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UOW WOLLONGONG

SYDNEY

PACIFICOCEAN

SYDNEY AIRPORT

DRIVING TIME FROM WOLLONGONG CAMPUS TO:

BONDI 86 MIN

PARRAMATTA 75 MIN

SYDNEY (CBD) 72 MIN

SYDNEY AIRPORT 62 MIN

UOW WOLLONGONG

SYDNEY

PACIFICOCEAN

Welcome to the Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts, one of five faculties at the University of Wollongong. The Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts (LHA) aspires to build capacity in the regional economy and in international networks through research-led educational leadership. Our graduates have skills that employers want, including creative problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking, self-discipline and team work.

Our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees offer studies in disciplines in traditional areas of the humanities, law and creative arts with an added focus on professional skills for contemporary careers in a changing world. We offer an outstanding, supportive learning environment and are equipped with the latest technologies to provide a world-class learning experience. Our teaching and research staff are acclaimed nationally and internationally for their work, evidenced by our success in Quality Improvement in Learning & Teaching (QILT) outcomes, the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) rankings and research grant success. They are experts and high-level practitioners who have a wealth of industry and academic experience.

The Faculty fosters a rich interdisciplinary research culture through thematic research centres, project based research initiatives and collegial research networks. We are proud of our world-class research in areas including Indigenous identity, human rights, social justice, philosophy of mind and cognition, gender studies, material ecologies and settler colonial studies. We are particularly renowned for our cutting edge multidisciplinary research in ocean law, maritime security and natural marine resource management through the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resource Security (ANCORS), which is a strategic research strength of the University.

OVERVIEW FACULTY OF LAW, HUMANITIES AND THE ARTS

The Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts makes a significant contribution to the University attaining its vision and strategic goals. The Faculty is built on the strength and reputation of three schools: Humanities and Social Inquiry, the Arts, English and Media, and Law. We prepare flexible, analytical graduates who are ready to thrive in a global marketplace. Our schools offer contemporary programs that equip students with the skills to tackle the complex challenges faced in modern society.

The Faculty is committed to innovative teaching practices, some of which are recognised nationally. For example, in 2015, an Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) Citation for outstanding contributions to Student Learning was awarded to the first year Law Integration Team for the implementation and sustained development of an integrated first year law curriculum that heightens student engagement.

The Faculty is proud of its achievements and recognition. We are, and always have been passionate about academic excellence. Along with other recent awards and rankings, the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) has ranked UOW as the best overall university in Australia. The disciplines in the Faculty received an award of 1st or 2nd in Australia in Humanities, Culture and Social Science, Law and Paralegal Studies, and, Communications.

The Faculty has strength in Indigenous education. A new subject being developed will look at providing students with the necessary skills to engage and work appropriately and effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities, whether it be as an individual supporter of Indigenous causes, or as a professional delivering services or managing at an organisational level.

Technology-enriched teaching and learning strategies are being employed across the Faculty degree offerings. The Faculty is developing an interdisciplinary and integrated digital portfolio in Digital Media, Media Arts and Visual Arts: Maker Artefact Portfolio (MAP). This project will allow for the ability to document and share student projects across disciplines, major programs, degree courses and years; improved digital teaching and learning repositories, and transforming the exclusive nature of visual process journals or individual blogs into shared resources.

The Faculty continues to invest in infrastructure and state of the art facilities to support teaching and learning and to meet industry requirements in a dynamic environment.

OUR FACULTY

OUR PEOPLE

In the recent “Your Voice” Survey (2015) The Faculty scored 83% for job satisfaction which is higher than the Australian University benchmark. Our passionate hardworking staff are placed amongst the best in their fields. We have a strong reputation in all aspects of learning and teaching, as demonstrated by the student satisfaction, ratings for teaching excellence, success in teaching grants and awards and most importantly in student experience. The Faculty supports its students to achieve their goals in an interactive and collaborative learning environment. The School supports 58.1 FTE ongoing academic staff.

Our staff are consistently recognised by the University and Vice-Chancellor for their Outstanding Contributions to Teaching and Learning (OCTAL) receiving numerous awards over the years.

UOW was highly successful in our attainment of nine Discovery Early Career Research Awards (DECRAs) in 2015 placing us eighth nationally. The Faculty proudly achieved two of these DECRAs following on from our successes in previous years. We also continue to have great results in the ARC Future Fellowships scheme with a total of five Fellows currently positioned within the Faculty pursuing innovative and impactful research.

