Past Events and Seminars

The stigma of obesity: Nature and consequences

Dr Lenny R Vartanian
School of Psychology
University of New South Wales

Abstract

Bias and discrimination against obese people is widespread, and has even been referred to as the “last acceptable form of discrimination.” Thus, in addition to the negative health outcomes associated with excess weight (e.g., type 2 diabetes and heart disease), there are also important social consequences of obesity.  With rates of overweight and obesity rising dramatically over the past three decades, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the consequences of obesity stigma.  In this talk, I will describe the nature and scope of obesity stigma, and will also discuss research examining the psychological and behavioural impact of being stigmatised because of one’s weight.

Speaker

Dr Lenny Vartanian is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of New South Wales.  He received his PhD in 2004 from the University of Toronto, and completed postdoctoral training at Yale University and at Cornell University.  From 2007-2009, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Syracuse University.  Dr Vartanian arrived in Australia in July 2009 to take up a post as Lecturer in Health Psychology, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in July 2011.  His research focuses on the psychological aspects of eating and weight, and includes topics such as obesity stigma, body image, and external influences on food intake.

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HUMILITAS
Holding power for the good of others

A public lecture on the origins and meanings of humility, by
Dr John Dickson
Senior Research Fellow, Dept of Ancient History, Macquarie University
Director, Centre for Public Christianity

“Dr John Dickson specialises in the big ideas that have shaped our world and inspired men and women to live beyond themselves. His journey has been an eclectic one: from fulltime musician to professional speaker, author, biblical historian, TV presenter and director of a multi-media think tank. He began his career as singer/songwriter for Aussie rock band In The Silence, touring and recording for seven years before temporarily giving music away to focus on academic studies and a wide-ranging career as a speaker and author. With an honours degree in theology and a PhD in ancient history John is also a Senior Research Fellow of the Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University. He is committed to delivering creative, engaging content grounded in careful thought.” (johndickson.org/bio)

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Deal or no deal: Examining mating psychology with relationship deal-breakers

Dr. Peter Jonason
School of Social Sciences and Psychology, University of Western Sydney

Abstract

Research on human mate preferences has exclusively examined what people want in their mates (i.e., positive preferences) and largely ignored what people do not want (i.e., negative preferences). Individuals and their mating preferences have evolved via natural selection to generally maximize benefits and minimize losses. As such, examining mate repulsion, in addition to previous work on mating attraction, is important to a holistic understanding of mating psychology. In 5 studies (N = 6,128), utilizing college student samples (n = 587) and a nationally representative sample of single Americans (n = 5,541), we examined sex differences and similarities, conducted centrality analyses, explored personality correlates, and examined how relationship deal-breakers act as hysteresis points in interpersonal relationships. Results suggest that those with greater value in the mating market report more deal-breakers than those with less value. The primary deal-breakers were unhealthy lifestyle, undesirable personality traits, and a divergent mating strategy; the former were localized to long-term relationships relative to short-term relationships, whereas the latter was localized to relationships that have the potential for impregnation as opposed to friendship.

Speaker

Dr. Peter Jonason is a social-personality psychologist who takes an evolutionary approach to personality, individual differences, mating behaviour, and sex differences. Dr. Jonason studied Political Science and Communication Sciences at the University of Connecticut. He switched fields to psychology while in law school, and completed his Ph.D. in Psychology from the New Mexico State University in 2009. He worked at the University of West Florida and the University of South Alabama prior to moving to UWS in September 2011.

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Pacific Island societies and sea-level change: Historical, contemporary and future relationships

Professor Patrick D. Nunn
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences
University of New England

Abstract

Human livelihoods on Pacific Islands have always been closely linked to the ocean.  As this changes, so people have adapted but this is resisted more today than in the past.

Past influences of sea-level change on human settlement in the Pacific Islands are illustrated in two ways.  First, it seems plausible to suppose that the timing of the initial settlement of most island groups by long-range seafarers was controlled by the spatially-variable timing of the sea-level fall in particular parts of the Pacific Ocean.  Second, there is abundant evidence to suggest that (western) Pacific sea level fell comparatively rapidly by 70-80 cm in the period AD 1250-1350 (the AD 1300 Event) causing significant depletion of nearshore food resources on which most people in the islands depended at the time.  The ensuing food crisis led to widespread conflict and a move of people away from exposed (coastal) sites to those (inland, upslope) able to be more readily defended.

Sea level has been rising for most of the last 200 years in the Pacific.  This has caused increasing problems for coastal dwellers that have been exacerbated in many places by increasingly unsustainable demands on coastal land and resources.  To date, management responses have been largely short-term, uninformed and frequently inappropriate.  In particular, the current failure to develop realistic plans for long-term and accelerating 21st-century sea-level rise is likely to pose massive adaptive challenges in the next 20-30 years.

