Dear ~~first_name~~,
Welcome to this week’s TASA newsletter. There is plenty happening across the sociology community, including new publications from members, several TASA awards now open for nominations, and expressions of interest open for both mentors and mentees in TASA’s mentoring program.
A reminder that today’s TASA Thursdays event, The Sociology of Emotions and Wellbeing in Music Worlds: Orchestras, Hip-Hop and Feminist Punk Rock, will run at the slightly earlier time of 12:00pm–1:00pm AEST (rather than our usual 12:30pm–1:30pm slot).
We also encourage members to check out the new Social Sciences Week funding announcement and details, as well as sessional work opportunities currently available in Western Australia.
As always, thank you for being part of our TASA community.
| | Wadsworth, Y. (2026). Wadsworth's social research and evaluation 3-volume set (1st ed.). Routledge. | A new set of social research, evaluation and inquiry for systems change international book editions have just been released by Routledge London 22 April 2026 written by TASA Life member and longtime applied sociologist, Yoland Wadsworth (see Sociology in Action Previous Award recipients and Zuleyka Zevallos’ interview.)
In 1984 Yoland Wadsworth's Do It Yourself Social Research, followed in 1991 by Everyday Evaluation on the Run became Australia's best-selling research and evaluation texts for more than two decades. They were followed in 2010 by Building in Research and Evaluation: Human Inquiry for Living Systems that described the conditions for using 'full cycle' inquiry processes to achieve whole systems change for public good. All three books have never been out of print.
They have now been revised as an anniversary box set trilogy of new editions to show in particular how a meta-epistemic approach to systemic research can explain at a deep theoretical level, the integrative logic of all the major forms of research and evaluation (and associated human inquiry capabilities) in a ‘new, new paradigm’ 'full cycle social science’.
Fellow members Raewyn Connell and Lucinda Aberdeen carried out the Australian launches for the 4th edition of Do It Yourself Social Research, Leanne Kelly for the 4th edition of Everyday Evaluation on the Run, and France Bright of the Australasian Evaluation Society systems group for the 2nd edition of Human Inquiry for Living Systems: Building in Research and Evaluation for Life.
The global launch of the full box set trilogy as a magnum opus was by Cathy Sharp of Research for Real, Edinburgh and Michael Quinn Patton of St Paul/Minneapolis.
Michael Patton, a prominent applied evaluation sociologist, has published his tribute speech, available here.
The trilogy of books are available here.
If you would like the 30% off book launch discount form (for a limited time only to 20 May) please email living.systems.research@gmail.com.
| |
Ladwig, R., Walsh, MJ., & Johns, R. (2026). ‘Running the Gauntlet: Experiences of Transgender and Gender-Diverse People in the Recruitment Process.’ Gender, Work & Organization: 1–15. Online First: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.70175 (open access).
Op-ed / Commentary
| | TASA THURSDAYS -The Sociology of Emotions and Wellbeing in Music Worlds: Orchestras, Hip-Hop and Feminist Punk Rock | 14th May | 12:00PM AEST
Join us TODAY for a TASA Thursdays webinar on exploring the intersections of music, wellbeing, and emotional life. Featuring speakers from the Sociology of Music and Sociology of Emotions and Affect thematic groups, this session examines how music shapes identity, mental health, and collective expression across diverse contexts. From orchestral performance to Hip-Hop listening and feminist punk, the talks highlight music’s complex role in navigating pressure, wellbeing, and affect in contemporary social life.
| | | | TASA THURSDAYS 'Unserviceable’ by Design: Feminist Sociology and the Corporeal Politics of Women’s Military Service | 18th June | 12:30PM AEST
Join us for a TASA Thursdays webinar with fellow member Natalie Merryman exploring gendered harm, institutional power, and embodiment within the Australian Defence Force. Drawing on feminist sociological research with women veterans, this thought-provoking session critically examines how military institutions reproduce inequality and shape lived experiences. Ideal for sociologists, researchers, and anyone interested in gender, power, and institutional cultures.
| | | Funding
New: As announced in last week’s newsletter, TASA has set aside $5,000 in funding for 2026 Social Sciences Week events. TASA is offering grants of up to $1,000, exclusively for TASA members, to support public-facing events during Social Sciences Week 2026.
