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Sociology - Thesis Topics & Supervisors

The following is a list of Sociology postgraduates and their thesis topics. If you are a postgraduate student in sociology and would like to have your name added or removed from this list, or if you would like to have your email or and abstract listed as well, you can do so simply by contacting our Postgraduate Coordinator Sue Stevenson.

PhD
Student Topic Supervisor / s
Charlotte Baines "Rudd and religion under Labor (2007-2111)" Dr Andrew Singleton / Prof. Gary Bouma
Susan Carland "How are Australian and American Muslim women redefining leaderships roles within their Islamic traditions and communities?" Dr Andrew Singleton / Dr Pete Lentini
Bob Dixon "The effectiveness of Catholic parishes" Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Andrew Singleton / Associate Professor Dharma Arunachalam
Amy Dobson "Sexualised selves: The changing representations of young femininity in online girl cultures" Professor Denise Cuthbert / Assoc. Professor Peter Snow
Lilain Duffy "Being Buddhist: Dimensions of identity formation" (lapsed under reg 18.2) Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Andrew Singleton
Ian Grant "Contextualising Christian leadership among the Enga of Papau New Guinea" Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Matt Tomlinson
Anna Halafoff "Netpeace in multifaith societies: Misplaced risks and post-cosmopolitan common good" Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Jo Lindsay / Associate Professor David Wright-Neville
Liudmila Kirpitchenko "Eastern Europe academic mobility and intercultural dialogue" Associate Professor Dharma Arunachalam / Dr Tseen Khoo
Emily Lee "Hallmarks of a successful marriage seen across Generation X and the Baby Boomers" Dr Jo Lindsay / Associate Professor Dharma Arunachalam
Davina Lohm "Who are they? How do young residents of Australia perceive their national identities?" Dr Kirsten McLean / Associate Professor Dharma Arunachalam
Vanessa Longo "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue: Italian-Australian grandmothers, mothers and daughters negotiating ethnicity, culture and identity in their everyday lives" (lapsed under reg 18.2) Prof. Denise Cuthbert / Associate Professor Dharma Arunachalam
Jonathan Lyons "War without end? One thousand years of anti-Islam discourse" Prof. Gary Bouma / Prof. Greg Barton
John McCormack "The use of popular music genres in worship by (Pentecostal) churches in the Greater Melbourne area" Dr Andrew Singleton / Dr Kirsten McLean
Tisna Prabasmoro “Values, identity and fandom: A cultural study of  football/soccer” Dr Andrew Singleton / Dr Peter Kelly
Gerald Rose "Ministry identity in a Australian evangelical Church in a postmodern, globalizing World: A socological analysis" (lapsed under reg 18.2) Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Matt Tomlinson
Zachary Russell "Relative fit and the minority experience: Understanding intergroup relations and acculturative stress as by-products of acculturation orientations" Prof. Gary Bouma / Associate Professor Dharma Arunachalam / Dr RoseAnne Misajon
Elizabeth Stewart "Law and identity: Jewish identity in pre-war Germany" (under examination) Assoc. Prof. Naomi White / Prof. Andrew Markus
Budi Sudarto "A colourful romance: Gay Asian men and gay white men couples" Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Mark Davis
Matthew Walker “Environmental discourses on population growth: A comparative study of environment groups in Western democracies” Assoc. Prof. Dharma Arunachalam / Dr Bob Birrell
Delanie Woodlock "Why so sad? Antidepressants, and the girl power generation"  (lapsed under reg 18.2) Dr Kirsten McLean / Prof. Alan Petersen
Victoria Yew "A social inquiry of religion and community" (lapsed under reg 18.2) Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Matt Tomlinson
Master of Arts by Research (100% Research)
Student Topic Supervisor / s
Kate Maher "The social construction of attitudes towards Australian Muslims: The roles of social group discussions and news media reports" Assoc. Prof. Naomi White / Associate Professor Dharma Arunachalam
Alex Riquier “Families, self-identity and consumption” Dr Jo Lindsay / Dr JaneMaree Maher
Master of Arts by Research (66% Research)
Student Topic Supervisor / s
Handun Athukorala "The psychosocial wellbeing at work: A study of female workers in Australia" Assoc. Prof. Naomi White / Dr Jo Lindsay
Rachmad Hidayat "Masculinity, Islam and domestic violence in Indonesia" Dr Kirsten McLean / Dr Andrew Singleton
Completed
Student Topic Supervisor / s
Ibrahim Abraham (MA) 2008 "The queer Umma: Queer Muslim identity and community in Australia" Dr Andrew Singleton / Dr Kirsten McLean
Joanne Birkett (MA) 2002 "The social construction of women's gambling as a social problem" Dr Ulla Svensson
