 | Dear ~~first_name~~,
What is Going Right in Australian Universities?
A radio producer recently asked me to compare my experiences as an undergraduate with the state of universities today. It was a valuable exercise – an open invitation to indulgence in nostalgic golden age reflections, but also useful in reflecting on what is good and bad about what has happened over the last forty years.
I was a child of the Dawkins revolution, but my degree was almost free (I had just one year of Higher Education Contribution Scheme Contribution repayments to meet after I was done.) I am conscious that fewer students attended universities back then, and that the changes of the late 1980s and early 1990s were designed, in part, to fund expansion. The Hawke Government wanted more students to attend universities, and it wanted universities to contribute more to building Australia’s future prosperity.
These were worthy aspirations, to say the least. And in many although not all respects, that vision has been realised. But there are still several groups under-represented in our university enrolments – First Nations, working-class and country students, for instance – and the Albanese government is now committed to another stage of expansion: 200,000 more students over the next decade. It might therefore be worth reflecting a little more widely on what has worked in Australian universities several decades on from John Dawkins.
Importantly, they educate more students now than they did before the 1990s. The business model of this century – which relied heavily on international student fees to cross-subsidise other aspects of the universities’ operations, especially research – more or less paid the bills. No university has fallen over. Research performance has been good enough overall to suggest that the Unified National System that emerged from the Dawkins revolution sustains a solid performance. Australian universities have fallen in the international rankings but several still do well and Melbourne and Sydney have emerged as the frontrunners.
Universities still have a fair degree of public respect. Their expertise is valued in the media and government. Australians’ trust in the education system in general is well above the OECD average, 71% compared with 57% in 2024. Polling has tended to place teachers up with scientists and doctors as among the most trusted professions. The Governance Institute of Australia’s 2023 Ethics Index reported: ‘The education sector is perceived as the most ethical sector, with an Index score of 74. … All occupations and organisations in the sector are felt to be ethical, with primary schools and teachers seen as the most ethical organisation and occupation, with net scores of 66 and 67 respectively. Professors and university lecturers have increased significantly from a net score of 55 to 60.’
The system looks to me neither better nor worse than you’d expect given the amount of love that exists for our universities. My sense is that the democracy basically supports the status quo. Voters do not yet accept that unless we increase investment in R&D, including in universities, their future well-being is imperiled.
Universities, moreover, have been unable to persuade families to take the same interest in their funding and quality that they would take in schools. Once their children have made it to university, most parents seem to imagine that their job in that regard is done, and what their kids are getting is good enough. So, few parents will worry over ballooning tutorial class sizes in the same way as they might worry over a hole in the roof of the school hall. This is probably one of the pressure points where those of us advocating for the sector need to do out business: persuading Australian families that they have a real stake in the quality of university education.
We’ve been broadly satisfied with a middling common standard of provision of education, and a little better than that on the research front. And without serious reform, that’s where we’ll remain.
I have joined with colleagues Professor Michelle Arrow, the Australian Historical Association President, and Professor Anna Clark of the UTS to discuss the problems of the sector in The Conversation.
Frank Bongiorno AM FRHistS FASSA FAHA
CHASS, President | NEW: CHASS Future Leaders Writing Prize
This prize is awarded to a future leader for a piece of written work (e.g., essay, scholarly article, media article, book chapter) from the perspective of the Humanities, Arts or Social Sciences. Self-nominations are welcome.
NEW: CHASS Prize for Distinctive Work in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
This prize is for a performance, exhibition, research project or a specific advance in policy development in any HASS field. Performances or exhibitions must have been open to the public between 1 January and 31 December in the previous year. Policy work and research may have commenced earlier, but must have been completed during the previous year. Self-nominations are welcome.
People Places Prize 2025 For Creativity And Innovation
The People Places Prize is about creative and innovative ideas for urban environments. The Prize is open to Australian citizens and residents aged 18 and over. The winner will receive $10,000 and their ideas featured in an exhibition and on www.peopleplaces.org.au.
|  | Poetic Portraits: A Conversation with Cassandra Atherton, Tracy O’Shaughnessy and Jessica Wilkinson
Monday 8 September
4:00pm-5:00pm (AEST)
Online event (Zoom) [Link below]
‘Poetic Portraits’ was the winner of the Council for the Humanities Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) Distinctive Works Prize in 2024. This online event, for Social Sciences Week, will be a conversation between the project team and Frank Bongiorno, CHASS President. The project addressed belonging and disconnection by using poetry workshops to encourage self-expression and community connections and dialogue. The team developed partnerships with local councils (from City of Greater Bendigo, Pyrenees Shire [Beaufort], Yarra Ranges Council, Frankston City Council) to shape poetry-writing workshops that addressed specific community and demographic concerns. Supported by a Creative Australia grant, Poetic Portraits promoted poetry as a way to connect with and convey the experiences of rural and regional Victorians, and as a creative platform through which to instil a sense of sharing, belonging and catharsis. The workshops provided a space for sharing, listening, respect and positive reinforcement, giving lessons on poetry craft to enable participants to express aspects of themselves and their experiences. Limited edition publications of the edited poems were produced to have immediate impacts on a local level; they offered a reason to bring people together for a community launch celebration that could further amplify and instil confidence in local voices, and to provide a beautiful memento for participants and their families. The four community-based publications that resulted involved collaboration with the Bowen Street Press team, led by O’Shaughnessy.
