Monash University Malaysia School of Arts and Social Sciences

SASS Retreat 2024 🌟 The School of Arts and Social Sciences recently wrapped up its annual retreat in Port Dickson. Held at Thistle Resort from 4–6 December, the retreat brought together SASS staff for collaboration, professional development, and future planning. Highlights included team-building activities, insightful discussions with staff, and a team dinner. The retreat concluded with a session on Moving Forward 2025 by our Head of School, Prof. Duncan McDuie-Ra, followed by the presentation of the Teaching Award to Dr. Chrishandra Sebastiampillai and a group photo. Thank you to everyone who made it a success! 😄 #SASSRetreat

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Agata Frymus has been named the Leading Researcher in the field of Film in The Australian 2025 Research Rankings! Congratulations to Dr. Agata Frymus on this significant achievement 👏🎉 The Australian 2025 Research Ranking can be viewed here: https://lnkd.in/gdWtwTxD #SASS #ArtsResearch #Film

Best Graduate Award 🎓 We are proud to congratulate the recipients of the SASS November 2024 Best Graduate Award: Ashling Ng (Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences), Chi Mei Ng (Bachelor of Digital Media and Communication), and Brindha Menon (Master of Communications and Media Studies). We would also like to thank the Dean, Prof. Katie Stevenson, for joining us last Friday to present these awards. #SASS #BestGraduateAward

The School of Arts and Social Sciences is pleased to welcome Professor Duncan McDuie-Ra as our new Head of School! Duncan is a Professor of Urban Studies, and his interdisciplinary research investigates urban challenges in Asia, including urban migration, borderland urban development, urban surveillance technologies, urban media cultures, and urban play. An accomplished author of nine books, including the most recent, Insurgent Play (2025), and over 70 journal articles and essays, Duncan is also a member of the ARC College of Experts (2023-) and has held several editorial roles in journals and book series. He joins Monash following a period as Deputy Head of College and Associate Dean Research at the University of Newcastle, as well as Associate Dean of Research at UNSW, where he spent most of his career. Duncan has also been a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute (Halle), the Asia Research Institute (Singapore), Aarhus University (Denmark), and the International Institute of Asian Studies (Netherlands). We look forward to an inspiring journey ahead under Prof Duncan's leadership!

A heartfelt farewell 👋🏻 Today, we bid farewell to Prof. Adeline Johns-Putra, Head of the School of Arts and Social Sciences, and Dr. Dyah Pitaloka, one of our esteemed academics. We sincerely thank them for their leadership, dedication, and invaluable contributions to the School. Wishing them the very best in their future endeavours 😊🙌🏻

Flashing back to our past graduation ceremonies, where we celebrated the remarkable achievements of our graduates! 🎓 This day is more than just a ceremony; it’s a celebration of the hard work, perseverance, and countless hours our graduates have dedicated to reaching this incredible milestone. With graduation season upon us this week, we’re filled with excitement as we look forward to celebrating the accomplishments of our newest graduates! 😄 #ThrowbackThursday #MonashGraduation #SASS

More important and timely commentary on climate justice from Monash University Malaysia School of Arts and Social Sciences's Raksha Pandya-Wood and Azliyana Azhari, with insights shared by Seng-Guan Yeoh

Very honoured to receive the Partner of Academy of Singapore Teachers Award on behalf of Monash University Malaysia School of Arts and Social Sciences at the ceremony officiated by the Director-General of Ministry of Education, Singapore (MOE). It’s a culmination of a few years of collaboration with the History Chapter of AST. Shoutout to Master Teacher Lloyd Yeo who made it possible!

On Wednesday, 6 November, the SASS strategic project TIES (Transnational Interaction: East and Southeast Asia) successfully hosted an international workshop on public diplomacy with three speakers from Japan and one speaker from South Korea. The workshop, "Contestation in Southeast Asia: Japanese and South Korean Public Diplomacy," covered various aspects of public diplomacy as both transnational public engagement and an academic research focus. The workshop was moderated by TIES Leads, Dr. Tae-Sik Kim, with TIES Researcher, Mr. Chien Aun Koh serving as the respondent, presenting the current status and challenges of Southeast Asian public diplomacy. A number of SASS academics, along with undergraduate and postgraduate students, filled the seminar room and participated in the intense discussions on the definition, challenges, and future of public diplomacy in the region. #SoutheastAsia #PublicDiplomacy #InternationalRelations

May the spark of curiosity and the brilliance of innovation brighten your celebration. Happy Diwali! ✨ #MonashMalaysia #Deepavali #Deepavali2024