In acknowledgement of our high calibre research leaders the Faculty has three professors on the ARC College of Experts, represented across the broad disciplines of Social Behavioural and Economic Sciences (SBE) and the Humanities and Creative Arts (HCA).

Staffing HighlightsPROFESSOR MARK MCLELLAND. Mark McLelland is a sociologist and cultural historian of Japan specialising in the history of sexuality, gender theory and new media. His recent publications have focused on the post-war history of Japanese cultures of sexuality and the development of the Internet in Japan, especially the use of the Internet and other new media by minority communities in Japan and throughout Asia.

He is currently engaged in two ARC-funded projects. Mark’s ARC-funded Future Fellowship Project runs from 2013-2017 and is entitled ‘‘National Media Regulation and Global Cultural Literacy: International Perspectives on the Regulation of Young People’s User-Generated Content’. The project looks at how the transformation of communication via networked digital media has led to a blurring between media producers and users. International standards and strategies for regulation are analysed and recommendations made for ways that academics, policy makers and users can be brought into dialogue so as to generate culturally literate regulatory policies.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR BRONWYN CARLSONIndigenous StudiesBronwyn Carlson is Associate Professor in Indigenous Studies. In 2013, Bronwyn was presented with the Stanner Award sponsored by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, for her manuscript titled The Politics of Identity: Who Counts as Aboriginal Today? The Stanner Award was established in 1985 to support Indigenous academic writers. Dr Carlson has also been awarded two Australian Research Council Indigenous Discovery grants, one in 2011 and another in 2015. Dr Carlson’s first grant awarded in 2011 was the first of its kind to be awarded to the University of Wollongong and was one of ten awarded nationally. It provides three years of funding to support her doctoral research exploring Aboriginal identity and community in online social media spaces.

DR SUSAN ENGELInternational StudiesSusan is an academic, author and lecturer in International Studies, development studies and the international political economy. She is the head of the International Studies program at UOW. Before joining UOW, Susan worked in government, community and aid sectors and she continues to play an active role in issues of aid and development through volunteer and advocacy work. Since 2002, she has been a board member of the Indigo Foundation; a small, not-for profit organisation funding community development projects in developing countries.

Her research focusses on the international political economy, in particular development in Southeast Asia. She has written a book about the World Bank in Southeast Asia and is currently researching South-South Cooperation in the region. Susan coordinates a Model United Nations (UN) subject, a new experiential learning program where students learn the UN system, policy writing, negotiation skills, and address global challenges as model diplomats.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL INQUIRY

The Faculty supports our academic staff and over 200 currently enrolled Higher Degree Research (HDR) candidates to achieve their professional goals as researchers, policy makers and creative practitioners. We are home to numerous grant leaders and investigators funded through national and international agencies, such as the Australian Research Council (ARC), Australian Aid program, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australia Council for the Arts.

In the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry our distinctive research addresses key contemporary issues in the humanities with unique topics and approaches. Our research occurs not only within specialised disciplinary contexts, but also through rich interdisciplinary dialogue and exchange.

Our Indigenous research is recognised both nationally and internationally through our forum for Indigenous Research Excellence (FIRE). FIRE focuses on facilitating and fostering research with and for Indigenous communities and is home to one of only ten ARC Discovery Indigenous grants awarded nationally in 2015.

OUR RESEARCH AND AWARDS - HUMANITIES

The School of Humanities and Social Inquiry is one of three schools in the Faculty. The school has six discipline groups: Cultural Studies, Sociology and Science and Technology Studies; History; Indigenous Studies; Languages and Linguistics; Philosophy; Politics and International Studies and offers three undergraduate programs: Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of International Studies and Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics. These degrees can be taken as a single or double degree program. There are 17 majors offered in the Bachelor of Arts, including: History, Languages, Philosophy, Indigenous Studies, Politics and Sociology. The School’s strong reputation across its disciplines is reflected in the demand for its programs in Australia (Wollongong, Sydney, South Coast and Southern Highland campuses and education centres) and off-shore. The University’s extensive and ongoing curriculum transformation project is being developed and piloted in the Bachelor of Arts degree.

