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Next week is one of the big weeks of the year for our Academy—Social Sciences Week (SSW). This is the seventh year of SSW, and it gets bigger, broader and more interesting every year. This year there will be more than 70 events across the country. SSW begins, as usual, with a Parliamentary Breakfast launch at Australian Parliament House on Monday 9 September. There we will announce the winners of the Rechnitz Fund for 2024.
Last month the Academy successfully hosted a symposium on AUKUS at the Australian Centre on China in the World at the ANU. This brought together over 80 participants from government, academia and the private sector. The event sought to foster robust discussions and deepen understanding of the AUKUS alliance. The papers from the symposium are available on the Academy website and a summary will be available in the coming weeks.
In Sydney on 31 October, in conjunction with CEDA, we will host the 2024 Keith Hancock Lecture and Panel Discussion. Professor Robert Breunig from the ANU will deliver the keynote lecture, and then join a panel discussion with Dr Ken Henry, Allegra Spender MP and Think Forward co-founder Sonia Arakkal. Further details are available here.
And don’t forget our annual dinner will take place on 19 November in Canberra, with Treasurer The Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP as guest speaker. The dinner follows my favourite academic event of the year earlier that afternoon—our New Fellows presentations.
I look forward to seeing many of you at these exciting upcoming events.
Richard Holden
President
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Events
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Social Sciences Week 2024
Curious minds, it’s time to explore new perspectives.
From 9-15 September, immerse yourself in Social Sciences Week (SSW)—from interactive workshops and panel discussions to thought-provoking lectures and debates, the week shines a spotlight on the diverse and impactful work happening in the social sciences across Australia.
Coordinated by the Academy, SSW is your chance to connect with cutting-edge research and thought leaders who are shaping the future of our society.
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EXPLORE EVENTS
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Register now: Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaking at the Academy’s Annual Dinner
The Academy will be hosting a fabulous afternoon in Canberra with our 2024 New Fellows Presentations, followed by our Annual Dinner and an address by Australian Treasurer the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP. Join friends and colleagues as we celebrate the social sciences, our new Fellows and our Paul Bourke early career research awardees.
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REGISTER NOW
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Indigenous language landscapes. Why a fuller understanding of Indigenous peoples’ language contexts is important
2024 Paul Bourke Award Lecture | Dr Denise Angelo with Indigenous language researchers:
Tara Bonney, Marmingee Hand, Corina Norman, Carmel Ryan, Jasmine Seymour
2023 Paul Bourke Award Winner, Dr Denise Angelo, will be joined by Indigenous language researchers in this upcoming lecture on Indigenous language landscapes at the Australian National University on Tuesday 1 October.
This lecture will address why seeing a fuller picture of contemporary First Nations language landscapes matters for achieving practical goals in Indigenous languages, education and other policy areas. Register now to attend this important and engaging event.
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REGISTER NOW
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2024 Keith Hancock Lecture
Tax reform remains one of the most contentious and complex issues facing governments today. Despite widespread recognition of its necessity, significant changes are often met with hesitation, and experts frequently clash over the best path forward.
On 31 October, join CEDA and the Academy in Sydney for an enlightening discussion with leading experts who will explore the historical context that has shaped our current tax system, examine strategies for participating in the political dialogue necessary to drive change and consider the societal consensus required to achieve meaningful tax reform.
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REGISTER NOW
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Shape the Nation lecture: Dr Cathy Foley, Australia's Chief Scientist
Save the date: on Thursday 28 November in Perth, Dr Cathy Foley will deliver the Academy's annual Shape the Nation lecture as part of the 2024 CHASS Congress, Australia's largest gathering of HASS scholars in Australia. Registrations will open soon.
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Our Fellows' achievements
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Congratulations to Fellow Kevin Wheldall who was named by ScholarGPS among the the top 1% of scholars globally based on his outstanding publication record, impact, and academic quality. Kevin was cited the top Australian researcher in special education and as being in the top half percent of researchers internationally in his field.
Academy Fellow Felicity Meakins' children's book Tamarra: A Story of Termites on Gurindji Country has been shortlisted in the 2024 Prime Minister's Literary Awards 2024.
Fellow Bronwyn Fredericks has been appointed as co-chair of the Australian Research Council Indigenous Forum, which will work closely with the ARC Board to strengthen Indigenous leadership in the research sector, build opportunities for Indigenous-led and focused research, and support career pathways for emerging Indigenous researchers.
