HDR interest areas
Becoming a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) student at Deakin's School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) gives you the opportunity to work with some of the best and brightest academics and researchers in your chosen field.With expert supervision and broad interest areas, you can pursue your passion and expand your knowledge base.
Our HDR interest areas
Find a supervisor and discover what projects current research students are undertaking.
PhD, Masters by Research and Professional Doctorate candidates in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences can choose from the following interest areas.
Anthropology
Our anthropology team is passionate about working with HDR students to further knowledge and understanding in a diverse range of subject areas. They're experts in their chosen fields and are prolific contributors to publications and conferences. Many have received international recognition for their work.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Associate Professor Rohan Bastin |
Civil war and the Sri Lankan social formation Secularism and religious fanaticism in India Egalitarian forms and social transformation in Australia | P, M |
Dr David Giles |
Global cities, urban globalisation, urban ethnography (North America, Australasia) Political economy, value theory, economic anthropology Waste, dumpster-diving, squatting, scavenging Foodways, urban food systems, permaculture Hunger, homelessness (especially the criminalisation thereof), urban environments, biopolitics Transnational social movements, decentralised networks, anarchist and punk counterpublics | P, M |
Dr Roland Kapferer |
Social media Corporate culture, consumption/marketing and emergent state formations Modernism/postmodernism Technology, robotics, cybernetics and simulation Anthropology of cinema Animal anthropology | P, M |
Dr Tanya King |
Natural resource management in Australia – commercial fisheries, water Procedural justice, consultation and 'NIMBY' in rural and regional Australia Environmental anthropology | P, M |
Dr Gillian Tan |
Relational and multiple ontologies Human/non-human relationships and critiques of the nature/culture binary Issues in contemporary Tibetan society and culture Ecology and religiosity in the Third Pole Environment (Himalayas) Nomadic pastoralism and interactions with the state Ethnography as writing and method | P, M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Martin Hardie | Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | Cycling, drugs, governance and law in the state of exception |
Sonja Boehm | Dr Gillian Tan | Violence, policy and people |
Anne Faithfull | Professor Andrea Witcomb | On the fringe: hair from Indigenous Australians in museum collections |
Krishnaraj Kathirgamathamby | Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | Religious innovation and social reform in Sri Lanka |
Samson Keam | Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | Where there is water: exploring water management, Sinhalese Buddhism and the social formation in Polonnaruwa district, Sri Lanka |
Tisara Munasinghe Arachchi Lekamlage | Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | The sonic characteristics of Sri Lankan low country drum |
Jenny Norris-Green | Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | South Australian Quakers and Unitarians: a comparative study |
Matthew Phillips | Dr Roland Kapferer | Utopia now: experiments of the social in a Copenhagen Free Town |
Mudiyansele Gedara Lalantha Mahesh Premarathna |
Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | New forms of Buddhism in Sri Lanka |
Tatiana Romanovsky |
Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | Evaluating Native Title: A case study of Native Title practice in Victoria |
Bronwyn Shepherd | Professor Emma Kowal | Milingimbi Mission and early 20th century constructions of difference |
Christopher Speldewinde |
Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | The new regionalism: a comparative study of two regional centres |
Ben Vecchiet |
Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | Religious innovation and social reform in Sri Lanka |
Catherine West |
Associate Professor Rohan Bastin | Urban religion in Colombo, Sri Lanka |
Australian studies
Our Australian Studies Department is home to some of the country's most recognised authorities on Indigenous issues, and Australian history, culture and society. The discipline's reputation for excellence is reflected in the choice of one of its professors as the inaugural BHP Billiton Chair of Australian Studies at Peking University.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Professor Louise Johnson |
Urban and regional planning, including post-colonial planning Global suburbs and building better Australian suburbs Australian social, urban and regional geographies | P, M |
Dr Sarah Pinto | Australian history Public and popular history-making History and politics of emotions Gender and sexuality in Australia | P, M |
