Discovering Humanities
This series is a celebration of humanities research and discovery. Born out of our 50th anniversary in 2019, it covers just a small fraction of the many advances within the humanities since the Academy was first founded.
We’ve called it Discovering Humanities because words like ‘discover’ and ‘discovery’, like no other terms, convey the excitement of new findings, new ideas, new views of the world. Discoveries in the humanities take many forms; from those that fundamentally recalibrate our understanding of the world to others that are more a process of accumulation over time leading in the end to a new view of society. Despite their differences, all are full of the excitement of uncovering something new.
This series is not a list of the most important research in the humanities over the last 50 years. Rather, it is an attempt to present a range of discoveries across all the areas of the humanities showing something of the rich contribution the humanities have made to Australia and the wider world. Learn more about the series’ background from the Editor.
Take a deep dive into two treasure houses of knowledge about Australian literature, culture and history that illuminate our national story, educating and inspiring us.
For many of us, loneliness has been a by-product of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, research reveals the concept of loneliness only began with nineteenth-century Romantic thinkers (though that doesn’t make it any easier for us today!). Learn how our conceptualisation of emotions has changed over time.
The loss of Aboriginal language and culture continues to be a major challenge facing Australia today. Discover how leading linguist R M W Dixon, along with his First Nations teachers, has helped to recover the “grammatical wonders” of Indigenous languages.
Thanks to the pioneering work of Australian researchers, we now have a greater understanding of how the humanities can tackle urgent environmental issues: from the degradation of the Great Barrier Reef to the bushfires that ravaged our nation. Welcome to the Environmental Humanities.
The excavation of a 3000-year-old cemetery in Vanuatu – the oldest known burial ground in the Pacific – has unlocked the secrets of pre-historic peoples of the Melanesian region.
What role did women play in the beginnings of colonial Australia? Feminist scholars have been reframing and challenging conventional nation-building narratives about white Australia since the 1970s.
Uncover the secrets of Ancient Greek drama and life with A D Trendall’s studies of red figure decorated vases (or what he sometimes called “little horrors”!).
Australia is a country of avid readers and writers, establishing our own publications, imported texts and developing our own literary industry from the 19th century to today.
The history of the human species has taken many twists and turns over millennia, with new discoveries challenging our understanding of migration and evolution. The journey has even included a “hobbit” discovery that shook the science world and triggered intense controversy.
About the series
Stories in this series were chosen from nominations by Fellows of the Academy and recipients of its various awards. They have been commissioned and produced under the overall guidance of Academy Fellow and Editor, Emeritus Professor Graham Tulloch and have been brought to life by the hard work of Walkley Award-winning journalist Kathy Marks, author and researcher Dr Saskia Beudel, and the Academy’s Communication and Awards Coordinator Elizabeth Bradtke.
The development of this series was supported by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.
