| Dear ~~first_name~~
Two of our thematic groups need conveners; Media and Risk Societies. Both groups face being disbanded. Any member with an interest in either area is welcome to put their hand up for a convener role. You will be supported by Sara, the thematic groups portfolio leader, and Sally in TASA Admin. Being a convener is a great way to get to know other members in the same field as you. If you would like to discuss the possibility of convening the Media or Risk Societies thematic groups, please feel free to contact Sara or Sally.
| XX ISA World Congress of Sociology in Melbourne, 2022 | Local Organising Committee: Call for Nominations | As the 2022 International Sociological Association World Congress in Melbourne approaches, TASA is appointing a local organising committee. There are three convenors - Dan Woodman, Katie Hughes and Jo Lindsay - who led the bidding rounds to secure the Congress as TASA Presidents.
The Local Organising Committee will be comprised of TASA members holding specific portfolios which will each contribute to the smooth running of the World Congress. All roles will commence in March, 2020, and will involve working alongside the Professional Conferences Organisers and Conference Conveners. Details about the portfolios, as well as the nomination form,are available via this link. Note, after clicking the link, you will need to login to view the details. | Introducing incoming conveners for the
Sociology and Animals thematic group:
Gavin Smith and Zoei Sutton |  | | Aside from being a licensed snake catcher in the ACT and NSW during the warmer months, Gavin Smith is also an Associate Professor of Sociology at the ANU. His research over the past 15 years has explored the complex uses and meanings of digital technologies and data processes from a sociological perspective. His ideas appear in leading journals such as Body & Society, Big Data & Society, Critical Public Health, Theoretical Criminology, Surveillance & Society, The British Journal of Criminology and Urban Studies. From 2011-2016, he was co-editor of the open-access international journal Surveillance & Society. His current ARC-funded research is concerned with the biopolitics of facial recognition systems. Increasingly, Gavin's work looks at more-than-human relations, especially via the contested figure of the elapid (i.e. front-fanged, venomous) snake. He is currently undertaking a multi-species, sensory ethnography which focuses on human-snake encounters and the practice of snake catching. He is also involved in various social-ecological projects which analyse discourses of biodiversity and conservational practices in various field sites. |  | Pets play an essential role in millions of households, but there is tremendous variation in the relationships that humans have with them. As a PhD student, Zoei Sutton conducted species-inclusive research to explore how these relationships were navigated by both human and nonhuman participants. She argues that centring nonhuman animals in research highlights how unequal many of our interspecies entanglements are, which might mean a rethink of these taken for granted relationships.
“If we were to think seriously about what benefit our pets gain from our relationships, do we need to challenge conventional ideas around the mutual enjoyment of the human-companion animal relationship? If so, can we imagine another way of relating to companion animals that addresses the questions that might arise about human-animal relationship dynamics?”
Her research interests also include the social construction of “pest” animals in print media and the role of research in contributing to, and challenging, the marginalisation of nonhuman animals in society. She is a book review editor for Society & Animals and has contributed to human animal studies scholarship and events both nationally and internationally. | | |
Campaign for UniSuper disinvestment from climate destroying companies
| | Many academics and professional staff have superannuation with UniSuper. UniSuper is investing billions of dollars in companies that actively contribute to climate destruction. Click here to sign a petition to demand that UniSuper divest from the fossil fuel industry. |  | Forbes-Mewett, H. (ed.) Vulnerability in a Mobile World (2019). Emerald Publishing Ltd: Bingley, UK.
Populations across the world are becoming increasingly mobile for many different reasons. Some are searching for a better and safer life, others migrate for economic or environmental purposes, education, or identity formation. While mobility may bring better life-chances, this book shows that for some it means experiencing vulnerability.
Vulnerability in a Mobile World considers the notion of vulnerability from various standpoints including intercultural relationships, homelessness, urbanisation, refugee and asylum seekers, and the use of YouTube by young girls. The diversity of the circumstances and characteristics of the vulnerable enable this book to uniquely show just how broad the notion of vulnerability can be. Presenting an international perspective to social problems in various settings, the chapters are brought together in a coherent argument that shows vulnerability has many forms and is often associated with mobile populations. Read on... | | | |
Helen Forbes-Mewett and Kien Nguyen-Trung, Defining vulnerability, in Forbes-Mewett, H. (ed.) Vulnerability in a Mobile World (2019). Emerald Publishing Ltd: Bingley, UK.
Allegra Clare Schermuly, Urbanisation, vulnerability and police legitimacy, in Forbes-Mewett, H. (ed.) Vulnerability in a Mobile World (2019). Emerald Publishing Ltd: Bingley, UK.
Kien Nguyen-Trung, Vulnerability to natural disasters: the case of Vietnam's Mekong Delta, in Forbes-Mewett, H. (ed.) Vulnerability in a Mobile World (2019). Emerald Publishing Ltd: Bingley, UK.
Gianluigi Rotondo, Refugee and asylum seeker vulnerability in the context of resettlement: The role of humanitarian organisations in Australia and Italy, in Forbes-Mewett, H. (ed.) Vulnerability in a Mobile World (2019). Emerald Publishing Ltd: Bingley, UK.