Dr Benjamin Wilkie | Australian social and cultural history History of the Scottish diaspora Australian environmental history, and histories of space and place Imperial and colonial history |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Caroline Denigan | Professor Louise Johnson | Owner builders, housewives and homemakers: self-build housing and gender in Australia |
Criminology
Deakin's criminology team has expertise in a wide range of areas. It's engaged in research projects covering virtually every aspect of the field including cybercrime, surveillance, policing, terrorism, organised crime, criminal justice, sexual offences and urban conflict.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Associate Professor Darren Palmer |
Surveillance Policing Social order | P, M |
Associate Professor Chad Whelan |
Serious and organised crime Terrorism and counter-terrorism Security and crime prevention Security and major events Criminal and security intelligence | P, M |
Dr Richard Evans |
Crime, justice and power Policing History, politics and social change Crime and the environment Surveillance Disasters | P, M |
Dr Clare Farmer |
Alcohol related anti-social behaviour Crime, young people and the role of the media Exclusion, banning and behaviour based orders Sentencing principles and reform (including mandatory and minimum sentences) Criminal justice processes, human rights and procedural protections Failures of justice | M |
Dr Diarmaid Harkin | Police legitimacy Community policing Plural policing Cyber policing Private security Punitiveness | P, M |
Dr Adam Molnar | Surveillance Technology, security and policing Privacy and data protection Security, policing and major events National security Militarisation | P, M |
Dr Wendy O’Brien |
Human rights and access to justice International norms and standards on criminal justice and crime prevention Children in conflict with the law and alternatives to detention Child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation Sexualised and sexually harmful behaviours among children Sentencing and criminal justice law reform | P, M |
Dr Emma Ryan | Police use of force Police accountability Policy development in criminal justice Efficacy of criminal justice oversight agencies Media representations of crime History of criminal justice practices | |
Dr Danielle Tyson | Intimate partner homicide Violence against women Filicide in the context of separation Gender, sentencing and punishment Media representations of crime Qualitative research methods | |
Dr Ian Warren | Privacy and criminal justice/law Technology and crime prevention Vigilantism Violence International and comparative criminology Public order and disorder Law, crime and space Cybercrime and transnational regulation | P, M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Morgan Burcher | Associate Professor Chad Whelan | Social network analysis as an investigative tool for crime intelligence |
Kate Rebecca Hudson | Dr Wendy O'Brien | Rape shield laws in Australia: a comparative analysis of jurisdictional application and interpretation |
Sally Kennedy | Dr Ian Warren | Extradition and the impact of territorial sovereignty on human rights |
Christopher Linke | Associate Professor Darren Palmer | Australian police memorialisation, commemoration and remembrance |
Jessica Alyce Saligari | Associate Professor Darren Palmer | Police response to mental health crises: examining a new partnership |
Matthew Thurgood | Dr Ian Warren | Securitisation of the 'migrating dead': examining immigration policy through necropolitics |
Cultural heritage
Our supervisors are known for their subject matter expertise. Kristal Buckley was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to conservation and the environment, particularly in the area of cultural heritage, and to education.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Professor Andrea Witcomb |
Museums: histories, theories and practices The history of the representation of cultural diversity in the Australian collecting sector Thinking about the role of affect in audience engagement in museums and heritage sites Heritage as a basis for cross‐cultural understanding and dialogue | P, M |
Dr Steven Cooke | Museums and identity Landscapes of war and genocide Holocaust pedagogy, visual research methods and sense of place | P, M |
Dr Jonathan Sweet |
Heritage and development in the Asia–Pacific region Museums: histories, theories and practices Cross‐cultural pedagogy | P, M |
Dr Linda Young |
History of historic houses as a species of museum Victorian gold diggers and transition to civilian life in the 1850s–60s, especially via consumption of goods History of Canberra | P, M |
Kristal Buckley |
Cultural landscapes, the associative values of land and seascapes, integration of natural and cultural perspectives Intangible cultural heritage, community engagement and involvement in cultural heritage Evolving cultural heritage practice in the Asia–Pacific region World heritage | M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Hendrik Berrevoets | Professor Andrea Witcomb | The myth of Chinese market gardening |
