Dear ~~first_name~~,
There is plenty happening across our TASA community this week. We are pleased to share the recording of last week’s TASA Thursdays event The Sociology of Emotions and Wellbeing in Music Worlds: Orchestras, Hip-Hop and Feminist Punk Rock. We also congratulate a fellow member on being selected as a 2026 ABC Top 5 Resident, welcome two new members, showcase recent members' publications, introduce a new Convener of the Early Career Stage Group, and remind members that there is still time to apply for TASA funding and nominate for our Awards.
| We extend our warm congratulations to fellow member Rohann Irving, Research Fellow in Young Men’s Digital Health at Flinders University, on being selected as a 2026 ABC Top 5 Resident. This is a fantastic achievement and a well-deserved recognition of both his work and the contribution sociology makes to understanding contemporary health issues.
| Welcome to TASA Rumbidzai Masocha and Dana Patterson, we hope you enjoy your first issue of the weekly E-Newsletter.
Thanks to all those renewing and returning members, your involvement in TASA makes this enriching network of sociologists possible.
If you are having difficulty logging in to TASAweb to renew, or have any other concerns about renewal or your membership, please do email Ali at membership@tasa.org.au, any time.
| | Catherine Gomes, Wilfred Yang Wang, Jing Qi (Eds.). (2026). Understanding Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Migrants: Practical Approaches and Effective Research Methodologies. Springer. | | This book provides readers with practical, culturally aware and engaging ways to research migrant culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. Through the diverse disciplinary perspectives of Communication Studies, Media Studies, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Education, Business, and Data Science, the case studies documented in this book offer readers effective methodologies leading to deep and nuanced knowledge of CALD migrants and the communities they belong to. This book looks at research design, including insider-outsider perspectives, recruitment, data collection (ethnographic, individual, and focus group interviews, non-intrusive observations, artifacts, quantitative, data scraping, online, face-to-face and so on), data analysis, conceptual and theoretical frameworks, communication of research and research translation. Read on... | | | |
Journals
Hastings, C., A.Cotterell, and F.Bruce. 2026. “Artificial Intelligence and Access to Justice at the ‘Shop Front’: The Potential and Limitations of Meeting Legal Need Through Technology.” Australian Journal of Social Issues 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.70115 (open access).
Clarke, A., J.Moore, F.Aminpour, and K.Eagles. 2026. “How Are Australian Local Governments Responding to the Homelessness Crisis? Findings From a National Study.” Australian Journal of Social Issues 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajs4.70114 (open access).
Op-ed / Commentary
Government Inquiry Submission
Janet Congues & Lucinda Aberdeen (14 May, 2026) Enhancing Victorian university governance. Their policy submission stems from their research with the Studying Regionally project. After making the submission, they were invited to appear at the public hearing to respond to questions about higher education in regional areas. We will share the hearing recording with you, when it becomes available.
| Funding
As announced in last week’s newsletter, TASA has set aside $5,000 in funding for 2026 Social Sciences Week events. TASA is offering grants of up to $1,000, exclusively for TASA members, to support public-facing events during Social Sciences Week 2026.
Applications close on 19 June.
For the full details and the application form link, visit TASAweb here.
TASA's Gary Bouma Memorial Workshop Funding, for 2027 events, is open for applications. 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.
Funding of AU$5,000 (per workshop) available for workshops to be held in Australia.
Applications close on 17 July.
For details, and the application form link, visit TASAweb here.
Awards
Closing Soon
Early Career Researcher - Best Paper Prize
TASA's Prize for the most distinguished peer-reviewed article published by an Early Career Researcher for a paper of outstanding quality published (online or in print) in any journal during the previous three calendar years (i.e. 2023 – 2025).
Closing Soon
Postgraduate Impact & Engagement Award
This annual award recognises the impact and engagement of a Postgraduate TASA member’s scholarship that is of high social value to Australian society and/or sociology.
Distinguished Service to Australian Sociology Award
This award is made to a TASA member who has demonstrated outstanding, significant and sustained service to Australian sociology over many years. While not necessarily a lifetime achievement award, candidates for the Distinguished Service Award would usually be nearing the end of their careers.
