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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.
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.
For the most part, researchers studying Australian history use English language sources. In his latest research project, Professor Adrian Vickers FAHA illuminates the vast quantity of historical sources in languages other than English — providing a more nuanced and richer picture of Australia’s past.
Trust in Australian media continues to decline. Professor Wanning Sun FAHA explores how geopolitics, migration and multicultural perspectives shape trust in news, and why these factors must be part of any effort to rebuild public confidence in the media.
Professor Debbie Bargallie FAHA, a descendant of the Kamilaroi and Wonnarua Aboriginal peoples of New South Wales and of the Punjab Langrial Muslim Jat clan, is a critical race scholar whose research interrogates links between employment, race, identity, and power, with a particular focus on institutional contexts.
Australia’s cultural and creative industries contribute $67.4 billion in economic activity and employ more than 591,000 people. No other country can produce Australian culture. But the policy settings, education pipeline, and governance structures that nurture and sustain Australian culture are under real pressure.
The successful projects range from inclusive arts for children with disabilities, to the truth-telling history of the Goldfields region of Western Australia.
Imagination and creativity, and the culture and arts that we associate with them, are often treated as luxuries. Yet, if we want to build a better future and respond to contemporary challenges, harnessing imagination should be treated as a first principle, argues Professor Katie Barclay FAHA, a historian of emotion, imagination, and human flourishing.
Professor Caillan Davenport FAHA explains why the stories ordinary Romans told about their leaders are more than entertaining anecdotes. His 2026 book Behind Caesar’s Back explores over 700 years of gossip, jokes, taunts, graffiti and rumour revealing that they are rich sources that help us understand Roman political culture and the lives of the people that circulated these juicy tales.
The Australian Academy of the Humanities recognises Australia’s First Nations Peoples as the traditional owners and custodians of this land, and their continuous connection to country, community and culture.