Freedom rider activist Gary Williams, leading international scholar of Greek cinema Vrasidas Karalis, Roman historian Professor Tim Parkin, an expert in decision-making Professor Katie Steele and award-winning poet Professor Sarah Holland-Batt are among 41 distinguished humanities scholars and practitioners elected to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of the Humanities today.
In a release the Australian Academy of the Humanities announced its new Fellows and said they “represent those who have left an indelible mark on their field, and a groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of societies and cultures”.
The Academy’s release said, “Election to the Academy is the highest honour within the humanities in Australia.”
Professor Vrasidas Karalis, the Academy said, “is the leading international scholar of Greek cinema”.
Prof. Karalis’s “original and comprehensive work of data collection, analysis and interpretation represents a ground-breaking justification of the importance of the Greek cinema to the history of European cinema.”
As many of the readers of Neos Kosmos know, Prof Karalis’s knowledge and work extends far beyond Greek cinema. As the Sir Nicholas Laurantos Chair in Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies at the University of Sydney, his work has been published far and wide as well as in this masthead. Prof. Karalis’s deep understanding of Greek literature, and language, Greek Byzantine, and contemporary society, as well as diaspora, is profound.
The President of the Academy Professor Stephen Garton said: “Each of our Fellows are working at the forefront of issues of national and international importance and exemplify why ethical, historical, creative and cultural knowledge and expertise is critical to better decision making for a resilient society.”
“Australia is facing a multitude of complex and vexed issues. Hard issues do not have black and white answers, and the humanities are critical for understanding how individuals shape and are shaped by broader social, cultural, and scientific contexts. Solutions to contemporary problems require a deep understanding of these perspectives and knowledges.”
The Greek embassy to Australia also posted congratulatory comments on Prof. Karalis’s Fellowship
“Congratulations to Professor Vrasidas Karalis, Sir Nicholas Laurantos’ Chair in Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies at the University of Sydney elected to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
“The highest honor to a highly esteemed scholar, an inspirational and much loved professor who has devoted his life in promoting studies in Australia.”
In addition to the Academy Fellows there were five researchers elected as Corresponding Fellows with expertise in digital humanities, Islamic Studies, Asian Studies, and linguistics, who will link the Academy to new opportunities for collaboration across the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Taiwan and China. Seven Honorary Fellows were also elected, and include visual artists, award-winning poets, art leaders and human rights activists.
The Australian Academy of the Humanities is one of Australia’s five Learned Academies — independent organisations established to encourage excellence in their respective fields and to provide expertise and advice at public, institutional and government levels.
Among the other honourees are Professor Rachel Ankeny (University of Adelaide), known for her interdisciplinary work in bioethics and science policy; Dr Tony Birch (University of Melbourne), an award-winning Aboriginal writer.
Other notable inductees include Professor Melissa Crouch (UNSW), for her socio-legal scholarship on Southeast Asia, and Professor Pat Dudgeon AM (University of Western Australia), for her influential research on Indigenous health and wellbeing.
For more information on inductees go to: humanities.org.au/power-of-the-humanities/academy-humanities-announces-fellows
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