The Minister for Education, the Hon. Dan Tehan MP, has approved outcomes of the ARC Special Research Initiative for Australian Society, History and Culture for applications submitted between 28 February and 6 May.

Professor Michelle Arrow from the Department of Modern History, Politics and International Relations has been awarded $176,638 to assist her in writing a biography of the late Australian journalist, Anne Deveson AO.

“I am delighted and extremely grateful to receive this funding from the Australian Research Council, which will help me produce a biography of the journalist, broadcaster and activist Anne Deveson, who helped to transform Australia’s perceptions of mental illness, family violence and a host of other social issues,” says Michelle.

“The funding means that I can spend months in the archives, examining Deveson’s papers and watching and listening to some of her broadcast output. I am excited to begin the project next year.”

Associate Professor Lisa Wynn from the Department of Anthropology, was awarded $167,200 to help Australia’s understandings of infectious disease symptoms in the COVID era.

“I’m humbled to receive this grant, because there were so many qualified applicants. I think it reflects the ARC’s awareness that pandemics are biological and social phenomena, and we need to understand how people imagine pathogens and their transmission,” says Lisa.

“After all, we never actually see a virus, except under an electron microscope, so we have to imagine how they move between people. It’s our cultural imaginations of unseen things that this research project will study.”

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Sakkie Pretorius congratulated both academics on their outstanding achievements.

“I am delighted to see the tradition of ARC excellence continuing at Macquarie. Given the fierce competition for ARC grants, this is a wonderful achievement,” says Professor Pretorius.

This week the Pioneering Minds podcast speaks to neuroanthropologist Professor Greg Downey about how culture informs us, the vital importance of research and the amazing potential of the brain.

Listen below and then tell us in the comments what you thought of the podcast.

Listen to previous Pioneering Minds episodes on Soundcloud.