Arts, Culture and Society

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‘Perfect bodies and perfect lives’: how selfie-editing tools are distorting how young people see themselves

by Julia Coffey, Associate Professor in Sociology

Like many of her peers, Abigail (21) takes a lot of selfies, tweaks them with purpose-made apps, and posts them on social media. But, she says, the selfie-editing apps do more than they were designed for.

Arts, Culture and Society

Pope Francis tried to change the Catholic Church for women, with mixed success

by Tracy McEwan School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences and Kathleen McPhillips Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Science

Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, died on Easter Monday at the age of 88. On Easter Sunday, he used his message and blessing to appeal for peace in Middle East and Ukraine.

Arts, Culture and Society

A century in motion: how stop-motion films went from obscure ‘creature features’ to winning Oscars

by Jack McGrath Lecturer in Animation, University of Newcastle

The 2025 Academy Awards could shape up to be a big one for stop-motion animation. Australian director Adam Eliott’s Memoir of a Snail (2024) has raked in a nomination for Best Animated Feature Film, alongside Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024).

Arts, Culture and Society

Through sage smoke and story: a life-changing Indigenous knowledge exchange for graduate students

by Jodan Perry, PhD student

A transformative week in Canada saw University of Newcastle students and educators connect with global participants, sharing Indigenous knowledge and building lifelong cultural bonds at the inaugural International Traditional Indigenous Knowledges Institute Gathering.

Arts, Culture and Society

No croutons, no anchovies, no bacon: the 100-year-old Mexican origins of the Caesar salad

by Garritt Van Dyk - Lecturer at the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences (History)

The most seductive culinary myths have murky origins, with a revolutionary discovery created by accident, or out of necessity.

Arts, Culture and Society

Big dreams built through remote community partnership

by Shahni Wellington

The unlikely pairing of outback Menindee and seaside Newcastle have successfully bridged the distance

Arts, Culture and Society

Who invented the flat white? Italian sugar farmers from regional Queensland likely played a big role

by Garritt Van Dyk - Lecturer at the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences (History)

Australia’s coffee culture – a source of great national pride – is usually associated with the wave of Greek and Italian migrants who settled in Melbourne and Sydney following the second world war. But it was very likely in regional Queensland that one of Australia’s favourite brews first took root.

Arts, Culture and Society

How international recognition of cultural practices could be a new way to protect refugees

by Alice Neikirk, Lecturer in the School of Law and Justice, and Ray Nickson, Senior Lecturer of Criminology in the School of Law and Justice

More than 6.6 million refugees live in camps located largely in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. In these camp communities, unique cultural practices can arise.

Arts, Culture and Society

As Aussie as vanilla slice

by Garritt Van Dyk - Lecturer at the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences (History)

In 1998, Victorian premier Jeff Kennett visited a town in regional Victoria and said he had discovered, in his opinion, the best vanilla slice in Australia at the local bakery.

Arts, Culture and Society

Young Catholics seek new ways to ‘do church’

by Gemma Wolk

During a time of promising reformation in the Catholic church, unparalleled new insight into the thoughts and feelings of Catholic women has revealed a hunger for radical change.

Arts, Culture and Society

Not just a youth movement: history too often forgets older protesters

by Effie Karageorgos

Recent sustained anti-coal action by Blockade Australia in the Hunter Valley has brought public protest back into the news cycle. Activists have occupied trains, railway lines and machinery in an attempt to obstruct coal production and broadcast their message about the climate crisis.

Arts, Culture and Society

Protecting Indigenous knowledges

by Shahni Wellington

During his research to unlock the archives, Dr Hodgetts found that the keys had been long-kept from cultural knowledge-holders.

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