Sarah Maddison was educated at the University of Sydney and the University of Technology, Sydney. She taught political science at the University of New South Wales from 2004-2014, where she also held roles as Senior Associate Dean (2007-2010) and as an Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2011-2014).
She joined the University of Melbourne in 2015. In 2018 she co-founded a research unit, the Indigenous-Settler Relations Collaboration, in the Faculty of Arts, which she co-directs with Dr Sana Nakata. Also with Dr Nakata she edits the Springer book series Indigenous-Settler Relations in Australia and the World. She has published widely in the fields of reconciliation and intercultural relations, settler colonialism, Indigenous politics, gender politics, social movements, and democracy. Her most recent book, The Colonial Fantasy: Why white Australia can't solve black problems, was published by Allen & Unwin in 2019. In 2015 Sarah published Conflict Transformation and Reconciliation (Routledge) based on comparative research in South Africa, Northern Ireland, Australia, and Guatemala, and in 2016 she published the collection (co-edited with Tom Clark and Ravi de Costa) The Limits of Settler Colonial Reconciliation (Springer). Her book Black Politics: Inside the complexity of Aboriginal political culture (2009) was the joint winner of the Henry Mayer Book Prize in 2009. Her other recent books include The Women’s Movement in Protest, Institutions and the Internet (co-edited with Marian Sawer, 2013), Beyond White Guilt (2011), Unsettling the Settler State (co-edited with Morgan Brigg, 2011), and Silencing Dissent (co-edited with Clive Hamilton, 2007). In 2017 Sarah was Visiting Chair of Politics at the University of Cape Town and has previously held visiting positions at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University, the University of Connecticut, The University of Witwatersrand, and the University of Ulster. In 2009 she was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study models of Indigenous representation in the United States and Canada. Sarah is Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Arts.
Find out more about Sarah Maddison's experience
Sarah Maddison's highlights
FEATURED Journal article
The Sleeping Giant Awakens: Genocide, Indian Residential Schools, and the Challenge of Conciliation.
Read moreSarah Maddison's selected work
Revitalising Indigenous-State Relations In Australia
Research Grant
It's time for Indigenous nationhood to replace a failing colonial authority
NEWS ARTICLE
Working through the problems: negotiating friendship, producing results
Journal article
Academy Of The Social Sciences In Australia (Assa) Workshop Programme
Research Grant
Three reasons Australians should be concerned that NGOs' voices are not being heard
NEWS ARTICLE
Questioning Indigenous-Settler Relations: Reconciliation, recognition, responsibility
Book Chapter
Sarah Maddison's selected work
Projects
Displaying the 3 most recent projects by Sarah Maddison.
Project Types
3
Research Grant
Additional Information
2014-2016 Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (with Ravi Da Costa, York University, and Tom
Clark, Victoria University) Non-indigenous pathways to reconciliation in Australia
2011-2014 Australian Research Council Future Fellowship, Reconciling nations: What can Australia learn
from the international experience of democratic dialogue?
2010-2012 Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, Where’s the evidence? Understanding the use of
evidence in Indigenous policy, with Professors Ilan Katz and Patrick Dodson, and Partner Organisations the
Australian Human Rights Commission and the Lingiari Foundation
2008-2010 Australian Research Council Discovery Grant, New possibilities for Indigenous representation: The
opportunities and constraints of conflict among leaders
2008-2010 Australian Research Council Discovery Grant (with Professor Marian Sawer, Australian
National University) The evolution of social movements
Scholarly Works
Displaying the 73 most recent scholarly works by Sarah Maddison.
News
Displaying the 9 most recent news articles by Sarah Maddison.
Honours, Awards and Fellowships
Henry Mayer Trust Book prize for Black politics: Inside the complexity of Abroginal political culture (joint award)
University Medal
Credentials
Positions
Positions
Professor In Political Science
Social And Political Sciences
Member
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Education
Education
Graduate Certificate in University Learning and Teaching
University of New South Wales
PhD
University of Sydney
BA (Social Inquiry)
University of Technology Sydney