School of Humanities, Languages and Social Science, Griffith University

31/08/2026

🌟 August HLSS Staff Feature – Dr Kayla Mildren

This month, we’re featuring Dr Kayla Mildren, an ECR and Research Fellow in HLSS.

After completing her PhD in HLSS, Kayla recently joined us as a Research Fellow. In this feature, Kayla discusses her team-based research, teaching, and other independent projects she is currently undertaking with various teams across the School. This includes her work on a major project led by Dr Clarissa Carden and with Professor Barbara Pini and Associated Professor Margaret Gibson. The project, funded by the TAFE Centre of Excellence Health Care and Support, investigates training needs for disability support workers in relation to clients with complex and challenging behaviours. She also regularly teaches both in HLSS and other Schools, and reflects on how teaching across the University informs her practice as an educator.

Kayla is one of many ECRs in HLSS making important contributions across research, teaching, and industry engagement, while helping to shape interdisciplinary research collaborations across the School.

28/08/2026

🗞️ HLSS in the media

Last week, Dr Susan Grantham Senior Lecturer in Communication, joined Steve Austin on ABC612 for a live radio segment. The segment was made even more meaningful because it was produced by Harrison Jan, a former HLSS student who graduated from Griffith University last week and is now filling in at ABC Studios after completing an internship there earlier this year.

Current student Emma Standen was also invited to observe the broadcast and gain firsthand insight into how live radio works. From current student to graduate to industry professional, it was a great example of education coming full circle and the opportunities that emerge when learning and industry connect.

27/08/2026

🏆 Research Student Success

Congratulations to Yasmin Khan, PhD candidate in HLSS, on winning Griffith University's Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Final.

Yasmin's presentation, 'Behind the Bridal Henna', spoke to her PhD thesis which examines the experiences of South Asian women in Australia who experience domestic abuse from mothers-in-law. Through a series of podcasts, her research seeks to amplify the voices of women whose stories are often overlooked and to explore how these experiences are shaped by cultural expectations, migration, and Australian legal and social contexts.

The research resonated strongly with the judges, highlighting the power of humanities research to bring complex social issues into public conversation and give voice to experiences that often remain hidden.

In reflecting on her win, Yasmin also acknowledged the support of her supervision team, Professor Susan Forde (HLSS), Associate Professor Heather Anderson (HLSS), and Dr Zoe Rathus (Law School), as well as colleagues across HLSS who supported her throughout the competition.

With her win, Yasmin receives $1,500 and will go on to represent Griffith University at the Asia-Pacific 3MT Final in October, where she will compete against research students from across the region.

🔗 Read more about Yasmin's 3MT success here: https://lnkd.in/gEZbCNuc

21/08/2026

🎓 PhD Scholarship Opportunity

Dr Clarissa Carden and Associate Professor Drew Rae are seeking expressions of interest for an industry PhD scholarship exploring how organisations measure and report safety information.

Supported through a partnership with Global Safety Innovation, the scholarship provides $50,000 per year for three years. The project will explore the conditions under which innovation in safety measurement is possible, and it involves working between Griffith and industry and will include focused blocks of time embedded in industry.

The supervisory team brings together expertise in organisational safety, human factors, community-engaged research, and social justice, and includes Dr Clarissa Carden, Associate Professor Drew Rae, and industry human factors and safety specialist Zoë Nation.

Applications are particularly encouraged from candidates with a background in sociology or safety studies, with experience in heavy industry or applying safety in the workplace highly regarded.

📅 Expressions of interest close 11 September 2026.

Find out how to express your interest, or learn more here:

There are multiple scholarships available within the Uni-Start Equity Scholarship - which are available ti students in financial hardship, and/or education disadvantage .

18/08/2026

📚 Research Recognition

Congratulations to Associate Professor Heather Anderson, whose book

People Powered Radio: The History of Brisbane Community Radio Station 4ZZZ' has been shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards Lord Mayor’s People’s Choice Award.

Since their inception in 1999, the Queensland Literary Awards have recognised and celebrated the work of Queensland and Australian writers across a range of genres and disciplines.

Drawing on extensive research, 'People Powered Radio' traces the history of Brisbane's iconic community radio station 4ZZZ and its role in shaping alternative media, music, culture, and social change in Queensland.

