Critical milestone for UQ centre

Sharing its research outcomes with the wider community has been key to the success of UQ’s Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies, which next month celebrates its 10-year anniversary.

Situated within the Faculty of Arts and led by Professor Graeme Turner, CCCS has attracted considerable funding from the Australian Research Council, helping to position it as a national leader in the humanities field.

Professor Turner, who was awarded a Federation Fellowship in 2006, said the centre had developed research expertise in the areas of cultural studies, media studies, gender studies, and critical and cultural theory.

“It has been the centre of the Australian Research Council funded Cultural Research Network, the top-funded humanities network since 2005,” he said.

“It has secured three Australian Postdoctoral Fellowships, one Australian Research Fellowship, and one QEII Fellowship over its term. It has also attracted six UQ postdoctoral fellowships.”

The Centre has become a focus for research development, with its visiting Faculty Fellowships enabling the completion of dozens of projects.

Its public lecture program has become a central feature of the Faculty’s engagement with the public, with events attracting an average audience of 80, drawn from other Brisbane universities as well as the general public.

“The idea that a research centre should have a strong public engagement program – the public lecture program, for instance – was unique; this had not been done at UQ before,” Professor Turner said.

Modelled on the American humanities centres which attract researchers to continue existing projects, rather than establish a discrete research program, CCCS was the first research centre established by the Faculty of Arts.

“The best way to develop scale and focus is through establishing research centres where staff can dedicate their attention to their research for significant periods of time,” Professor Turner said.

“It is particularly the case that large and collaborative projects require that kind of investment of time, and it is precisely that kind of project that the humanities in Australia – not just at UQ—needed to develop.

“The Federation Fellowship program, involving three full-time researchers and a large support budget for field work and research assistance, is a good example of what is needed.

“So, research centres in the humanities have the important role of modernising and developing the research practices within the humanities, enabling large, long term and collaborative work on complex issues.”

The Centre’s future is looking prosperous, with funding renewed for the next five years and plans to further expand the public engagement programs in the pipeline.

“The recent award of ARC fellowships to staff Melissa Bellanta (APD) and Mark Andrejevic (QEII), also positions us well to continue our work over the next five years,” Professor Turner said.

“We have a new appointment coming next year, Professor Gay Hawkins, who in addition to her interests in media, has an established reputation for her work on environmental subjects.

“Through her, we are hoping to broaden the interdisciplinary and collaborative project of the CCCS to include the biological sciences, and to build research links across the university.”