Marcelle Cacciattolo (PhD) 2002 "Accepting, coping and re-evaluating living with breast cancer: Women's experiences with illness and dying" Prof. Gary Bouma
Jim Connelly (PhD) 2004 "Ordained ministry as a second career: A study of attitudes and practices within the Anglican Church in Australia, Province of Australia" Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Harry Ballis
Kristin Diemer (PhD) 2001 "Romantic love in everyday life: An exploration into its social construction in contemporary western society" Dr Peter Hiller
Ian Dobson (PhD) 2005 "A fair chance for whom? Equity, social mobility and Australian higher education policy" Dr Bob Birrell
Duane Duncan (PhD) 2008 "Embodying gay male identity: Gay men, body-image and political visibility" Dr Andrew Singleton / Dr Kirsten McLean
Daniel Edwards (PhD) 2007 "Competition and choice: Determinants of access to university via the Victorian school system" Dr Bob Birrell / Prof. Gerald Burke [under examination]
Maria Fong (MA) 2004 "The sociological study of urban legends" Dr Andrew Singleton
Alexandra Fraser (PhD) 2003 "Family-friendly workplaces: An Australian case study of corporate culture" Dr Ulla Svensson
Lesleyanne Hawthorne (PhD) 2001 "The international transfer of skills: The 'NESB' factor in labour market disadvantage for engineers and nurses in Australia" Dr Bob Birrell
Genevieve Heard (PhD) 2008 "Fertility and economic resources in Contemporary Australia" Dr Bob Birrell / Associate Professor Dharma Arunachalam
Melanie Heenan (PhD) 2002 "Women, rape trials and law reform" Dr Jan van Bommel
Les Henson (PhD) 2003 "Towards a Melanesian contextual theology: The development of integrated missiological method and associated narrative texts" Prof. Gary Bouma
Jennifer Higgins (PhD) 2001 "Mid-life women and ageing" Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Helen Johnson
Clare Hourigan (PhD) 2006 "Lone parenthood in Australia: A spacial analysis" Dr Bob Birrell
Ronelle Hutchinson (PhD) 2004 "The construction of community in virtual spaces" Dr Jan van Bommel / Dr Peter Hiller
Jeanette Jennings (PhD) 2001 "Changes in Victorian government schools: Schools of the future or Schools of the Fuhrer?" Dr Ibtisan Abu Duhou
Iresha Karunaratne (PhD) 2004 "Learning English in urban Sri Lanka" Dr Jan van Bommel / Assoc. Prof. Naomi White
Debbie Kirkwood (PhD) 2001 "Women who kill: A study of female perpetrated homicide in Victoria between 1985 and 1995" Dr Jan van Bommel
Jeroen Knevel (MA) 2004 "Dutch political parties on immigration and integration surrounding the National Election 2002" Dr Bob Birrell
John Levi (PhD) 2007 "These are the names: The Jews of Colonial Australia 1788-1850" Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Kirsten McLean
Rodney Ling (PhD) 2005 "Australian autoworkers in the early 21st century: Opportunities for self-actualisation and vocational development" Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Barry Ellem
Ma Xiaomei (PhD) 2001 "A comparative study of changes of private school patterns in Australia and China: 1985-1994" Dr Joy Fisher
Kirsten McLean (PhD) 2004 "Identifying as bisexual: Life stories of Australian bisexual men and women" Prof. Gary Bouma
Lyle Munro (PhD) 2002 "The sociology of animal protection" Dr Ray Jureidini
Kate Paine (MA) 2001 "An evaluation of vocational programs as support for students at risk in two secondary schools" Dr Chris Chamberlain
Shahidur Rahman (PhD) 2008 "The Bangladesh garment industry: Socio-economic vulnerability and global integration" Prof. Carla Lipsig-Mumme / Dr Dennis Woodward [under examination]
John Rietveld (PhD) 2005 "The return of evil: A reconsideration of good and evil with and beyond Augustine, Calvin and Macintyre" Prof. Gary Bouma
Kate Seear (PhD) 2008 "Gynaecological governance: Femininity, responsibility and self-care among women with endrometriosis" Feminity, responsibility Prof. Alan Petersen / Dr Andrew Singleton
Sylvie Shaw (PhD) 2002 "Wild at heart: Recreating relationship to nature" Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Peter Cock
Jennifer Sinclair (PhD) 2007 "From mastery to mysticism: Locating the contemporary spiritual in cultural context" Dr Andrew Singleton / Assoc. Prof. Denise Cuthbert
Robin Smilovitis (PhD) 2008 "Unwinding transnational threads: Transnational religion and missionary transmigrants" Prof. Gary Bouma / Dr Andrew Singleton
Caroline Spencer (PhD) 2001 "The egg and sperm race: The creation and recreation of sexual knowledge for preadolescent children 1945-2000" Prof. Gary Bouma
Morna Sturrock (PhD) 2004 "Bishop James Moorhouse: The Melbourne Years 1876-1886" Dr David Dunstan / Prof. Gary Bouma
Budi Sudarto (MA) 2004 "Different nationalities, one community: Gay Asian men in Melbourne's GLBTIQ community" Dr Jan van Bommel
Shiva Vasi (PhD) 2004 "Conversion to Zen Buddhism" Prof. Gary Bouma
David Wood (PhD) 2001 "Bishop John Vernon Taylor: Christian mission in the global village" Prof. Gary Bouma

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