Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia

@acadsocsci.bsky.social

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Elevating social science for the benefit of Australia

Professor Quentin Grafton is pictured. He has pale skin, a short grey beard, and wears glasses. He kneels beside a creek, wearing a dark suit, chambray shirt and broad brimmed black hat with a pale band. The quote on the tile reads: “We need many more ‘water people’, be it in communities or researchers or policy makers to help deliver water justice”. Professor Grafton is the Director of the Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy.
An image of Professor Kathy Bowrey, a lady with pale skin, bob-length grey hair, smiling at the camera. She wears a colourful, plaid jacket over a black blouse, glasses, and a necklace with a long wooden pendant. The quote reads: "The integration of AI into teaching and research in ways which displace scholarly values and supercharges the spread of misinformation and unreliable research. Why are universities pushing this without research into fitness for purpose?"
Professor Billie Giles-Corti, Emerita Professor, RMIT is pictured. She is smiling, has pale skin, short dark hair and is wearing a dark blouse and jacket, dangly black and gold earrings and a gold necklace and pendant. The quote on the tile reads: “We need fewer studies that simply report urban problems; research that informs policymakers and practitioners to how to fix those problems is needed”.
Dark blue background with logos for The University of Melbourne, The Melbourne Institute and The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Beneath this, text reads: Flash Forum: The Cost of Living Crisis. 10 June 2026. Upcoming Event. Registrations close 4 June (in person) and 10 June (online).
An image of the cover of Socium magazine with the accompanying text: Socium Magazine is live! Edition 2 May 2026
Bottom right corner: 2025 Paul Bourke Award winners (left to right) Dr Archie Thomas, Academy President Professor Kate Darian-Smith, Dr Erin O'Donnell, Dr Kathryn Baragwanath-vogel and Dr Tianze Sun. The Paul Bourke Award medal is pictured to the left of text which reads: Paul Bourke Award Nominations Closing Soon, with the subtext, Nominations close 12 June. The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia logo is in the bottom right corner.
An image of Professor Adam Possamai, a man with pale skin, shoulder length wavy grey hair, and a grey beard and moustache. He wears blue-rimmed glasses, a grey pinstriped jacket, black vest and white collared shirt. He is holding a microphone. The text accompanying the image reads: "As everyone has an opinion about religion...I always find it challenging to speak about my research. I have found that the best answer I get is usually a raised eyebrow and a moment of silence.” Beneath this quote the text reads: “Adam Possamai, Associate Dean, Global Partnerships and Advancement, SABEL, University of Western Sydney.” The logo of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia is in the bottom right corner of the tile and a yellow band sits across the image with text that reads “Featured Fellow”.
Professor Marcia Langton AO stands in front of a lectern that bears a blue banner with the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia logo. Professor Langton has long white hair and is wearing a dark suit with a white beaded necklace. In the background is a cityscape at night, with sparkling lights. The text on the image reads: “2026 Rechnitz Memorial Lecture” with a subheading Professor Marcia Langton AO FASSA”.
Professor Emerita Joan Beaumont is pictured on the left. She is a white woman with short dark grey hair. She is wearing a black blouse and a large necklace of white and green beads. The quote on the tile reads: “I wanted to understand why war seems to be an ineradicable part of human society and why we as human beings create systems of order only to destroy them”.
A promotional tile with a pastel pink and yellow background, and the words “Spark grant applications now open. Applications close 5 June 2026”. The Social Sciences Week logo is in the bottom right corner.
An image of Professor Kate McGregor, a white woman with shoulder length red hair, wearing glasses, a green blouse and a beaded necklace, sitting in front of a window. A quote reads: “I am interested in memory activism or how different actors mobilise the past for different ends, especially for the purposes of challenging harmful historical discourses and achieving meaningful social change”.
Spark Grants tile
Professor Judith Bessant is pictured with her light coloured dog, Frankie, resting on top of her head. A quote next to the picture reads: " I continue to believe, bolstered by a realistic sense of hope, that democratic renewal and justice which is genuinely inclusive of young people is achievable."
An image of Professor Natalie Klein (Associate Dean, Faculty of Law and Justice, UNSW), a woman with dark curly hair pulled back, glasses and wearing a pale blue suit jacket and black top, alongside a quote: "I think international lawyers need to keep fighting the good fight. At risk of sounding like a born-again positivist, I want people in the field to be saying clearly what the rules are and why they matter, even if they are being breached."
Heading: International grant recipients announced Subheading: Indo-Pacific Strategic Environmental Grant projects funded An image of four female social science researchers who are the recipients of the grants
An image of Professor Helen Skouteris, Head of the Health and Social Care Unit at Monash University, with the quote "We need to co-design and co-govern implementation with lived experience experts, prioritising diverse knowledge systems so that scaling what works also closes gaps rather than reproducing and exacerbating them."
Image of Professor Frans Verstraten, McCaughey Chair of Psychology, The University of Sydney with a quote: "Social scientists know how the brain works and understand the ins and outs of group dynamics. We should use that in a much broader context. Too often we preach to the converted. "