Dear alumni and friends

Welcome to another edition of Accord. One thing our Faculty has always prided itself on is providing an unrivalled intellectual environment for our students and staff. I wanted to let you know of two outstanding new research projects that have just got underway.

First of all, Professor Pippa Norris, of the Department of Government and International Relations, has been awarded a prestigious ARC Laureate Award to lead a global electoral integrity project, studying how elections can go wrong, but also what we need to do to ensure they go right. At a time of incredible democratic change around the world, this will be vitally important work.

Second, Professor Warwick Anderson, of the Department of History, has been awarded a Laureate Fellowship to study the fascinating history of the global impact of southern hemisphere debates about racial identity. Warwick’s work will shed new light on the way human difference has been conceived by our leading scientific theories and practices over the last century.

These two extraordinary projects epitomise the combination of research and teaching excellence that we strive for every day. Look out for opportunities to hear more about their work in the months to come, as well as to learn more about many of our other outstanding colleagues through our ‘Insights Lecture Series’ and other University events.

Best wishes
Professor Duncan Ivison 
Dean | Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has cemented an esteemed partnership with King's College London's School of Arts and Humanities and the School of Social Sciences and Public Policy. This enables an unparalleled opportunity for international student exchange and joint program initiatives between the two institutions.

The multi-level partnership will foster closer research ties between the globally renowned faculties, ranging from informal workshops to visiting fellowships and externally funded research projects. The alliance will facilitate opportunities for undergraduate students to study at the partner institution.

Both faculties are also committed to developing collaborative degrees at MA level and PhD level across a range of subjects. The partnership agreement is now in place and will enable undergraduate exchange to King's College London from September. Find out more.

While the Faculty’s annual appeal to alumni and friends continues throughout July, we’ve recently been reminded of how a major gift, directed towards a discipline of passionate interest to the donor, has a transformational effect on research and teaching.

Professor Peter Hiscock, currently Professor of Archaeology at the Australian National University, has accepted appointment as the Tom Austen Brown Chair of Australian Archaeology.

This new chair resulted from extraordinary gifts from Mr Tom A. Brown (LLB ’46 BA ’74), culminating in a bequest. Professor Hiscock brings a wealth of experience to Sydney, having been elected as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (2008), elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Humanities (2009) and winning the Mulvaney Book Award for Archaeology of Ancient Australia (2008). He is currently an editor of the Journal of World Prehistory and a member of the editorial board of Archaeology in Oceania.

Professor James Der Derian, currently Professor at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, will take up the Michael Hintze Chair of International Security Studies and Director of the Centre of International Security Studies, a chair funded through a visionary gift from Dr Michael Hintze (BSc ’75 BE(Elec) ’77).

James is an internationally renowned scholar in international relations and security studies, with extensive research and teaching interests across international security, information technology, international theory, and the media. His two most recent books are Virtuous War: Mapping the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network (2009) and Critical Practices in International Theory (2009).

For further information on gifts, please email our Faculty Development Officer Guy Houghton or call +61 (0)2 9036 6269.

Newspaper journalism has been a vital component of Australia's democratic infrastructure for over two hundred years. So, what comes next?

As we watch the fate of Fairfax Media, broke, gutted, and preparing for takeover by an aggressive new owner whose stated aim is to turn its mastheads into a personal megaphone, it is worth considering what the end of printed newspapers means for journalism and, more importantly, democracy in Australia.

Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood announced fundamental changes to the company's newspaper business in response to audience and advertising trends. There are strong indications that rival News Limited will announce a similar restructure in the coming days.

Print delivery of the Fairfax mastheads is to be phased out; newsrooms will adopt a 'digital-first editorial model’ and two major printing plants at Chullora and Tullamarine will be closed by June 2014. From early 2013, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age will be published in compact rather than broadsheet format, and readers will have to pay for access to the masthead websites.

The announcement shocked shareholders and journalists alike. Find out more

Dr Annie Clarke (Archaeology) and Professor Alison Bashford (History) from the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry were awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant for their three-year, interdisciplinary project on ‘The archaeology and history of quarantine’.

The research will be conducted in partnership with the Mawland Group, who manage the North Head Quarantine Station at Manly as a hotel, conference facility and cultural tourism site.

