Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences

Australian Catholic University

The Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (IHSS) aims to undertake and promote outstanding and stellar research in the humanities and the social sciences. It seeks to foster and promote international collaborations and partnerships and advance humanities research across the fields of history and literature, as well as in political science and sociology. Established in 2020 with the appointment of its inaugural director, Professor Joy Damousi, it has attracted established scholars and promoted early career and mid-career academics to foster the next generation of humanities scholars. IHSS is composed of 3 formally constituted research Centres which concentrate on specific areas in the disciplines of history, politics, and sociology. The three Centres are: Centre for Refugees, Humanitarianism and Migration Studies (Director: Prof Joy Damousi) Centre for Gender and Women’s History (Director: Prof Susan Broomhall) Centre for Social and Political Change (Director: Prof Jack Barbalet) Two other research clusters have been developed – Literary Studies and First Nations and Colonial histories.