 | Dear~~first_name~~,
This week, we warmly welcome Michael Bounds and Mahamadi Ouedraogo as new members of TASA, and share that we have written to the ANU in support of calls to retain the arts, humanities, and social sciences. We note the Australian Historical Association’s open letter to the Minister for Education, reminding the Labor government of its commitment to repeal the previous government’s ‘job ready graduate’ policy.
In this issue, you’ll also find a link to our TASA 2025 live program, new job opportunities, events, funding announcements, Thematic Group news, and more.
Importantly, we are still seeking two mentors for postgraduate members, one based in Perth and one in India. Mentors do not need to be in those locations themselves, but should have graduated and feel confident they can provide guidance and support. Due to the locations, the mentoring will likely all happen online. As the first mentoring workshops are next Wednesday August 20th, we are down to the wire now! If you are in a position to mentor, could you please get in touch asap (admin@tasa.org.au).
I also wanted to share some personal news: I will be taking Long Service Leave from the end of tomorrow, Friday August 15, returning on October 6. Before my leave begins, I will send a dedicated email with the names and contact details of TASA staff and Executive members covering different roles while I’m away. I’d like to thank Roger Wilkinson, who will be managing the newsletter during this time. From today, please direct any newsletter correspondence to Roger, TASA’s Digital Publications Editor, at digitalpe@tasa.org.au.
| | TASA 2025 Program Now LIVE!
| | TASA 2025 Conference Program is now live!
This year, we’re excited to launch our new interactive online program, making it easier than ever to plan your conference experience.
Search by day, track, thematic group, workshop, social function, or keynote, and even download a personalised program containing only the sessions you wish to attend.
| | | Gary Bouma Memorial Workshop – Funding Success
We are delighted to announce that fellow member Katherine Kenny has been awarded funding for a 2026 Gary Bouma Memorial Workshop, to be held at the University of Sydney in February 2026. This two-day symposium will unite scholars from health sociology, environmental sociology, and science and technology studies to examine the social and political dimensions of toxic environmental exposures, ranging from ‘forever chemicals’ to climate change.
The workshop will advance research on environmental justice, health equity, and the biopolitics of bodies by synthesising diverse theoretical perspectives and generating policy-relevant solutions. Activities will include themed panels, collaborative workshops, and a site visit to a PFAS-affected community.
By fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue, supporting early-career researchers, and engaging with civil society, the event aims to generate new collaborations, develop innovative conceptual and methodological tools, and position TASA as a leader in sociologically informed approaches to urgent environmental and public health challenges. | The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) is deeply disturbed by ANU’s recently released Change Management Proposal (CMP), especially in relation to the ANU School of Sociology. Sociology at ANU is one Australia’s most well-established sociological teaching and research hubs. It is also our most globally prestigious School of Sociology, with a long history and a core place in a university charged with supporting research and study in subjects of national importance. While TASA acknowledges the pressing need for Australian universities to respond to national and global shifts in the nature and dynamics of higher education, we urge the ANU Senior Executive to recognise ANU’s founding obligation to champion the social sciences in Australia, of which sociology is a central, framing discipline. Read on ....
The Australian Historical Association sent to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Education Jason Clare, Minister for Business and Innovation Tim Ayres, and Minister for Youth Jess Walsh an Open Letter calling for the repeal of Job-Ready Graduates. TASA encourages members to sign the letter.
This letter was co-ordinated by the AHA and signed by more than 100 distinguished individuals who have made significant contributions to Australian cultural, social and political life. All completed a Bachelor of Arts degree.
| | Calling for Career Stage Group Members
| We invite you to join either the Student, Early Career or Senior Career Stage Group
You can join a career stage group anytime by logging into your TASA membership profile, navigating to the More Member Options box > clicking/tapping on TASA Groups > Add TASA Groups > scroll to the bottom of the group menu list and click on your choice of Career Stage Group. If you need help, we’ve put together some handy pictorial instructions to guide you through the process that are available here. You can also reach out to Ali Smith, TASA's Membership Director, for assistance (membership@tasa.org.au).
| Xavier Mills and Sal Clark (2025) How Do I Answer This? A Queer Critique of Australian Census Forms and the Reification of Cisheteronormative Families Australian Journal of Social Issues (Open Access) https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.70057
| | Skate, create, educate and regenerate – 21 August, 5pm AEST (Online) Please note the 5pm start time
Join roller skaters Anastasija Kukić and Alicia Mardones, skateboarder Aaron Christiansen, and chair Dr Indigo Willing as they explore how skate culture intersects with urban design, sustainability, and placemaking.
