Category: News

Imagining a Different Internet
Last week, the US government released six principles for reforming Big Tech. It’s the latest example of growing efforts to regulate the handful of companies with enormous influence over the internet. But while there’s a growing appetite for a new, better kind of internet, it’s hard to imagine what that might look like. In this […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/09/29/imagining-different-internet
The Technical Study of Bernini’s Bronzes
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680) is famous for his contribution to Baroque Roman architecture and sculpture. Less well known is the fact that multiple bronze duplicates of his work were cast from his models. These have been generally neglected by art historians and conservators, partly under the influence of enduring myths about artistic genius and authorship. […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/09/26/the-technical-study-of-berninis-bronzes
Cuckoldry in Early Modern England
Early modern English culture displayed an obsession with women’s infidelity and anxieties around the shame this brought on their husbands. History major Joseph Moorhead explored this topic for the subject A History of Sexualities (HIST30004) in 2020, and was awarded the 2020 Laurie R Gardiner Prize for the best undergraduate essay in early modern British […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/09/19/cuckoldry-in-early-modern-england
Understanding the Experiences of Early Career Researchers
In May 2022, the History & Philosophy of Science (HPS) program hosted Nicole Nelson, Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who uses ethnographic and historical methods to study methods development and uncertainty in the biomedical sciences. During her visit, she delivered a public lecture, ‘Controlling the Interpretation of Replication Experiments’. In the lecture, Nicole […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/09/12/understanding-the-experiences-of-early-career-researchers
SHAPS Digest (August 2022)
Our new Hellenic Senior Lecturer in Global Diaspora Studies, Andonis Piperoglou (History), delivered a talk as part of the Greek Community of Melbourne’s Greek History & Culture Seminar series, on the topic ‘ “My kids are still called dagoes”: Historical Responses to an Irksome Racial Slur’. Racial slurs permeate our public vernacular. Throughout the United […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/09/05/shaps-digest-august-2022
Propaganda: Russia’s War on Ukraine, Part III
A video-recording of the third instalment in this series, featuring Professor Natalia Chaban (University of Canterbury), Dr Julie Fedor (University of Melbourne), Dr Robert Horvath (La Trobe University), and Dr Volodymyr Kulyk (National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine), speaking on the theme of 'Propaganda' (27 May 2022).
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/08/29/propaganda-russias-war-on-ukraine-part-iii
Introducing Dr Tristan Grøtvedt Haze
Tristan Grøtvedt Haze joined the University of Melbourne in 2022 as a Lecturer (Teaching Specialist) in Philosophy. His first book, Meaning and Metaphysical Necessity, was recently published by Routledge. Tristan specialises in metaphysics and logic, and teaches across a number of undergraduate Philosophy subjects. He also enjoys some rather funny extracurricular activities, which he explores […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/08/22/introducing-dr-tristan-grotvedt-haze
The SHAPS Hellenic Ball
This winter, SHAPS undergraduate student societies came together to embark on an ambitious and rewarding undertaking. Abigail Banister-Jones, Co-Consul/President of MUCLASS (Melbourne University Classics & Archaeology Student Society), reports on the inaugural SHAPS Ball below. Where else does one throw a ball for classics, history and philosophy students but the Hellenic Museum? Surrounded by artefacts […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/08/15/the-shaps-hellenic-ball
Remembering Stuart Macintyre
A videorecording of the two-day symposium honouring and celebrating Stuart Macintyre (24–25 February 2022).
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/08/08/remembering-stuart-macintyre
SHAPS Digest (July 2022)
A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/08/01/shaps-digest-july-2022
Working for Cultural Change in the Defence and Security Sector
Dr Samantha Crompvoets is best known as the government consultant who first reported on war crimes allegedly perpetrated by members of the Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan. While today Samantha runs a consulting company specialising in applied social science research, she began her academic career as an Honours student in the History & Philosophy of […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/07/25/cultural-change-in-defence
The Undoing of Roe v. Wade
On 24 June 2022, the US Supreme Court effectively overturned the decision on Roe v. Wade from 1973, which had previously established a constitutional right to abortion in the United States. In this article, republished from Pursuit, Hansen Lecturer in US History, Julia Bowes explores how “the US Supreme Court decision may embolden conservative grassroots […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/07/18/the-undoing-of-roe-v-wade
SHAPS Digest (June 2022)
A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/07/04/shaps-digest-june-2022
Yackandandah Museum Fire Project
In 2006, the small country town of Yackandandah in north-eastern Victoria lost precious cultural heritage when its museum was damaged by fire. In 2021, Grimwade Masters students Maddy Fraser, Joshua Loke and Samantha Rogers won a Willem Snoek Conservation Award to support a project aimed at assisting the local community and Yackandandah & District Historical […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/06/27/yackandandah-museum-fire-project
History: Russia’s War on Ukraine, Part II
A video-recording of the second instalment in this series, featuring Associate Professor Olga Bertelsen (Tiffin University), Associate Professor Oxana Shevel (Tufts University) and Professor Serhy Yekelchyk (University of Victoria), speaking on the theme of 'History' (29 April 2022).
