TASA - The Australian Sociology Association

President
Michael Gilding

Michael Gilding is a professor of Sociology at the Institute for Social Research, and Deputy Dean Research in the Faculty of Life and Social Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. His main interests are the sociology of families and intimacy, economic sociology, and the sociology of science and technology. Recent ARC-funded projects include studies on family fortunes and inheritance (Journal of Sociology 41), biotechnology clusters and networks (Research Policy 37), and the social dimensions of DNA paternity testing (Sociology 43).

Current projects include collaborative studies of knowledge diffusion (with the CSIRO Niche Manufacturing Flagship), bio-diagnostic healthcare systems (with the European Union SmartHealth Integrated Project), and community policing (with Victoria Police).

Vice President
Debra King

I am currently a Senior Research Fellow in the National Institute of Labour Studies at Flinders University. This is a multi-disciplinary team in which I provide a sociological (in particular, a qualitative) perspective on issues relating to work and employment. I have several interests within this field, including the role of emotion in the organisation and experience of work, the relationship between work and well-being, and understanding more about women’s work (especially care work). My current research is on paid care work and work-force issues (aged care, child care, mental health and cancer care) and on the well-being of farmers during drought.

I first became involved with TASA as a postgraduate student when I received a scholarship to attend the annual conference. Since then I have been a regular participant at TASA conferences, and have been invited to speak on a couple of panels (one as a postgraduate student, one as an early career researcher). In 2000 I convened the TASA conference at Flinders with Jason Pudsey, at which I discovered my penchant for supplying affordable, good quality food and refreshments at public functions. This has since become a trademark of the events I organise and I fear it may even exceed my reputation as a ‘serious’ sociologist! I was on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Sociology from 2001-2005 and have reviewed articles for JOS and for various Sections in the conference proceedings. In 2006 I convened the TASA Public Lecture at which we (once again) enjoyed bountiful food and wine after hearing Anthony Elliott speak.

My current interests in TASA include supporting disciplinary strengths within multi-disciplinary teams and in the issues facing early and mid career researchers within the current higher education context. These are issues that are relevant to many TASA members and I am well placed to see how these can be investigated further. I am very supportive of TASA’s efforts to increase the public profile of TASA members, and sociology more broadly, within the Australian context and look forward to contributing to their work in this area. I have enjoyed my last two years on the Executive Committee as a General Member and am looking forward to my term as Vice President.

Secretary
Eileen Clark

I was elected to the Executive in 2004 and became Secretary in 2006, but my involvement in TASA dates back to around the mid 1980s, when I attended the memorable conference at the University of New England where the campus was blanketed in snow. I soon joined the women’s section within TASA, and then the health section.

Since 1989 I have worked at La Trobe University’s campus in Wodonga, on the NSW–Victoria border, where I am a Senior Lecturer in the Division of Nursing and Midwifery (although I am not a nurse). This means that I sometimes suffer a degree of professional isolation, and I find that TASA is invaluable in keeping me in touch with my discipline. My teaching has been mainly in the areas of health sociology and research methods. I will be scaling down my teaching in 2009 to concentrate more on research and publications.

My research has concentrated mainly in the areas of mental health and ageing well, along with some studies of nursing practices done in partnership with local hospitals. In 2008 I received a grant with Helen Marshall (RMIT) and John Germov (Newcastle) to investigate the teaching of sociology in Australia.

Treasurer
Wendy Hillman

I began my undergraduate career in Sociology at LaTrobe University. After travelling around Australia, I completed my Bachelor (Honours) degree in Sociology at James Cook University, where I also completed a research Master of Social Science, a Graduate Certificate of Education (Tertiary Teaching), and a research PhD. I received my PhD scholarship from Tropical Savannas CRC, and contributed to sociological accounts of the Australian outback and ecotourism industry. I then relocated to the University of Queensland, where I held the position of Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Social Work and Applied Human Sciences. Currently I am employed at Central Queensland University, where I hold a Lecturing position in Sociology.

Sociology has long been my passion, and I have been a member of TASA since 1997, attending many of the conferences. While I was a postgraduate student, I was actively involved in both university and community service, where I represented postgraduate students at a local, regional and national level for four years.

I have taught Sociology across campuses and Faculties, and have an interest in furthering the discipline both professionally and educationally. I am currently the TASA Treasurer, a post which I have held for a term of two years, from January 2007 to December 2008. I have recently been re-elected to the position of Treasurer on the TASA Executive Committee, for the term of 2009-2010. I plan to work vigorously, diligently and tirelessly to support the Association and other Executive members, and to boost the profile of Sociology both in Australia and internationally.

General Member
Alan Petersen

I am a Professor of Sociology in the School of Political and Social Inquiry, Faculty of Arts, Monash University. Before that I worked at Plymouth University (2001-2007), Murdoch University (1992-2001), Curtin University (1988-1992) and Murdoch University (1986-1987). My research interests span the fields of the sociology of health and illness, the sociology of new technologies, and gender and society. At Monash, I am Discipline Convenor of Sociology, and lead the research cluster, Health, Wellbeing and Social Change. I have strong links with a number of overseas' universities, and hold honorary visiting professorships at City University, London, Plymouth University and King's College, London. I also serve on the editorial boards or advisory boards of a number of international journals.

