 | Dear ~~first_name~~,
It’s May and TASA’s calendar is blooming with activity!
This month is packed with opportunities, events, and celebrations across our sociological community. Here’s just a taste of what’s coming up in May:
- Call for Conveners: Expressions of interest close for our inaugural Career Stage Groups
- Urban Sociology Event: Submit your contribution to this exciting thematic event
- Career Development Grants: Applications are due soon!
- Award Nominations: Deadline for the ECR Best Paper Prize and the Postgraduate Impact & Engagement Award
- Book Launch: Celebrate the release of The Male Complaint, authored by fellow member Simon Copland
- TASA Thursdays: Two rich sessions this month:
- Reimagining Menopause: Mobilising Radical Imaginaries Across Social, Creative and Clinical Domains
- Sociology of Music in Action
Whether you're applying, nominating, attending, or just taking it all in, we encourage you to get involved, there’s something for everyone this May at TASA:-)
Finally, if you missed last week’s TASA Thursdays Postgraduate Session, Breaking Your Research Out of the Academic Bubble, with fellow members Zoe Staines and Laetitia Coles, you can now catch up online here! This engaging session explored practical strategies for sharing your research beyond traditional academic audiences and building broader impact. Whether you’re just starting your postgraduate journey or looking to expand your reach, the recording is packed with valuable insights.
Read on below for all the details, links, and ways to get involved this May.
| Welcome to Our New Members!
| Starting this week, we’re launching a new section in our newsletter to warmly welcome new TASA members. Each week, we’ll introduce those who have recently joined our sociological community, whether they’re students, early career, or long-time sociologists finding their way to TASA for the first time.
To kick things off, we're delighted to introduce everyone who has joined TASA in 2025 so far. All 68 of you:-) We’re thrilled to have you with us, and we hope you feel at home in our inclusive and engaged community.
TASA exists because of our members, and we're made stronger by each new voice that joins.
Welcome aboard! |
- Faiqa Ahmad
- Sultan Ahmed
- Kirsten Ambrens
- Kim Andreassen
- Mahreen Baloch
- Susan Barnes
- Bonita Cabiles
- Erin Carisle
- Ying Wei Chin
- Bella Choo
- Samantha Clune
- Clue Coman
- Skye Constantine
- Vianca de la Cruz
- Karl Dixon
- Laura Doniec
- Gene Khyle
- Francis Galvez
- Rai Ganguly
- Gina Gatarin
- Jessamy Gleeson
- Anthea Hancocks
- A.B.M. Enamol Hassan
- Garrity Hill
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- Sally Hourigan
- Jack Hynes
- Amy Johnson
- Gurpreet Kaur
- Hassan Khalil
- Diwakar Khanal
- Meg Lee
- Jessie Liu
- Jiacheng Liu
- Ajay Malik
- Giulia Marchetti
- Agustina Marianacci
- Jordan McArthur
- Eldin Milak
- Md Azmain Muhtasim Mir
- Edwina Moran
- Ebony Muller
- Obumneke Muoneke
- Indi Murry-Lyon
- Scott Musgrave-Takeda
- Nicole Oke
- Constanza Pavez
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- Jordina Quain
- Thais Queiroz
- Libby Richardson
- Zac Roberts
- Di Rodger
- Scott Selkirk
- Claire Shannon
- Md Mamunur Rashid Sheikh
- Junfei Shi
- Tunvir Shohel
- Keshab Silwal
- Danae Smith
- Dhiren Swain
- Tarun
- Justine Topham
- Thuy Tran
- Calvin Truong
- Makanaka Tuwe
- Caitlin van Hoffen
- Pavithra Wickramage
- Scarlet Wilcock
- Natascha Wilson
- Rosie Yasmin
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Watego, C., Brady, K., Hassall, K., Macoun, A., Mukandi, B., Singh, D., Staines, Z., & Strakosch, E. 2025. Understanding and transforming Indigenous policy evaluation. In. Lahn, J., Strakosch, E., Sullivan, P. (Eds.) Bureaucratic Occupation: Government and First Nations Peoples, pp 275-291. Springer Nature. Available: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-67733-5_16
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Staines, Z. 2025. Beyond Robodebt and towards restored trust: exploring universal basic income as a counterpoint for Australian women. Australian Journal of Political Science, https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2025.2492044 [open access].