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/06/20/history-russias-war-on-ukraine-part-ii
An Interview with Associate Professor Laura Schroeter
The School of Historical and Philosophical Studies congratulates Laura Schroeter on her recent promotion to Associate Professor. Specialising in Philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, and Metaethics, Laura has gained international recognition for her work on two-dimensional (2D) semantics and is famed for her ‘jazz model’ of concepts. As long-serving director of postgraduate studies in […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/06/13/an-interview-with-associate-professor-laura-schroeter
SHAPS Digest (May 2022)
A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/06/06/shaps-digest-may-2022
Domestic Violence and the Law in Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome didn’t have specific domestic violence legislation – but the laws they did have give us a window into a world of abuse. In this article, republished from the Conversation, SHAPS's Tim Parkin and Ash Finn, together with University of Sydney's Eleanor Cowan and Kimberly Harris; and Kirsten Parkin (University of Cambridge), discusses evidence for family violence in the Roman world and legal frameworks that both enabled and addressed it. Readers are advised this story includes depictions of domestic violence and violence against women and children.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/06/01/domestic-violence-and-the-law-in-ancient-rome
Why Wait? Treaty and the Federal Election
First Nations Peoples shouldn’t have to wait for non-Indigenous Australians and the Government to catch up when it comes to committing to Treaty. Julia Hurst from SHAPS and Sarah Middleton (SSPS) discuss in this recent article, republished from Pursuit. As Australia’s federal election approaches, we have seen some early jostling around the politics of entrenching […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/05/20/why-wait-treaty-and-the-federal-election
Resistance: Russia’s War on Ukraine, Part I
A video-recording of the first instalment in this special series of talks, featuring Dr Olga Boichak (Sydney), Dr Roman Horbyk (Lviv/Södertörn), and Professor Marko Pavlyshyn (Monash), speaking on the theme of 'Resistance' (8 April 2022).
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/05/13/resistance-russias-war-on-ukraine-part-i
Christianity, Colonisation and the Challenge of Māori History
A video-recording of the 2021 Ernest Scott Lecture, Part II, delivered by Dr Hirini Kaa (October 2021).
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/05/12/christianity-colonisation-and-the-challenge-of-maori-history
MAARC 2022 Conference Report
On 31 January-2 February 2022, SHAPS hosted the second Mediterranean Archaeology Australasian Research Community (MAARC) online conference. This event brought together researchers, students and ancient world enthusiasts from across the globe to share in some of the most recent and exciting updates in the Mediterranean archaeology space. Emily Tour (PhD candidate, Classics & Archaeology) shares […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/05/09/maarc-2022-conference-report
SHAPS Digest (April 2022)
A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/05/02/shaps-digest-april-2022
Hidden Women of History: ‘The Buzzwinker’ Ellen Miles, Child Convict, Goldfields Pickpocket and Vagrant
As part of a series in the Conversation, looking at under-acknowledged women through the ages, Janet McCalman examines the life of Ellen Miles, a child convict born in 1820s England, told through some of her court appearances throughout her life.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/04/25/hidden-women-of-history
An Interview with Dr Darrin Durant
Dr Darrin Durant is Senior Lecturer in Science and Technology Studies (STS) in the History & Philosophy of Science program. Darrin has published widely on the relation between experts and citizens in democratic decision-making, disinformation and democracy, climate and energy politics, as well as nuclear waste disposal. In this interview, Darrin kindly sat down with […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/04/18/an-interview-with-dr-darrin-durant
Miniature Qur’ans and Travelling Manuscripts
Didar: Stories of Middle Eastern Manuscripts, curated by the Grimwade Centre’s Sophie Lewincamp and Leila Alhagh, has just opened in the Arts West Gallery space. Featuring works from the Grimwade’s Middle Eastern Manuscripts Collection and the work of conservators and researchers, including Grimwade’s Sadra Zekrgoo, the exhibition was recently discussed in this article by Ruby […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/04/13/miniature-qurans-and-travelling-manuscripts
Scroll: A Journal by Student Conservators