Applications close on 19 June.
For the full details and the application form link, visit TASAweb here.
TASA's Gary Bouma Memorial Workshop Funding, for 2027 events, is open for applications. Successful workshops will advance research within sociology and showcase TASA as the face of sociological/interdisciplinary research in the region; engaging with issues of national concern; advancement of knowledge; support innovative ideas, and, the potential of feeding into policy and practice development.
Funding of AU$5,000 (per workshop) available for workshops to be held in Australia.
Applications close on 17 July.
For details, and the application form link, visit TASAweb here.
Awards
Closing Soon
Early Career Researcher - Best Paper Prize
TASA's Prize for the most distinguished peer-reviewed article published by an Early Career Researcher for a paper of outstanding quality published (online or in print) in any journal during the previous three calendar years (i.e. 2023 – 2025).
Closing Soon
Postgraduate Impact & Engagement Award
This annual award recognises the impact and engagement of a Postgraduate TASA member’s scholarship that is of high social value to Australian society and/or sociology.
New: Distinguished Service to Australian Sociology Award
This award is made to a TASA member who has demonstrated outstanding, significant and sustained service to Australian sociology over many years. While not necessarily a lifetime achievement award, candidates for the Distinguished Service Award would usually be nearing the end of their careers.
In all cases the quality of the service is the determining criterion, rather than the quantity alone.
New: Outstanding Service to TASA Award
This honour is accorded to a TASA member who has demonstrated an outstanding level of participation in and promotion of TASA over a number of years. There are many ways in which this can occur, but in all cases the quality of the service is the determining criterion, rather than the quantity alone.
New: Outstanding Service to the Teaching of Sociology Award
This award celebrates outstanding contributions to enhancing the pedagogy, practice or outcomes of teaching and learning sociology in Australia. It recognises contributions at the disciplinary level (rather than acknowledging excellence in teaching within the classroom or institutions). Examples of disciplinary-level contributions include innovations in teaching that increase the impact of sociology teaching beyond university contexts, improve student access, experience and outcomes, or inform disciplinary approaches to learning and teaching. Evidence of these achievements may be demonstrated through feedback from students or peers, and/or through publications (peer-reviewed, policy or general), presentations, media, or other relevant indicators.
New: Sociology in Action Award
This award recognizes contributions to the practice of sociology outside of academic settings. It is conferred on a TASA member who has made an outstanding contribution to sociological practice in Australia.
In this context, outstanding contributions to sociology in action highlight the value and impact of sociological methods and theories to society. This includes both broad social issues, as well as more focused issues for industry, government, business or community sectors.
| TASA Mentorship Program 2026-27
| New: TASA's 2026 Mentorship Program is now open for Expressions of Interest.
Closing midnight AEST, 18 June 2026.
This 6-month program will foster professional growth and development. Mentor/mentee pairs are encouraged to meet fortnightly or monthly (6–12 sessions in total), either online, in person, or through a mix of both. The program includes online sessions aimed at helping both mentors and mentees get the most out of the experience.
Key Dates:
- July: Acceptance onto program announced
- 4 August: Online Onboarding for mentors and mentees
- 25 August: Online Professional Development Workshop 1
- 13 October: Online Midway Check-in for mentors and mentees
- 9 February: Online Wrap up for mentors and mentees
Workshop dates may change due to unforeseen circumstances. Webinar presentations (excluding Q&A) will be recorded and made available privately for program participants who can’t attend live.
PLUS
Online Professional Development Workshop 2, details TBC
Optional in-person meet up for those mentor/mentee pairs attending TASA 2026
Ready to Get Involved?
Please click the appropriate orange link below to submit your Expression of Interest. If you’d like to be both a mentee and a mentor, please complete both forms.
| Register to attend a ‘Catch Up & Write’ session hosted by TASA's Sociology of Youth thematic group (25 May, 12pm-2pm, AEST)
TASA's Sociology of Youth thematic group is excited to invite you to attend their ‘Catch Up & Write’ sessions. While the writing group is hosted by the Youth thematic group, they welcome TASA members from other thematic groups whose research engages with youth in interesting ways. The more the merrier!