Judges’ comment: ‘this is a democratic, inclusive and regionally orientated project that has provided opportunities for new stories to be told and for voices often unheard in national conversations to find eloquent expression.’
BIOS:
Cassandra Atherton is Distinguished Professor of Writing and Literature at Deakin University. She was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University and is one of the leading international scholars on prose poetry, co-authoring Prose Poetry: An Introduction (Princeton University Press, 2020) and co-editing the Anthology of Australian Prose Poetry (Melbourne University Press, 2020). With Professor Jessica Wilkinson and Associate Professor Tracy O'Shaughnessy she edited a series of books of poetic portraits based on workshops with constituents in local Victorian communities.
Tracy O’Shaughnessy is an Associate Professor at RMIT University and Publisher of the Bowen Street Press. She has over 25 years’ experience as a book editor and publisher and has worked at leading Australian publishing houses, including Hardie Grant Books, Melbourne University Press as the Miegunyah Publisher, and Allen & Unwin. In 2016 she launched the innovative Masters of Writing and Publishing with the embedded student-led Bowen Street Press. She won the 2019 Vice Chancellor's Award for Strategic Contribution to Learning and Teaching for the program's industry engagement and in 2023 the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence.
Jessica Wilkinson is a poet, essayist, editor and Professor of Creative Writing at RMIT University, Melbourne. She is especially interested in exploring what poetry can ‘do’ - whether that be in pedagogical settings, for social change, as a research tool, or for expanding the field of nonfiction writing. She is the author of three poetic biographies and the founding editor of Rabbit: a journal for nonfiction poetry.
Frank Bongiorno is Professor of History at the Australian National University and President of the Council for the Humanities Arts and Social Sciences.
Join us on Zoom!
https://anu.zoom.us/j/89149798895?pwd=zHXdks0yz8Y4alurFyZfdbloNmya7B.1
Meeting ID: 891 4979 8895
Password: 679891 |
Social Sciences Week is an annual event that celebrates and showcases the diverse range of social sciences disciplines and research in Australia. For all events happening between the 8th and 14th of September, visit https://socialsciencesweek.org.au/.
| | HASS Scholarships & Fellowships | NEW: Strategic Scholarships 2026
Melbourne Social Equity Institute is seeking expressions of interest from candidates interested in undertaking doctoral research on social equity issues. For this open call, up to three Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) scholarships will be available for commencement in 2026.
Expression of Interest Deadline: October 20. Read on...
NEW: Australian Catholic History Fellowship 2026–2027
Applications are invited for suitable candidates for a 2-year Australian Catholic History Fellowship to be held at the Australian Catholic University.
| Tuesday, 23 September, 6pm - 8pm (AEST)
Ultimo NSW
Is Australia entering a new political era? With a record majority off a near record low primary vote, the new parliament continues the rise of new electoral coalitions, unsettling our assumptions about class, gender, race, and power. Join our stellar panellists George Megalogenis, Frank Bongiorno, Elizabeth Humphrys, Ben Spies-Butcher, and Emily Foley for a wide-ranging discussion on the future of Australian democracy, exploring whether we’re witnessing a rupture or a realignment, and what it means for political life in Australia today. The conversation will explore how the traditional party duopoly is being eroded under pressure from shifting demographics, growing economic inequality, and increasing political disillusionment. What happens when the working class no longer feels represented, and when younger, more diverse voters no longer see themselves in the major parties?