In all cases the quality of the service is the determining criterion, rather than the quantity alone.
Outstanding Service to TASA Award
This honour is accorded to a TASA member who has demonstrated an outstanding level of participation in and promotion of TASA over a number of years. There are many ways in which this can occur, but in all cases the quality of the service is the determining criterion, rather than the quantity alone.
Outstanding Service to the Teaching of Sociology Award
This award celebrates outstanding contributions to enhancing the pedagogy, practice or outcomes of teaching and learning sociology in Australia. It recognises contributions at the disciplinary level (rather than acknowledging excellence in teaching within the classroom or institutions). Examples of disciplinary-level contributions include innovations in teaching that increase the impact of sociology teaching beyond university contexts, improve student access, experience and outcomes, or inform disciplinary approaches to learning and teaching. Evidence of these achievements may be demonstrated through feedback from students or peers, and/or through publications (peer-reviewed, policy or general), presentations, media, or other relevant indicators.
Sociology in Action Award
This award recognizes contributions to the practice of sociology outside of academic settings. It is conferred on a TASA member who has made an outstanding contribution to sociological practice in Australia.
In this context, outstanding contributions to sociology in action highlight the value and impact of sociological methods and theories to society. This includes both broad social issues, as well as more focused issues for industry, government, business or community sectors.
|  | | LUCY CROTHERS Co-Convenor Early Career Stage Group
We're delighted to announce that, new member, Lucy Crothers has joined Alexandra James as Co-Convenor of the Early Career Stage Group.
Lucy Crothers is a Policy Officer with a strong interest in the social dimensions of policy development, governance and public decision making. Her work is informed by sociological perspectives on inequality, institutions, and the lived experiences of communities, with a particular focus on how policy shapes, and is shaped by, people's everyday lives. She is particularly interested in applied sociology as a way of translating sociological insight into practical, evidence-informed policy and real-world outcomes.
If you are in the first five to seven years of your career in Sociology and have not yet joined the Early Career Stage Group, please do add yourself to the group by logging in to TASAweb - tasa.org.au - or email Ali at membership@tasa.org.au to be added to the group. Being part of Thematic and Career Stage Groups helps you get the most from your membership. | | | The next online meet-up of our Retired Career Stage Group is scheduled for 11am AEST on Tuesday 16 June. If you'd like to be part of this welcoming and stimulating group, please do email Ali at membership@tasa.org.au to be added to the Retired Career Stage Group and receive meeting details.
| TASA Mentorship Program 2026-27
| TASA's 2026 Mentorship Program is now open for Expressions of Interest.
Closing midnight AEST, 18 June 2026.
This 6-month program will foster professional growth and development. Mentor/mentee pairs are encouraged to meet fortnightly or monthly (6–12 sessions in total), either online, in person, or through a mix of both. The program includes online sessions aimed at helping both mentors and mentees get the most out of the experience.
Key Dates:
- July: Acceptance onto program announced
- 4 August: Online Onboarding for mentors and mentees
- 25 August: Online Professional Development Workshop 1
- 13 October: Online Midway Check-in for mentors and mentees
- 9 February: Online Wrap up for mentors and mentees
Workshop dates may change due to unforeseen circumstances. Webinar presentations (excluding Q&A) will be recorded and made available privately for program participants who can’t attend live.
PLUS
Online Professional Development Workshop 2, details TBC
Optional in-person meet up for those mentor/mentee pairs attending TASA 2026
Ready to Get Involved?
Please click the appropriate orange link below to submit your Expression of Interest. If you’d like to be both a mentee and a mentor, please complete both forms.
| | TASA THURSDAYS 'Unserviceable’ by Design: Feminist Sociology and the Corporeal Politics of Women’s Military Service | 18th June | 12:30PM AEST
Join us for a TASA Thursdays webinar with fellow member Natalie Merryman exploring gendered harm, institutional power, and embodiment within the Australian Defence Force. Drawing on feminist sociological research with women veterans, this thought-provoking session critically examines how military institutions reproduce inequality and shape lived experiences. Ideal for sociologists, researchers, and anyone interested in gender, power, and institutional cultures.
| | | New: The Social Stratification Thematic Group, convened by Jenny Chesters, invites abstracts for a one-day Symposium, Perceptions and Indicators of Social Class in Australia, to be held at the University of Melbourne on Friday 28 August.