These sessions are designed to support research progress in a structured, but relaxed way, offering protected time to write in a collegial and supportive environment. Equally, they create a space to connect with each other (over the joys and perils of writing!!). Whether you’re drafting, revising, or simply trying to get words on the page, these sessions are for you 🙂
The details for the first session are:
DATE: Monday 25 May AEST
TIME: 12:00pm-2:00pm (bring your lunch!)
LOCATION: Online via Zoom
REGISTRATION: Register to receive the Zoom link via the following URL: https://unimelb.zoom.us/meeting/register/h6RNuzchTla1GOBkrGTCuw
DETAILS: Attendees will have a chance to briefly hear from the co-convenors, catch up with other group members, and spend some time working on a piece of writing alongside other attendees.
The goal is to establish a consistent day and time each month for these sessions once the conveners gain a sense of members’ availability and writing rhythms.
Conveners of TASA's Sociology of Youth Thematic Group, Imogen, Julia, Natalie, John and Maddison, look forward to meeting you on the 25th!
| SOCIAL THEORY WEBINAR SERIES | 4TH JUNE | 12:30PM AEST | ONLINE
Join us on Thursday 4 June for the next Social Theory Thematic Group webinar with Paul Joosse (University of Hong Kong). This compelling session explores the “Trump phenomenon” through the lens of charisma, introducing the concept of the “incredulous onlooker” and its unexpected role in amplifying charismatic power. This is a timely and thought-provoking discussion for anyone interested in political sociology, social theory, and contemporary global dynamics.
| | | Journal of Sociology, 62 (1)
| Health Sociology Review, Volume 35, Number 1 (March 2026).
A special issue on, ‘Healthy’ Food Practices: Moving Beyond Healthy Choices and Food Systems, is guest edited by Natalie Jovanovski and Bhavna Middha.
All articles in this special issue are available here.
| Applications are invited for the editorship of Health Sociology Review (HSR) for the three-year term 2027 - 2029.
Transition arrangements will begin later in 2026, although the content for the first issue of 2027, and possibly the second, will be finalised by the out-going editorial team.
The application deadline is Monday 22nd June, 2026.
The full details of the call are available on TASAweb here.
| Scholarship Opportunities
| Media Representation & Public Perception of RNA Vaccines and Therapeutics in Australia
PhD Scholarship
University of Newcastle
Working with fellow member Caragh Brosnan
Creating Safer Sport Communities from Rural to Urban Australia
This is part of an ARC Discovery project Creating Safer Sport Communities from Rural to Urban Australia
The PhD will be housed within Griffith University’s Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Arts, Education and Law group and the Department of Tourism and Marketing, Griffith Business School.
|
New: Murdoch University is seeking academics for sessional teaching in semester two, within the Sociology major. They need someone to lecture and tutor, preferably with a PhD or close to having one. The units have a contemporary health and social issues focus.
If you are interested, please contact Kim Hudson directly at: K.Hudson@murdoch.edu.au
Lecturer in Geography, Sociology and Political Science
Hong Kong Baptist University
The role includes teaching courses in human geography, physical geography, public administration, general sociology, statistics, research methods, and advanced topics in quantitative analysis across these disciplines.
| Other Events, News & Opportunities
| Fellow member Na’ama Carlin's (et al.) latest book is out tomorrow. In case you missed details from a previous newsletter, the book, 'Being Patient: Close Encounters in Cancer World' opens the 'black box' of Cancer World to consider its impact on patients, carers and healthcare workers. The beating heart of the book is the many conversations the three authors had with each other, as well as dozens of patients, carers, and healthcare workers about the hard, frightening, and sometimes joyful moments that people experience once they enter or work in Australia's oncology system.
There is a book launch on today:
TODAY Thursday, 14 May 6.30-8pm
Gleebooks, Glebe
Light refreshments provided
| Workshops Program Funding
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
The Academy Workshops Program offers Australian social scientists financial assistance to host multidisciplinary workshops which aim to advance research and policy agendas on nationally important issues.