| Congress of HASS
2025 Congress of HASS
CHASS
The University of Melbourne
Monday 24 - Friday 28 November 2025
SAVE THE DATE
Conferences
Sociology in Action! Wellbeing, Policy, and Activism in Times of Crises and Change
TASA
The University of Melbourne
Hybrid, Monday 24 - Thursday 27 November 2025
CSAA Conference 2025
Cultural Studies Association of Australia
The University of Melbourne
Wednesday 26 - Friday 28 November 2025
The ANZAMEMS 15th Biennial Conference: ‘Possibilities’
ANZAMEMS
The University of Melbourne
Wednesday 3 - Friday 5 December 2025
Anthrozoology as International Practice (AIP2025)
AIP
Friday 12 - Saturday 13 September 2025
Online Seminar
The Political Dynamics of the Weird World of Wellness
Newcastle Youth Studies Center
Wednesday 24 September 2025
The Materialities of Inequality: Mould, Acid and Glitter
Newcastle Youth Studies Center
Wednesday 8 October 2025
The False Divide between Nature and Culture
Newcastle Youth Studies Center
Wednesday 5 November 2025
'Your mum didn't take selfies': Youth and image cultures on social media
Newcastle Youth Studies Center
Wednesday 19 November 2025
Symposiums
The Humanities & Creative Practice - 56th Annual Symposium of the Australian Academy of the Humanities
Australian Academy of the Humanities
Thursday 13 November 2025
NEW: The 80th Anniversary of the End of WWII and the Formation of the United Nations
Faculty of Humanities, Curtin University
Thursday 11 September 2025
Masterclass
Private Art Collectors, Collecting and Cultural Philanthropy
University of Melbourne - Faculty of Arts
Tuesday 2 September 2025
| All of the below articles are available on open access:
Lebernegg, N. S., Partheymüller, J., Eberl, J.-M., & Boomgaarden, H. G. (2025). Not a Bioweapon, or is it? The Role of Perceived Threats and Media Use in COVID-19 Misperceptions. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612251360599
Jee, T. W., Casveliany, T., Nwobodo, S., Tan, K. T. L., Alim, M. A., & Supahan, S. (2025). Appraisal and Positive Emotion Effect on Consumer Impulse Buying Behaviour Using Mobile Discount. Journal of Creative Communications, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09732586251359717
Westerman, D., & Walden, J. (2025). Welcome to the (Email) Machine: A Study of Chronemics and Source Cues in Managerial Communication. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294906251352798
Cannizzo, F., Vidgen, M.E., McWhirter, R. et al. Opportunities for a national genomic data governance framework in Australia: a systematic review. BMC Med Ethics 26, 111 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-025-01273-7
Westerman, D., & Walden, J. (2025). Welcome to the (Email) Machine: A Study of Chronemics and Source Cues in Managerial Communication. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/23294906251352798
Cho, H. E., Noh, J. E., & Papoutsis, L. (2025). Navigating faith and gender-based violence: the role of faith communities in addressing family violence in a migrant context. Journal of Gender Studies, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09589236.2025.2549065
Oldman, E., Banfield, M., Lamb, H., Stewart, E., Oni, H.T., Miller, B., Giugni, M., Morse, A.R. and Fitzpatrick, S.J. (2025), Co-Design or Faux-Design? Reflections on Co-Designing Safe Spaces for People in Emotional Distress or Suicidal Crisis in Australia. Health Expectations, 28: e70379. https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70379
Shannon, B., Mansfield, M., Hattam, S. et al. ‘Do I have to go through all of that again?’ Class and rurality as barriers in the higher education pathways of queer students. Aust. Educ. Res. (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-025-00879-5
Peach, Neil, and Neville Buch. “Digital Modernities and Global Philosophy.” Dr Neville Buch ABN: 86703686642, 2025.
| | HASS Employment Opportunities |
Lecturer Anthropology
Full Time
University of Western Australia
NEW: Associate Research Fellow
Full Time
Deakin University
Lecturer Archaeology
Full Time
University of Western Australia
NEW: Postdoctoral Research Fellow Multispecies Justice
Full Time
University of Sydney
NEW: Lecturer in Sustainable/Strategic/Social Design
Full Time
University of Sydney
Elizabeth Wood Research Fellowship in Musicology
Full Time / Part Time
University of Adelaide
Professor of Architecture
Full Time
University of Sydney
| | Call For Papers - Implementing New Knowledge Environments | INKE invites you to join in conversations and share collaborative work in digital scholarship around the following questions, and other topics pertinent to our community beyond:
| We encourage you to support the HASS sector by sharing details about your discipline/department via this newsletter. No news is too small of too big. Any mention of HASS is of value to our sector and we plan on continuing to extend the reach of our newsletter overtime. Please submit all content to CHASS Digital Publications via digitalpublications@chass.org.au . Suggested content includes, but is not limited to:
- Awards and Prizes
- Call for Papers (journals/conferences)
- Call for Book Chapters
- Competitions
- Discipline/Department news
- Industry connections
- Funding Opportunities
- Job and/or scholarship opportunities (these will also be listed on our publicly searchable website directory)
- Publications, especially those with free full access
- Social sciences week events
- Other upcoming events
- Submissions
- Social gatherings
| | Increasing our Newsletter Reach | You can help increase our newsletter's reach by sharing the below link with your friends and colleagues. The link will enable them to be added to the mailing list for our newsletter.
| Supporting CHASS 2025 Congress of HASS: | Contact CHASS Digital Publications:
digitalpublications@chass.org.au | |