Forum

Associate Professor Sam Baron (Philosophy) reflects on philosophical debates over what thoughts are, in this piece republished from the Conversation. You can doubt just about anything. But there’s one thing you can know for sure: you are having thoughts right now. This idea came to characterise the philosophical thinking of 17th century philosopher René Descartes. For […]

Dr Oleg Beyda (Lecturer in Russian History) reviews Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick’s latest book, Lost Souls: Soviet Displaced Persons and the Birth of the Cold War (Princeton University Press). A disaster. That was the fitting word for the Europe that emerged immediately after 1945, covered in soot from cities turned to ashes. Life had collapsed. Victorious […]

A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.

We are excited to welcome Lucilla Ronai as the Grimwade Centre’s new Assistant Lecturer in Paper Conservation. Luci has worked at prestigious institutions including the National Library of Australia, the Australian National Maritime Museum, and the Library of Trinity College Dublin. Passionate about sharing conservation knowledge, she runs the YouTube channel The Conservation Starter. Her […]

Dr Sarah Walsh (Hansen Lecturer in Global History) reflects on the rise of authoritarianism in the United States, in this article republished here from Pursuit. She argues that Americans should look much closer to home to understand what authoritarian regimes look like — the modern models of dictatorship in Latin America. As I watch reports […]

A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.

Dr Liam Byrne (Honorary Fellow, History) and Dr Emma Shortis (RMIT) look back on Joe Biden’s presidency, in this article, originally published in the Conversation. Should a US president by judged by what they achieved, or by what they failed to do? Joe Biden’s administration is over. Though we have an extensive record, it is […]

A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.

We congratulate students who won prizes in 2022 for excellence in the fields of Classics & Archaeology, Cultural Materials Conservation, Hebrew Studies, and History, and extend our thanks to the benefactors whose generosity has supported our students in their endeavours and has helped both to make possible and to recognise their achievements in these fields. […]

A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.

In October 2024 two teams of students from the University of Melbourne participated in the Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics (AAPAE) Tertiary Ethics Olympiad. These ethics athletes, or ‘eth-letes’, as they are known in the competition, went up against universities from across Australia. They were supported by coach Dr Alex Cain (Teaching Associate, Philosophy), who reports here […]

The Hansen Trust, established to advance the study of History at University of Melbourne, includes an annual PhD scholarship for the doctoral program in History in SHAPS. In 2024 the scholarship was awarded to Patrick Gigacz, who is researching the cultural history of electricity in Melbourne. Fellow PhD candidate Jesse Seeberg-Gordon sat down with Patrick for a conversation […]

A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.

Dr June Factor AM was a distinguished social historian who pioneered the study of children’s folklore in Australia and played an active role in public life, including as president of the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties (now Liberty Victoria), Friends of the ABC and the Australian Jewish Democratic Society. June’s work was an important influence […]

A new book by Dr Helen M. Davies (Honorary Fellow, History) explores the lives of two remarkable Jewish women in nineteenth-century France. The book sheds light on gender, family, and Jewish experiences in France, from the Napoleonic period through to the Dreyfus Affair. This adapted excerpt introduces the book’s main themes. My book, Herminie and […]

A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.