The series of measures that China has launched to protect graduates against the worst economic consequences of the Covid-19 epidemic include a significant expansion of postgraduate enrolment. But while 189,000 extra places might be good news for candidates competing for a place this year, it has triggered concerns in China about the possible devaluation of […] … learn more→

In his book Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe writes that settler Australians wilfully misunderstood, hid and destroyed evidence of Aboriginal Australians’ farming practices. My analysis of secondary school textbooks shows this behaviour isn’t restricted to the past — it is ongoing. In Australia, pre-invasion Aboriginal peoples tend to be portrayed as nomadic hunter-gatherers. For example, a 1979 textbook titled Australia’s frontiers: […] … learn more→

#MeToo was widely heralded as a tipping point. Women, it seemed, were actually being believed about their own experiences. Following a media exposé and the bravery of women speaking out, Harvey Weinstein was jailed. But this is one perpetrator. So how much do we really believe women as credible authors of their own experiences? Brett […] … learn more→

  I have stopped counting the number of times that I have heard academics use “binary” as a description of contempt. In academic conferences and workshops, the mere mention of the word provokes knowing smiles of derision towards those accused of “simplistic binary thinking”. Binary concepts – such as “us and them”, “man and woman”, […] … learn more→