 | Dear ~~first_name~~,
As we head into winter, TASA is busier than ever - developing our new Career Stage Groups, assessing award and bursary applications, mapping Indigenous sociology, progressing this year’s Mentoring Program, developing new initiatives, and of course, preparing for November’s big event!
This week, we would first like to extend a heartfelt reminder that our biennial membership survey is now open. This is your opportunity to help shape the future of the Association, and we’d be so grateful for your input. The survey closes Sunday 9 June, so please do take a moment to share your thoughts if you haven’t already 2025 Biennial Membership Survey.
And speaking of upcoming deadlines, registration for TASA 2025 is open! If you’re planning to present, please ensure you register by Friday 28 June to be included in the program. After that date, early bird rates will increase to standard pricing. If you anticipate any difficulty meeting the 28 June presenter registration deadline, don’t hesitate to reach out to Penny at events@tasa.org.au, we’re here to support you.
Finally, a reminder that today’s TASA Thursdays postgraduate session kicks off at 12:30pm AEST, with fellow members Tracey Squire and Jayne Garrod exploring Insider Research: Navigating the Personal and the Professional. All members are welcome, please scroll down for details of this event and other news.
| We’re thrilled to share that fellow member Imogen Harper has officially been awarded her PhD from the University of Sydney. Her thesis, Growing up, ill: Uncovering the experiences of young people living with chronic illness, offers an important sociological exploration of chronic illness in youth.
Imogen was supervised by fellow TASA members Alex Broom and Katherine Kenny, both based at the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies.
Congratulations, Imogen – we’re excited to see where your sociological journey leads next!
| | TASA Thursdays Postgraduate: Insider Research: Navigating the Personal and the Professional
Join us TODAY Thursday 22nd May, 12:30–1:30pm (AEST) for a compelling discussion on the complexities of insider research. Fellow members Tracey Squire and Jayne Garrod will reflect on conducting research within communities they are personally connected to, exploring issues of reflexivity, representation, and ethical accountability. This free webinar is a must-attend for anyone navigating the personal-professional boundary in research.
Via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 816 9781 8578 Passcode: 681362 | | | 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.
| | | | Welcoming our new Members
| Each week, we’re delighted to introduce our newest TASA members. Welcome Rebecca Bartlett and Maya Del Rio Reddan. Whether you’re just starting your journey in sociology or reconnecting after some time away, we’re so pleased to have you with us.
TASA thrives on the strength and diversity of its members. Welcome to the community!
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Carlon, C., Aberdeen, L., Eversole, R., Schmidt, M., Congues, J., & Wrigley, K. (2025). Cinderella on the path at midnight: students on regional university campuses and equity. Higher Education Research & Development, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2025.2493249 (open access).
Nguyen-Trung, K., Thuy, T. T. T., Anh, N. P., Cong-Lem, N., Huyen, D. T., Diu, L. T., Giang, N. H., & Simon, M. (2025). Vulnerabilities of people with different types of disabilities in disasters: a rapid evidence review and qualitative research. Disasters, 49(3), e12686. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12686 (open access).
Caines, S. P., Congues, J., Costigan L, Robinson N, Grace C, Franklin L, & Argus A (2025). Bridging the gap: Social work practice challenges in navigating support for families with disabilities. Children Australia, 47(1), 3043. doi.org/10.61605/cha_3043 (open access).
Qi, Xiaoying. (2025). ‘Reconceptualizing Crisis: An Empirically Based Investigation’. Sociological Inquiry. First online. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.70016 (open access).
Poulos, E., & Rocha, C. (2025). ‘Saving Australia’: global populism and the rhetoric of the Australian Christian Right. Religion, State and Society, 53(2), 117–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/09637494.2025.2486895 (open access).
| 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...
| | 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.
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.
| Casual Project Officer Role- ARC project on youth mobilities
Applications are invited for an exciting opportunity to join a major research study in youth mobility and migration studies. This is a casual research administration position (approximately 7 hours per week) based at Deakin University.