Speaker

Before joining the University of New England in November 2010, Patrick Nunn was based for more than 25 years at the University of the South Pacific (Fiji) and has extensive research experience in the Pacific Islands region, focused particularly on climate-change impacts.  Among the books he has published, those entitled Climate, Environment and Society in the Pacific during the Last Millennium (Elsevier, 2007) and Vanished Islands and Hidden Continents of the Pacific (University of Hawaii, 2009) are germane to this talk.  Go to Professor Nunn's profile page to view more recent publications (opens in a new window).

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The Dignity of Resistance: The Case of Social Justice Scholars

Dr. Philomena Essed, Professor, Critical Race, Gender and Leadership Studies
Antioch University, USA

Abstract

The presentation features an international group of women scholars who resist racism and related systems of oppression through critical research and teaching, but also through their work outside of the university walls. They are, although academically accomplished, not the typical professional academic. How do they experience their commitment to social justice in hardly supportive surroundings, as is often the case? What are the challenges they face as dissident scholars and what are the rewards? How do they combine the demands of scholarship with social and other public interventions, and what keeps them going?

Speaker

PHILOMENA ESSED is Professor of Critical Race, Gender & Leadership Studies at Antioch University in the United States. She received her PhD in Social Science from the University of Amsterdam in 1990 and has previously worked both there and as a Visiting Professor at the University of California, Irvine. She is perhaps best known for her pioneering work on the concept of ‘Everyday Racism’. She is the author of Everyday Racism: Reports From Women of Two Cultures (Hunter House, 1990); Understanding Everyday Racism: An Interdisciplinary Theory (Sage, 1991) and Diversity: Gender, Color and Culture (University of Massachusetts Press, 1996). Other books include the co-edited volumes Race Critical Theories (Blackwell, 2002); Refugees and the Transformation of Societies: Agency, Policies, Ethics and Politics (Berghahn 2004) and A Companion to Gender Studies (Blackwell 2005; CHOICE outstanding academic title, 2005).

She has been involved in disability and diversity research and in gender policy development in the Netherlands. She advises on the implementation of European nondiscrimination law as (deputy) member of the Dutch Equal Treatment Commission. Philomena participates in studies of identity and equity interventions in South Africa and she continues to support scholarship and policy efforts on behalf of women, immigrants and minorities in Europe and the United States.

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Political myths of the Polish Post-World War II emigrants in the West

Dr Jan Lencznarowicz, Associate Professor, Institute for American Studies and Polish Diaspora Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

Abstract

The Second World War caused huge forced migration movements from occupied Poland. It is estimated that between 500 000 and 600 000 Poles who found themselves beyond the Soviet reach, decided not to return to Soviet-dominated Poland after the war. Soon a strong network of post-war Polish refugee communities emerged, based on organisational, personal and ideological links, common generational experience, shared political beliefs, as well as opposition to the Soviet-installed Communist regime in Poland. Drawing on diverse historical sources produced by Polish emigrants in the West in the years 1944-1956, the paper presents the main political myths maintained in Polish emigrant communities, such as the myth of Poland’s betrayal at Yalta; the myth of heroic Polish contributions to the victory over Nazi Germany; the myth of legalism – that is, the continuation of legitimate Polish authorities in exile; as well as the myth of the refugee communities in the West. Despite organisational, political and ideological divisions, personal animosities and geographical scattering in many countries, these myths facilitated the ideological and social integration of a considerable part of the Polish Diaspora.

Speaker

JAN LENCZNAROWICZ, Ph.D. is an associate professor at the Institute for American Studies and Polish Diaspora, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland. His main areas of research are: Polish political emigration in the 20th century, emigrants’ political myths and ideologies, and the policy of the Communist authorities towards Polish Diaspora. He takes interest in the history of Australia, Australian nationalism and the Polish ethnic group in Australia.

Jan Lencznarowicz is the author of three books: Ja³ta. W krêgu mitów za³o¿ycielskich polskiej emigracji politycznej po II wojnie œwiatowej. 1944-1956, [Yalta as the Foundation Myth of the Polish Political Emigration 1944-1956], Kraków 2009; Australia, [History of Australia in 20th century], Warszawa 2005; Prasa i spo³ecznoœæ polska w Australii. 1928-1980, [The Polish Press and Polish Community in Australia, 1928-1980], Kraków 1994. He published extensively in Polish and completed a number of English language publications on Polish immigrants in Australia.

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