Prof. John Germov

Biography

John is Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Faculty of Education and Arts, Professor of Sociology, and Vice-President of the Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (DASSH). He has been Deputy Head of Faculty (2010) and Head of the School of Humanities and Social Science (2008-10), within the Faculty of Education and Arts.

John is a former President of TASA: The Australian Sociological Association (2002-04), having served on its Executive for 12 years during which time he was Vice-President (1999-2002), established TASAweb and was its editor (1996-2005), and was an Editorial Advisory Board Member for the Journal of Sociology (2002-09). He is a former Executive Board member of the ISA: International Sociological Association (2002-06). In 2010, he received the prestigious national honour, the Outstanding Service to the Australian Sociological Association Award.

His research interests span the social determinants of food consumption and production, public health nutrition policy, workplace change, youth and health behaviour, alcohol consumption and harm minimisation, wine studies, and the history of sociology. John has published 17 books, including a Canadian edition of his social determinants of health text, Second Opinion (2012). Other books include: Public Sociology: An Introduction to Australian Society (2011), Second Opinion: An Introduction to Health Sociology (2009), A Sociology of Food and Nutrition: The Social Appetite (2008), Australian Youth (2007), and Histories of Australian Sociology (2005).

John was responsible for devising a new Bachelor of Social Science program at UoN with an innovative prescribed sequence of core courses and a work-integrated learning stream throughout all three years of the degree. He has taught introductory sociology, and specialist undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the sociology of food, health sociology, sociology of work, and organisational sociology, as well as Honours in Sociology. He regularly supervises PhD candidates.

In 2009, he completed an ALTC scoping study of the Sociology Discipline in Australia, and is currently working on: a monograph on the changing nature of Australian work organisation, conducting ARC funded research on alcohol use and harm minimisation practices among university students, engaged in an interdisciplinary study of the Australian wine industry, and undertaking empirical research on the Slow Food movement in Australia.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Newcastle, 2001
• Master of Arts (Sociology), Monash University
• Bachelor of Arts, Chisholm Institute of Technology

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Research

Research keywords

• Body Image
• Food Habits
• Food Sociology
• Social Determinants of Health
• Sociology of Obesity
• Workplace Change

Research expertise

My majors areas of research interest include:

• Food Sociology
• Health Sociology
• Management Sociology
• Wine Studies

I have conducted empirical research and published in all of these fields.

My expertise has been recognised in being a grant, fellowship, and research centre reviewer for the ESRC (UK), NHMRC, and ARC.

Collaboration

John is interested in supervising PhD students in the following areas:

Food Sociology:

• Ethical food consumption and alternative food networks
• Social impact of functional foods and GM foods
• Gendered food habits and body image

Wine Studies:

• Social, cultural and historical influences on the production and consumption of wine in Australia

Health Sociology:

• Social determinants of health behaviour
• Social determinants of weight control and obesity
• Alcohol consumption and harm minimisation

Management Sociology:

• Workplace change
• Managerialism and public sector restructuring

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
160805	Social Change	80
111199	Nutrition And Dietetics Not Elsewhere Classified	10
111799	Public Health And Health Services Not Elsewhere Classified	10

Centres and Groups

Centre

• Research Institute of Social Inclusion & Wellbeing
• PRC - Priority Research Centre for Gender, Health & Ageing

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

• Member - The Australian Sociological Association (TASA)
• Member - International Sociological Association (ISA)
• Member - American Sociological Association (ASA)
• Member - British Sociological Association (BSA)

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

• Member - BSA Sociology of Food Group
• Member - BSA Medical Sociology Group
• Member - ASA Medical Sociology Section
• Member - Sociology of Agriculture and Food (RC40)
• Member - ISA Sociology of Health (RC15)

Appointments

International Advisory Board Member Israeli Association for Culinary Culture (Israel)	01/06/2012
Vice-President, DASSH Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Science and Humanities (DASSH) (Australia)	01/09/2011
Secretary - Deans of Arts, Social Science and Humanities (DASSH) Australasian Council of Deans of Arts, Social Science and Humanities (DASSH) (Australia)	01/01/2009 - 01/09/2011
Deputy Head of Faculty Faculty of Education & Arts, University of Newcastle (Australia)	01/06/2010 - 01/03/2011
Head of the School, School of Humanities and Social Science University of Newcastle (Australia)	01/01/2008 - 01/12/2010
TASA 2011 Conference Organising Committee Member The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) (Australia)	01/10/2010 - 01/12/2011
Member, University Strategic IT Committee University of Newcastle (Australia)	01/01/2007
DASSH Conference Convenor Deans of Arts, Social Science and Humanities (DASSH) (Australia)	01/01/2009 - 01/12/2009
Deputy Head of School, School of Humanities and Social Science University of Newcastle (Australia)	01/01/2006 - 01/12/2007
Discipline Convenor, Sociology & Anthropology University of Newcastle (Australia)	01/01/2004 - 01/12/2005
Executive Board Member International Sociological Association	01/01/2002 - 01/12/2006
Immediate Past President of TASA The Australian Sociological Association (Australia)	01/01/2005 - 01/12/2006
TASA President The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) (Australia)	01/01/2002 - 01/12/2004
TASA Vice President The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) (Australia)	01/01/1999 - 01/12/2001
TASA Web Editor The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) (Australia)	01/01/1996 - 01/12/2005
Program Convenor, Bachelor of Social Science + Hons University of Newcastle (Australia)	01/01/2004 - 01/10/2007
External Advistory Board Member FSANZ: Food Standards Australia New Zealand (Australia)	01/01/2005 - 01/12/2006
Jean Martin Award for best Australian PhD in the Social Sciences - Judging Panel Member TASA (Australia)	01/01/2003 - 01/12/2005
Stephen Crook Memorial Prize for best book in Australian Sociology TASA (Australia)	01/01/2003 - 01/12/2003
Editorial Board Member Journal of Sociology (Australia)	01/01/2002 - 01/12/2009
Member, 2002 World Congress of Sociology Local Organising Committee International Sociological Association (ISA) (Australia)	01/01/1998 - 01/07/2002
Conference Co-Convenor 'A Race for a Place: Eugenics, Darwinism and Social Thought and Practice in Australia', History and Sociology of Eugenics Conference (Australia)	01/01/2000 - 01/04/2000
TASA Executive Committee member TASA (Australia)	01/01/1995 - 01/12/1998
TASA Conference Convenor The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) (Australia)	01/01/1995 - 01/12/1995
Consumer Representative, FSANZ External Advisory Group Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), External Advisory Group Member (Australia)	01/01/2004 - 01/12/2007
Pro Vice-Chancellor, Education and Arts University of Newcastle (Australia) (Australia)	01/03/2011