Discover how DIY and adaptive reuse approaches can transform cities without pouring new concrete. This engaging panel will challenge conventional architectural thinking and celebrate the creativity, agency, and ingenuity of skaters in shaping our shared spaces.
| | | Thematic Group Name Changes
At a recent Executive meeting, two of TASA’s Thematic Groups were renamed to better reflect their focus and membership interests:
Rural Sociology is now Remote, Regional and Rural Sociology
Urban Sociology is now Housing and Urban Sociology
These changes aim to provide greater clarity about the scope of each group and to ensure they remain relevant to emerging research areas and member engagement.
| Remote, Regional & Rural Sociology Thematic Group – Call for Support
As mentioned above, the Rural Issues Thematic Group has been renamed Remote, Regional & Rural Sociology to better reflect its scope. However, the group is currently at risk of disestablishment due to low engagement.
Our two current Conveners have worked hard to revitalise the group, but with a new convener term beginning in November 2025, we are now seeking new Conveners and fresh ideas to help re-energise this important network.
We encourage members to consider how they might contribute, whether by stepping into a Convener role, sharing ideas for activities, or encouraging colleagues to join. Without renewed participation, we risk losing this space for sociological discussion and collaboration on remote, regional, and rural issues.
If you are interested in helping to lead or reinvigorate the group, please contact Naomi Smith.
| Introducing Naiyer Fatema Khanom as an interim co-convener for the Sociology of Work, Labour and Economy Thematic Group.
Naiyer Fatema Khanom is a PhD candidate in the School of Social Science at the University of Queensland. Her doctoral research, From Access to Advancement: Exploring Women's Career Trajectories within Bangladesh's Digitally Transforming Banking Sector, examines the intersection of gender, career progression, and digital transformation in the financial industry. With over a decade of professional experience in banking, SME development, and women’s economic empowerment across Bangladesh and Australia, she has also contributed to projects on entrepreneurship, innovation, and digital skills development. Her broader research interests include the future of work, women and work, digital transformation, STEAM education, and sustainable development.
| | | | The next round of TASA’s Thematic Group (TG) funding is now open, with applications due by September 1st.
While it's our amazing TG conveners who submit the applications, members are encouraged to reach out and share ideas for events, collaborations, or activities you’d like to see happen in your TG.
Now’s the perfect time to help shape your group’s plans for the first half of 2026! | | | The Urban Sociology Thematic Group invites scholars, practitioners, and students to join us on Wednesday, 9 October at The University of Sydney for an engaging symposium exploring the theme Knowing the City – Movements, Epistemologies, and Visions.
Event Details
Date: 9th October
Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm (AEDT)
Location: University of Sydney
Cost: In-person $30 | Online $20
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New: Research Assistant
The Bendigo & District Aboriginal Co-operative(BDAC) is seeking a highly motivated Research Assistant with knowledge and/or experience in undertaking research for a part-time, contract role (0.6 FTE, option to work remotely) for data analysis. The Research Assistant would be part of a team working on a community-led service design project ‘Our Future, Our Way’. For details read on ...
Application deadline: August 20. Read on...
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Research Assistant Professor
The University of Hong Kong
You would be involved in the research team of the Jockey Club End-of-Life Community Care Project (www.JCECC.hk) to work on cutting-edge research and evaluation studies in End-of-Life Care (EoLC).
| | Scholarship Opportunities | Queer Influencer Cultures in East Asia,
Jointly supervised by fellow member Hao Zheng (Co-Supervisor) & Crystal Abidin (Principal Supervisor)
The preferred candidate may be considered for an RTP scholarship.