The Lord Mayor’s People’s Choice Award is decided entirely by public vote.

🔗 For those with an interest in media, community radio, and Queensland, you can learn more about the book here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-05689-4

🗳️ Learn more about, and vote in the Lord Mayor’s People’s Choice Award here: https://bwf.org.au/queensland-literary-awards/peoples-choice-award-voting

10/08/2026

🍓 As Queenslanders head to the Ekka this week, many will be making a beeline for one of its most iconic traditions: the strawberry sundae.

In a recent blog for the State Library of Queensland, Dr Kaya Barry and PhD Candidate Emily House explore the history behind this much-loved show treat and what it can tell us about farming, food production, and agricultural life in southeast Queensland.

Drawing on their research as Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) Fellows, Kaya and Emily trace the connections between the strawberry sundae, regional farming communities, and the search for the region's "Big Strawberry".

As they note, the show-staple combination of strawberry ice cream, whipped cream, a fresh strawberry, and a wafer cone tells a much richer story about Queensland's agricultural heritage.

🔗 Read 'From farm gate to Ekka strawberry sundae - a search of the Big Strawberry' on the State Library of Queensland website:

For more than 70 years, Queenslanders have flocked to the Ekka to enjoy one of its best known icons – the strawberry sundae. The design is simple: a wafer cone filled with strawberry ice cream, a layer of whipped cream, and topped with a fresh strawberry. This show-staple tells a rich history of f...

07/08/2026

🎤 TEDxBrisbane Talk Now Live

Earlier this year, Associate Professor Heather Anderson spoke at TEDxBrisbane on community radio, public debate, and the importance of maintaining spaces where diverse perspectives can be heard.

Her talk, informed by decades of involvement with community broadcasting and research on alternative media, is now available to watch online.

🔗 Watch the talk here:

Women's suffrage. The abolition of slavery. Marriage equality. Befo...

31/07/2026

🌟 July HLSS Staff Feature – Dr Mingyan Amy Hu (SFHEA)

This month, we’re featuring Dr Mingyan Hu, an award‑winning language educator and researcher in HLSS.

Mingyan’s work explores the dynamic relationship between language, curriculum, policy, and technology, with a particular focus on how these forces shape, and are shaped by, the evolving landscape of higher education. Her current research examines the responsible use of AI in education, while her teaching focuses on translating research into practice, including the design of assessment approaches that support meaningful learning in an age of AI.

In this feature, Mingyan reflects on her research and teaching, as well as the Chinese Language Immersion Project, funded through the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan. Over two consecutive years, the project has supported 22 Griffith students to undertake immersive language and cultural learning experiences in China, with funding totalling $171,600.

Through her efforts, Mingyan’s research and teaching continue to explore how language, technology, and education intersect in an increasingly connected world.

29/07/2026

📍 July has been a busy month for conferences and research engagement across HLSS.

Recently, Associate Professor Heather Anderson delivered a special plenary lecture at the KISMIF Conference in Porto, Portugal, a transglobal forum that brings together researchers, academics, activists, and artists to explore alternative cultures, grassroots resistance, and social innovation.

Heather's lecture, 'Airwaves of Resistance: DIY Media and the Struggle for Alternative Futures', examined community radio as an infrastructure of care, drawing on 4ZZZ as a case study. The presentation aligned closely with this year's conference theme, "DIY Cultures, Crisis and Critical Imagination".

Hosted by Paula Guerra (Universidade do Porto) and Professor Andy Bennett (HLSS), the conference brought together international perspectives on culture, media, and social change.

27/07/2026

📚 Journal Article Alert!

Senior Lecturer Kaya Barry has published a new article, ‘Geographies of the seasons’, in Dialogues in Human Geography.

In the article, Kaya explores how seasonal concerns, from going through the 'seasons of life' or experiencing the 'winter blues', to celebrating the harvest or lunar new year, to preparing for 'storm season', are evident in all kinds of social and political practices. The article also describes how these seasonal concerns cannot be decoupled from settler-colonial powers and capitalist logics. Within, she asks: How might geographies of the seasons help resist increasingly 'unseasonable' or 'aseasonal' futures?

🔗 Read the article here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20438206261469573