Rate My Professor Elspeth Probyn

Elspeth Probyn, Professor Emeritus of Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of Sydney, played a foundational role in establishing the Discipline of Gender and Cultural Studies within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Born in Canada in 1958, she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art and French from the University of British Columbia. She pursued postgraduate studies in media and communications at Concordia University, completing a Master's thesis on anorexia nervosa and a PhD in 1989 titled An Autobiographical Turn: Uses of the Self in Cultural Theory, which formed the basis of her first book, Sexing the Self: Gendered Positions in Cultural Studies (Routledge, 1993). Her career spanned institutions including the University of Montréal, where she joined the Department of Sociology and helped establish a feminist studies program, authoring Outside Belongings (Routledge, 1996). In 1996, she was appointed Director of Women’s Studies at the University of Sydney, evolving into the Department of Gender and Cultural Studies, which she headed for several years. From 2009 to 2012, she served as Research Chair Professor of Gender and Cultural Studies at the University of South Australia, co-directing the Centre for Postcolonial and Globalisation Studies and directing the Hawke Research Institute for 18 months. Returning to Sydney in 2012, she continued her influential work until becoming Professor Emeritus in early 2025.