Arts Faculty News

Monash Teachers

Seven Monash staff members have been awarded a 2008 Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning — Monash University’s most successful year ever..

Professor Mark Peel said his citation highlighted the strength of a shared commitment and dedication to teaching and student welfare in the School of Historical Studies and Faculty of Arts.

“I have contributed to, and learned from, a wonderful community of teachers and administrators over my 13 years at Monash,” Professor Peel said.

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Deans Teaching Awards

A ceremony was held last week at the Monash Staff Club to recognise excellence in teaching within the Arts Faculty. For the first time, there was also recognition of the work of sessional teaching staff.

Dr JaneMaree Maher, Associate Dean (Education), School of Political and Social Inquiry, said the Faculty of Arts contained many passionate and committed teachers and those receiving awards exemplified all the best attributes; concern for students, innovative and engaged teaching practices and a vision of education as transforming the world everyday in small yet significant ways. Nominations were made by Heads of schools and undergraduate coordinators, drawing on unit evaluations and other evidence of curriculum quality.

In her address, Professor Rae Frances congratulated all the awarded staff and said that decisions between excellent teachers were always challenging; she noted that “the number of awards today reflects the depth of talent in teaching in the Faculty of Arts”. Professor Frances said that “teachers in classrooms are Monash University’s most important ambassadors and memories of great teaching will stay with students for all of their lives”.

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Dr Kate Murphy and Professor Rae Frances

Dr Kate Murphy was awarded the Mollie Hollman Doctoral Medal for the best thesis submitted in the Faculty of Arts in 2007. The medal was presented by the Dean at a reception organised by the School of Historical Studies. Entitled ‘Gender and the rural-urban divide: fears and fantasies of the Australian elite, 1900-1930′, the thesis explores the different ways in which rural ideals functioned within early 20th century elite culture. The Dean commented both on the importance of the topic and on the very high praise that the thesis received from its examiners.

Emma Nicholls receives the Sir John Monash Medal

The Sir John Monash Medal for Outstanding Achievement was awarded to Emma Nicholls, a Historical Studies student this week. This was the first time any faculty has awarded this medal. Five Arts students also received Certificates of Commendation at the presentation.

Dr Carlo Salzani

Dr Carlo Salzani has been awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship.

Dr Salzani completed a PhD in the Centre for Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies on ‘Constellations of Reading: Walter Benjamin in Figures of Actuality’ in 2007.

The fellowships are offered world-wide on a competitive basis. The most important criteria for selection are the applicant’s publications and the quality and feasibility of their research proposal. This is the second Humboldt Fellowship to have been awarded to a Centre graduate in the last three years.

Dean Rae Frances and Kate Burridge

This week the Dean of Arts Professor Rae Frances awarded six academic staff with media engagement commendations. The commendation recipients were: Waleed Aly, Colleen Lewis, Craig De Wilde, Nick Economou, Paul Strangio and Dave Wright-Neville. Kate Burridge (pictured here with Professor Francis) received the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Media Engagement, in part, for her role on the ABCTV’s show ‘Can We Help?’

Former Monash Student Wins Academy Award

Monash Arts graduate, Eva Orner has won an Academy Award for her role as producer of 2008’s Best Feature Documentary film, Taxi to the Dark Side.

Eva was one of only two Australians nominated for an Oscar and beat out Michael Moore, who was favourite to take out the Best Documentary category for his film, Sicko.

Orner completed her Monash degree in 1993 and has been producing documentaries in New York for the past three years after making a name for herself as an independent producer in Melbourne on shows such as Blue Heelers.

‘Taxi to the Dark Side’ follows Carlotta Gall, a reporter for the New York Times, as she investigates the 2002 death of 22 year old Afghan taxi driver, Dilawar whist in detention at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Taxi to the Dark Side also examines America’s policy on torture and interrogation in general.

His death was officially declared by the US military to be from natural causes but Gall uncovers otherwise.

Taxi to the Dark Side goes on to examine America’s policy on torture and interrogation in general, specifically the CIA’s use of torture and their research into sensory deprivation.

Eva previously won a Logie Award for SBS in 1995 for her first film, Untold Desires.

Dr Rebekah Brown

Dr Rebekah Brown, from the Faculty of Arts, and Dr Travis Beddoe, from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, are this year’s joint winners of the Vice-Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Research by Early Career Researchers.

The awards are designed to recognise, reward and encourage excellent early career researchers at the University.

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Marc Orlando

Congratulations to Marc Orlando, recipient of the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators award for “Excellence in Translating”. The award recognises outstanding performance in translating and is open to all practitioners in the government and private sectors across Australia.

Marc received the award for his translation into French of “War Zone — A Reporter’s Story”, an 11,000 word magazine feature article on the war in Iraq by New Zealand journalist Jon Stephenson. The original article, which needed to be translated into French in order to compete in an international journalism prize, won the prestigious Bayeux International Prize for War Correspondents in 2006.

Marc has recently joined the School of Languages Cultures and Linguistics in the areas of French and Translation Studies.

Arts Dean's Teaching Awards recipients with Prof Mark Peel and Prof Rae Frances

A ceremony was held last week at the Monash Staff Club to recognise excellence in teaching within the Arts Faculty.

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