Congratulations to Fellows whose titles have been shortlisted in the NSW Premier's History Awards—Kate Mcgregor for Systemic Silencing: Activism, Memory, and Sexual Violence in Indonesia and Jenny Hocking for The Search for the Palace Letters.
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Open Access models
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Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Cathy Foley, has released a report that makes the case for free access to academic journal articles for all Australians. The Academy welcomes Dr Foley putting open access on the public agenda. This is an important national issue and conversation as highlighted during the Academy roundtable An Australian Roadmap for Open Research in June this year.
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National Science and Research Priorities
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The Federal Government has released a National Science Statement and the National Sciences and Research Priorities. These priorities and the underlying outcomes include many issues of central interest to social sciences.
The Academy welcomes the Statement and Priorities as a clear signal from the Government on the importance of social science research and expertise for addressing Australia’s biggest societal challenges.
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Opportunities
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Priority Social Science Grants
The Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils, supported by the Academy, is now accepting applications from social scientists for funding to support international research collaboration in the Asia Pacific region. This program will fund a minimum of six (6) projects to a maximum of AU$57,750 per project.
Applications close on 12 September2024.
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Harvard opportunity
Harvard University is seeking to appoint a distinguished scholar to the Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Chair in Australian Studies for the 2026–2027 academic year.
Applications close 30 September 2024.
Fellow Megan Davis was the Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University and visiting professor of law at Harvard Law School for the 2024-2025 academic year.
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Schools resources
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Our education program Seriously Social has a range of new debate kits available for teachers to help students engage with the big issues this Social Sciences Week. Topics include: lowering the voting age, social media restrictions and more.
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State events
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South Australian Fellows dinner on 14 August with Fellow Anne Edwards
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Last month a number of our State and Territory branches held events for local Fellows. Fellow Anne Edwards presented at an SA dinner on The Challenges of Ageing, Fellow Peter Whiteford
presented to the ACT Fellows on Social Policy and Economic Inclusion: assessing the early record of the Albanese Government and the WA branch hosted Professor Paul Flatau who spoke on Housing, Homelessness and Social Science. These events are a fabulous way to connect with peers and share research and insights.
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'Education has to be the future of Australia. It is our opportunity to deliver people with ability to effect on a global stage.'
Fellow Boris Schedvin, an economic history scholar, died on 15 July and is remembered as respectful, thoughtful and energetic.
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Fellow Malcolm Macmillan died on 11 August 2024. Malcolm was elected to the Academy in 2005 and was a highly distinguished and internationally recognised scholar of the historical development of psychoanalysis and psych-neurology.
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Read, watch and attend
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Stay up to date with the latest reports, articles and events featuring Fellows and the social science community.
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Read
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The UN Environment Programme, in cooperation with the International Science Council, established a Foresight Expert Panel in 2023 to support identify and evaluate emerging issues and signals of change, of which Fellow Fang Lee Cooke is a member. Read the recently released report Navigating New Horizons – A Global Foresight Report on Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing, which calls for the world to pay heed and respond to a range of emerging challenges that could disrupt
planetary health and wellbeing. It presents insights on eight critical global shifts that are accelerating the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity and nature loss and pollution and waste.
Following the Academy's Australian Roadmap for Open Research roundtable, Fellow Adrian Barnett published an article Why I've removed journal titles from the papers on my CV, discussing how published papers are displayed could shift the focus from simple metrics to research quality.
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Watch
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As part of Social Sciences Week 2023, six leading social scientists analysed foundations and strategies of policy change in their areas of expertise—including some of the biggest, most difficult and pressing global and national challenges. Watch Making a difference: How does social change happen? now.
Fellow Henry Brodaty will Address the National Press Club of Australia on Tuesday 24 September on Dementia: hope beckons. Buy tickets or watch live on ABC iView.
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Attend
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Save the date: 2025 Global Indigenous Data Sovereignty Summit (GIDSS), 31 March - 4 April, 2025 in Canberra.
The 2025 GIDSS will bring together Indigenous Peoples to highlight advances in Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov) and Indigenous Data Governance (IDGov). The Summit marks ten years since the first IDSov event hosted by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, where attendees discussed the implications of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) for data. Please go to the following websites to see updates: www.maiamnayriwingara.org, www.gida-global.org OR yardhurawalani.com.au, noting that the 2025 event will only be open to Indigenous participants.
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The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia.
We acknowledge and pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land
on which our national office is located, the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples, and
to their elders past and present.
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