Beatrice Harris | Professor Andrea Witcomb | How should museums ethically navigate emotion? |
Katrina Lolicato | Professor Andrea Witcomb | Representing Australia's cultural diversity for social benefit and contemporary relevance |
Tanya Robinson | Dr Linda Young | Material identities: mediating fashion knowledges in Australasian museums |
Corioli Souter | Professor Andrea Witcomb | Collecting the sea: the making of maritime collections from Western Australia and their exhibition |
Michelle Stevenson | Dr Linda Young | Snowflakes in a sunburnt country: the development, culture and significance of skiing in Australia |
Junjie Su | Professor Andrea Witcomb | Intangible cultural heritage safeguarding in the context of tourism: a case study of Lijiang, China |
History
Stimulating and challenging HDR students to interpret and analyse past human behaviour, Deakin's History Department focuses on themes such as war and peace, modernisation and social change. It also covers colonialism, nationalism, internationalism, gender and the Holocaust in American, African-American, Asian, Australian and European histories.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Professor David Lowe | The Cold War and decolonisation Australia in world affairs Political biography Conflict and memory in Asia | P, M |
Professor Klaus Neumann | History and memory Historical justice Refugees, borders, migration The politics of emotion – emotion in politics Contemporary Germany | P, M |
Associate Professor Keith Beattie |
US history Film and history Documentary studies | P, M |
Associate Professor Helen Gardner |
19th and 20th century history of anthropology in Oceania 20th century history of decolonisation of the Pacific 19th and 20th century history of Christianity and mission in Oceania | P, M |
Associate Professor Christopher Waters |
Australian foreign policy in the age of appeasement Australia and the decolonisation of the South Pacific Diplomats and the art of biography | P, M |
Dr Greg Burgess |
History of France Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries Citizenship, migration and refugee studies Human rights in history | P, M |
Dr Joanna Cruickshank |
History of religion in Britain and Australia History of Aboriginal Missions Australian Colonial History Women's history | P, M |
Dr Tony Joel |
The politics of war memory and commemoration Remembering the Cold War Remembering sporting triumphs, tragedies and rivalries | P, M |
Dr Jonathan Ritchie | Papua New Guinea Colonial history Independence movements Pacific history | P, M |
Dr Tiffany Shellam |
Cross-cultural encounters between Aboriginal Australians and others in the era of exploration The history of Australian colonisation, 19th century Exploring Aboriginal experiences of colonisation through the history of emotions | P, M |
Dr Bart Ziino |
Private life and sentiment in Australia during the First World War 1914–1919 War heritage and commemoration Early 20th century popular culture | P, M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Jennifer Caligari | Dr Joanna Cruickshank | Bessie Harrison Lee: temperance and social reform |
Nathan Coffey | Associate Professor Helen Gardner | External pressure and the rapid decolonisation of Papua New Guinea |
Lisa Couacaud | Professor David Lowe | The ideal America(n): constructing and deconstructing Dwight Eisenhower's rhetorical presidency |
Ruth Crocombe | Associate Professor Helen Gardner | Seventh-day Adventists, Indigenous Australian and Pacific Islander missionaries in PNG |
Rebecca Filling | Dr Bart Ziino | Remembering Australia's Vietnam War |
Anna Kent | Professor David Lowe | Australian scholarships for Indonesia – 1980 to 2015: critical mass, policy and expectations associated with scholarships and alumni |
Amanda Lourie | Associate Professor Helen Gardner | From paddock to page: ethnological encounters in 1850s–1860s colonial Victoria |
William Peart | Professor David Lowe | The ideological basis of Egalitarianism in Australia |
Lauren Robinson | Dr Joanna Cruickshank | Sense of place and connection to the land: Victorian women, 1850–1901 |
Walter Struve | Professor David Lowe | A Biography of Kurt Offenburg (1898–1946) |
Celeste Thorn | Dr Tony Joel | Painful pasts: contemporary histories at sites of genocide |
Digby Wren | Professor David Lowe | Contested horizons: competition and cooperation in China-Australia public diplomacy |
Humanitarian assistance
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Associate Professor Phil Connors |
Sustainable development: concepts and understandings Community economic development Critical community engagement in climate change amelioration/adaptation | P, M |
Emma Roberts |
