Two Curtin University researchers – an internationally renowned creative writer and a world-leading scholar of Chinese cultural and creative industries – have been elected to the Australian Academy of the Humanities, the highest honour for achievement in the humanities across the country.
Professor John Kinsella, from Curtin’s School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, was one of five outstanding researchers from across Australia elected as an Honorary Fellow for his outstanding leadership as a poet, novelist, critic and journal editor.
Professor Michael Keane, also from Curtin’s School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, was among 19 newly elected Fellows, recognised for their distinguished achievement in the humanities and arts disciplines.
Curtin University Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry congratulated Professor Kinsella and Professor Keane on receiving the prestigious national honours.
“Professor Kinsella and Professor Keane have been elected in recognition of their distinguished achievement in the humanities and arts disciplines, and this latest achievement adds to their internationally regarded careers,” Professor Terry said.
“Professor Kinsella is one of Australia’s most highly regarded creative writers who has been published internationally and whose areas of expertise include poetry, fiction, drama, memoir and critical writing.
“As a researcher, Professor Keane has broken new ground in the area of television formats in China, cultural industries, urban creative clusters, and online media and digital innovation in East Asia.”
As an Honorary Fellow, Professor Kinsella was elected in recognition of his significant contribution to the humanities and the arts, and to Australian cultural life.
Professor Kinsella has published more than 60 volumes of poetry and 11 volumes of fiction, and has edited influential journals and anthologies. He is also a prolific critic and cultural activist who has published on poetics, spatiality and activist aesthetics. He has won many state and national prizes for his publications.
Professor Keane’s current research examines the rise of China’s powerful internet communication companies and their internationalisation in the Asia-Pacific. He has authored or edited sixteen books on China’s media.
The 19 elected Fellows, including Professor Keane, were from a range of fields including archaeology, classics, history, philosophy, media studies, religion, Asian studies, art history, linguistics and musicology.
More information about the Australian Academy of the Humanities is available here.
