What is the future for music education in our high schools and universities? How do music education and composition intersect? James Humberstone, a Senior Lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, kicks off Season 2 by teaching us the importance of music, and proves it is never too late to start a career in academia.

How many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are there? How can we take care of this very special Country and it's environments? What is linguistics, and why is it so complex? Australia is home to some of the oldest and most unique languages in the world. In today's episode, we experienced the honour of sitting down with Dr Jakelin Troy, a professor of Linguistics and the Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research at the University of Sydney. Dr Troy shares her experience as an academic, Aboriginal philosophies on life, and some deeply personal statements on what our Governments have done to her land in Ngarigu Country.

How does one lead a harmonious life? Can a musical education promote harmony in oneself and society? Join us in conversation with Rick Benitez, a recently retired Professor of Philosophy to discuss how ancient philosophy can help us answer these questions while we also discuss his experiences of the changes at Sydney University.

What is the true power of theatre? Is drama a moral good? Can applied drama transform classrooms? This episode delves into the necessity of applied drama in schools and its ability to promote justice. Hear some of the amazing work from Dr. Kelly Freebody, an Associate Professor of Drama Education who has worked at the University of Sydney for over 14 years.

Note: The Singaporean project discussed was led by Associate Professor Madonna Stinson.

References (in order they are mentioned):

Stinson, M. & Freebody, K. (2006). The Dol Project: The Contributions of Process Drama to Improved Results in English Oral Communication. Youth Theatre Journal, 20(1), 27-41.

ACOSS (2020). Poverty in Australia https://povertyandinequality.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Poverty-in-Australia-2020_Part-1_Overview.pdf.

Fraser, N. (2007). Re-framing justice in a globalizing world. In: Lovell, T. ed. (Mis)recognition, social inequality and social justice: Nancy Fraser and Pierre Bourdieu. London: Routledge, 17-35.

Anyon, J. (2011) Marx and Education. New York: Routledge.

The Teaspoon of light project (Peter O’Connor and colleagues)”: https://creativerecovery.net.au/project/teaspoon-of-light/.

Balfour, M. (2009). The difficult return: Contexts and developments in drama-based work with returned military personnel. Applied Theatre Researcher/IDEA Journal, (10), 1–11.

Wang, W.J. (2017). Combating global issues of land reform, urbanisation and climate change with local community theatre devising and praxes in Taiwan. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 22(4), 506–509 (A description of the Hong Kong performance mentioned).

Boal, A. (2000). Theater of the oppressed. 3rd ed. London: Pluto Press.

Snyder-Young, D. (2013). Theatre of good intentions: challenges and hopes for theatre and social change. Houndmills, Basingtoke, Hampshire; New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Heap, J. L. (1990). Applied Ethnomethodology: Looking for the local rationality of reading activities. Human Studies, 13 p, 36-72.

Are young people actively engaged in politics? Is University a place of privilege? What even are street libraries? All will be answered, along with the personal journey of Dr Peter Chen, an enthusiastic Political Scientist, who has taught at the University of Sydney for over 13 years.

What did we lose in the change from silent to sound cinema? Did Alfred Hitchcock recover some lost art of a purer, silent cinema? Hear about this and the remarkable personal life of Bruce Isaacs, an Associate Professor of Film Studies and confessed Hollywood fanatic in the first ever episode of The Road To Find Out.