Jiamin Gan and Helen Forbes-Mewett, International student migration and mental health, in Forbes-Mewett, H. (ed.) Vulnerability in a Mobile World (2019). Emerald Publishing Ltd: Bingley, UK.
| | Gilbert, A. S. (2020). Book review: The Masses are the Ruling Classes: Policy Romanticism, Democratic Populism, and Social Welfare in America: by William Epstein, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017, 280 pp.£ 29.99 (cloth). The European Legacy.https://doi.org/10.1080/10848770.2019.1705620 | |
Cooke, Emma, Thorpe, Karen, Clarke, Andrew, Houen, Sandy, Oakes, Candice and Staton, Sally (2020) “Lie in the grass, the soft grass”: Relaxation accounts of young children attending childcare. Children and Youth Services Review, 109 104722. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104722
Eden, K., Carroll, K., Williamson, R., Butler, A., and Smith, J. (2019) Designated private breastfeeding spaces in the university sector: An audit of one Australian univers. Breastfeeding Review; 27(3), 43–52. | | Dan Woodman (January 22, 2022) ABC Melbourne Breakfast with Sammy J discussing why people are no longer talking on the phone (50 minute mark on the podcast). | Book Awards - call for nominations | Stephen Crook Memorial Prize
This book Prize was established to honour the memory of Professor Stephen Crook in recognition of his significant contribution to Australian sociology. The 2020 Prize covers books published in 2018 or 2019, as indicated by the publication date in front matter (please double check this as sometimes this date is different to the date your book was released/published). The full details are the prize are available on TASAweb. The nomination form can be accessed here. Nominations will close on March 1, 2020.
Raewyn Connell Prize
This book Prize was established to honour the work of Professor Raewyn Connell in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Australian Sociology. The 2020 Prize will cover books published in 2018 or 2019, as indicated by the publication date in front matter (please double check this as sometimes this date is different to the date your book was released/published). The full details are the prize are available on TASAweb. The nomination form can be accessed here. Nominations will close on March 1, 2020.
| Service Awards - call for nominations | 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. The written nomination must be signed by five TASA members. Nominations must show how the nominee meets the selection criteria and must be accompanied by a focused curriculum vitae of the nominee and the names of three referees. Nominations close May 31st. For the full details, please see the prize page on TASAweb here.
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. The written nomination must be signed by two TASA members. Nominations must show how the nominee meets the selection criteria and must be accompanied by a focussed curriculum vitae of the nominee and the names of two referees. Nominations close May 31st. For the full details, please see the prize page on TASAweb here.
| | You can sign up for New Content alerts for Journal of Sociology and receive an alert for the latest full issue as well as when new articles are published online? See here. | 2021 Special Issue - call for papers
Towards a Global Sociology of Trans and Gender Diverse Health.
After years of advocacy for improved recognition and action, the health and well-being of trans and gender diverse people is receiving overdue attention. In some parts of the world, gender-affirming care is made available in forms which explicitly support a diverse range of gender identities, service preferences and affirmation goals. However, good quality models of care are unevenly available and face a range of threats, creating heightened uncertainty for those who need to access them.
The aim of this special issue is to enhance knowledge on what supports and complicates the provision of health care and support for trans and gender diverse people across different parts of the world.
| | In case you missed it, you can catch up on the final 2019 Nexus issue via TASAweb on the Emailing page (scroll down to Nexus). | | The Jobs Board enables you to view current employment opportunities. As a member, you can post opportunities to the Jobs Board directly from within your membership profile screen. | | | | The Scholarships Board enables you to view available scholarships that our members have posted. Like the Jobs Board, as a member, you can post scholarship opportunities directly from within your membership profile screen. | | | | Other Events, News & Opportunities | “Closing the Gap” is a 6 week group coaching program designed to help early and mid-career academics ‘close the gap’ and build their strategic research capacities through purposeful action in a vibrant, supportive group setting.
Sundays, from 23 Feb to 29 March, 2:00-3:30pm AEST, AUD600 incl. GST, via Zoom. Read on... | “Politics in the Pub” is held from 6.30-9.30pm on the last Tuesday of every month at The Local Hotel in Fremantle, WA. Each month the Fremantle Network deal with a different topic and have 3-5 guest speakers from W.A. universities, industry and government. For example, this month the topic is employment security and income, featuring speakers from Unions WA and the Chamber of Commerce. Next month the topic will be renting and tenancy. For further details, please contact fellow member Christian Mauri. | MMIC Seminar Series: A/Prof Pierluigi Musarò (University of Bologna) - 'Aware Migrants: the role of information campaigns in the management of migration'
Tuesday 12 February 2020, 1-2pm, Elizabeth Burchill Room, E561, Menzies Building, 20 Chancellors Walk, Clayton Campus
For the full details, and the RSVP, read on...
| Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) Congress
International Congress: Basic income, the ecological crisis and a new age of automation
September 28th – 30th, 2020, Brisbane, Australia (UQ / QUT)
Submission deadline: January 31. Read on...
Bringing the Hope Back In: Sociological Imagination and Dreaming Transformation
The Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)
August 7-9, 2020, San Francisco, CA.
| | TASA Documents and Policies | | You can access details of TASA's current Executive Committee 2019-2020 as well as documents and policies, including the Constitution, Code of Conduct, Grievance Procedures & TASA History. | | Accessing Online Materials & Resources | | TASA members have 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. | | | Gift memberships are available with TASA. If you would like to purchase a gift membership, please email the following details through to the TASA Office:
1. Name of gift recipient;
2. email address of gift recipient;
4. who the Tax Invoice should be made out to.
Upon receiving the above details, TASA will email the recipient with full details on how they can take up the gift membership. You will receive the Tax Invoice, via email, after the recipient completes the online membership form. | | Contact TASA Admin: admin@tasa.org.au | |