The Quarantine Station at North Head has over 1,000 inscriptions carved into the sandstone, dating from the 1830s to 1970s. According to Dr Clarke, the researchers "plan to link the stories of all the men, women and children inscribed in stone to the history of immigration and quarantine both nationally and internationally". The North Head Quarantine Station will be compared to equivalent sites: Point Nepean, Grosse Île, Angel Island and Ellis Island.

Examining quarantine practices as part of the global history of passage, transit and migration broadens the context for debate about immigration in contemporary Australia.

Photography credit: Ursula Frederick

Amanda Shalala is on her way to London to report on the Olympic and Paralympic Games. A self-confessed sports addict who loves the thrill of competition, Amanda is working hard to pave the way for Australian women in sport.

Only 26, Amanda has a very impressive résumé. She was the first ever female recipient of the ABC Television Sports Broadcaster Internship in 2007, and is currently working at the national broadcaster as a sports reporter, as well as providing updates on Triple J’s ‘Drive with the Doctor’.

During Amanda’s internship, her practical experience was complemented by studying a Masters in Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney, which provided her with a holistic understanding of the socio-cultural factors around sport.

She is now heading to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as a sports reporter, realising her life-long dream of reporting at this prestigious event.

Amanda shares her career experiences and passions with us.

1.   What are your happiest memories about your time here as a student? Going to the University of Sydney was incredible – I felt like this was where I belonged. But what went on during my course was what really fired me up. I was challenged every day and was learning constantly.

2.    Who was your favourite Professor while you were a student at the University of Sydney and why? Dr Jane Park was my favourite - she taught ‘Gender, Media and Consumer Societies’. She was from America so it was great to have a different cultural perspective. She fostered an environment where all thoughts were welcome and was really encouraging to each of us to extend ourselves, which was good in helping me get outside of my comfort zone.

3.    What is your proudest achievement? Covering the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, because that came very soon after I finished my internship so I was still very much a junior journalist. It was incredible to cover an event of such a massive scale in another country that has its own customs and traditions. This coverage won the ABC a lot of awards and I felt really proud to be a part of that.

4.    Who inspires you? From a personal point of view, it would have to be my parents. They came to Australia 35 years ago from a small village in Lebanon without much to their name. My dad always tells me that out of the whole world he chose Australia and it’s the best decision he ever made. I can’t believe that they came from a war-torn country and have built a life here so they could provide me with everything I ever needed. That’s why I grew up without any doubt, knowing that I could always achieve anything I wanted - because I saw my parents do that.
 
My sporting idol is Adam Gilchrist because he is an incredible all-round athlete and conducts himself so well both on and off the field. He is one of the people that made me want to become a sports journalist. I haven’t met him yet. I almost met him last year when we were supposed to be appearing on the same TV show, but things didn’t work out and I was so devastated. This is my dream – I have to meet him!

5.    What is the mantra you live by? Sport is life, the rest is mere detail.

6.    What are your plans for the future? The number one goal I have is to cover the Olympics and Paralympics, and that’s going to happen in the next month. After that I would love to cover the 2014 Football World Cup in Brazil.

Beyond that I would like to get into production of longer segments or documentaries. You can tell all sorts of stories about Australia and Australians through sport, so that’s the vehicle I choose.

7.    What are the major challenges you think sport in Australia faces? I think that female and disability sports are two areas where Australia has a lot of room for improvement in comparison with countries like the UK and the US.

The ABC’s charter is very much about representing all facets of Australian society and I’d really like to see these areas getting the coverage they deserve. If we promote these with wider coverage then people will get more involved. I love communicating my passion about these particular areas to others so I can convert the ‘non-believers’ into loving it.

8.    What drives you? To be the best sports journalist and broadcaster I can be. I set very high standards for myself and I always strive to achieve them. I don’t really accept anything less than that from myself.

I am a little bit of a workaholic and I get into trouble because I stay back late and work on my days off! Because I write, edit and produce my own material, I want to make sure that every single element of what I’m doing is at a really high standard. The goal is there in the distance, that one day I’ll perfect the craft of being a sports journalist.

9.    What advice would you give to students graduating from the University of Sydney? Not to be afraid of chasing what you want to achieve. Having been at The University of Sydney I know that it gives you a grounding to excel and you can’t be intimidated by what’s outside of the University walls. Have no fear and no limits.