Using simulation-based training to improve humanitarian leadership skills Humanitarian ethics and principles The relevance and effectiveness of international law in today's humanitarian situations | P, M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Alice Banfield | Professor Matthew Clarke | When 'Acts of God' strike: faith responses and leadership in Vanuatu natural disasters |
Joanna Larvin | Associate Professor Phil Connors | Surviving the aftermath: consideration of violence against women in disaster responses |
International and community development
Our academic staff and researchers set the benchmark for active participation in the field of international and community development. They have extensive experience with international government organisations, government agencies, NGOs, bilateral and multilateral agencies.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Professor Matthew Clarke |
Religion and development Aid effectiveness Pacific development | P, M |
Professor Damien Kingsbury |
Causes of separatism in sovereign states Intra-state conflict resolution, post-conflict stability and state-building Politics, economic development and policies, and Australia's bilateral relations with Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Philippines, Burma and Cambodia Timor-Leste foreign policy, anthropology and history Regional security issues and terrorism Political development/processes of democratisation Human rights/civil and political rights | P, M |
Dr Max Kelly | Agriculture, food security, food systems and food sovereignty Rural development Sustainable development in Timor-Leste, the Pacific, Africa and South-East Asia Impact assessment of foreign aid Farmer extension, agricultural knowledge and information systems Animals, livestock welfare, ethics and international development Civil society and NGOs in international development Maternal health, Africa | P, M |
Dr Maree Pardy | Gender and development Community development Gender, culture, rights Feminism, feminist theory, feminist anthropology Cultural diversity and urban change | P, M |
Dr Anthony Ware | Development in conflict-affected situations Myanmar’s Rakhine (‘Rohingya’) conflict and Kachin conflict Myanmar (Burma): development, political economy, democratic transition Participatory, strength-based and asset-based approaches to development Religion in development, inter-religious partnerships, faith-based organisations (FBOs) Inter-religious partnerships in development by FBOs | P, M |
Dr Vicki Ware | Arts-based and sports-based approaches to community development Conflict transformation in developing countries Schools as sites for community development in disadvantaged communities Religion and development | P, M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Louise Acheson | Dr Anthony Ware | Digital technology supporting gender empowerment in fragile state contexts |
Way Alege | N/A | Reconciling development interventions and communities' vital concerns in Ituri district |
Murray Boardman | Dr Anthony Ware | The intersection between monitoring and program quality in development NGOs |
Tim Budge | Dr Max Kelly | Mobilising for change in informal settlements in Southern Africa |
Maya Cordeiro | Dr Max Kelly | Performance measurement and decision-making in international non-governmental organisations |
Julia Greenwood | Dr Vicki Ware | Community meaning in cyberspace: an ethnographic examination |
Primas Kapi | Dr Anthony Ware | Sustainability of community-based development programs in Papua New Guinea |
Leanne Kelly | Dr Anthony Ware | What's the point? Program evaluation in small, community development NGOs |
Ronan Lee | Dr Anthony Ware | Who are Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims, what is it they want that is rejected by Myanmar's authorities and why? |
Andrew Marriott | Professor Damien Kingsbury | Lawyers, guns and money: advocacy and politics in post-conflict development |
Praveena Rajkobal | Professor Matthew Clarke | Religions, risk and sustainability: reflexive religious ecology movements and environmental crisis management |
Dr Michelle Sanders | Dr Vicki-Ann Ware | Engaging 'flow' through art to assist people process trauma |
Kirsten Taylor | Professor Damien Kingsbury | Ethnic conflict as a barrier to democratisation in Burma/Myanmar |
Sarah Williams | Dr Vicki-Ann Ware | An investigation of the effectiveness of arts-based approaches to building social inclusion in Australian and international contexts |
Learn more about our international and community development discipline
International relations
The international relations program produces researchers who demonstrate the highest level of analytical and interpretative skills in global issues. They tackle the complexities of contemporary international relations and contribute to topic world knowledge. For example, Professor Baogang He has an international reputation as an authority on Chinese democratisation, NGOs and local governance. Dr Samantha Balaton-Chrimes is a specialist in citizenship, democracy and diversity in Africa, India and Indonesia.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Professor Baogang He |
