Miriam Bankovsky

Miriam Bankovsky is Associate Professor and Head of Department for Politics, Media and Philosophy at La Trobe University's School of Humanities and Social Sciences. She teaches into the Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy, and Economics program and the Philosophy major, focusing on how these disciplines contribute different perspectives to public policy issues through historical analysis.

Her research spans multiple interdisciplinary domains:

• History of Economic Thought
• Family and Household Studies
• Political Theory and Philosophy
• European Philosophy
• Moral Philosophy
• History of Philosophy

Bankovsky's scholarly work critically examines the historical intersections of economics, family structures, and social policy. Her research reveals how economists have historically framed issues of poverty, birth control, and family economics across different historical periods, challenging conventional narratives and highlighting previously overlooked injustices. Her approach bridges continental philosophy with economic history, creating interdisciplinary insights that challenge disciplinary boundaries while maintaining rigorous scholarly standards.

Her notable achievements include the Australasian Association of Philosophy's Annette Baier Prize (2017) for her work on economic envy and an ARC-funded DECRA fellowship (2013-2019) that enabled her transition from political philosophy to economic history. Her publications appear in leading journals across economics, philosophy, and interdisciplinary fields.

Bankovsky currently leads collaborative projects with international scholars including Professor Rebeca Gomez Betancourt (University of Lyon) and Professor Marianne Johnson (University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh), focusing on the history of economists' analyses of reproductive issues and editing a Cambridge Companion to economic thought by and about women. Her new book 'Economics and the Family: A Social and Political History' (Cambridge University Press, 2025) rewrites the conventional history of family economics by tracing its development from nineteenth-century Britain through to contemporary times.