

Some learnings from the gifting space
I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about language and communication lately, particularly the largely-unexamined assumptions about language that lurk in the background of my particular branch of democratic theory. I’ll write something longer about that shortly, but broadly speaking I think of language in rather anthropological terms as fluid systems of social meaning-making, not as fixed systems for conveying pre-linguistic truth. Despite that, … Continue reading Some learnings from the gifting space

A new job in Europe!
Followers of my social media feeds will already know this, but on 1 January 2019 I take up a new position as Professor of Social and Political Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. It’s a rather exciting opportunity because the whole faculty works in a very boundary-crossing way. The department itself has … Continue reading A new job in Europe!
*Waves hello*
Hello! I’m popping my head above the parapet for the first time in — oh my goodness, nearly 18 months. And what an 18 months it’s been. I feel like I’ve barely drawn breath, and have not had the headspace let alone time to write here. I’ll not go into all the details, but the key highs and lows include: getting started on the National … Continue reading *Waves hello*

Welcome Núria Franco-Guillén
I’m delighted to welcome Dr Núria Franco-Guillén who has joined the National Conversation Project as Project Specialist, based with me in the Centre for Governance and Public Policy at Griffith . Dr Franco-Guillén holds a PhD in Political and Social Sciences from Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona. Her research interest focus on territorial and multilevel politics and diversity studies, and she has expertise in computer-assisted qualitative … Continue reading Welcome Núria Franco-Guillén

Closed: Research Assistant Job
I’m hiring a research assistant (or possibly two) to work on my ARC-funded research project, Sparking a National Conversation. The research assistant might contribute in a number of different ways to the project, but the right person might have one, two or all of these skill sets: e-social science or big data skills qualitative and interpretive skills experience with research in indigenous Australian politics an … Continue reading Closed: Research Assistant Job

Brexit part 2: thresholds, representation, and ‘what next?’
The other day I wrote a post-Brexit reaction which focused on the rather specialised question of how deliberative democrats ought to respond to politics in a ‘post-fact’ society. In that piece I raised but didn’t specifically respond to claims about parliamentary action and bare majorities for issues of such significance. Here’s that response. First, the issue of whether 50%+1 was the right threshold, or whether … Continue reading Brexit part 2: thresholds, representation, and ‘what next?’