Young, C., Teng, H. W., & Kaur, G. (2025). Migrant Capital and Civic Practices During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Intercultural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2025.2481379 [open access].
| Call for Conveners;
Inaugural Career Stage Groups
| Last week, we shared exciting news about the launch of our new Career Stage Groups (CSGs), a dedicated initiative designed to build community, foster peer support, and offer targeted opportunities for TASA members at every stage of their professional journey. These five groups - Student, Early Career, Mid Career, Senior, and Retired - mirror the structure of our Thematic Groups and will be led by one or more conveners.
Conveners will be supported by Ali (Membership Director), Penny (Events Manager), and Sally in TASA Admin, as well as TASA's Executive, and will have access to a TASAweb Control Panel to engage with their group members and help shape initiatives that matter.
If you’re passionate about professional development, peer support, and helping nurture the diverse pathways of sociologists in Australia, this is a fantastic opportunity to get involved.
We’re seeking enthusiastic members to serve as inaugural conveners who:
- Are committed to TASA’s values and goals
- Demonstrate inclusive, proactive leadership
- Have experience and/or interest in professional development and community-building.
For the full Call for Conveners, please read on...
To express an interest, please submit a brief statement outlining your interest and relevant experience by 20 May via the orange link below.
| New: Contesting Military Identities
Monday 22nd September
TASA's Cultural Sociology Thematic Group in conjunction with UniSA, Flinders University and the Military Organisation and Culture Studies Group are hosting a 1-day conference in Adelaide and online around the theme of Contesting Military Identities.
Increased geo-strategic competition, the return of conventional warfare in Europe, the global rise in religious nationalism and the current US administration’s weaponisation of equity initiatives raises important questions around the diversity of identities within the military and current public sentiment towards the armed forces. Whereas Foucault famously cast the soldier as an ideal type of the docile body and sociologists commonly see the military as the ultimate example of a total institution, recent sociological research on the military has increasingly pointed to a variety of different military cultures, often existing in tension and competition with each other, with the service person, veteran and their families active in advocating for political and organisational change.
Abstract submission deadline: July 1st. Read on... | Knowing the City – movements, epistemologies, and visions
A one-day conference, 9 October, The University of Sydney
This event aims to explore ways of knowing the city and how these manifest in planning and the construction of the built environment.
The conference theme will be interpreted broadly and will include the following themes:
• Competing epistemologies and their translation into housing/planning policy
• Data, algorithms, and the city
• Infrastructures of Care
• Social movements related to the city
• Alternative ways of knowing the built environment such as through play or artistic expression
• Co-operative approaches to the city
Presentations at the conference will be recorded for use on the Urban Sociology TG webpage. The convenors will edit a special issue or collection of essays from conference presentations.
Abstract submission deadline: May 25th. Read on...
| TASA Thursdays | Reimagining Menopause: Mobilising Radical Imaginaries Across Social, Creative and Clinical Domains
Join us on Thursday 15th May at 12:30pm (AEST) for our TASA Thursdays session Reimagining Menopause: Mobilising Radical Imaginaries Across Social, Creative and Clinical Domains. Drawing on insights from a 2024 workshop supported by our TASA Gary Bouma Memorial Grant, this session explores how menopause can be reimagined beyond conventional norms. Hear from the team at UNSW Sydney as they share learnings and provocations that challenge dominant narratives and open up more inclusive understandings of menopause.
REGISTER HERE | | | TASA Thursdays Sociology of Music in Action
🗓 Thursday 29 May | 🕧 12:30pm – 1:30pm AEST | 📍 Zoom | 🎟 Free
Join us as we spotlight exciting new research from the Sociology of Music Thematic Group. Explore the impact of ‘stadiumism’ on regional musicians with fellow member Christine Bosworth, and uncover gendered utopias in DIY music scenes with fellow member Hannah Fairlamb. Don’t miss this fascinating dive into how music, place, and identity intersect in contemporary sociological research.
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The annual TASA Career Development Grant is now open for applications. The grant seeks to support the career development activities of TASA members where these activities are not covered by other funding.
A total of AU$4,500 is available, with a maximum of AU$1,500 available per applicant.
| | | | The call for expressions of interest for our 2026 Gary Bouma Workshop Program is now open. TASA can fund up to two workshops at AU$5000.00 each.