Up to AU$9,000.00 per workshop.
Applications open on May 18th and will close on July 31st.
| The Paul Bourke Awards for Early Career Research
Academy of Social Sciences Australia
The Paul Bourke Awards for Early Career Research honour Australians in the early part of their career who have achieved excellence in scholarship in one or more fields of the social sciences.
| Symposiums
The Regulation of Children’s Use of Digital Media in the Asia Pacific
Hybrid (Melbourne city), 17 June, 9am - 5:30pm AEST
This symposium brings together a selection of scholars, policymakers, civil society organisations and industry experts from across the Asia-Pacific region, such as Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam, to discuss the historical development, current landscape, challenges, and future directions of regulating children’s use of digital media.
Seminars
ANU School of Sociology Seminar Series
The program for the ANU School of Sociology Seminar Series is now online. All seminars are hybrid, with options to join via Zoom. Please visit the School’s Humanitix page, here, to view and register for upcoming seminars.
Newcastle Youth Studies Centre (NYSC) 2026 Online Seminar Series
The full 2026 program for the Newcastle Youth Studies Centre’s online seminar series is now out (see below), you can check out each seminar, and register for them, at the NYSC Eventbrite page here.
Note, you can watch the full 2025 recordings at the NYSC's YouTube playlist here.
| Conferences
Global Sociology in Turbulent Times
International Sociological Association
XXI ISA World Congress of Sociology
4 to 10 July 2027, Gwangju, Korea
10th Biennial Social Science Methodology Conference
November 24-26, University of Sydney
Sport, Politics, and Society
The Tunisian-Mediterranean Association for Historical, Social and Economic Studies (TMA for HSES) and the Tunisian World Center for Studies, Research, and Development (TWC for SRD)
December 1, 2, 3 / 2026 (Beja - Tunisia).
|  | New: Queer Intimacies
Online and in-person at Macquarie University 23-25 September
Researchers are invited to consider how queer desires, attachments, and entanglements offer counter examples to hetero-, cis-, and allo-normative modes of being. We are, in particular, interested in eliciting abstracts that foreground how queer theoretical frameworks might be used to (re)conceptualise how intimacies are imagined, performed, and contested.
Abstracts proposing individual or group presentations, workshops, round-table discussions, pre-organised panels, posters, and creative works are encouraged. QTRG is dedicated to accessibility and community. Given this, online-only presentations in any of the above formats are welcomed and encouraged. We also encourage HDR students and ECRs to submit an abstract.
Submission deadline: 31 May. Read on...
| | Internationalising Vegan Sociology
International Association of Vegan Sociologists (IAVS)
Online, October 3 & 4, 2026
The 2026 IAVS annual meeting will showcase research related to veganism, animal rights, and sociological theories of international relevance. They welcome submissions for individual presentations (15 minutes and an additional 5 for questions) or panels (45 minutes with 15 for questions) to be delivered in an online format.
| | | Call for Submissions
Social Conditions, Clinical Logics: Rethinking Young People’s Engagement with Drug Treatment
International Journal of Drug Policy
This special issue invites submissions that explore or examine how the social conditions of young people’s substance use shape their engagement in drug treatment. Editors are looking for papers that critically explore, among other things, biomedical and psychologised approaches to AOD care, how contexts of crisis and social inequity shape treatment experience, and how treatment might be experienced differently by First Nations, LGBTQ+, refugee, migrant and racialized youth.
| For membership information, processes, and frequently used resources, visit the Members' Navigator. To contact a member of the team directly, see our TASA Staff page.
| Admin (Sally): admin@tasa.org.au
Events (Penny): events@tasa.org.au
Membership (Ali): membership@tasa.org.au
Indigenous (Yasmin): indigenoussociology@tasa.org.au
Digital Publications Editor (Roger): digitalpe@tasa.org.au
Thematic Groups (Molly): thematicgroups@tasa.org.au
Postgraduates (Brooklyn): postgraduates@tasa.org.au | |