Koen Stapelbroek
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stplbrk.bsky.social
Koen Stapelbroek
@stplbrk.bsky.social
5.5K followers 440 following 43 posts
Professor & Dean @jcucase.bsky.social (Early) Modern Political Thought & Intellectual History. Institutions of trade, free ports, commercial treaties and other. Working and living on Bindal and Wulgurukaba Country. He/him.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
samuelmoyn.bsky.social
coreyrobin.com/2026/01/01/t...
The Moral Imagination of Mamdani
Speaking at Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration as mayor today, Imam Khalid Latif invoked the phrase “moral imagination.” Those of you historically inclined and theoretically attuned will instantly recogniz...
coreyrobin.com
January 1, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
johnfleckeross.bsky.social
Between 2020-2024, bachelor’s degree take-up by low-SES Australians fell 10%, compared to 2% in mid and high-SES, particularly declining in fields with highest tuition fees - 18% in law, business and commerce and 21% in other HASS fields. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/disadva...
Disadvantaged students ‘worst hit’ by humanities fee hike
Former administration’s tuition fee reforms undermining Albanese government mission to promote equitable enrolments
www.timeshighereducation.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
royalhistsoc.org
What does Gen AI mean for the work of the historian and the value of historical experience, skills and craft?

'The Historian in the Age of AI' by @chriscampbell1.bsky.social.

New Comment article now available in 'Transactions of the Royal Historical Society' bit.ly/4atErTB #Skystorians 1/2
Front page of 'Transactions of the Royal Historical Society' Comment article, title 'The Historian in the Age of AI', by Chris Campbell. Full abstract: "This comment interrogates the methods and conclusions of Working with AI, a recent report conducted under the auspices of Microsoft, which identified historians as the profession with the second-highest ‘AI applicability’. It finds that the authors’ conclusions are based on an erroneous simplification and misrepresentation of a historian’s typical professional tasks, which have been publicly amplified by extensive media coverage. This comment then offers a wider provocation about the report’s conception of a professional historian, and whether it is related to the public application of ‘historian’ to a number of different practitioners with varied training and qualifications. In particular, it seeks to highlight a paradox which the report exposes: that we cannot defend the specialist training and expertise of professional historians against the encroachment of AI without also separating the academic skills and qualifications of historians from those engaged in more popular forms of historical writing and communication. The comment questions how we might grapple with this paradox without reverting to academic elitism."
December 11, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
'Australia’s major research universities have warned that declining support for the humanities could threaten the country’s ability to operate in its region.' 1/3
November 11, 2025 at 4:41 PM
stplbrk.bsky.social
Our 9th 'Studies in North Queensland History' retrospective @jcucase.bsky.social @jcuofficial.bsky.social is Mary Carroll on "An Institution of Help and Education" and the history of Free Public Library Services in Townsville 1866-1981, by Richard Sayers jculibrarynews.blogspot.com/2025/10/an-i...
"An Institution of Help and Education"
In 2025, James Cook University celebrates its proud legacy in historical research, writing and publishing through the  Studies in North Quee...
jculibrarynews.blogspot.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
sarahabendall.bsky.social
🚨 Job alert: Two 2-year post doctor fellowships in history at UNSW Sydney.