Chinese politics Deliberative democracy Comparative politics and political theory The politics of international relations in East Asia | P, M |
Associate Professor Sally Totman Marshall |
Middle East politics, international relations and history Collaborative online learning through role play Popular culture (in particular Hollywood film) | P, M |
Associate Professor Chengxin Pan | Chinese politics and international relations US foreign policy International relations in Northeast Asia Australia and Asia (particularly in the context of US–China relations) Discourse analysis in international relations Alternative theoretical perspectives on China’s rise | P, M |
Associate Professor Steven Slaughter |
International relations theory and international political theory Democratic theory and globalisation Transnational civil society and activism Global governance – especially the G20 Global political economy | P, M |
Dr Ken Boutin | International security (including the political economy of security), with a particular focus on East Asia and the United States The foreign policy of the United States | P, M |
Dr Scott Burchill |
The business class and the GFC Political change in North Africa International relations theory | P, M |
Dr Danielle Chubb |
North-east Asian security (particularly North Korea and regional politics) Inter-Korean relations Transnational civil society Australian foreign policy | P, M |
Dr David Hundt | Korean studies Immigration in Australia and Asia Capitalism in Asia American foreign policy | P, M |
Dr Costas Laoutides |
National self-determination movements Peace-building and transitional justice Diaspora and civil wars | P, M |
Dr Cai Wilkinson |
Critical security studies, especially securitisation studies and societal security Genders and sexualities in international relations LGBT human rights The politics of security and identity in the post-Soviet space Interpretive methods and fieldwork in international relations | P, M |
Dean Coldicott |
Global governance International political economy International regime interplay | M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Marial Aduot | Dr Costas Laoutides | Politics of post-war: assessing process of disarmament demobilisation and reintegration in South Sudan |
Manushree Bahukhandi | Dr Costas Laoutides | Comparative analysis of gender and role of gender in conflict regions in India during the conflicts in Kashmir & Assam and applicability of the UNSCR 1325 in these regions |
Ravi Dutt Bajpai | Associate Professor Chengxin Pan | Civilisational perspectives in international relations and contemporary China-India relations |
John Bourdouvalis | Dr Steven Slaughter | Grounding social democracy: European democratic responses to the Global Financial Crisis |
William Briggs | Dr David Hundt | Making Marxism relevant in the age of capitalist crisis |
Lance Collins | Dr Scott Burchill | Convincing Canberra: how other countries achieve their foreign policy goals with Canberra |
Ben Debney | Dr Scott Burchill | The oldest trick in the book; crisis, moral panics and the political economy of scapegoating |
Hamish Drummond | Dr Costas Laoutides | Post-conflict redevelopment including demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration in an African context: Burundi and Rwanda |
Tezcan Gumus | Dr David Tittensor | Nation, identity and the role of elites: shedding light on Turkey's troubled democratisation |
Seema Khan | Professor Damien Kingsbury | Balochistan insurgency: external factors and regional context |
Hamish Kingsley-Smith | Associate Professor Chengxin Pan | Assessing the transitioning security order in Asia and the limitations of China's strategic ambition |
Sean Mackin | Dr Craig Snyder | The essence of trident |
Julie Richardson | Dr Cai Wilkinson | Gender and security: international policy in Turkey |
International studies
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Dr Samantha Balaton-Chrimes | Citizenship (especially in Africa) Ethnicity and ethnic politics in Africa Politics of land rights (global perspective) Democracy in practice (especially in Africa and South Asia) | P, M |
Dr Cai Wilkinson | Critical security studies, especially securitisation studies and societal security Genders and sexualities in international relations LGBT human rights The politics of security and identity in the post-Soviet space Interpretive methods and fieldwork in international relations | P, M |
Language and cultural studies
As a language and cultural studies research student at Deakin, you have access to superior linguists. You also get to utilise the capabilities of the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, providing support and project collaboration opportunities.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Professor Ismet Fanany |
Indonesian language, literature and linguistics Indonesian culture and society Islam in Indonesia Metaphors and proverbs, especially Indonesian/Malay | P, M |
