By Joy Damousi, Professor, History, Dean of Arts, Australian Catholic University
At the height of the Cold War, the activities of Greek migrants who had arrived in Australia after the second world war saw the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) take notice.
At the time, immigrants were keenly sought to expand the postwar Australian economy: more than 160,000 arrived from Greece during this period. But migrants were nonetheless viewed with suspicion and distrust, especially those from southern European countries.
During the assimilation era, from 1945…
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By Hannah Dahlen, Professor of Midwifery, Associate Dean Research and HDR, Midwifery Discipline Leader, Western Sydney University
If you’re looking on social media for information and experiences of giving birth at home, you’ll find widely varied content.
On the one hand, you’ll find women who develop a relationship with their midwife over time and eventually have a “home birth” where they feel comfortable and safe.
Others choose to birth outside the medical system in a “free birth”. They might birth at home but feel compelled to forgo specialist skills and equipment.
While free births and home births sound similar, they come with very different potential risks.
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By Ronnie Das, Associate Professor in Data Science, Sports Analytics and AI, The University of Western Australia; Audencia
The Ashes is one of cricket’s fiercest rivalries and dates back to 1882, when England lost to Australia for the first time on home soil.
So outraged were English cricket fans by the result that a newspaper carried a mock obituary of English cricket which stated: “the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia”.
Since then, Australia and England have fought every two years to win “the Ashes” trophy, which is in fact an…
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By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom has been described by film critics as ‘essential to have seen but impossible to watch’.
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By Barbara Brookes, Professor Emerita of History, University of Otago
Once revered as a great humanitarian, Truby King has recently been characterised as a eugenicist. Seeing him in the context of his times might restore some balance.
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By Daniele Fulvi, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Western Sydney University
Engineering microbes to soak up more carbon, boost crop yields and restore former farmland is appealing. But synthetic biology fixes must be done thoughtfully
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Officers of the Dominican Republic's armed forces take part in a parade to celebrate the country's independence in Santo Domingo on February 27, 2012. © 2012 Ricardo Rojas/Reuters (New York) – The Dominican Republic’s Constitutional Court has struck down provisions in the Codes of Justice of the National Police and the Armed Forces that criminalized consensual same-sex conduct by officers, Human Rights Watch said today. The ruling, made public on November 18, 2025, is a landmark victory for equality, ending a regime of state-sanctioned discrimination that…
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By Regan Lipes, Assistant Professor of Comparative Literature and English, MacEwan University
Canadian literature cannot be defined solely by the language in which it is written. Instead, it must be understood as a multilingual body of work shaped the diverse people who live here.
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By Kwasi Konadu, Professor in Africana & Latin American Studies, Colgate University
African American singer Ciara received citizenship from the Republic of Benin in 2025 as a descendant of enslaved Africans. The images of her ceremony at Ouidah’s slave route memorial site, “Door of No Return”, were broadcast worldwide. Surrounded by drummers…
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By Richard G. Cowden, Research Scientist, Harvard University
South Africa is often portrayed in the media as a country struggling with inequality, corruption, crime, infrastructure collapse and public health challenges. But this isn’t the whole story.
When South Africans are asked to describe their own lives, they often reveal signs that they are flourishing in vital ways. According to the Global Flourishing Study, many South Africans are in fact showing resolve by striving to move forward…
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