Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research

21/09/2026

📰 New in The Conversation: GCSCR's Kaya Tatjana examines how proposed changes to Australia's Working Holiday Maker visa program could affect regional industries that rely on backpacker labour.

Based on extensive research with backpackers, employers and community members, the article explores what's at stake.

Read more:

Expecting backpackers to work in tough conditions for months, only to be entered into an uncertain visa ballot, is a gamble for farmers and regional communities.

03/09/2026

🎸 Why does youth culture matter?

New research from Dr Christine Feldman-Barrett and colleagues argues that Australia's youth cultures, from punk and surf scenes to gaming and social media communities, are an important part of our national story and deserve to be preserved. A dedicated archive could help capture these experiences, connect generations, and create a richer understanding of Australia's past.

Read more in Griffith News: Teenage Kicks: Why Australian youth culture must be preserved

https://news.griffith.edu.au/2026/09/03/teenage-kicks-why-australian-youth-culture-must-be-preserved/

A new archive dedicated to Australian youth culture could help unlock a richer, more inclusive national history, according to research from Griffith and Monash Universities.

01/09/2026

Call for Papers for the Methodology Matters Forum #4 have been extended until Tuesday September 15, 2026.
Submit an abstract here now https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=q8h8Wtykm0-_YGZxQEmtYvAaghIUmtdMgtvsvqrX-pJUQ1JPSzM1UzlZQjhKV1pUOEpMMkZNMTVMRCQlQCN0PWcu&route=shorturl

20/08/2026

📻 New publication from GCSCR member Dr Bridget Backhaus.

How do we build stronger, more democratic communities through media?

In her new article,“Community Can Be Uncomfortable Sometimes”: Listening as Path-Building in Community Radio Policy and Practice, Dr Bridget Backhaus argues that community radio is not only a platform for amplifying voices, but also an important space for listening.

Drawing on Australian community broadcasting policy and interviews with practitioners, Bridget explores how cultures of listening are fostered within community radio and why listening should be understood as an active, political, and collaborative practice. The research highlights how community radio can create opportunities for participation, connection, and democratic engagement, while recognising that meaningful community building is often complex and sometimes uncomfortable.

Congratulations to Bridget on this insightful contribution to community media, participatory democracy, and listening studies. 👏

Community radio is ideologically committed to democratizing access to media production and representation, and providing a platform for views and voices that are ignored and silenced in mainstream ...

06/08/2026

📢 Call for Abstracts | Methodology Matters Forum #4

We're excited to announce that the Methodology Matters Forum #4 will be hosted jointly by the Griffith Institute for Educational Research (GIER) and the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research (GCSCR) on 23 November 2026 at Griffith University's South Bank campus.

This growing annual forum brings together researchers and HDR candidates to explore innovative methodologies, conceptual frameworks, and emerging approaches to research. The 2026 forum will feature inspiring keynote panelists Professor Gabrielle Ivinson and Professor EJ Renold from Manchester Metropolitan University, internationally recognised for their creative and pioneering methodological work.

✨ Have an innovative methodological approach, research design, or conceptual contribution to share? We encourage researchers and HDR candidates to submit an abstract and join what promises to be a stimulating day of discussion, collaboration, and research innovation.

📅 Abstract submissions close 31 August 2026.

05/08/2026

🍓 Have you seen this strawberry? 🍓

Not the kind you find in a punnet... we're talking about a two-and-a-half metre fibreglass strawberry that once stood proudly at the Ekka and advertised Queensland strawberries from the side of the highway.

Now, it seems to have vanished.

Enter Centre Member Dr Kaya Tatjana Barry, Senior Lecturer and Royal Queensland Show Research Fellow, who is leading the hunt for this giant piece of Ekka history. The mystery strawberry was reportedly spotted as recently as the early 2000s, but since then its whereabouts have become the stuff of legend. Hidden in a farm shed? Tucked away in storage? Rehomed somewhere unexpected? Nobody knows.

As the Ekka celebrates 150 years of history, Kaya is asking Queenslanders to help solve one of its most curious cold cases.

🔎 Last seen: somewhere in Queensland

📏 Size: approximately 2.5 metres tall

🍓 Status: missing, but definitely not forgotten

If you've spotted this giant strawberry or have a lead on where it might be hiding, now's your chance to help crack the case!

03/08/2026

📢 Upcoming Event | Digital Archaeology and Creative Practice

Join Centre member Dr Andrea Jalandoni as host of Making the Past Present: Exploring the Intersection of Digital Archaeology and Creative Practice, an online panel presented by CAA Australasia on Thursday 13 August 2026.

This thought-provoking discussion brings together artists and researchers working across archaeology, heritage, memory and place to explore how digital tools and emerging technologies are transforming the ways we engage with the past. The panel will consider the opportunities and challenges of collaboration between scientific research, creative practice and technology.

Featuring speakers Joey Nganjmirra, Aja Reyes, Dylan Sarra and Leila H. Staffler, this conversation promises valuable insights into the evolving relationship between art, archaeology and digital innovation. The session will also be recorded and made available via the CAA Australasia YouTube channel.

🗓 Thursday 13 August 2026

🕓 4.00pm to 5.30pm AEST

🎟 Free online event

Register today and join the conversation about making the past present.

Join us for a free online panel exploring the intersection of digital archaeology and creative practice.

02/08/2026

🎵 Why do grassroots music venues matter?

Centre member Dr Christine Feldman-Barrett recently featured in a number of local news outlets across Byron, Lismore and the Tweed, reflecting on the closure of Lismore's Blah Bar and what the loss of grassroots music venues means for youth culture and community connection.

Drawing on her expertise as a sociologist and youth culture historian, Christine highlights the important role these independent spaces play in bringing people together, fostering creativity, and creating opportunities for the unexpected encounters that help shape cultural life.

📖 Read the article: Beyond the bar: why grassroots music venues like Blah Bar matter

Explore the vital role of grassroots music venues in local youth culture and community following the closure of Blah Bar.

30/07/2026

We're thrilled to celebrate Dr Georgia Munro-Cook, Centre member and Research Fellow on one of our ARC Linkage projects, who has helped secure a bronze medal for Australia in Wheelchair Women's 3x3 Basketball at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Alongside teammates Taishar Ovens, Ebony Stevenson and Hannah Dodd, Georgia's achievement is a testament to talent, determination and teamwork at the highest level.

Georgia's success on the international sporting stage reflects the excellence, dedication and leadership she brings both as an athlete and as a researcher. We are incredibly proud to see one of our Centre members representing Australia and standing on the Commonwealth Games podium.

Congratulations, Georgia, on this outstanding achievement. 🇦🇺🥉

30/07/2026

🎤 TEDx Talk Now Live | Why Community Radio Matters

Congratulations to Heather Anderson on the release of her TEDxBrisbane talk, exploring the powerful role of community radio in strengthening democracy and amplifying diverse voices.

In her talk, Heather argues that community radio is much more than an alternative form of broadcasting. It provides essential spaces where communities can tell their own stories, where emerging ideas can be explored, and where voices that are often overlooked can be heard.

Throughout history, many significant social changes began as minority ideas, and community media has often provided the environment for those ideas to grow.

This thought-provoking presentation highlights the importance of community media in fostering civic engagement, public dialogue, and social connection.

▶️ Watch the talk: https://lnkd.in/gN3DU5j5