Successful workshops will advance research within sociology and showcase TASA as the face of sociological/interdisciplinary research in the region; engaging with issues of national concern; advancement of knowledge; support innovative ideas, and, the potential of feeding into policy and practice development.
Expression of interest deadline: July 14th.
| | | TASA Awards currently open for nominations include:
Nominations for these four awards close on 17 July.
Due to the assessment process, nominations for these two awards close earlier on 15 May.
Nominees will be notified of the outcome in August (for most awards) and October (for the JMA). Award recipients will be formally announced at our TASA 2025 Conference Dinner in November.
| | Scholarship Opportunities
| PhD Scholarships
Three PhD scholarship opportunities are available as part of a new Australian Research Council funded Discovery Project: Youth Futures after Mobility (YFAM). Deakin University x 2 & Edith Cowan University x 1.
Project 1 (Deakin): Comparison of Mobile Youth (quantitative), with fellow member Anita Harris.
Project 2 (Deakin): Mobile Youth, Transitions & Settling (qualitative/mixed methods), with fellow member Anita Harris.
Project 3 (ECU): Mobile Youth, Transitions & Settling (qualitative/mixed methods).
Applications will remain open until candidates are appointed.
| | Other Events, News & Opportunities |  | The Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS) has just released its 2025 Federal Election Statement, urging Australia’s next government to strengthen national capabilities in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS).
HASS plays a vital role in shaping an informed, democratic, and globally engaged Australia. From training the future workforce to preserving cultural heritage and contributing to export income through education and tourism - HASS matters. But its contributions are often overlooked, under-valued, and under-resourced.
CHASS, representing over 50 member organisations, outlines four key actions for the next government:
- Support curiosity-driven research – not just commercially driven outcomes, but the kind of big-thinking, civilisation-saving research that history shows pays off.
- Repeal Job-Ready Graduates – scrap the failed policy that punishes HASS students with higher debts and fewer opportunities.
- Rethink international student caps – ensure consistent policy that values international students and their contribution to our economy and universities.
- Properly fund the GLAM sector – support our national cultural institutions to preserve and celebrate our shared heritage.
These aren’t just policies, they're about Australia’s future as a democratic, culturally rich, and educated society.
We encourage you to read and share the full CHASS statement available here.
Let’s stand together to ensure that HASS has a strong and secure place in Australia’s next chapter.
| | The Male Complaint
Join fellow member Simon Copland discussing his latest book.
May 22nd, 5:30pm - 7:00pm AEST, Acton, Canberra
| | | A resource for postcolonial/southern sociology
For colleagues wanting to bring global-South perspectives into courses on sociological theory, gender, migration, development, social change, education: take a look at a new book which includes all those topics, in social thought from South-East Asia, South Asia, Africa, MENA, Eastern Europe, South America. Has some useful teaching notes, and a glossary for students. It's TTheory Reimagined: Voices of Sociologists from Around the World, eds Rianka Roy, Anjana Narayan, Melanie Heath and Bandana Purkayastha, Frontpage Publications, 2025. | New: The Japan Foundation Indo-Pacific Partnership Program (JFIPP Research Fellowship)
The Research Fellowship is designed to promote international research and collaborative activities on common policy issues that require cooperation and engagement within and beyond the Indo-Pacific region, with the purpose of building partnerships and intellectual networks in the Indo-Pacific region.
National Library of Australia Fellowships
Applications are now open for the 2026 Fellowships offered by the National Library of Australia. Researchers and creative writers are encouraged to apply for nine philanthropically funded Fellowships offered by the National Library of Australia in 2026.
Successful applicants will each receive $35,000 to support a sustained residency at the National Library in Canberra, as well as supported access to the Library’s collections, increased borrowing privileges, a dedicated desk in the Library’s Petherick Reading Room, and an allowance for high resolution digital copies of collection materials.
| New: Development in Turbulent Time
20th Annual International & Interdisciplinary Conference of International Partners
University Luigj Gurakuqi Shkoder, ALBANIA
14-15 November 2025
Abstract submission deadline: 14 September. Read on...
New: Centering Care Across the Life Course
SAVE THE DATE
Concordia University in Montreal Canada
June 17-20, 2026
Submissions open in July and close November 1, 2025.
