In this week’s Five-minute Friday Tim Rowse FAHA unpacks the history of fear around ‘judicial activism’ that has dogged the constitutional recognition debate since 1966.
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.
The Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930, led by Professor Lyndall Ryan AM, FAHA is a truth-telling project that draws on the new research field of massacre studies and digital technology to map verified frontier massacres in Australia between 1788 when British colonisation began until 1930. Professor Ryan explains how the map settles debates about how the British colonisation of Australia affected Indigenous people.
Michael Barr FAHA explores the story (so far) behind the teaching of Singapore’s history – including the significant pre-colonial parts that have been left out.
Historian and author, Alison Bashford, FAHA, FBA draws from her latest book An Intimate History of Evolution: the Story of the Huxley Family to explore a world (not so long ago) when it was unremarkable for scientists to also be poets; when a leading English evolutionary biologist was as learned in German philosophy as the new German experiments on a thing called ‘the cell’?
Fellow and Professor of Indonesian Studies Julian Millie examines how electoral politics brings a layer of complexity to the already challenging task of formulating education policy for Indonesia’s diverse Muslim populace.
Fellow and Professor of Ukrainian Studies Marko Pavlyshyn examines the evolution of Ukraine’s national self identity from the nineteenth century to the present day. This article is based on his paper at the 53rd Annual Academy Symposium: “Complexities of Belonging: Reflections on Citizenship and Identity in Ukraine”.
Professor Emeritus Julianne Schultz AM FAHA explores the idea of Australia as a nation and argues, if the idea of Australia is not to be a half-formed thing, we must respond to the call of history to give the First Australians the recognition they have long sought.
Fellow and literary historian Professor Katherine Bode explores Australia’s literary and cultural heritage through her research into fiction found in 19th century Australian newspapers. With more than 36,000 publications in ‘To be continued: The Australian Newspaper Fiction Database,’ Katherine’s exploration has barely scratched the surface of this vast trove of historical fiction.
Fellow and Professor of Digital Media Jean Burgess argues that despite the chaos brought on by Elon Musk in recent months, Twitter has always been much more than a tech company. Regardless of how the story of Twitter turns out, what its user community does next will help shape the future of our media and communication environment.
Fellow and Professor of Political Philosophy Duncan Ivison argues that the call for a Voice to Parliament is not, as its critics argue, an attempt to insert race-based politics into the Australian Constitution but is instead a democratic claim.
This text is based on his 2022 Annual Academy lecture delivered in Ballarat at the 53rd Annual Academy Symposium. The full video of his lecture can be viewed at the end of this article.
For today’s Five-Minute Friday Read, Professor Joanne Tompkins FAHA, former ARC Executive Director for Humanities and Creative Arts, examines the phenomenon of Hamilton and its place in the genre of musical theatre.