Expressions of Interest deadline: 18 August. Read on...
| | Other Events, News & Opportunities | Whether you are preparing to teach a course, conducting research, or looking to publish your next research paper, Sociology at Sage provides top-quality, easy-to-access materials to help you make the best use of your time and excel in your field.
Read on ...
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Taylor & Francis are offering free access to 40+ Sociology Journals around the theme of 'Sociology at times of crisis' until 31st January 2026. Read on ...
| Erosion, Crisis and Renewal: Care and Reconnection in the Anthropocene
Monday 18 August, 2025 | 9.15am - 3.30pm
RD Watt Seminar Room 203, University of Sydney Camperdown Campus
As a global community, we currently face myriad crises. Cascading health and economic problems, rising ecological toxicities, the spectre of conflict, and fetishised but potentially dangerous new technologies pervade our present and raise the prospect of multiple future reckonings. These reckonings will require that we engage creatively with complexity, embracing interconnectedness and multidisciplinary problem-solving to an unprecedented extent and in ways that traverse radically different scales, from the microbiological to the planetary.
Founding Stories, Forging Communities, Feminist Futures: Nurturing Feminist Histories in Precarious Times
A Joint Australian Women’s History Network Symposium and Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Lilith: A Feminist History Journal
24th-25th November, University of Melbourne
Abstract submission deadline: August 29th. Read on...
| “Whose paradigm counts? The unheard experiences and strategies of CEALD mental healthcare professionals in providing culturally responsive and safe care to CEALD patients in Australia.”
The project aims to support and add insights through our voices, experiences and knowledge of how we (health professionals in the mental health space) provide culturally appropriate care strategies that could inform how to care for our culturally, ethnically, linguistically or racially diverse communities in Tasmania.
Calling for Tasmanian health professionals working in the mental health space from cultural, ethnically and linguistically diverse backgrounds. If you are interested in having a conversation to discuss the research and/or would like to participate in the individual online interview, please contact Anita via email: anita.ogbeide@utas.edu.au or call: +61 3 6430 5297. You will be compensated with a $30 e-voucher for participation in the research.
| | Fellow member Sarah Alzoubi is calling for participants for their PhD project that is investigating the impacts and experiences of Islamophobia on Australian Muslim women in Sydney while also analysing key demographic and geographic variations in that daily experience.
Participants need to be over the age of 18. The survey takes approximately 25 minutes to complete.
You can take the survey here.
| | | Supporting academics with inclusive & equitable curricula, teaching and learning
Call for Participation. A National Survey on Inclusive and Equitable Teaching in Higher Education
Academic teaching staff at Australian higher education institutions are invited to contribute to a national study exploring how institutions support inclusive and equitable teaching, learning, curriculum, and assessment.
The survey is open to academic teaching staff across Australian higher education institutions. It explores:
- Understandings of equity and inclusion in teaching and learning
- Inclusive curriculum and assessment practices, and
- Experiences with professional development related to equity and inclusion
Participation involves completing a short, anonymous 10-15 minute survey, available here.
| People Places Prize - Creativity & 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.
Creative and innovative ideas for the Prize can be in any (or combination) of ffour areas:
- The Arts
- Green spaces
- Building design
- Disability access
Australian Human Rights Awards
The Awards honour and celebrate diverse human rights heroes and significant achievements in protecting and promoting human rights in Australia.
| Book Chapters - call for expressions of interest
| Future of Work and Care (part of TASA SWLE thematic group)
Seeking proposals for empirical or theoretical papers that address the issues related to the future of work and care.
Please submit an abstract (250- 300 words, with 5 keywords) that briefly summarises the theoretical/methodological framework, foregrounding the overall argument and including some references to key works, along with a short biography (up to 100 words).
Abstract submission deadline: TOMORROW August 15. Read on...
| New: The Care Lab
The Care Lab at UNSW presents Dr Stefanie Plage on housing instability and self-care from her forthcoming book Health, Housing, and Homelessness - An Ethnographic Understanding of Housing Instability and Social Care (Routledge 2026).
Tuesday, August 19.
