Humanities at UNE

02/06/2026

Saturday night's La La Land concert in Sydney will linger in many people's memories - not least Sterling Nasa's, who bravely answered composer and conductor Justin Hurwitz's call out to the audience for an emergency fill-in for the keyboardist. Associate Professor Paul Smith from UNE music reacts to this memorable moment, and talks about the skills it takes to take on this task!

Hats off to Sterling for this incredible performance!! 👏👏👏

01/06/2026

Walking the Talk Together to Build a Better Future

This Friday, UNE hosts the Myall Creek Symposium at the Oorala Aboriginal Centre, as part of the memorial weekend commemorating the 28 Wirrayaraay people killed in the 1838 Myall Creek Massacre.

The massacre is a pivotal moment in NSW criminal legal history, marking the first time massacre perpetrators were tried, convicted and executed in the colonial courts, with detailed records showing the brutality of frontier conflict in our region.

This year’s Symposium focuses on moving from talk to real action, harnessing the energies of First Nations peoples and non Indigenous allies.

✨ Program highlights
• Keynote by Dr Tony McAvoy SC, Wirdi man and Australia’s first Indigenous Senior Counsel
• Health, data sovereignty and legal system sessions featuring Prof Emerita Judy Atkinson AM, A/Prof Lorina Barker, Fiona Lovelock, Karen Conte and others
• Performance by Mad Proppa Deadly at lunch

🗓 Friday 5 June 2026
📍 Oorala Aboriginal Centre, UNE
💸 Free, please register for catering
🔗 Register + Zoom link in comments below.
🌐 More about the Memorial: myallcreek.org

Proudly supported by Friends of Myall Creek Armidale, UNE School of Law, Oorala Aboriginal Centre, UNE HASSE and UNE Medicine & Health.

All staff, students and community members are invited to stand with us in remembrance, truth telling and action ahead of Sunday’s gathering at the Myall Creek Memorial near Bingara.

31/05/2026

For Samoa, like many developing nations, fishing and agriculture are the backbone of society: they generate income, drive everyday activity and shape family life and culture.

But, in recent times, gender research has been uncovering biases, inequality and discrimination in these processes and attitudes, particularly experienced by women.

And, more recently, UNE research has been uncovering stories and challenges faced by people in Samoa who identify as non-binary, or people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression (SOGIE), whose lives are shaped by fishing culture, practices and industry.

A pilot project in Samoa demonstrated people who sit outside the gender binary have skills and contribute to subsistence fishing and fishing value chains too, but likewise, their contributions are often invisible and so their opportunities are limited.

🐠 Recommendations for change 🐠

Researchers Dr Christina Kenny and (University of New England) and Dr Fetaomi Tapu-Qiliho, School for International Training (in-country Lead) write that for meaningful change to occur, SOGIE people need to be formally recognised in the industry.

“Our practical recommendations are that policy frameworks must, where safe and possible, explicitly include SOGIE individuals in training, microfinance and governance,” Dr Kenny says.

“Ideally, village-level governance bodies should enable people of any gender identity to access fisheries workshops and credit schemes, and SOGIE organisations need to have genuine partnerships in the industry where they are able to inform safe, appropriate and fair interventions to protect and encourage the vocations of SOGIE individuals,” Dr Kenny says.

The researchers would also like to see follow-up research in future to track such changes, such as whether targeted microfinance or training schemes are successful in unlocking new opportunities for SOGIE individuals, and corresponding research in other Pacific nations.

Read the full story at the link below.

27/05/2026

✨Congratulations to Dr Alina Kozlovski, UNE Lecturer of Digital Innovation (Ancient History and Archaeology), on winning a prestigious The Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens Early Career Research Fellowship!✨

This will see Dr Kozlovski heading to Athens in early 2027 to research Ancient Greek material culture.

Interested in how modern cultural representations operate within in the broader historical context in the museum space, she can’t wait to be surrounded by so much preserved and protected ancient history.

“I’m looking forward to visiting the museums, I haven’t been to Athens since 2009, so it will be great to be there again,” she says.

Alina is also particularly interested in an often undervalued part of the exhibition process – the labelling of the objects – and how this fits into a history of ekphrastic practice – where writers make objects or images into words to inspire a reader’s imagination.

The self-confessed museum ‘super nerd’ says while visitors may not give the labels a lot of thought, they have to pack a punch, and she’s looking forward to undertaking a textual analysis of different museum labels as her research project during her fellowship.

She says putting into words just what that object means is no small feat – or responsibility.

“A lot is required of these little labels. A few sentences have to adequately represent the object’s cultural significance over thousands of years, they have to work for a potential wide range of audiences, and they have to spark an image in the reader’s imagination,” she says.

“In today’s attention economy, where people are used to impermanent, disappearing and changing text with digital and social media content, a lot is required of any words that take up space on a public wall.

As well as immersing herself in the museums and her research, Alina is looking forward to the networking opportunities and the opportunity to make teaching materials for her ancient history subjects.

20/05/2026

Don't miss Dr Sandy Boucher's book launch, 6pm, 21 May at Boobooks Armidale!

UNE Senior Lecturer, Dr Sandy Boucher, is releasing his book Empiricism, Naturalism, and the Metaphysics of Biology: Taking a Stance.

Join Ash as he sits down with Sandy ahead of his book launch on the 21st of May to learn more about what the metaphysics of biology means, and what we can learn about the world through philosophy.

Tune in from 6:00pm tonight, or check out our Spotify to listen back later.

Humanities at UNE University of New England, AU UNE Life

18/05/2026

According to historical records, does the Devil actually prefer chocolate cake?

This is the question we asked UNE early modern period historian and witch hunt specialist Dr Molly Northcott for National Devil's Food Cake Day (19 May in America).

It turns out that in the period of the Salem witch trials, there was, in fact, a 'witch cake' recipe ... but it definitely wasn't made of chocolate 😬

11/05/2026

Searching in the archives can be exciting, satisfying, fascinating and … hey, where did the daylight hours go?

We get it, but there are ways to make sure you also get the most out of your time in a reading room, including being well-prepared before you go.

Here are 5 top tips from UNE Professor of History, David Andrew Roberts:

1. Learn how the archive works before beginning your research.

Many institutions now provide webinars and online guides explaining their catalogue systems and major collections. Spending time with these resources beforehand can save hours of confusion later.

2. Prepare before you arrive at the archives.

Compile a reference list of files, catalogue entries and record series you want to consult. Check whether any items need to be pre-ordered. It is also worth confirming whether records have already been digitised online, which can save valuable reading-room time and travel costs!

3. Start with the present and work backwards.

Record what you already know. Start with recent births, marriages, deaths, occupations, places, and family connections, before moving into earlier generations. Remember that historical records are also full of spelling variations and inconsistencies, so flexible searching is essential.

4. Look beyond births, deaths and marriages.

Probate packets, shipping lists, land records, court files, census returns, school records and government correspondence often reveal much richer details about how people lived and moved through society.

5. Treat archivists as research partners

Explaining your research question clearly can often uncover overlooked collections, related records, or search strategies you would not otherwise find.

Oh, and …

Practically speaking, bring a USB stick, chargers, pencils, and perhaps even a packed lunch, because, well, archival research almost always takes longer than expected!

09/05/2026

From an ATAR of 36 to a PhD and a UNE Rising Star Award, A/Prof Jillian Huntley says you just need to find your true passion to succeed.

09/05/2026

We're celebrating too! Very proud of all our class of 2026 humanities, arts and social sciences graduates!

08/05/2026

Congratulations to the graduating class from the School of Education! 🎓🥳

Welcome to our UNE Alumni Family 💚