Sarah Maddison

Sarah Maddison is Professor in the School of Social and Political Sciences and Director of The Australian Centre at the University of Melbourne. She previously held positions at the University of New South Wales including Associate Professor of Politics (2015-2018), ARC Future Fellow (2011-2015), Research Director of the Indigenous Policy and Dialogue Research Unit (2009-2011), Senior Associate Dean (2007-2009), and Lecturer/Senior Lecturer (2004-2007).

Her educational background includes a BA (Hons) from University of Technology Sydney and a PhD in Government and International Relations from the University of Sydney (2004).

Maddison's research expertise centers on reconciliation and conflict transformation, Indigenous political culture, and social movements within the context of settler colonialism. Her work critically examines Australian society, culture, and history with particular focus on Indigenous-settler relations, treaty processes, and decolonial futures. She approaches these topics through interdisciplinary lenses including politics, history, sociology, and anthropology, with strong emphasis on ethical knowledge production and Indigenous sovereignty.

Her publication history demonstrates consistent engagement with critical issues in Indigenous-settler relations, moving from foundational works on Aboriginal political culture to contemporary analyses of reconciliation processes, treaty education, and the limitations of settler-colonial frameworks. Recent publications show increasing focus on Indigenous futures, policy development, and the racial politics of settler colonialism.

• 2022 DASSH Award for Excellence in Leadership (Education)
• 2021 APSA Award for Academic Leadership in Political Science
• 2009 APSA Henry Mayer Trust Book prize for Black Politics
• Shortlisted for Australian Human Rights Award for Literature Nonfiction
• Longlisted for John Button prize for the best political writing

Maddison has secured multiple ARC grants including 'Revitalising Indigenous-state relations' (2020), 'Non-Indigenous pathways to reconciliation in Australia' (2014), and 'Reconciling nations' (2011). She currently serves on the boards of Justice Connect and Unharm, and leads The Australian Centre's Critical Public Conversations series which examines contemporary settler-colonial nationalisms and possibilities for more just relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

As Director of The Australian Centre, she oversees research streams in Nationhood, Country, Knowledge Practices, Hi/stories, and Justice, with particular emphasis on ethical knowledge production and Indigenous data sovereignty. The Centre supports graduate research in Indigenous-settler relations and offers Treaty Education through Melbourne MicroCerts.