Hi everyone,
Welcome to the first Sociology of Youth Thematic Group newsletter for 2026.
We are excited to introduce the new convening team for 2026/2027: Dr Imogen Harper, Dr Julia Kantek, John Marion, Natalie Calleja, and Dr Maddison Sideris–our bios can be found below.
We look forward to supporting the group and creating opportunities for the field of youth studies to connect, collaborate, and discuss across the year.
As we begin planning for 2026, it would be great to hear from you about what you would like the Sociology of Youth Thematic Group to offer. To help guide our activities, we have put together a short 5-minute survey where you can share your interests, ideas, and priorities. Your responses will help us shape events, discussions, and initiatives that are most useful for members.
Please complete the survey using this link: https://sydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9KQV3jxY8g211D8
We also wanted to share some preliminary details about an event we are hoping to run later this year. The convening team has submitted a TASA funding application to support a Youth Methodology Workshop/Symposium planned for later in the year. The event aims to strengthen research capacity in the field of youth sociology through offering a reflective and applied focus on ‘how’ youth research is conducted and with what implications. We will share more details once we receive the application outcome.
In the meantime, we would value receiving any input you have to share with us via the survey. If you have any other ideas or would like to get involved in the group’s activities this year, please feel free to reach out to us.
Thanks, and we look forward to connecting with you throughout 2026.
Imogen, Julia, Natalie, John and Maddison
Conveners, TASA Sociology of Youth Thematic Group
TASA Sociology of Youth Thematic Group Convener Bios:
Dr Imogen Harper is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies (SCHS) and Charles Perkins Centre (CPC), both at the University of Sydney. Imogen's research focuses on experiences surrounding chronic illness and disability, youth, inequality, embodiment, and digital media, and she uses person-centred qualitative methods to situate these experiences in social and political narratives and power structures. Her research on young people's experiences of chronic illness examines how individuals' experiences of chronic illness interact with social and institutional expectations of illness, disability, and youth - including expectations that hide issues of illness and silence young people experiencing them.
Dr Julia Kantek is an early career researcher and lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at Western Sydney University and a member of the University’s Young & Resilient research centre. Her research is situated at the intersection of youth sociology, migration studies, and diaspora engagement, with a focus on how mobility and key life transitions (shaped by migration, education, work, and digital technologies) shape young people’s wellbeing, identities, and everyday lives. As co-convenor, Julia is looking forward to supporting the visibility of the group’s research and fostering a greater sense of community.
John Marion is a PhD candidate and lecturer with the Youth and Community research group at Victoria University. His research examines how youth work addresses social exclusion through community building. He is also interested in young people’s experiences of belonging, and works directly with young people in social housing settings. John is excited by the opportunity that the thematic group has to build the body of knowledge and encourage researchers in light of the challenges faced by the higher education sector.
Natalie Calleja is a PhD candidate at the Youth Research Collective, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne. Her research uses participatory and community-engaged methodologies with young adults in Melbourne’s western suburbs to explore their stories and experiences of navigating the politics and boundaries of belonging in the context of histories, ongoing processes of settler colonialism, and shared and personal attachments to place. As co-convenor, Natalie hopes to co-create opportunities for the field of youth studies and its many facets to come together, think collectively, and collaborate.
Dr Maddison Sideris (she/her) recently completed her PhD at the Youth Research Collective (YRC), University of Melbourne, and is an associate teaching fellow in sociology at Deakin University. Her doctoral research draws on the longitudinal Life Patterns Project to examine young adults’ intimate lives through digital practices and the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research interests centre on how digital technologies shape relationships, socialities, and everyday life. As an early career researcher, Maddison has stepped into the co-convener role to build connections across the field, support collaboration, and bring youth sociologists together across institutions and career stages.
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