Associate Professor Rebecca Fanany |
Language, culture and health Cultural consonance Conceptualisations of health Language and culture as social determinants | P, M |
Associate Professor Hakeem Kasem |
Developing a tool to facilitate teaching and learning of Arabic handwriting Evaluation of the effectiveness of online blended learning as a teaching model in language education Assessing the role of community language programs in preserving cultural heritage | P, M |
Associate Professor Guo-Qiang Liu |
Re-constructing national identity: China's policy on Chinese as a foreign language Social identity and sound change Continuity and change in China's ideological transformation | P, M |
Dr Eugenia Demuro | Post colonialism/decoloniality in Latin America Critical theory in Latin America Studies of race/gender/class in Latin America Contemporary social, political and cultural movements in Latin America 20th century modernist and experimental fiction in Latin America Comparative fiction/literature in Latin America | P, M |
Dr Xiangshu Fang |
Developing a pedagogical innovation to embrace students of diverse abilities/backgrounds in Chinese language learning The revival of Confucianism and the Chinese Government's response Historiography and China: the issue of approach | P, M |
Dr Zouhir Gabsi | Language teaching Minority languages Islamophobia Arab Spring Youth Identity Islamic Discourse | P, M |
Dr Israel Holas | Latin American literature: poetry, narrative and Vanguardist fiction Comparative literature: especially tracing the influences of avant garde movements in Latin American literature (and vice-versa) Roberto Bolaño and infrarrealismo Latin American social movements Modernity/coloniality The intersections of the political and the cultural history of 'modern' Latin America (from conquest to the present day) | P, M |
Dr Fengqi Qian | Conserving the historic environment Heritage not elsewhere classified Understanding Asia's past | P, M |
Dr Alistair Welsh | Indonesian/Malay language and culture Discourse analysis, such as political discourse (Third Space) intercultural engagement Intercultural language teaching Study abroad language programs | P, M |
Dr Lin Zheng |
Women, words and woes: a structural analysis on Chinese characters Chinese families in the Chinese magazine on 'Families' Anglo-Chinese business communication and miscommunication | P, M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Yufi Adriani | Associate Professor Rebecca Fanany | Religiosity and happiness in Indonesia : a phenomenological study of young Muslims |
Wen Chen | Associate Professor Guo-Qiang Liu | Correlation between foreign language anxiety and the effectiveness of different types of corrective feedback on Chinese linguistic structures |
Salai Biak Lian Ching | Associate Professor Rebecca Fanany | Language maintenance amongst diasporic Chin communities around the world: in search of the contemporary state of the Chin language |
Vidyarini Dwita | Associate Professor Rebecca Fanany | Language, Culture and Advertising in Indonesia: A Study of Middle Class Attitudes and Behavior |
Yenny Narny | Professor Ismet Fanany | Resilience among survivors of political violence in West Sumatra, Indonesia |
Nofel Nofiadri | Professor Ismet Fanany | Metaphor in Rundiang: A study of a genre of traditional literature in West Sumatera |
Indah Sari | Associate Professor Rebecca Fanany | Error analysis in the work of novice Indonesian translators |
Erlinda Syam | Professor Ismet Fanany | Contemporary Minangkabau usage in West Sumatra, Indonesia |
Zulprianto Zulprianto | Associate Professor Rebecca Fanany | An analysis of thematic structures and metaphors of the English novel Animal Farm and two Indonesian translations |
Middle East studies
Our staff are renowned for their specialised Middle Eastern knowledge. Associate Professor Sally Totman Marshall is an author and international expert on Middle East policy and politics. A frequent commentator on Middle Eastern issues, she contributes to various national and international radio, television and print media groups and speaks at public forums and lectures.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Associate Professor Sally Totman Marshall |
Middle East politics, international relations and history Collaborative online learning through role play Popular culture (in particular Hollywood film) | P, M |
Dr Mat Hardy |
Middle East politics Military intervention in the Middle East Online role-play/e-learning State failure in Libya and representations of the Middle East in fantasy literature | M |
Philosophy
Deakin is home to a vibrant and pluralistic philosophy research department. It offers a wide range of teaching and research interests spanning and interconnecting the continental, analytic and eastern traditions. Deakin philosophers also form the nucleus of the European Philosophy and the History of Ideas research group (part of the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation).