Awards

Recognition.

2010	Outstanding Service to The Australian Sociological Association (TASA) Award The Australian Sociological Association (Australia) Inaugural recipient. The Award recognises those ‘who have delivered exceptional service to Sociology through its professional association’.
1997	Australian Awards for University Teaching Commonwealth Government (Australia) National finalist (runner-up)
1995	University Award for Excellence in Teaching University of Newcastle (Australia)

Invitations

Social Determinants of Obesity: A Sociological Contribution Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), Australia (Invited Presenter)	2007
Social Determinants of Obesity Australian Institute of Food Science & Technology (AIFST), Australia (Invited Presenter)	2005
Food Sociology: Understanding the Social Appetite Australian Public Health Nutrition Academic Collaboration (APHNAC) , Australia (Invited Presenter)	2005
HSC Online Forum NSW Department of Education, Australia (HSC Online Consultant)	2005
Australian Sociology: Trends and Prospects TASA , Australia (Keynote Address)	2004
Roundtable on the Social Determinants of Obesity International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), Australia (Conference Presentation - non published.)	2004
The New Professional Bureaucracy: Managerialism and Health Professionals, Menzies School of Health Research, Australia (Invited Presenter)	2004
The Life-work of Stephen Crook TASA, Australia (Keynote Address)	2003
Sociology and Public Health Mezies School of Public Health, Australia (Visiting Scholar)	2004
Welcome Address International Sociological Association, Australia (Conference Presentation - non published.)	2002
The Most Influential Books in Australian Sociology TASA, Australia (Invited Presenter)	2003
The History of TASA and Australian Sociology TASA, Australia (Invited Presenter)	2003
Publish or be Damned: Building your Publication Record TASA, Australia (Invited Presenter)	2003
Welcome Address International Sociological Association (ISA), Australia (Keynote Address)	2002
The Internationalisation of Sociological Teaching and Research: Australian Developments International Sociological Association (ISA), Australia (Invited Presenter)	2002
The Social Determinants of Health Australian Council for health, Physical Education and Recreation , Australia (Keynote Address)	2001
The effect of social class on weight control in mid-aged women: A longitudinal study. Evidence from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health TASA, Australia (Conference Presentation - non published.)	2009

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

I have significant governance experience, achieved as PVC, Dean of Arts, Deputy Head of Faculty, Head and Deputy Head of School, and via my professional service as TASA President (The Australian Sociological Association), having served 12 years on the TASA Executive (1995-2006) and as an ISA Executive Board member (International Sociological Association 2002-06). In 2009 I was the Conference Convenor of the annual conference of the Deans of Arts, Social Science and Humanities (DASSH) and since then have been Secretary, and then Vice President on the DASSH Board. In 2011, I was on the conference organising committee for the annual TASA conference, hosted by the University of Newcastle.

I have significant university and sectoral experience, having served on numerous committiees and chaired organisational reviews.

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Food Sociology
• Health Sociology
• Honours in Sociology & Anthropology
• Introductory Sociology
• Organisational & Management Sociology
• Sociology of Work

Teaching expertise

My teaching experience spans undergraduate, Honours, Masters by Coursework , and PhD supervision. I have previously been the BSocSci Program Convenor (2004-07) and substantially revised the program in response to an external review. I was also the Discipline Honours Convenor for Sociology & Anthropology (2004-05). In 2007, I was awarded a University First Year Experience Project Grant ($10,000) with colleague Prof Lauren Williams to develop an online learning module to enhance students' exam skills. In 2009 I completed an ALTC Discipline Initiative Grant ($100 000) that produced a scoping study of the teaching of sociology in Australia. I have also been an active participant in TASA's development of Threshold Learning Outcomes for Sociology in Australia.

In addition to having authored and edited a series of academic skills and discipline textbooks, in 2005 I completed a $15,000 consultancy for the Australian Public Health Nutrition Academic Collaboration to develop a new national Masters Distance Learning course on Food Sociology (SOCA6680). I have a reputation for teaching excellence, recognised in my University Award for Excellence in Teaching (1995) and in being a National Finalist in the inaugural Australian Awards for University Teaching (1997).