This free event, with a keynote address by E/Professor, and long term TASA member, Mark Western, will explore contemporary debates around social class, inequality, education, housing, healthcare, and family background in Australia.
Travel bursaries available. Abstract submission deadline: 5pm, 1 July. For the full details, read on... | | | Register to attend a ‘Catch Up & Write’ session hosted by TASA's Sociology of Youth thematic group (25 May, 12pm-2pm, AEST)
TASA's Sociology of Youth thematic group is excited to invite you to attend their ‘Catch Up & Write’ sessions. While the writing group is hosted by the Youth thematic group, they welcome TASA members from other thematic groups whose research engages with youth in interesting ways. The more the merrier!
These sessions are designed to support research progress in a structured, but relaxed way, offering protected time to write in a collegial and supportive environment. Equally, they create a space to connect with each other (over the joys and perils of writing!!). Whether you’re drafting, revising, or simply trying to get words on the page, these sessions are for you 🙂
The details for the first session are:
DATE: Monday 25 May AEST
TIME: 12:00pm-2:00pm (bring your lunch!)
LOCATION: Online via Zoom
REGISTRATION: Register to receive the Zoom link via the following URL: https://unimelb.zoom.us/meeting/register/h6RNuzchTla1GOBkrGTCuw
DETAILS: Attendees will have a chance to briefly hear from the co-convenors, catch up with other group members, and spend some time working on a piece of writing alongside other attendees.
The goal is to establish a consistent day and time each month for these sessions once the conveners gain a sense of members’ availability and writing rhythms.
Conveners of TASA's Sociology of Youth Thematic Group, Imogen, Julia, Natalie, John and Maddison, look forward to meeting you on the 25th!
| SOCIAL THEORY WEBINAR SERIES | 4TH JUNE | 12:30PM AEST | ONLINE
Join us on Thursday 4 June for the next Social Theory Thematic Group webinar with Paul Joosse (University of Hong Kong). This compelling session explores the “Trump phenomenon” through the lens of charisma, introducing the concept of the “incredulous onlooker” and its unexpected role in amplifying charismatic power. This is a timely and thought-provoking discussion for anyone interested in political sociology, social theory, and contemporary global dynamics.
| | | Journal of Sociology, 62 (1)
| Health Sociology Review, Volume 35, Number 1 (March 2026).
A special issue on, ‘Healthy’ Food Practices: Moving Beyond Healthy Choices and Food Systems, is guest edited by Natalie Jovanovski and Bhavna Middha.
All articles in this special issue are available here.
| Applications are invited for the editorship of Health Sociology Review (HSR) for the three-year term 2027 - 2029.
Transition arrangements will begin later in 2026, although the content for the first issue of 2027, and possibly the second, will be finalised by the out-going editorial team.
The application deadline is Monday 22nd June, 2026.
The full details of the call are available on TASAweb here.
| Scholarship Opportunities
| Media Representation & Public Perception of RNA Vaccines and Therapeutics in Australia
PhD Scholarship
University of Newcastle
Working with fellow member Caragh Brosnan
Creating Safer Sport Communities from Rural to Urban Australia
This is part of an ARC Discovery project Creating Safer Sport Communities from Rural to Urban Australia
The PhD will be housed within Griffith University’s Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Arts, Education and Law group and the Department of Tourism and Marketing, Griffith Business School.
|
Murdoch University is seeking academics for sessional teaching in semester two, within the Sociology major. They need someone to lecture and tutor, preferably with a PhD or close to having one. The units have a contemporary health and social issues focus.
If you are interested, please contact Kim Hudson directly at: K.Hudson@murdoch.edu.au
Lecturer in Geography, Sociology and Political Science
Hong Kong Baptist University
The role includes teaching courses in human geography, physical geography, public administration, general sociology, statistics, research methods, and advanced topics in quantitative analysis across these disciplines.
| Other Events, News & Opportunities
| Workshops Program Funding
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
The Academy Workshops Program offers Australian social scientists financial assistance to host multidisciplinary workshops which aim to advance research and policy agendas on nationally important issues.