external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au/cw/en/job/53...
Postdoctoral Fellow in History
Undertake independent research and contribute to UNSW’s vibrant History program as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in any area of historical study.
external-careers.jobs.unsw.edu.au
October 21, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
austjia.bsky.social
🚨Delighted to announce the winner of the Boyer Prize for best article published in the AJIA in 2024. Warm congrats to @liammoore.bsky.social for this paper analysing the complexity of 🇦🇺relations with Pacific states. #OpenAccess
www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....
#AcademicPublishing
ABSTRACT I argue the instrumental, paternalistic strategic culture often adopted in Australian foreign policy circles is counter-productive, preventing Australia from having productive and sustainable relationships with Pacific states. If Australian officials want to follow through on rhetorical commitments to enhance Australia's relationships in the Pacific, Australia must actively recognise the agency Pacific states have and place itself within this community of actors. Australia often positions itself as part of the 'Pacific family, but to be a collaborative member of this family it must go beyond headline commitments and fundamentally reconsider the evolving agency of small Pacific states and how this shapes Australia's interactions with them. We can understand this through the lens of normative communities. Revisiting constructivist International Relations theory, I reexamine who is included and excluded in the communities of actors that norms apply to. This has particularly significant implications around norms of climate change action and mitigation. Australia has historically tried to water down agreements and slow-role actions in this space. The ongoing bid to host COP31 perhaps offers an opportunity to both show leadership on climate-related issues and to reconfigure assumptions around Pacific agency and address the effects this has on Australia's relationships in the Pacific.
October 2, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
kilderbenhauser.bsky.social
"...the un-versities are busy hollowing out the humanities, key contributors to our developing culture." insidestory.org.au/from-deserts...
From deserts the profits come • Jim Davidson
Universities and the assault on cultural infrastructure
insidestory.org.au
September 11, 2025 at 3:26 AM
stplbrk.bsky.social
Our 8th 'Studies in North Queensland History' retrospective for
@austhistassoc.bsky.social #AHA2025 @jcucase.bsky.social
@jcuofficial.bsky.social is @sophieloywilson.bsky.social on "Topsawyers: The Chinese in Cairns 1870-1920", by Cathie R. May: jculibrarynews.blogspot.com/2025/09/tops...
Topsawyers: the Chinese in Cairns, 1870-1920
This year James Cook University celebrates its proud legacy in historical research, writing and publishing through the Studies in North Que...
jculibrarynews.blogspot.com
September 5, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
jcucase.bsky.social
Congratulations to Dr Elizabeth Smyth, a writer and researcher at JCU’s Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing in Cairns.
She is off to the USA after securing a prestigious Queensland-Smithsonian Fellowship to examine rare manuscripts written by rainforest travellers.
USA Fellowship to help understand rainforest stories
A James Cook University researcher is off to the USA after securing a prestigious Queensland-Smithsonian Fellowship to examine rare manuscripts written by rainforest travellers up to 125 years ago.
tinyurl.com
September 4, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
jcuofficial.bsky.social
A James Cook University researcher is off to the USA after securing a prestigious Queensland-Smithsonian Fellowship to examine rare manuscripts written by rainforest travellers up to 125 years ago.
Full story: shorturl.at/hFB2d
USA Fellowship to help understand rainforest stories
A James Cook University researcher is off to the USA after securing a prestigious Queensland-Smithsonian Fellowship to examine rare manuscripts written by rainforest travellers up to 125 years ago.
shorturl.at
September 4, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
kilderbenhauser.bsky.social
theconversation.com/universities...
Universities have lost their way, but cost-cutting and consultants are not the answer
Last week in Sydney, we saw a melodrama acted out that could stand in for the state of Australian universities more generally.
theconversation.com
August 25, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
kilderbenhauser.bsky.social
Don't forget that this history PhD scholarship, including an international student fee waiver, is now open for applications. It's linked to my team's current project on comparative imperialism in the Pacific region. www.flinders.edu.au/scholarships...
PhD Scholarship: Pacific Powers - Flinders University
www.flinders.edu.au
August 25, 2025 at 7:21 AM
stplbrk.bsky.social
Yes, this, and a lot more: skills taught in the humanities are highly valuable across the board, should be included in STEM and health degrees, do what GenAI can't do, and can help recover social licence of Australian higher education. Time to get off the backfoot! (first vision, then redo policies)
humanitiesau.bsky.social Australian Academy of the Humanities @humanitiesau.bsky.social · Aug 22
Great article. Employers say they need graduates with the skills in which the humanities are uniquely talented—critical thinking, problem-solving, communication.

Yet students who want to build these skills are slugged with almost double the debt under JRG. bit.ly/47I3Xml
Drop the ‘job-ready’ mantra, leading dean tells business
Expectations that universities produce graduates who understand work culture from day one are misguided, says the head of Melbourne Business School.
bit.ly
August 22, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
kilderbenhauser.bsky.social
Announcing a PhD scholarship for a history project on imperialism and great power projection in the Pacific. Supervised by Prudence Flowers and I here at Flinders, Adelaide. It includes an international fee waiver and stipend. Start Jan 2026. www.flinders.edu.au/scholarships...
PhD Scholarship: Pacific Powers - Flinders University
www.flinders.edu.au
August 15, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
jenniferashby.bsky.social
Tell me you don't understand the purpose of humanities research without telling me you don't understand the purpose of humanities research

