Rate My Professor Cassandra Byrnes
Ratings & reviews
The teaching is really strong, with a clear depth of knowledge and an approachable style that makes it easy to engage and ask questions. She creates a genuinely inclusive environment in both lectures and tutorials, where different perspectives feel welcome and encouraged. Even more complex ideas are explained clearly without being oversimplified, which makes the material much easier to understand. Her lectures are consistently interesting, so it is easy to stay focused and actually enjoy the content (not like some where you a fighting to stay awake). Overall, her teaching makes the subject feel engaging and accessible, and has definitely increased my interest in the course.
Creates a collaborative and inclusive space.
Inspires confidence and independent thinking.
Makes learning exciting and meaningful.
Makes complex ideas simple and clear.
Great Professor!
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About Cassandra
Dr Cassandra Byrnes is a History Lecturer and Discipline Convenor of Gender Studies in the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry at the University of Queensland. She earned a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), and a Doctor of Philosophy in History, all from the University of Queensland. Her research specializations encompass histories of gender and sexuality, with a particular emphasis on the gendered nature of reproductive rights and fertility control. Currently, she is investigating the history of reproductive coercion in Australia’s recent past and its implications for contemporary laws and social practices. Her prior research focused on reproduction regulation in Queensland during the mid-to-late twentieth century, demonstrating how political, moral, and social controls over contracepting bodies shaped broader attitudes toward agency and autonomy. Byrnes researches and teaches Australian history, gender history, and histories of sexuality. She delivers the first-year course Gender Matters (GEND1010), which introduces key concepts, approaches, and methodologies in Gender Studies, including analyses of media, journalistic, film, and literary texts to explore gender's role in organizing lives and bodies.
In her career, Byrnes has held a Postdoctoral Fellowship on the interdisciplinary project The Limits of Consent, examining sexual assault and affirmative consent. She has been awarded the National Library of Australia Summer Scholar and served as a Global Change Scholar at the University of Queensland, fostering collaborations in interdisciplinary networks. Her key publications include the 2024 monograph A History of Abortion and Contraception in Queensland, Australia, 1960-1989: Sex under Conservative Rule (Taylor and Francis), and the co-authored book The Limits of Consent: Sexual Assault and Affirmative Consent (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024) with Lisa Featherstone, Jenny Maturi, Kiara Minto, Renée Mickelburgh, and Paige Donaghy. Notable journal articles comprise 'The Humble Condom: The Rise of Condom Culture and HIV/AIDS in Queensland' (Social History of Medicine, 2025), 'Reproducing History: A Review of the Historiography of Reproduction' co-authored with Paige Donaghy (Health and History, 2024), 'If you loved me, you’d sleep with me: Constructions of sexual consent in 1970s Dolly Magazine' (Lilith: A Feminist History Journal, 2023), and 'Consent: Feminist Approaches to Sexual Agency and Sexual Violence' co-authored with Lisa Featherstone and Jennifer Maturi (Australian Feminist Studies, 2023). Earlier contributions include book chapters 'A History of Gender' co-authored with Lisa Featherstone (2018) and 'The Abstract Beauties of Female Education: A History of University Women in Brisbane' (2018). She has presented at conferences such as the Australian Historical Association Conference (2022) and Lilith Symposium (2023) on topics including reproductive coercion and consent.
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