Caring During Crisis: Navigating Risk and Uncertainty in Health, Care and Beyond
European Sociological Association, Research Network 22 (Sociology of Risk and Uncertainty).
Wednesday 29 - 30 October
Campus Woudestein, Rotterdam
Keynote speakers include fellow member Jens Zinn
Abstract submission deadline: May 31st. Read on...
From stability to fluidity: contemporary sociological perspectives on ‘normality’ in 21st century societies
September 10-12, 2025, Skopje
Association of the Sociologists of the R. Macedonia
| | Senses & Emotions
Online, October 4th & 5th
Sociologists have long understood that the social world it not a solely rational place: it is messy, it is interactional and it is felt. Emotion management has a key role in supporting both work done to nonhuman animals (e.g. animal testing, fHarming, slaughter), and for nonhuman animals (e.g. activism, caretaking, critical animal research).
Submission deadline: May 31st. Read on...
| | |  |  | The Jobs & Scholarships Board allows you to view opportunities that TASA Admin and fellow members have posted.
In 4 easy steps, you can upload job & scholarship opportunities from your member's profile screen. For instructions, visit here.
The Jobs & Scholarships Board is a public facing searchable feature of TASAweb.
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 | TASA’s Executive Committee (EC) governs the Association and manages its daily business as outlined in the Constitution and by established policies. A call for nominations for the 2027 – 2028 Executive term will be disseminated on July 1, 2026.
The November 2024 - November 2026 Executive Team can be viewed on TASAweb here.
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 | TASA was officially established under the name of the Sociological Association of Australia and New Zealand (SAANZ) in 1963, crystallising what was a long, and perhaps delayed process of the discipline’s development in Australia.
For the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2013, pages on TASA's history were added to TASAweb.
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 | The more members TASA has, the stronger our association can be.
To help spread the word about TASA, you can quickly and easily gift a TASA membership to someone from within your TASA membership profile.
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 | | TASA members have free access to over 90 peer-reviewed Sage Sociology full-text collection online journals encompassing over 63,000 articles. The image on the left shows you where to access those journals, as well as the Sage Research Methods Collection & the Taylor and Francis Full Text Collection, when logged in to TASAweb. If needed, here is a short instructive video on how to access the online resources. |
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 | TASA currently has 27 thematic groups in operation and members can join up to 4 groups. This can be done quickly, and easily via your membership profile.
Watch the very short video (1:30) to learn how to join a thematic group/s.
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 | TASA's Membership Directory allows you to search for members by country and state. It also has search functions for members of a particular thematic group, and members who are available for supervision and/or mentoring.
To learn how to search the Membership Directory, watch this very short video (1 min).
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 | Via your membership profile, you can update many options including adding a secondary email address, and indicating if you are available for mentoring, supervising, consulting, and/or talking to the media, for example. If you are in a Tier 2, Tier 3 & Tier 4 membership category, you can also opt in or out of receiving a hard copy of the Journal of Sociology.
All of these changes can be done quickly and easily. To learn how, watch this video (1 min). |
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Personal pronoun preferences can be added to your profile. There are 9 combination options to choose from. Please let Sally in TASA Admin know if your preference/s is not on the list and we will have them added.
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 | We encourage you to support your colleagues by sharing details of your latest publications with them via this newsletter. No publication is too big or too small.
Any mention of sociology is of value to our association, and to the discipline, so please do email through details of your latest publication/s (fully referenced & with a link, where possible), events, job adverts etc. for the next newsletter, to TASA Admin (right click to retrieve the email address). Usually, the newsletter is disseminated every Thursday morning. |
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 | As part of the agreement with Taylor & Francis, TASA members are entitled to a 30% books discount. This discount is valid on any full priced CRC Press or Routledge book.
To access the book discount, click on the following link and then log in to TASAweb: book discount link. |
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President (Kim): president@tasa.org.au
Admin (Sally): admin@tasa.org.au
Events (Penny): events@tasa.org.au
Membership (Ali): membership@tasa.org.au
Indigenous (John): indigenousmembership@tasa.org.au
Thematic Groups (Naomi): thematicgroups@tasa.org.au
Postgraduates (Molly): postgraduates@tasa.org.au | |