Rate My Professor Gillian Cowlishaw

Gillian Cowlishaw, Honorary Professor in the Discipline of Anthropology in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, has made significant contributions to social and cultural anthropology. Born in rural New Zealand in 1934, she entered academia later in life after training as a teacher. She obtained her BA (Hons) in anthropology from the University of Sydney in 1974 and her PhD in 1979, based on fieldwork examining socialization, sexuality, and reproduction among Australian Aboriginal women in the thesis "Women's realm: a study of socialization, sexuality and reproduction among Australian Aborigines." Throughout her career, she held teaching positions at Charles Sturt University, the Australian National University, and the University of Sydney (1992–1997). From 1998 to 2005, she was Research Professor at the University of Technology Sydney, before returning to the University of Sydney as Honorary Professor.

Her research focuses on Indigenous Australian studies, race and racism in rural and urban settings, ethnography, and critical reflections on anthropological practice. Notable books include "Black, White or Brindle: Race in Rural Australia" (Cambridge University Press, 1988), "Rednecks, Eggheads and Blackfellas: A Study of Racial Power and Intimacy in North Australia" (Allen & Unwin, 1999), "Blackfellas, Whitefellas and the Hidden Injuries of Race" (Routledge, 2004), which won the New South Wales Premier's Award and Gleebooks Prize for Critical Writing in 2005, and "The City's Outback" (UNSW Press, 2009). Other key works encompass articles such as "Tunnel Vision: Part One – Resisting post-colonialism in Australian anthropology" (2017) and "Mythologising culture" (2010-2011). She received an Australian Research Council Professorial Fellowship in 2006 and was elected Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA) in 2013. Cowlishaw's scholarship has profoundly impacted the field by highlighting the hidden injuries of race, challenging cultural revivalism narratives, and advocating for anthropology's engagement with contemporary social issues affecting Indigenous peoples in settled Australia. With over 50 publications and 760 citations, her work continues to influence debates on identity, policy, and power dynamics.