For the details of the event, and to register, read on....
| Newcastle Youth Studies Online Seminar Series
The Newcastle Youth Studies Centre is a collaborative group of researchers who work with young people to understand their lives, and the social, cultural, and economic forces they are living in. They have the following online seminars scheduled:
- New Possibilities: Young People and Democratic Renewal (August 20)
- The Political Dynamics of the Weird World of Wellness (September 24)
- The Materialities of Inequality: Mould, Acid and Glitter (October 8)
- The False Divide between Nature and Culture (November 5)
- ‘Your mum didn’t take selfies’: Youth and image cultures on social media (November 19)
For the details of each event, and to register, read on...
| Special Issues - call for proposals
| Journal of Sociology
The Journal of Sociology invites expressions of interest to guest edit a Special Issue for publication in 2027. Proposals are welcome on any sociological theme likely to appeal to our international readership, particularly those that showcase vibrant research from Australia and the Asia-Pacific. Guest editors will coordinate the call for papers, peer review process, and editorial work to a March 2026 submission deadline.
Proposal submission deadline: 15 September, 2025. Read on...
Sociological Research Online
Sociological Research Online welcomes proposals for the next special issue. The proposed special issue should offer an exciting contribution to emerging sociological debates by bringing together conceptually, empirically and/or methodologically innovative interventions within a specific topic area.
Proposal submission deadline: 24 September. Read on...
| Special Issues - call for submissions
| New: Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion
The aim of this volume is to engage scholars in an exercise of sociological imagination. What forms might religion assume by the year 2050? How might society itself be reconfigured? Can we envisage the faces of religion in society that will be quite different from what we know today? And crucially, is sociology able to grasp the key processes currently underway that may shape tomorrow’s religious-social landscape?
Proposal submission deadline: September 30. Read on ...
Revisiting Janet Wolff: Affinities between Art History and Sociology
Cultural Sociology’s special issue, inspired by the career and work of Janet Wolff, seeks to articulate the affinities between sociological and art historical approaches to the study of artworks and art making, such that a disciplinary divide holds.
Abstract submission deadline: 16 September. Read on...
The Normative Turn in Sociology. Opening the Black Box
Sociology’s special issue hopes to lay the groundwork for a sociology of normativity; that is, a form of sociology (be it “critical” or otherwise) which is expressly normative. Editors are looking for contributions, theoretical and/or empirical, that engage with the question of normativity in sociology.
Paper submission deadline: 22 January 2026. Read on...
Earning while Learning: Experiences, patterns and the political economy of working students
Work, Employment and Society’s new special issue aims to interrogate and fundamentally reconceptualize the relationship between earning and learning, bringing together different disciplinary approaches to interrogate student work and the global political economy that shapes it. Paper submission deadline: 27 February 2026. Read on...
New: Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
The guest editors of this journal are seeking submissions for the forthcoming edition ‘Reframing artificial intelligence: Critical perspectives from AI social science’
In an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), public and academic discourse is often dominated by polarised narratives—either heralding AI as a solution to complex problems or warning of its dangers … this Collection invites social science perspectives to advance the study of AI’s sociotechnical, cultural and political dimensions.
Submission deadline: 30 April 2026. Read on...
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Early Career Work and Family Fellowships
The goal of the program is to help promising young scholars establish career successes and integrate them within the WFRN research community.
| Anthrozoology as International Practice (AIP2025)
A Student Conference in Human-Animal Studies,
75 Years of Sociology
British Sociological Association
8-10 April 2026
University of Edinburgh, UK
Abstract submission deadline: October 3rd. Read on...
2026 Centering Care Across the Life Course
Work and Family Researchers Network Conference
June 17-20, 2026, Concordia University Montreal Canada.
Abstract submission deadline: October 1st. Read on...
Predoctoral Preconference
Work and Family Researchers Network Conference
The Predoctoral Preconference will provide workshops intended to help graduate students form meaningful connections with diverse scholars, learn about publication strategies, as well as how to engage with stakeholders such as organisational leaders or policy advocates.
