Newsroom
Explore all our latest news and stories. And, subscribe to our newsletter to be kept up to date with the latest Academy news. Or, explore past editions of our flagship journal: Humanities Australia.
View stories by category:
Why would a Japanese tea master smash a beautiful Korean tea bowl only to remake it? This International Tea Day (21 May) Professor Susan Broomhall FAHA explores how Japanese tea practices and ceramics were central to the influence of Jesuit missionaries in 16th-century Japan.
The 18th of May is International Museums Day (IMD), which in 2024 focuses on the role of museums in unlocking knowledge. Kylie Message suggests this task is uniquely suited to university research and teaching collections and explores some of the ways these collections contribute to the world.
Linguist Professor Felicity Meakins FAHA FASSA has worked with the Kalkaringi community for over twenty years. She shares how a new children’s book is bridging a surprising generational language gap within the community while sharing culture and healing.
When Emeritus Professor Linda Barwick AM FAHA found an old song written down by a late family friend who served in WWII, she penned the melody as best she could remember some 42 years later. What came next was a deep exploration of the way memory and interpretation can entangle within our archives.
Australia’s oldest pottery find on Jiigurru (Lizard Island) on the Great Barrier Reef rewrites our understanding of Aboriginal maritime history and affirms the stories of Traditional Owners. Distinguished Professor Sean Ulm FAHA, Dingaal man Kenneth McLean and Dr Ariana Lambrides share the long-reaching impact of their co-designed research.
How did Google’s latest AI generator, Gemini, inadvertently fuel an ongoing culture war against diversity, equity and inclusion in Big Tech? Dr Thao Phan, who delivered the 2023 Hancock Lecture, unpacks how paranoia has become a defining feature of digital culture.
In 2016, Professor David McInnis FAHA FRHistS received the Max Crawford Medal, Australia’s most prestigious award for achievement and promise in the Humanities. Now a Fellow of the Academy, David reflects on the importance of the Medal, and his career since.
The concept of immersion has intrigued humanity since antiquity. In the 2024 Trendall Lecture, classicist and a theatre and performance studies scholar Dr Emma Cole examines the power of immersion as a form of enjoyment and influence from antiquity to the modern day.
Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel, Dune, fictionalised the moral and environmental issues we’re grappling with sixty years later. Professor Bronwen Neil FAHA explores why Dune‘s dystopian vision of planetary death is resonating with so many people.
Over a distinguished career, retired librarian and booklover Colin Steele AM FAHA has seen libraries grow and change. Now, almost fifty years since he joined the Australian National University, he reflects on the ambitions of libraries of the past and present, and what our institutions might look like in the future.
For many, reading poetry may evoke memories of tedious high school essays and lessons on literary analysis. This World Poetry Day (Thursday 21 March), Emeritus Professor Will Christie FAHA encourages us to rediscover the joy of poetry and with it, a sense of rebellion, discovery and curiosity.
UN French Language Day (20 March) celebrates French language and culture around the world. Professor Véronique Duché FAHA, Chair of French at the University of Melbourne, reflects on the close ties that bind French and English.