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Dear friend
I had the pleasure of joining Senator Barbara Pocock and Dr Carina Garland MP to launch Social Sciences Week at Parliament House on Monday morning. It was wonderful to celebrate the social sciences, on a beautiful Canberra morning, with parliamentarians, Fellows and representatives from sponsors and partner organisations from across Australia.
Social Sciences Week celebrates the vital role our work plays in shaping informed, inclusive and forward-thinking societies. Across campuses and communities, you’ll find an exciting program of events that explore everything from youth mental health and homelessness to global security, climate justice, and outdoor therapy. I encourage everyone to attend a local event and consider how you might like to get involved next year. We are already starting to think about ways to expand the events program and seek new funding streams for Social Sciences Week in 2026.
Congratulations to the four outstanding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers who were awarded Rechnitz Fund Grants as part of our Social Sciences Week launch. You can read more below about these researchers and their important projects.
The Academy’s Board recently had the opportunity to meet with the CEO of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Ute Rossner for an informative discussion, and our Policy Committee met with Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Tony Haymet. The Academy’s Policy Committee Chair Mark Western, Fellow Catherine Coleborne and I met recently with the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) interim Commissioners to talk about the importance of social sciences in universities. These meetings are a valuable platform to advocate for the role of social science in research funding, policy development, and the future of higher education in Australia as the Academy aims to shape and influence national priorities.
The Academy also issued a public statement on risks to the national social and cultural research infrastructure and capability at the Australian National University on 26 August. This draws attention to proposed cuts to the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) and the Australian National Dictionary Centre (ANDC). We urged the Australian Government to work closely with the ANU to ensure the continued operation of these vital national assets, in line with the intent of the National Institutes Grant and Australia’s broader interests. You can read the full statement here.
Wishing everyone a wonderful start of spring, and a very happy Social Sciences Week.
Kate Darian-Smith
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Celebrating our Fellows |
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Fellows Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, Distinguished Professor Emeritus Leslie Head and Adjunct Professor David Kalisch have been appointed to the new ARC Advisory Committee. This Committee will offer diverse and strategic advice to help ensure the ARC continues to fund research that delivers maximum impact for the Australian community. Read more here.
Three Academy Fellows Bob Breunig, Martin Parkinson and Flavio Menezes were invited to be part of the Australian Government’s Economic Reform Roundtable:
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Rechnitz Fund Grant recipients set to further First Nations knowledge in the social sciences |
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Four First Nations researchers have received grants from the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia with support from the Wilhelm, Martha, and Otto Rechnitz Memorial Fund.
This year’s recipients are David Windsor, a Kaurareg descendant from Kirriri Island in Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait Islands); Pekeri Ruska, a<> Goenpul woman from Terrangerri | Minjerribah | North Stradbroke Island; Michelle Bishop, a Gamilaroi woman who grew up on Dharawal Country and Zac Roberts, a Walbunja Yuin man from the New South Wales south coast.
They are undertaking research in the areas of education, sovereignty, fire management practices and Aboriginal cowboy culture. They will receive financial support and resources from the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia to facilitate their ongoing research projects and contribute to building a stronger foundation for their future careers.
Find out more here.
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AFIPS Visiting Fellowship Recipients |
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Visiting Fellowships awarded |
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The Academy is delighted to announce the Round 1 Visiting Fellowship recipients under the Australia-France Indo-Pacific Studies (AFIPS) Program.
Read more about the recipients and their projects here.
Applications for the 2026 (Round 2) AFIPS Visiting Fellowships, Indo-Pacific Strategic Environment grants, and Pacific Social Science grants opened on 1 September and close 13 October 2025. More details are available here. |
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Social Sciences Week - 8-14 September 2025 |
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Prof Dan Woodman and Prof Jennifer Balint, University of Melbourne |
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Joann Cattlin, Prof Lisa Given, Prof Jago Dodson, Prof Xavier Mulet, Prof Katherine Johnson & Prof Wendy Steele - RMIT |
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Social Sciences Week 2025 (8-14 September) was officially launched Monday 1 September, on a beautiful Canberra morning at Parliament House.
The morning was co-hosted by Senator Barbara Pocock and Dr Carina Garland MP, who have both agreed to continue as co-convenors of the Parliamentary Friends of the Social Sciences.
Fellows, Academy staff, Social Sciences Week sponsors, partner organisations and Parliamentarians joined Rechnitz Fund grant recipients to celebrate the eight year of Social Sciences Week and the rich contribution social science research makes to Australian society.
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Find a Social Sciences Week event near you here. |
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Subscribe to the Social Sciences Week newsletter. |
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L to R: Dr Carina Garland MP, David Windsor, Dr Pekeri Ruska, Dr Michelle Bishop, Dr Zac Roberts, Professor Kate Darian-Smith |
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Attend, listen, read and watch |
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Every month we collate news, publications and events featuring Fellows and the social sciences for this newsletter. Please send any items for inclusion to info@socialsciences.org.au |
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Online book discussion ‘Beyond Green: The social life of Australian nature’ by Professor Lesley Head
In Beyond Green, Professor Lesley Head interrogates the ways the cultures of nature have operated in Australia across time, and how these ways of thinking and being limit our capacity to deal with the challenges of the climate change and biodiversity crises.
When: 12-1pm Thursday 25 September
Where: Online
Professor Marilyn Lake, AO FASSA, will chart Australia’s growing cultural and political engagement with China with the decline of the White Australia Policy.
When: 5.30pm Tuesday 9 September
Where: RHSV, 239 A’Beckett St, Melbourne.
Register here or phone 03 9326 9288.
Prof Stephen Garton will trace the origins of Commonwealth involvement in Australian universities, focusing on the late 1930s to the late 1950s, gleaning insights on how this history shaped the current policy framework in which universities continue to work.
When: 5.30-6.30pm Wednesday 12 November
Where: Chau Chak Wing Auditorium, UTS
Bookings are essential. This lecture will be followed by a catered reception.
Register here
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This year's Gala Dinner will be held at the Sydney Opera House 6pm Monday 17 November. Early bird ticket prices are available until Friday 12 September. Book now before ticket prices increase: Humanitix booking page |
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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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