@economist.com @eui-history.bsky.social

www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
"Soon after its founding, however, it became apparent that the EUI’s splendid digs might be distracting its scholars. As one insider explained to Charlemagne: “Left to their own devices, the academics began producing studies of the wool trade in 15th-century Flanders and suchlike.” He was joking—up to a point. A search for recent articles on the EUI’s database produced a list headed by “Silk consumption and dressing practices in late-medieval Catalonia”. In 1993 the university set up a new division, the Robert Schuman Centre, to keep things forward-looking and relevant, but with mixed success. In 2017 a School of Transnational Governance was founded in the hope that this would finally do the trick."
August 8, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
austhistassoc.bsky.social
All the links relating to the current campaign to repeal Job-Ready Graduates are housed here. Please feel free to share widely! We'd especially love people to sign the petition. Thank you for your support! linktr.ee/aushistorica...
August 7, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
michellearrow.bsky.social
If you would like to add your voice in support, you can sign here:

url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/w2nbCBNqgB...
Repeal Job-Ready Graduates Policy Now: Restoring Equity in Higher Education - Online petition
We sign this petition in solidarity with those who signed the Open Letter to the Prime Minister on 28 July 2025 (about:blank). We also write as individuals with a range of political beliefs. We are de...
url.au.m.mimecastprotect.com
July 27, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
michellearrow.bsky.social
More than 100 high-profile and distinguished Australians -and BA graduates- have signed the @austhistassoc.bsky.social open letter calling for the repeal of Job-Ready Graduates: a policy that punishes humanities students with life-changing debts: www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Tim Winton among 100 high-profile Australians calling for university fees that don’t ‘punish’ arts students
Open letter urges Labor to reverse JRG scheme, introduced by Coalition in 2021, as cost of humanities degrees reaches more than $50,000
www.theguardian.com
July 27, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
kilderbenhauser.bsky.social
What is the use of a Labor government that won't address this punitive tax on humanities students? www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...
Tim Winton among 100 high-profile Australians calling for university fees that don’t ‘punish’ arts students
Open letter urges Labor to reverse JRG scheme, introduced by Coalition in 2021, as cost of humanities degrees reaches more than $50,000
www.theguardian.com
July 27, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
mattdjryan.bsky.social
@hannahforsyth.bsky.social's *Virtue Capitalists*, “the sort of book that changes how you see the world”. (Me, quoting @adamtooze.bsky.social, quoting Claire EF Wright). Class, settler-colonialism, global history - it's good!

My review out now in @jas-jozstudies.bsky.social: doi.org/10.1080/1444...
Virtue Capitalists: The Rise and Fall of the Professional Class in the Anglophone World, 1870–2008
Published in Journal of Australian Studies (Ahead of Print, 2025)
doi.org
July 17, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
wombatscholar.bsky.social
The decline of academic history in Australia: an interesting & important article in SMH by @nickbryantoz.bsky.social Much more to be said, but a good start. Includes @frankbongiorno.bsky.social @capandgown.bsky.social @michellearrow.bsky.social Anna Clark et al
#history @austhistassoc.bsky.social
History’s booming in podcasts – but many of its academics are out of a job
We live in momentous times. History podcasts and books are more popular than ever. So why is academic history in crisis?
www.smh.com.au
July 9, 2025 at 9:40 PM
stplbrk.bsky.social
Our 7th 'Studies in North Queensland History' retrospective for
@austhistassoc.bsky.social #AHA2025 @jcucase.bsky.social
@jcuofficial.bsky.social is Richard White (USyd) on "No Swank Here: The Development of the Whitsundays as a Tourist Destination"
jculibrarynews.blogspot.com/2025/07/no-s...
No Swank Here: : The Development of the Whitsundays as a Tourist Destination to the early 1970s
This year James Cook University celebrates its proud legacy in historical research, writing and publishing through the  Studies in North Que...
jculibrarynews.blogspot.com
July 10, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
austhistassoc.bsky.social
Congratulations to our 2025 Prize Winners, announced last week at the AHA conference in Townsville!
July 7, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Reposted by Koen Stapelbroek
hannahforsyth.bsky.social
Towering over Townsville in North Queensland is a stunning rock. Just before flying home I took a walk up there to watch the sunrise.
July 4, 2025 at 9:32 PM