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Professor Jack Reynolds |
Contemporary European philosophy Phenomenology and existentialism Analytic and continental philosophy Intersubjectivity and social cognition Metaphilosophy and methodology | P, M |
Associate Professor Russell Grigg |
Lacanian psychoanalysis Freud | P, M |
Associate Professor Matthew Sharpe |
Cultural relativism vs realism The scientific revolution The work of French classicist Pierre Hadot | P, M |
Dr Sean Bowden |
The work of Gilles Deleuze Contemporary French and European philosophy American pragmatism Philosophy of action and agency (individual and collective) | P, M |
Dr Leesa Davis |
Buddhist philosophy (especially Zen and Mahayana) Hindu philosophy (especially Advaita Vedanta) Contemporary Buddhist practice in the west Cross-cultural philosophy Non-duality in Eastern and Western thought | P, M |
Dr George Duke |
Political authority and legitimacy Constitutional law and public law theory Legal theory and general jurisprudence Political and legal thought of Plato and Aristotle | P, M |
Dr Cathy Legg | American pragmatism (especially Charles Peirce) Wittgenstein Philosophy of language Philosophical logic Metaphysics (including formal ontology) Artificial intelligence History of analytic philosophy Early modern philosophy | P, M |
Dr Patrick Stokes |
19th and 20th century European thought, especially Kierkegaard and Løgstrup Personal identity Moral psychology Philosophy of death and dying | P, M |
Dr David Tittensor | Turkish politics and society Transnational Muslim movements Islamic studies Gender in Islam Religion and development | P, M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Joshua Badge | Dr George Duke | Gadamer's rehabilitation of authority and tradition |
Dale Clisby | Dr Sean Bowden | Deleuze's secret dualism: defining the actual/virtual relationship |
Andrew Kirkpatrick | Professor Jack Reynolds | The metaphysical structures of experience: towards a process phenomenology |
Michael Mitchell | Associate Professor Russell Grigg | Towards a comprehensive theory of self-knowledge |
Toni Morton | Dr Patrick Stokes | Disenchantment, selfhood and contemporary being |
Kevin Murphy | Associate Professor Russell Grigg | Asexuality: towards a Freudian-Lacanian understanding |
David-Lee Nielson | Dr Patrick Stokes | 'What am I?' People as subjects and objects |
Kane Pierce Simpson | Professor Jack Reynolds | Person-hood, animality, and phenomenological being |
Kirk Turner | Associate Professor Matthew Sharpe | Development of the Lacanian concept of fantasy: trajectories and significations |
James Watt | Professor Jack Reynolds | Rethinking authenticity |
Politics and policy
Learn from highly qualified, experienced academic staff who have made significant contributions to research in the field both nationally and internationally. Our academics and supervisors have contributed to an extensive range of publications and consulted to various national and international agencies.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Professor Andrew Scott |
Comparing social democracy in Australia with nations in northern Europe Policies to reduce inequalities among children through public investment in the early years The relationship between environmentalism and other political philosophies | P, M |
Associate Professor Benjamin Isakhan |
Middle East history and politics The history of democracy and democratic theory Orientalism and cultural studies Cultural heritage and heritage destruction | P, M |
Dr Samantha Balaton-Chrimes |
Citizenship and democratic theory Politics of recognition and distribution | P, M |
Dr Peter Ferguson | Environmental politics and policy Environmental political economy Green political theory Environmental and human security The international climate negotiations | P, M |
Dr Amy Nethery |
Asylum and migration policies in Australia and the Asia–Pacific region Histories and theories of incarceration Australian policy and public opinion | P, M |
Dr Zim Nwokora | Political parties, party systems and political competition Constitutional design and constitutional politics The quality of democracy and good governance | P, M |
Dr Maria Rae | Media and politics, political communication The politics of human rights and the media Transitional justice and the media Discourse analysis | P, M |
Dr Geoffrey Robinson |
Explaining NSW Labor's 2011 electoral defeat The public career of Richard Crouch Party politics and taxation and public expenditure in the Australian states 1911–40 | P, M |
Dr Andrew Vandenberg |
Trade unionism Social democracy Neoliberalism social movements | P, M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Peter Alsen | Professor Andrew Scott | Concepts of early childhood education and care in Australia and Germany |
Sylvia Daravong | Professor Andrew Scott | Progressive or left? Does Australia have a viable political alternative to neoliberalism? |
Sayed Fadel | Associate Professor Benjamin Isakhan | The rise and downfall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (2011–2013) |
Daniel Timothy Gerrard | Professor Andrew Scott | Aspirations and practice in Australian social media campaigning |
Amita Vengacherry Joseph | Professor Linda Hancock | Effectiveness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) guidelines in India |
Peter Mulherin | Associate Professor Benjamin Isakhan | Back in Iraq: Australia's foreign policy engaging the Islamic State |
Diane Siebrandt | Associate Professor Benjamin Isakhan | Military occupation of heritage sites: orientalism, archaeology and the Iraq War |
Sociology
Deakin's sociology staff have many years of combined industry experience and are leaders in their research fields. These fields include sociology of media and popular culture, sexuality, crime and justice, youth, consumer society and sustainability, culture and migration, religion and health.