Refugee Trauma Recovery in Resettlement
Forum of Australian Services for Survivors of Torture and Trauma (FASSTT)
Bringing together leading researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and community advocates from across Australia and New Zealand, the conference will address the complex and critical needs of refugees who have experienced torture and trauma. The event will serve as a vital platform for sharing knowledge, fostering collaboration, and promoting best practices in the field of refugee mental health and psychosocial support.
Submission deadline: August 31st. Read on...
Development in Turbulent Time
20th Annual International & Interdisciplinary Conference of International Partners
University Luigj Gurakuqi Shkoder, ALBANIA
14-15 November 2025
Abstract submission deadline: 14 September. Read on...
Centering Care Across the Life Course
SAVE THE DATE
Concordia University in Montreal Canada
June 17-20, 2026
Submissions open in July and close November 1. Read on... | | Queer Temporalities
Online and in-person at Macquarie University 1-3 October
Exploring the theories and possibilities of queer lives unbeholden to normative narratives of time, memory, success, love, happiness, and family.
| | |  | The Jobs & Scholarships Board allows you to view opportunities that TASA Admin and fellow members have posted.
In 4 easy steps, you can upload job & scholarship opportunities from your member's profile screen. For instructions, visit here.
The Jobs & Scholarships Board is a public facing searchable feature of TASAweb.
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 | TASA’s Executive Committee (EC) governs the Association and manages its daily business as outlined in the Constitution and by established policies. A call for nominations for the 2027 – 2028 Executive term will be disseminated on July 1, 2026.
The November 2024 - November 2026 Executive Team can be viewed on TASAweb here.
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 | TASA was officially established under the name of the Sociological Association of Australia and New Zealand (SAANZ) in 1963, crystallising what was a long, and perhaps delayed process of the discipline’s development in Australia.
For the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2013, pages on TASA's history were added to TASAweb.
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 | The more members TASA has, the stronger our association can be.
To help spread the word about TASA, you can quickly and easily gift a TASA membership to someone from within your TASA membership profile.
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 | | TASA members have free access to over 90 peer-reviewed Sage Sociology full-text collection online journals encompassing over 63,000 articles. The image on the left shows you where to access those journals, as well as the Sage Research Methods Collection & the Taylor and Francis Full Text Collection, when logged in to TASAweb. If needed, here is a short instructive video on how to access the online resources. |
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 | TASA currently has 27 thematic groups in operation and members can join up to 4 groups. This can be done quickly, and easily via your membership profile.
Watch the very short video (1:30) to learn how to join a thematic group/s.
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 | TASA's Membership Directory allows you to search for members by country and state. It also has search functions for members of a particular thematic group, and members who are available for supervision and/or mentoring.
To learn how to search the Membership Directory, watch this very short video (1 min).
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 | Via your membership profile, you can update many options including adding a secondary email address, and indicating if you are available for mentoring, supervising, consulting, and/or talking to the media, for example. If you are in a Tier 2, Tier 3 & Tier 4 membership category, you can also opt in or out of receiving a hard copy of the Journal of Sociology.
All of these changes can be done quickly and easily. To learn how, watch this video (1 min). |
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Personal pronoun preferences can be added to your profile. There are 9 combination options to choose from. Please let Sally in TASA Admin know if your preference/s is not on the list and we will have them added.
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 | We encourage you to support your colleagues by sharing details of your latest publications with them via this newsletter. No publication is too big or too small.
Any mention of sociology is of value to our association, and to the discipline, so please do email through details of your latest publication/s (fully referenced & with a link, where possible), events, job adverts etc. for the next newsletter, to TASA Admin (right click to retrieve the email address). Usually, the newsletter is disseminated every Thursday morning. |
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 | As part of the agreement with Taylor & Francis, TASA members are entitled to a 30% books discount. This discount is valid on any full priced CRC Press or Routledge book.
To access the book discount, click on the following link and then log in to TASAweb: book discount link. |
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Digital Publications Editor (Roger): digitalpe@tasa.org.au
Events (Penny): events@tasa.org.au
Membership (Ali): membership@tasa.org.au
Indigenous (John): indigenousmembership@tasa.org.au
Thematic Groups (Naomi): thematicgroups@tasa.org.au
Postgraduates (Molly): postgraduates@tasa.org.au | |