Arts & culture

16 July 2024

Past shootings of US presidents led to new gun controls - will this one?

David Smith, Associate Professor in American Politics and Foreign Policy in the Discipline of Government and International Relations, looks into the history of the AR-15 rifle and attempts at gun control in America.

16 July 2024

How women skateboarders are flipping the script ahead of the Olympics

University of Sydney sociologist and avid skateboarder Dr Indigo Willing's new research is flipping the script on sporting stereotypes as she explores how to make skateboarding more inclusive for girls, women, and gender diverse skaters.

15 July 2024

How Aboriginal musicians enhanced and maintained community in 20th century Australia

New research by Dr Laura Case, Lecturer in Musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, shows how Indigenous violin playing throughout 20th century Australia saw Aboriginal people adapting the European violin to fit within ongoing cultural practices.

12 July 2024

Australian Olympic team 2024: University sport stars head to Paris

On the Australian Olympic team for 2024 are elite athletes from the University community, including students balancing sport with study.

12 July 2024

Identity and resilience: Aboriginal performers have been celebrating NAIDOC since 1959

Dr Laura Case, Lecturer in Musicology and Dr Amanda Harris, ARC Future Fellow from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music revisit the history of the thriving Indigenous music scene during NAIDOC week.

09 July 2024

Dracula: a virtuosic performance, sexy staging, and a queer rewriting

Associate Professor Huw Griffiths, in English Literature, reviews Dracula, the final instalment in Kip Williams' gothic trilogy and the last production during his tenure as Artistic Director of the Sydney Theatre Company.

09 July 2024

New research shows life in ancient Saudi Arabia was complex and thriving

A team of researchers led by Jane McMahon from the Discipline of Archaeology find new evidence that shifts the perception of how people lived in north-western Saudi Arabia during the Neolithic period.

03 July 2024

New Alphonse Mucha exhibition provides balm for a world in upheaval

Dr Will Visconti from Art History reviews the life and works of artist Alphonse Mucha, whose sweeping exhibition of illustrations, jewellery, interior decoration, photographs and more is now on display at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until 22 September.

29 June 2024

The beginnings of fashion: why do we wear clothes?

From stone tools that prepared animal skins for humans to use as thermal insulation, to the advent of bone awls and eyed needles to create fitted and adorned clothing, Dr Ian Gilligan explores when we started to dress to impress.

26 June 2024

Consuelo Cavaniglia: seeing through you

For the first time, an artist has been invited to respond to the spectacular internal architecture of the University of Sydney's Chau Chak Wing Museum.

25 June 2024

Bell Shakespeare's new King Lear understands the joy of a good tragedy

Dr Kirk Dodd, lecturer in English, reviews the new King Lear at Bell Shakespeare, directed by Peter Evans and starring one of Australia's finest classical actors, Robert Menzies.

13 June 2024

The new power and politics of comedy

Dr Benjamin Nickl, a humour expert from the School of Languages and Cultures, and his co-author Dr Mark Rolfe, Honorary Lecturer at UNSW, discuss the politicisation of comedy in the new academic book The Moral Dimensions of Humour.

11 June 2024

Is age verification for pornography access reliable? Research suggests no

A new study by Professor Alan McKee and Dr Zahra Stardust (QUT) suggests that age assurance technologies restricting access to pornography are unreliable and ineffective, and that there are better, evidence-based alternatives to facilitate access to diverse and healthy representations of sexuality online.

07 June 2024

The Dispossessed at 50: Ursula K. Le Guin's anarchist utopia endures

Dr Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer in English, discusses the enduring political power of Ursula K. Le Guin's groundbreaking science-fiction novel, The Dispossessed.

07 June 2024

How the Blade Runner soundtrack uses electronic music to explore humanity

Dr Alison Cole, a leading expert on film scores and lecturer in Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, analyses Vangelis' innovative use of electronic music to capture emotion and translate the complexities of the human condition, 30 years on from the release of the 1982 Blade Runner soundtrack.

06 June 2024

Sydney Con composer Paul Mac creates a magical musical ride on Sydney trains

In an Australian first, composer-producer Paul Mac is paying tribute to Sydney's suburban railway system in a project that sees two Sydney train routes turned into a mobile electronic music and light experience: Tekno Train.

05 June 2024

Seven new shows at the Chau Chak Wing Museum

As the University of Sydney's Chau Chak Wing Museum farewells the Biennale of Sydney, it's thrilled to announce a suite of new exhibitions opening in the second half of 2024.

05 June 2024

Australian photographer Rosemary Laing remembered for her sensuous yet unsettling images

Associate Professor Donna Brett, Chair of Art History, pays tribute to Australian photographer Rosemary Laing, remembering her ground-breaking work in the art form, and her unique ability to "make us look".

03 June 2024

The joke's on us - how AI is replicating our laughter online

In an era in which we are increasingly reliant on digital devices and services, laughter can be a potent form of stress and frustration relief, and the tech industry knows it. But can AI genuinely emote a sense of humour, asks Dr Benjamin Nickl from the School of Languages and Cultures.

03 June 2024

New Disney documentary, The Beach Boys, tells the band's story - but not the whole story

Dr Jadey O'Regan, lecturer in Contemporary Music at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, closely examines the new Disney documentary, The Beach Boys, and finds it moving but ultimately lacking in its coverage of the more complex and difficult parts of the band's journey.