Scroll is a student-led publication for conversations about cultural material, its study and preservation, based at the Grimwade Centre for Cultural Materials Conservation and backed by SC@M (Student Conservators at Melbourne). Founded in 2020, the Scroll story is a tale of turning lemons into lemonade. In this blog post, founding editors, Joshua Loke, Rachel Davis […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/04/11/scroll-a-journal-by-student-conservators
SHAPS Digest (March 2022)
A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/04/04/shaps-digest-march-2022
Five Must-Read Books about Russia and Ukraine: Our Expert Picks
Recently, five experts from universities across Australia – SHAPS’s Mark Edele and Julie Fedor, together with Judith Armstrong (School of Languages & Linguistics, UniMelb), Marko Pavlyshyn (Monash) and Stephen Fortescue (UNSW) – were invited to recommend a selection of books best illuminating Russia’s war in Ukraine. This article has been republished from The Conversation. 1. Ukraine: […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/03/31/five-must-read-books-about-russia-and-ukraine-our-expert-picks
Inches Apart: Railways & Federation
History major Patrick Gigacz explores the history of the state borders in Australia through the prism of the 1921 Royal Commission over railway gauges in this prize-winning essay produced for the subject Controversies in Australian History (HIST30064) in 2021. The pandemic has reminded many Australians that they live in a federation of states. Passionate public […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/03/28/inches-apart-railways-federation
MUCLASS in 2021
Melbourne University Classics and Archaeology Students Society (MUCLASS) is a club for anyone interested in ancient history, mythology, archaeology or the Classics. They run a broad range of social and academic events, including trivia nights, museum visits, board game sessions, and film screenings. In this profile, we look at their achievements in 2021 and plans […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/03/21/muclass-in-2021
Stuart Macintyre’s History of the Communist Party of Australia
“The crimson thread of communism runs through the work of the great, lamented Australian historian, Stuart Macintyre“, late Emeritus Professor in SHAPS. His colleague Professor Sean Scalmer reviews Stuart Macintyre’s last book, The Party: The Communist Party of Australia from Heyday to Reckoning (Allen & Unwin, 2022), in this recent article, republished from The Conversation. […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/03/17/stuart-macintyre-history-of-communist-party-of-australia
An Interview with Associate Professor François Schroeter
SHAPS congratulates François Schroeter from Philosophy on his recent promotion to Associate Professor. Originally from Switzerland, where he completed his PhD at the University of Fribourg, François joined the University of Melbourne in 2003. His academic work spans both Continental philosophy and Western analytic philosophy, with special interests in metaethics, moral psychology, Kantian ethics, and […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/03/14/an-interview-with-associate-professor-francois-schroeter
SHAPS Digest (February 2022)
A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/03/11/shaps-digest-february-2022
Solidarity with Ukraine
On 3–5 February 2022, scholars from sixteen countries around the world – 179 participants in all – gathered online for a Ukrainian Studies conference marking the 30th anniversary of Ukrainian independence. Since 24 February, we have followed with grief and horror the unfolding catastrophe in Ukraine after the Russian Federation’s unprovoked and illegal invasion. The […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/03/07/solidarity-with-ukraine
‘National Security’ and Australian Identity
Dr Mia Martin Hobbs examines the history of the phrase 'national security' and its use in Australian public life.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/03/04/national-security
Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe
Dr Charlotte-Rose Millar is a cultural historian specialising in supernatural belief and popular print in early modern England. In 2021 she co-ordinated the second-year History subject Witch-hunting in European Societies (HIST20080). Recent graduate Jen McFarland sat down with Charlotte to talk about her research. What first drew you to witchcraft as an area of research? […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/02/28/witchcraft
Safe Sex – Roman Style
A video-recording of Professor Tim Parkin's presentation to the SHAPS Fellows & Associates Seminar (October 2021)
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/02/21/safe-sex-roman-style
Exploring the History of Indian Philosophy
