Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research

📻 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 Can Be Uncomfortable Sometimes”: Listening as Path-Building in Community Radio Policy and Practice 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 ...

📢 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.

🍓 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!

📢 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.

Digital Archaeology and Creative Practice | CAA Australasia Panel Join us for a free online panel exploring the intersection of digital archaeology and creative practice.

🎵 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

Beyond the bar: why grassroots music venues like Blah Bar matter - Byron Coast Times Explore the vital role of grassroots music venues in local youth culture and community following the closure of Blah Bar.

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. 🇦🇺🥉

🎤 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

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📚 Support Griffith research and community storytelling!

Congratulations to Associate Professor Heather Anderson on her book People Powered Radio: The History of Brisbane Community Radio Station 4ZZZ being shortlisted for the Queensland Literary Awards Lord Mayor's People's Choice Award.

The award is decided entirely by public vote, and winning would support a valuable initiative at 4ZZZ to engage young people in community journalism.

People Powered Radio explores the fascinating history of Brisbane's iconic community radio station 4ZZZ and celebrates the power of community media to connect people, amplify diverse voices and foster public conversation.

✅ You can help by casting your vote today:
Vote for the People's Choice Award - https://lnkd.in/d8UfJ6P8

The book is available through the Griffith University Library, Brisbane City Council Library, and bookstores across Brisbane.

What happens when music, memory, fandom and women's stories collide?

Join the conversation at Fan Core: Gen X Women Writing About Music, featuring Griffith University's Sally Breen and Christine Feldman-Barrett, alongside celebrated journalist and broadcaster Rhianna Patrick, moderated by cultural leader Leanne de Souza.

From Beatlemania to Riot Grrrl and beyond, the panel will explore how women have shaped music cultures as fans, musicians, writers and industry professionals, and why these stories matter more than ever.

📅 Thursday 30 July @ 6pm
📍 Avid Reader Bookshop, Brisbane

https://avidreader.com.au/pages/14088-FanCoreGenXWomenWritingAboutMusic

Home - Avid Reader Home

How do our ideas about God shape our ideas about masculinity?

In a new ABC Religion & Ethics article, GCSCR member Adis Duderija examines the relationship between theology, power and healthy Muslim masculinities in the 21st century.

Read more: https://www.abc.net.au/religion/adis-duderija-muslim-masculinity-stems-and-conception-of-god/106961280

Healthy Muslim masculinity requires a different understanding of God - ABC Religion & Ethics If Muslim men are to cultivate healthier forms of masculinity in the twenty-first century, we need not only a relational understanding of manhood but also a different conception of divine power to that of classical theism.