or do not lead to employment.
The Australian Academy of the Humanities argues that Australia’s graduates need more than technical knowledge. Universities must equip students with the critical thinking, communication, ethical reasoning, cultural understanding and adaptability needed to thrive in changing careers, strengthen Australia’s sovereign capability and contribute to a resilient society.