Senior Lecturer/Lecturer, Gender, Sexuality and Diversity Studies
La Trobe University, Bundoora campus
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences seeks to appoint an outstanding academic to a continuing full-time position as either Lecturer (Level B) or Senior Lecturer (Level C) in Gender, Sexuality, and Diversity Studies. This role encompasses Teaching, Research and Academic service.
| | Scholarship Opportunities
| Tackling the consumption of sexual violence on screen
PhD Scholarship, Flinders University
The full-time PhD candidate may be based in Adelaide or elsewhere in Australia – relocation to Adelaide is not required. The project will involve some domestic and international travel.
| | Other Events, News & Opportunities | Awards - Early Career Research
| New: Paul Bourke Awards
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.
| Fostering Global Digital Citizenship: Diaspora Youth in a Connected World report launch
In-person, Thursday, 29 May, 5pm - 7pm AEST, Sydney
Launch of the final report on the 'Fostering Global Digital Citizenship: Diaspora Youth in a Connected World' project, funded by the Australian Research Council. After the main event food and drinks will be served. All welcome, but registration is essential.
| New: Re-examining Norms of Good Citizenship When Democratic Values are Under Threat
Special Issue in Political Psychology
This Special Issue aims to bring together normative and empirical approaches on
citizenship, ‘good citizenship’ and norms of ‘good citizenship’ in order to facilitate a
cross-disciplinary dialogue that spans temporal and geographic boundaries. It
welcomes studies of liberal democracies, regions with colonial legacies and countries
with fragile institutions.
Abstract submission deadline: July 15th. Read on... | Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ)
The SDS Board of Directors seeks to appoint a new editor or editorial team for a term of four [2025-2029] years, ideally beginning on November 1, 2025 and ending April 1, 2029. This period includes a 6-month onboarding process under the current editorial team and a 6-month offboarding period with new editors appointed in 2028. The editor or editorial team will work with SDS and the DSQ Editorial Board, and collaborate with The Ohio State University Libraries team. The editor or editorial team will be responsible for putting together a new editorial board under their direction and with input from the SDS Board of Directors.
Expression of interest deadline: August 1st. Read on...
| | The Male Complaint
Join fellow member Simon Copland discussing his latest book.
TODAY May 22nd, 5:30pm - 7:00pm AEST, Acton, Canberra
| | | New: Forrest Research Foundation Scholarships 2026
The Forrest Fellowships aim to attract early-career researchers from around the world to work in Perth, Western Australia. Applicants should be leading their field of research and be driven by a desire to solve the world’s grand challenges. The Fellowships are aimed at those who have completed their PhD in the last two years (conferred from 1 January 2023) or who will complete it in 2025.
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.
| New: Music and Mediation
Hybrid, 9-10 June, The University of Adelaide
Mediation, in all its possible senses, from transmission to conflict resolution, is particularly relevant in times of technological innovation, sustainability challenges, forced displacement and struggles for equality or survival. This conference, generously supported by the Musicological Society of Australia (MSA), is concerned with the ways music and the study of music contribute to the many theories and practices around mediation.
The following TASA members are presenting: Devpriya Chakravarty, Penelope Bergen, Vanessa McDermott, Christie Bosworth, and Carl Anacin
Note, the event is free for unsalaried and online delegates
The Western Sydney University Challenging Racism Project (CRP) and University of Melbourne Anti-Racism Hallmark Research Initiative (ARHRI) are holding a cross-disciplinary one-day conference
Friday November 7th, Western Sydney University, Parramatta City campus
The conference will be free to attend.
This event will bring together researchers and practitioners who are undertaking work related to anti-racism. This will be an opportunity for us all to learn more about each other’s work, build networks, and explore the potential for future collaborations.
Abstract submission deadline: August 1st. Read on...
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...
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...
| | 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 | |