I have been involved in TASA since 1981, having helped co-convened the Western Australian section of the health thematic group and participated in numerous conferences over the years. I edited Health Social Science Review (now Health Sociology Review) at one stage. While in the UK, I was an active participant in the BSA Medical Sociology group and developed strong networks in Britain and in Europe. Having recently joined the Executive of TASA, I'm particularly keen to promote our organisation at the national and international levels, utilising the networks that I have developed. In recent years, I have been involved in coordinating and/or chairing three UK/Australian sociology panels: in Perth (TASA 2006), Sussex (BSA MedSoc 2008) and Melbourne (TASA 2008). I believe that much more can be done to promote our discipline through, for example, engagement in key policy debates (e.g. climate change, economic issues), particularly in areas which are currently dominated by other expertise, and encouraging new entrants to the field; e.g. PhD scholarships. The permeability of Sociology's boundaries is both a strength and a weakness: its perspectives are widened by contributions from various fields, but it is also vulnerable to appropriation by subjects such as marketing, cultural studies, and media studies. As a member of the executive I would like to advance discussion about Sociology's distinctive contributions and about the particularities of Australian Sociology.

Postgraduate Member
Peta Freestone

I completed a BA at La Trobe University and later returned to study at Swinburne University of Technology, where my ‘sociological imagination’ was first ignited. Honours in Sociology soon followed and I’m now pursuing a PhD at The University of Melbourne. My research interests are varied and include development studies, science and technology studies and economic sociology. My PhD thesis is examining the social, economic and political influences on the development of scientific innovations for neglected diseases, with a specific focus on scientists pursuing a new tuberculosis vaccine.

I am relatively new to the TASA fold, having attended my first conference in 2007. When presenting my first paper in Auckland, I was amazed at the support I received from TASA members. Considering this, I jumped straight in to TASA activities at the conference and decided to commit my time for the next few years as a co-convenor in the Economic Sociology thematic group. Working with two other co-convenors, 2008 saw us achieve several milestones, including the launch of a new website and associated e-newsletter for the group.

As the TASA postgraduate member for 2009-2010, I look forward to coordinating the existing opportunities for postgraduates including the conference scholarships and postgraduate workshop. I also hope to work towards generating further interest in TASA amongst students engaged in sociology and in other related disciplines – both to increase TASA membership and to further foster community amongst emerging scholars.

I hope to further contribute by developing and promoting online resources for TASA postgraduates (this may particularly benefit part-time students and those who work from home). I also intend to assess interest in a TASA mentoring program, pairing early year postgraduate students with early-mid career researchers as an additional resource and networking opportunity outside of students’ immediate supervisory environment. I therefore welcome feedback and suggestions, particularly in these two areas, and also regarding other areas in the postgraduate member brief.

General Member
Angela Dwyer

Dr Angela Dwyer is a sociologist and since joining the School of Justice in 2007, has been a recipient of three Faculty of Law Vice Chancellor's Performance Fund awards in 2007 and 2008 for her "significant and superior contribution to the work of the university". She has previously worked as a sessional academic at QUT for seven years in the Faculties of Education, Law and Creative Industries. She completed her doctoral studies in the Faculty of Education in 2006. Her research reconceptualised the relationship that fashion models have with young girls as a pedagogical relationship where embodied knowledge is transmitted for better and worse. This project feeds into her broader areas of interest in the pathologising and demonising of young people in the media and public culture, the commodification of women’s bodies, and the sociology of deviance.

Angela is currently conducting a research project on how queer young people experience policing. The second project is concerned with gathering empirical data about sex trafficking in Australia. Both these projects link in with Angela’s passion for research that seeks to improve the lives of marginalised and disenfranchised people. The intersection between youthful/sexual/subcultural identities, government policy, policing, and public space is of particular importance to Angela in her future research endeavours. Her other research interests include gender and sexuality issues, sex trafficking, prostitution, sex and crime, the body and criminality, young people and popular culture, and qualitative research methods.

Angela was recently elected as General Member of The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Executive Committee for 2009-2010, and established a scholarship for Sociologists Outside Academe to maximise the participation of non-academic sociologists with the organisation. Prior to this, she was the elected Postgraduate Member for this committee. As well as making issues of postgraduate members known to the committee, she has also convened three Postgraduate Workshops for the Annual TASA Conference. Prior to this, Angela served as Postgraduate Representative for the Postgraduate Students Association and, most recently, the Higher Degrees Research Committee at QUT. In this role, she organised a successful conference (‘New Researchers for New Times’) for postgraduate students in the education faculty at QUT in October 2005. Angela is a fully-accredited supervisor and is available to supervise research in any of her research areas of interest.

Current research interests include: Sexualities and the criminal justice system, Youthful identities, criminality and public space, Sexualities, Schooling and human rights, Sex and crime, Sex trafficking, Prostitution, Pregnant embodiment and social justice, Sociology of deviance/criminology and Qualitative research methodologies.

General Member
Jo Lindsay

Jo Lindsay is a senior lecturer in sociology in the School of Political and Social Inquiry (PSI) at the Clayton campus of Monash University. Her research interests are in family sociology (particularly family diversity and work/care arrangements) and health sociology (particularly youth and alcohol consumption). Jo teaches ‘Introduction to Sociology’ and the 2nd and 3rd level units ‘Families, Labour and Intimacy’ and ‘Youth, Culture and Social Change’.