The Academy of the Humanities 43rd Annual Symposium will be held at the Parramatta campus of the
University of Western Sydney, 15-16 November 2012. Convened by Professor Tony Bennett FAHA and hosted by the
Institute for Culture and Society, the theme for this year’s symposium is ‘Challenging (the) Humanities’.
The humanities are currently presented with a rare combination of intellectual challenges: changing policy environments and priorities necessitate new styles of thought and intervention; the still-unfolding financial crises urges a rethink of the economy and the interdisciplinary issues at stake in its investigation; there is increasing emphasis on the role played by material forces – technologies and infrastructures – in organising social life; and new cross-disciplinary concerns have been prompted by post-humanist perspectives and the environmental challenges presented by the conception of the anthropocene.
The humanities have responded vigorously to these changing contexts. New paradigms for critical thought and its modes of social and political engagement have resulted in significant challenges to purely scientific, technocratic or economistic framings of policy challenges and solutions. Significant theoretical innovations and new research orientations have illuminated the role of ‘things’ in social life while also rethinking the concepts of matter and materialism. Humanities scholarship has brought new light to bear on the ways in which the human is always shaped by its relations to the nonhuman in its environmental, technical and animal forms. The increasingly prominent role of Indigenous perspectives in Australian intellectual life has prompted widespread recognition of the relevance of Indigenous knowledges to the practices of Australian universities.
The Academy's 43rd Annual Symposium will debate the contemporary challenges that face the humanities and the challenging responses that these have elicited.
Speakers
- Professor Kay Anderson FASSA, University of Western Sydney [Abstract.pdf 48KB]
- Associate Professor Susan Green, The University of New South Wales [Abstract.pdf 36KB]
- Dr Martijn Konings, The University of Sydney [ Abstract.pdf 44KB]
- Professor Laikwan Pang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong [Abstract.pdf 48KB]
- Dr Jane Lydon, Monash University [Abstract.pdf 48KB]
- Professor Stephen Muecke FAHA, The University of New South Wales [Abstract.pdf 56KB]
- Professor Brett Neilson, University of Western Sydney [Abstract.pdf 48KB]
- Associate Professor Christopher Otter, Ohio State University [Abstract.pdf 48KB]
- Professor Paul Patton FAHA, The University of New South Wales [Abstract.pdf 48KB]
- Associate Professor Irene Watson, The University of South Australia [Abstract.pdf 48KB]
- Professor Gillian Whitlock FAHA, The University of Queensland [Abstract.pdf 48KB]
- Dr Asmi Wood, The Australian National University [Abstract.pdf 44KB]
A number of other events will also take place in association with Symposium this year, including Discipline Panels, Fellows’ Dinner, and the Annual General Meeting.
Discipline Panel Meetings, 16 November 2012
Following on from last year's successful initiative, the Academy will host a series of discipline panel meetings at the University of Western Sydney’s Parramatta campus on the afternoon of Friday 16 November. The panels are open to all Fellows, but other participation is by invitation.
These roundtables are being funded by the Academy’s ARC-Learned Academies Special Project,
Humanities Connections, which aims to develop new activities to support professional development, closer collaboration, improved research application outcomes, and policy research in the humanities.
Fellows’ Dinner, 16 November 2012
The 2012 Fellows’ Dinner will be held on Friday 16 November, at 7:30pm, at
Lachlan’s, Old Government House, Parramatta Park. Old Government House, country residence of the first ten Governors of the Colony, is Australia's oldest public building and a fitting venue for this special occasion. The dinner is open to Fellows of the Academy and their guests. The cost is $95 per person. For bookings please contact Gabriela Cabral by
email or on (02) 6125 9860.
Annual General Meeting, 17 November 2012
The Academy’s Annual General Meeting for 2012 will be held on Saturday 17 November at the University of Western Sydney’s Parramatta campus. Section meetings will take place from 8:30am and the AGM will commence at 1.00pm and conclude at 3.00pm. At the completion of the meeting, coach transfers to the airport will be provided. More information for Fellows is available on the
Fellows-only section of the website.
Register via email or fax until 14 November
Waged registration $290, Concession $180
Download Registration Form for Fellows here [
.pdf 226KB] [
.doc 57KB]
Download Registration Form for Non-Fellows here [
.pdf 198KB] [
.doc 42KB]
Registration includes:
- Attendance at Symposium sessions on Thursday 15 November to Friday 16 November
- Symposium Reception at the close of the first day
- Catering
- Tickets to the Fellows’ Dinner must be purchased separately
Conference Venue
The Symposium is taking place at the University of Western Sydney’s historic
Parramatta campus, in Lecture Theatre 1, Building EA. A map of the campus is available here [
.pdf 120KB]
The Parramatta campus is a short bus ride and only 30 minutes’ walk from the Parramatta CBD.
Transport
There are several transport options available in getting between Parramatta and University of Western Sydney’s Parramatta Campus. See UWS’s Getting to Uni brochure page for more information [
pdf. 348KB]
Transport from Sydney Airport:
Airport Shuttle North West, tel: 0418 261 878, www.asnw.com.au
This service needs to be pre-booked. The cost of one way ticket is $55 per person and return trip $105 per person.
A taxi will cost up to $100 each way. The journey is approximately 60 minutes long.
Using the train is an option from both the Domestic and International Terminals. Change trains at Central Station to travel along the Western Line to Parramatta Station. The train ticket will cost no more than $18. A taxi ride from the station to UWS costs no more than $10.
Accommodation
Participants are responsible for organising their own accommodation.
The Mercure Hotel is at walking distance from UWS and offers Symposium registrants special rates. Quote code AAH141112 and the rate is $159 room only + $20 breakfast. Their details are
Mercure Sydney Parramatta, Rosehill, Tel: (02) 8836 1000
Alternatively, there are two other reasonably priced hotels within 2km (walking distance) from the University, on James Ruse Drive:
Parramatta Waldorf Apartment Hotel
110-114 James Ruse Drive, Parramatta NSW 2142
(02) 8837 8000
Rydges Hotel Parramatta
116 James Ruse Drive, Rosehill NSW 2142
(02) 8863 7600
If you stay in the Parramatta CBD area, you will have many transport options to reach the UWS campus, as well as the best dining and entertainment options. For those staying in Parramatta, the
Parramatta Shuttle is a free service that operates 7 days a week.
For more information on the city and what cultural and dining options will be available to you, you may want to visit the
Discover Parramatta website.
We look forward to seeing you at UWS in November.