Up to AU$9,000.00 per workshop.
| The Paul Bourke Awards for Early Career Research
Academy of Social Sciences Australia
The Paul Bourke Awards for Early Career Research honour Australians in the early part of their career who have achieved excellence in scholarship in one or more fields of the social sciences.
| Symposiums
The Regulation of Children’s Use of Digital Media in the Asia Pacific
Hybrid (Melbourne city), 17 June, 9am - 5:30pm AEST
This symposium brings together a selection of scholars, policymakers, civil society organisations and industry experts from across the Asia-Pacific region, such as Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam, to discuss the historical development, current landscape, challenges, and future directions of regulating children’s use of digital media.
Seminars
ANU School of Sociology Seminar Series
The program for the ANU School of Sociology Seminar Series is now online. All seminars are hybrid, with options to join via Zoom. Please visit the School’s Humanitix page, here, to view and register for upcoming seminars.
Newcastle Youth Studies Centre (NYSC) 2026 Online Seminar Series
The full 2026 program for the Newcastle Youth Studies Centre’s online seminar series is now out (see below), you can check out each seminar, and register for them, at the NYSC Eventbrite page here.
Note, you can watch the full 2025 recordings at the NYSC's YouTube playlist here.
| Conferences
New: What is Transience?
Hybrid, Thursday, 11 February 2027
RMIT University
Global Sociology in Turbulent Times
International Sociological Association
XXI ISA World Congress of Sociology
4 to 10 July 2027, Gwangju, Korea
10th Biennial Social Science Methodology Conference
November 24-26, University of Sydney
Sport, Politics, and Society
The Tunisian-Mediterranean Association for Historical, Social and Economic Studies (TMA for HSES) and the Tunisian World Center for Studies, Research, and Development (TWC for SRD)
December 1, 2, 3 / 2026 (Beja - Tunisia).
|  | Queer Intimacies
Online and in-person at Macquarie University 23-25 September
Researchers are invited to consider how queer desires, attachments, and entanglements offer counter examples to hetero-, cis-, and allo-normative modes of being. We are, in particular, interested in eliciting abstracts that foreground how queer theoretical frameworks might be used to (re)conceptualise how intimacies are imagined, performed, and contested.
Abstracts proposing individual or group presentations, workshops, round-table discussions, pre-organised panels, posters, and creative works are encouraged. QTRG is dedicated to accessibility and community. Given this, online-only presentations in any of the above formats are welcomed and encouraged. We also encourage HDR students and ECRs to submit an abstract.
Submission deadline: 31 May. Read on...
| | Internationalising Vegan Sociology
International Association of Vegan Sociologists (IAVS)
Online, October 3 & 4, 2026
The 2026 IAVS annual meeting will showcase research related to veganism, animal rights, and sociological theories of international relevance. They welcome submissions for individual presentations (15 minutes and an additional 5 for questions) or panels (45 minutes with 15 for questions) to be delivered in an online format.
| | | Call for Submissions
Social Conditions, Clinical Logics: Rethinking Young People’s Engagement with Drug Treatment
International Journal of Drug Policy
This special issue invites submissions that explore or examine how the social conditions of young people’s substance use shape their engagement in drug treatment. Editors are looking for papers that critically explore, among other things, biomedical and psychologised approaches to AOD care, how contexts of crisis and social inequity shape treatment experience, and how treatment might be experienced differently by First Nations, LGBTQ+, refugee, migrant and racialized youth.
| For membership information, processes, and frequently used resources, visit the Members' Navigator. To contact a member of the team directly, see our TASA Staff page.
| Admin (Sally): admin@tasa.org.au
Events (Penny): events@tasa.org.au
Membership (Ali): membership@tasa.org.au
Indigenous (Yasmin): indigenoussociology@tasa.org.au
Digital Publications Editor (Roger): digitalpe@tasa.org.au
Thematic Groups (Molly): thematicgroups@tasa.org.au
Postgraduates (Brooklyn): postgraduates@tasa.org.au | |