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ACIS-University of Melbourne Postdoctoral Fellowship Applications Now Open

Catherine Kovesi • February 2, 2022

ACIS is delighted to announce that we are once again collaborating with the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne to offer a  two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship in Italian Studies - broadly understood - commencing in 2022.


The field includes Italian disciplines in the humanities and social sciences such as Italian language and literature, Italian linguistics, visual and performance studies (Italian art, cinema, television, theatre, music), Italian history, Italian art history, Italian sociology, Italian anthropology, Italian migration studies, and Italian politics. The Fellow can therefore collaborate with any relevant School or programme in the Faculty of Arts.

The successful applicant will have an emerging track record of research on, engagement with, and clear interest in, Italian Studies well aligned to the research strengths of the Faculty of Arts. They will demonstrate a commitment to working collaboratively in research groups, with colleagues, students and partners, as a proactive member of the Faculty’s core academic community.


Reporting to the Associate Dean, Research, and receiving formal mentorship from a relevant discipline Chair, the postdoctoral position’s primary focus is on research (at least 0.8 full time equivalent), but the candidate may also contribute to the undergraduate teaching programmes of their allied discipline area (no more than 0.2 full time equivalent). 


Applicants should have an emerging track record of research publications engaged with Italian Studies issues and debates, and a clearly articulated research proposal with an aspect of Italian Studies as its main focus. To be eligible for this role you will need Australian or New Zealand citizenship; or Australian or New Zealand permanent residency; or hold an Australian Temporary Graduate Visa (subclass 485) expiring after the end of 2023.

Ideally, you will further have:

  • A PhD from an Australian or New Zealand University since January 2017 in Italian Studies
  • Near-native or native written and verbal English communication skills, and a level of Italian language competency equivalent to B2 or higher (see Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR])


APPLICATIONS CLOSE 22 February, 2022

New Subjects and Stories of Baroque Art: Hamilton Gallery

March 4, 2024
Open until 14 April 2024, the exhibition Emerging From Darkness: Faith, Emotion and The Body in the Baroque is presented at Victoria's Hamilton Gallery (on the unceded lands of the Eastern Maar and Gunditjmara peoples), in partnership with the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Unprecedented, and monumental in scope, Emerging From Darkness brings together an exceptional group of works from public and private collections in Australia. It was curated by Associate Professor David R. Marshall , Principal Fellow in Art History at the University of Melbourne, Dr Lisa Beaven , Adjunct Senior Research at La Trobe University, and Laurie Benson , Senior Curator of International Art at the NGV. Here two curators explain some of the project’s background and aims.

In Podcast: 1873–2023, Alessandro Manzoni’s Legacy

October 27, 2023
In Italy this year there has been no shortage of Manzoni celebrations, particularly in Milan . And in Australasia? Dr Stefano Bona , Lecturer in Italian Studies at Flinders University, Adelaide, on the lands of the Kauna nation, has lately been involved in creating a ‘special miniseries’ of radio programmes about Alessandro Manzoni. Now available for listening on demand are two longform interviews with Stefano Pratola at Radio Italiana 531 AM. Here Stefano Bona shares some background to this podcast project.

Awarded: Two ACIS Prizes, Two Notable Publications

September 14, 2023
Announcing, with great pleasure, the winners of the 2023 ACIS Publication Prize for an established scholar, and the 2023 Jo-Anne Duggan Prize. ACIS awards both prizes every two years . In this case, each winning publication addresses the theme of mobility – a fast-evolving direction in Italian Studies research – and each brings forward a topic with clear contemporary significance.

Save the Date: ACIS 12th Biennial Conference, 3–6 July 2024

September 4, 2023
The 12th Biennial Conference of the Australasian Centre for Italian Studies will be held at the Australian National University (ANU), Canberra, Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, from Wednesday 3 July to Saturday 6 July 2024. The conference theme is ‘Italian Studies for Global Challenges: Transdisciplinary Conversations’.

Announcing the 2023 ACIS Save Venice Fellow

August 24, 2023
Open to postgraduate and early career researchers, since 2018 the ACIS Save Venice Fellowship programme has been enlivening close links between Australasia and the city of Venice. Fellowship applications were suspended in 2022, for pandemic-related reasons. So it is a special pleasure to announce that Brigette De Poi has been awarded an ACIS Save Venice Fellowship for 2023. Already living in Venice to focus on her PhD project, Brigette shares some first reflections on her contact with Save Venice thus far.

Looking for Forgetting in the Archive

August 8, 2023
Which memories are allowed to circulate in a particular culture – and which are relegated or silenced? What political logic is at play when a certain way of remembering is spelt out, even imposed? Matthew Topp was awarded an ACIS Postgraduate Scholarship in 2020, to source archival records for his doctoral thesis, which has the working title ‘ Ars Oblivionalis : A Study of Cultural Forgetting in Renaissance Italy’. Now returned from fieldwork, he shares a brief account of his PhD project and travels.

Two early career scholars reflect on their time as ACIS Save Venice Fellows

By Catherine Kovesi • April 2, 2023
Two promising early career scholars – Lauren Murphy and Julia Pelosi-Thorpe – were the recipients of ACIS Save Venice Fellowships. Delayed due to COVID travel restrictions, they were finally able to access their Fellowships in 2022. Here they both reflect on their time in Venice and the benefits of the Fellowship to their respective research projects.

Announcing a new Chair and new team at the helm of ACIS

By Catherine Kovesi • March 29, 2023
ACIS is delighted to announce that Professor Andrea Rizzi has been appointed the new Chair of the Australasian Centre for Italian Studies. He leads a renewed Management Committee with several new appointees who start their terms of office this year.

ACIS Postgraduate Scholarship Winners 2023

By Catherine Kovesi • January 30, 2023
After a hiatus of three years due to travel restrictions, ACIS is delighted once again to be able to offer its Postgraduate Scholarships for Research in Italy. Two promising postgraduate students have been awarded scholarships in the current round: Brigette De Poi and Laura Di Blasi.
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