Supervisors and their areas
Key/Note: Supervision level: PhD (P); Masters (M)
Researcher | Research interests | Supervision level |
---|---|---|
Professor Liz Eckermann |
Health, gender and development Maternal health Quality of life and social indicators | P, M |
Associate Professor Andrew Singleton |
Sociology of religion: spirituality, youth religion, new religious movements, global Christianity, secularisation, non-religion, religious change, religious movements in the global south Gender: men, masculinity, gender and the media Research methods: quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods | P, M |
Associate Professor Grazyna Zajdow |
Alcohol and illicit drugs policy Narrative experience of alcohol and drugs Narratives of women, work and ageing | P, M |
Dr Bernie East |
Why does Generation Y have a sense of entitlement? Using Bourdieu's Habitus and Field to understand contemporary art The role of architects in fostering consumption | P, M |
Dr Anna Halafoff |
Sociology of religion Interreligious relations Educations about religions and beliefs Buddhism in Australia | P, M |
Dr Karen Lane |
Health Theory Media Maternalist theory; Mothering and migration | P, M |
Dr Vince Marotta |
Social theory Urban sociology Immigration Multiculturalism and cultural identity Cosmopolitanism Theories of the stranger | P, M |
Dr Kim Toffoletti | Gender: sport and fitness, media, technology, consumer and popular culture Post-feminism Sport fandom Social media and digital networked technologies | P, M |
Current students and doctoral projects
Student | Supervisor | Project title |
---|---|---|
Alison Asquith | Associate Professor Andrew Singleton | Anglican encounters with orthodox icons |
James Baker | Associate Professor Grazyna Zajdow | Constructing asylum seekers: representations of asylum seekers in Australia |
Katherine Calvert | Vince Marotta | Conceptualisations of resistance, agency and power in human/horse relations |
Hannah Garden | Dr Kim Toffoletti | Mainstream feminist digital news sites and the discourse of popular feminism under neoliberalism |
Jayne Garrod | Dr Karen Lane | Negotiating competing childbirth discourses through social media |
Laura Gobey | Associate Professor Grazyna Zajdow and Dr Kim Toffoletti | The lives and aspirations of young South African migrant women |
Samuel Hogan | Associate Professor Andrew Singleton | Religious change and its management |
James Holmes | Dr Vince Marotta | Fantasy in an increasingly rationalised world |
Catherine Kowalski | Associate Professor Rebecca Fanany | Impact of media on attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine |
Denise Ann Mcnulty Norton | Dr Kim Toffoletti | Redeeming the father: constructions of fatherhood in recent children's films |
Sharni Spencer | Dr Vince Marotta | The impact of feminist Facebook groups on feminist discourses |
Lorayma Taula | Dr Vince Marotta | The transnationalism of young Polynesian women |
Trisha Villagonzalo | Dr Vince Marotta | #OnePulse: performative community and the politics of bereavement on social media |
Xinyu Zhao | Dr Vince Marotta | Negotiating exclusion and inclusion in a digital age: everyday social media practices among Chinese student-migrants in Australia |
I have enjoyed my PhD experience more than I can say. My supervision has been of the highest standard, the facilities have been excellent and I have always had help when I've asked for it.
Kirstie Barry
SHSS HDR student
Contact us
For more information about the HDR program within the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, please contact the HDR Coordinator.
SHSS HDR Coordinator
Dr Maree Pardy
+61 3 924 45163
Email Dr Maree Pardy