The UOW Language Centre is situated within the School. It provides students with a world class learning experience using the latest technologies in language teaching, and authentic and current linguistic and cultural information. Languages available include Chinese (Mandarin), French, Italian, Japanese and Spanish as well as English language and linguistics.

The Bachelor of International Studies draws on interdisciplinary areas such as politics, international relations, sociology, cultural studies, languages and history and looks at the appreciation and study of the diversity of the global community. Demand for the Bachelor of International Studies has been trending upwards since its inception and is particularly appealing to students wishing to take a double degree with Law, Commerce or Communication and Media Studies. The Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics and Economics, one of the newer degree offerings by the School, is targeted to high -achieving students wishing to pursue careers in analytical and decision making positions in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Possible careers include; economic and social analyst; economist; journalist; and political adviser.

The School has a vibrant Honours program consistently enrolling around 50 Honours students each year. The School offers three postgraduate programs: Graduate Certificate in Global Citizenship; Master of International Studies and Master of International Studies Advanced. The Graduate Certificate in Global Citizenship is a fully online course and may be used as an entry pathway into the Master of International Studies programs.

Studying Humanities at UOW gives students the option of tailoring their degree specifically to their interests. Subjects offered by the School are in demand by inbound study abroad students as well as students enrolled in other Faculties. Subject areas such as Australian Studies, Indigenous studies, Cultural Studies, Sociology, Philosophy, English Language and Linguistics, Spanish, History and Sociology are most sought after by students on exchange programs. Study abroad and student exchange is very popular for students from the School particularly for students completing a major in a Language where they are able to be fully immersed in the culture and language. The University recognises the importance of study abroad and provides funding for every student studying overseas. The Faculty has been successful in winning competitive student mobility funding in excess of $260,000 (2015) in the AsiaBound and New Colombo programs.

The Head of School will play a central role in the development and maintenance of standards in academic administration, delivery of a robust learning and teaching environment at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and the professional development of academic staff, as well as contributing to the future directions and strategic planning of the School. The appointee will work closely with the Associate Deans and with the other Heads of School and University units and Divisions. The University has a vibrant campus network of Heads of School, who meet and provide advice to the University executive.

The primary purpose of the position is to cultivate a dynamic collaborative environment that will foster excellence and innovation in research, teaching and learning across all discipline areas of the School, and to promote these School activities locally, nationally and internationally. The successful applicant will provide excellent leadership and management to support the endeavours of staff and students within the School so they can fully develop their academic potential.

You will be a highly motivated, energetic individual with an outstanding track record and well established career in leadership, governance, management, research and teaching, to provide vision and leadership for the School of Humanities and Social Inquiry. You will have an interest in teaching and curriculum with a good understanding of recent developments of their delivery. Experience in leading change in a dynamic environment is essential.

This position reports directly to the Executive Dean and will play a key role in the development of the School’s portfolio of degrees, programs and facilities. You will form part of the Faculty Executive, providing Faculty leadership and direction consistent with UOW objectives to ensure realisation of the School’s business plan.

THE ROLE – PROFESSOR AND HEAD OF SCHOOL

The School is the home of the Centre for Critical Human Rights Research, in which leading ARC funded researchers examine the meaning of human rights and human security for individuals, institutions, communities and regions. Projects include ‘IVF and Assisted Reproductive Technologies: The Global Experience’ and the ARC Linkage Project, ‘Fostering Women Leaders through Educational Exchange, 1930–1980’. The Colonial and Settler Studies Network promotes critical inquiry into the history, theoretical framing, and contemporary legacies of colonialism on a global scale. The Network fosters research that places colonial and settler colonial formations in comparative and connected frames and also has established national and international collaborations with other leading scholars. Under the leadership of Professor Mark McClelland an ARC Future Fellow, the Centre for Research on Men and Masculinities fosters collaboration between researchers at UOW, other key Australian universities as well as international institutions whose research addresses men, masculinities, and gender. This critical mass of scholarly activity develops research projects and publications and has a local and national profile. In recognition of the intensity and quality of our humanities research, key fields of research within the School were recognised with Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) rankings of ‘above world standard’ including Sociology (1608), Cultural Studies (2002), Historical Studies (2103) and Philosophy (2203).

OUR RESEARCH AND AWARDS - HUMANITIES (continued)

LHA FACTS AND FIGURES