Purushottama Bilimoria (Principal Fellow in Philosophy) is co-editor (with Amy Rayner) of a major volume, History of Indian Philosophy. Covering three thousand years of Indian philosophy, with 58 contributors, the volume was published as part of the Routledge History of World Philosophies series in 2018 and recently re-issued in paperback. In this interview by Philosophy […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/02/14/exploring-the-history-of-indian-philosophy
SHAPS Digest (January 2022)
A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/02/07/shaps-digest-january-2022
Mynas Matter: Towards a Cultural History of ‘Invasive’ Species in Australia
History PhD candidate Simon Farley is investigating settler Australian attitudes towards non-native wildlife from the 1820s to the present. In this article, they reflect on the historical entanglement of ‘invasive’ species with the politics of immigration and indigeneity. How is a myna like Pauline Hanson? No, it’s not a riddle. It is a question a […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/01/31/mynas-matter
Maternal Metamorphosis: How Mothering Has Changed in Australia Since the Second World War
How has motherhood and mothering changed in Australia over the last 75 years? Interviews with more than 60 Australian women in a recent research project demonstrate their distinctive experiences over three broad generational eras, ranging from the postwar period to the era of second-wave feminism in the 1970s and 1980s to the parenting of the […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/01/28/maternal-metamorphosis
How to Pursue a Career in Archaeology
In this interview, four of our recent graduates share their insights and advice on how to go about building a career in archaeology. Current PhD candidate Tom Keep spoke with Monique Corbett, an archaeologist working with Heritage Insight; Rachel Slocombe, a subcontracting archaeologist who is currently working with Australia Cultural Heritage Management; Gemma Lee, a […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/01/24/how-to-pursue-a-career-in-archaeology
Defining Political Terrorism
Emeritus Professor Tony Coady’s latest book, The Meaning of Terrorism (Oxford University Press, 2021), explores competing ways of thinking about political terrorism and its consequences. In this interview with Associate Professor Dan Halliday, Tony Coady explains how and why he came to write the book, and introduces the ongoing philosophical debates over how to define […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/01/17/the-meaning-of-terrorism
We Need to Rethink How We Manage Deathcare
Australia’s deathcare system is already showing cracks, but the pressures will only worsen, especially as the baby boomer generation takes us into ‘peak death’. A team of scholars from the University’s DeathTech research team, including SHAPS’s Mike Arnold, explore the topic in this article recently published on Pursuit Death is a phenomenon like no other. […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/01/15/we-need-to-rethink-how-we-manage-deathcare
Performances on the World Stage
A video-recording of the 2021 Greg Dening Memorial Lecture, delivered by Dr Jenny Bulstrode.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/01/10/performances-on-the-world-stage
Paintings Conservation Fellowship at Harvard Art Museums
After completing a Masters of Cultural Materials Conservation at the University of Melbourne, Ruby Awburn spent two years in the United States as the Richard I Shader Fellow in Paintings Conservation at the Straus Centre for Conservation and Technical Studies at Harvard Art Museums. Ruby recently returned to Australia to take up a new role […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2022/01/03/paintings-conservation-fellowship-at-harvard-art-museums
The UniMelb History Society in 2021
The UniMelb History Society is a student-led club for people who are studying or interested in history. Headed by a committee of passionate history buffs, our aims include promoting the study of history; providing a social network for fellow history buffs on campus and beyond; and running history-themed events such as trivia nights, film screenings, […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/12/29/the-unimelb-history-society-in-2021
SHAPS Digest (November–December 2021)
A monthly roundup of media commentary, publications, projects and other news from across the School community.
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/12/23/shaps-digest-november-2021
Return to Vietnam: Mapping American and Australian Veterans’ Journeys
Between 1981 and 2016, thousands of American and Australian veterans returned to Vietnam on journeys of reconciliation, healing and remembrance. Their stories became the focus of Mia Martin Hobbs’s PhD dissertation, a transnational, comparative oral history project tracing their return journeys. In this article, Mia discusses her research, investigating why these veterans returned and what […]
blogs.unimelb.edu.au/shaps-research/2021/12/21/return-to-vietnam-mapping-american-and-australian-veterans-journeys

Number of posts found: 372