Amanda Wise

Amanda Wise is a Professor in the School of Communication, Society and Culture at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. She is affiliated with the Housing and Urban Research Centre and has established herself as a leading researcher in the fields of migration, diversity, and urban sociology. With over two decades of academic experience, Professor Wise has secured numerous Australian Research Council grants and has advised government bodies on issues related to diversity and anti-racism strategies. Her work bridges academic research with practical policy applications, focusing on the everyday experiences of living in culturally diverse urban environments.

Professor Wise earned her PhD in Cultural Research (Anthropology) with a thesis titled "Exile & Return Among the East Timorese" in 2003. She completed her BA (Hons) in Sociology at the University of Wollongong in 1998. Her academic journey reflects a deep commitment to understanding cultural diversity, migration, and urban life through both anthropological and sociological lenses.

Wise's research centers on social inequalities in global cities, with particular focus on migration, diversity, and the urban commons. She pioneered the concept of "everyday multiculturalism" which examines positive modes of living with difference in urban settings, challenging previous dystopian narratives about multiculturalism. Her work explores how people "rub along" with those different from themselves in extremely diverse urban environments, investigating the dispositions, discourses, and practices that underpin mundane situations of togetherness. She has conducted extensive fieldwork in Australia and Singapore, comparing approaches to diversity in longstanding multicultural societies versus recent immigrant-receiving nations.

Her recent publications reveal a consistent focus on the intersection of migration, urban space, and informal social practices. Wise examines how everyday interactions in public spaces—particularly through activities like informal sports—create opportunities for social cohesion in superdiverse contexts. Her work increasingly emphasizes community resilience, highlighting strengths-based approaches to understanding how diverse populations navigate urban life. The geographical focus spans Australia, Singapore, and comparative studies across multicultural societies, with special attention to the experiences of migrant workers.

• Supervised numerous PhD students on topics related to everyday multiculturalism, migrant workers, and social inequality
• Principal Chief Investigator on Australian Research Council Discovery Project "Delivering Inequality? Wellbeing & Survival in Australia's Gig Economy" (2023-2025)
• Chief Investigator on Australian Research Council Discovery Project "Social Resilience, Migrant Integration and Informal Sport in Public Space" (2022-2024)
• Extensive experience advising government on diversity and anti-racism strategies

Wise is actively involved with the Housing and Urban Research Centre at Macquarie University, where she contributes to interdisciplinary research on urban challenges. Her current projects focus on how public spaces and informal activities like sports can foster social cohesion among diverse populations, particularly new migrants. She works closely with researchers like Selvaraj Velayutham and Kristine Aquino on projects examining the relationship between urban infrastructure, migration, and community resilience in both Australian and Singaporean contexts.