STAFF PROFILE
Associate Professor Suzi Hutchings
Dr Suzi Hutchings is of Central Arrernte descent. Suzi is Associate Professor in the School of Global, Urban & Social Studies, and president of the Australian Anthropological Society.
Among various education, arts and community roles, Suzi is a board member of the Ilbijerri Theatre Company. She currently co-ordinates Indigenous Policy at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and supervises post-graduate students.- Indigenous knowledges
- Contemporary Indigenous music, performance and film
- Native Title
- Aboriginal youth and criminal justice
- Indigenous identity
- Social Anthropology
- DJ and radio production
- Indigenous de-colonisation theory
Suzi prefers to be contacted via email at suzi.hutchings@rmit.edu.au.
- PhD Social Anthropology (University of Adelaide)
- BA (Honours) Social Anthropology (University of Adelaide)
- Cert. 111 Media, Radio Adelaide (University of Adelaide)
Dr Hutchings is Associate Professor in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies in the College of Design and Social Context at RMIT University. She has previously taught in anthropology and Indigenous studies at senior level at the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Flinders University of South Australia. She is currently the manager of the Indigenous Incubator Project at RMIT, a program for the development of an Indigenous Knowledges Centre.
As an Indigenous scholar and senior anthropologist of native title and family jurisprudence with extensive experience in research, consultancy and academia, Dr Hutchings has highly-developed expertise in Indigenous relationships to the land, religion and community. She brings this knowledge and experience into her collaborations with Indigenous musicians, performers and Elders to develop culturally relevant curriculum inclusive of Indigenous knowledges and practices.
Dr Hutchings is the current President of the Australian Anthropological Society. She is the first-ever Indigenous anthropologist to hold this position. Dr Hutchings also sits on the Board of the Ilbijerri Theatre Company, the longest established First Nations theatre company in Australia. She has also sat on University Ethics Committees as First Nations representative, including the RMIT HREC Committee, and she was previously the Chair of the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia Research Ethics Committee. Currently, she is a member of the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (VACL), Lowitja language health check ethics committee.
Dr Hutchings has been the recipient of scholarly awards and grants including an Endeavour Research Award to New York University, an ARC grant in collaboration with senior Indigenous Elders in the David Unaipon School of Indigenous Education and Research (DUCIER) at the University of South Australia and an Enabling Capability Funding Grant from RMIT University.
Dr Hutchings publishes and presents extensively on native title, Indigenous sovereignty and activism and on social justice issues. She is also an experienced radio broadcaster and has produced and presented for Radio Adelaide 101.5FM in South Australia, and she currently produces the show Subway Sounds on PBS 106.7FM in Melbourne.
Forthcoming publications
- 2018: Hutchings, S., Hernandez Castillo Sr R. A., & B. Noble (eds), Alliances with, as Indigenous Peoples: The Obligations and Actions of Anthropologist in Mexico, Canada and Australia, University of Arizona Press.
- 2018: Hutchings, S., Indigenous anthropologists caught in the middle: the fragmentation of Indigenous knowledge in native title anthropology, law and policy in urban and rural Australia, in Hutchings, S., Hernandez Castillo Sr R. A. & B. Noble (eds), Alliances with, as Indigenous Peoples: The Obligations and Actions of Anthropologist in Mexico, Canada and Australia, University of Arizona Press.
- 2018: Hutchings, S., Beyond post-colonial paradigms: incorporating Indigenous knowledges theory into music therapy practice, in (Post)Colonial Music Therapy, S. Hadley & A. Crooke (eds), Barcelona Publishers.
- 2018: Hutchings, S., & Rodger, D., As black as it gets : contemporary Indigenous Hip-Hoppers use of social media to forge fan/artist relationships, express identity and challenge racism, Theme Issue of Media International Australia Indigenous Innovation in Social Media, B. Carlson & Dreher T. (eds), Media International Australia Journal.
- 2018: Hutchings, S., & Rodger, D., Reclaim Australia, A.B. Original's debut album, commenting on racism and Indigenous identity in modern Australia, in Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series, J. Stratton and J. Dale (eds), Bloomsbury.
Published books & articles
- 2017: Hutchings, S. & Morrison, A. (eds), Indigenous knowledges: Proceedings of the water sustainability and wild fire mitigation symposia, 2012 and 2013. University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA,.
- 2017: Hutchings, S. with Morrison, A., Introduction. In S. Hutchings & A. Morrison (eds) Indigenous knowledges: Proceedings of the water sustainability and wild fire mitigation symposia, 2012 and 2013 (pp. 1-21). University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA,
- 2017: Hutchings, S. & Crooke, A., 'Indigenous Australian Hip-Hop for Increasing Social Awareness and Celebrating Contemporary Indigenous Identity', Musicult'17 Conference Proceedings, June.
- 2017: Hutchings, S., The Politics of Identity: Who Counts as Aboriginal Today by Bronwyn Carlson, book review, Native American and Indigenous Studies Journal, University of Minnesota Press.
- 2016: Making Aboriginal Men and Music in Central Australia by Ase Ottosson, book review, American Anthropologist, p. 945-946, Vol. 118(4), December.
- 2014: Hutchings, S. (ed), Introduction, Indigenous Knowledges Impacting the Environment, AlterNative, Special Edition.
- 2014: Hutchings, S., Significant Tree Legislation in South Australia: Reflecting Aboriginal and colonial relationships to the environment, AlterNative, Hutchings, S., Special Edition.
Conferences
- 2017: Keynote, Inside Out: Indigeneity in the era of Native Title in Australia, Australian Anthropological Society Conference, December 13, 2017, Adelaide, South Australia.
- 2017: Hutchings, S. & Hanchant-Nichols, D., Defining Indigenous identity who calls the shots?, World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE) Conference, Toronto, July 2017.
- 2017: Hutchings, S., As black as it gets - Australian Indigenous Hip-Hop challenging popular and contemporary constructions of the good Aborigine, Native American and Indigenous Studies Conference (NAISA) Conference, Vancouver, June 2017.
- 2016: Hutchings, S., & Rodger, D., You Think I Lost Fans Before?, Racism, Boundary-Marking and Fan/Artist Relationships Online, considering the Hip Hop music and messages of A.B.Original, Musicology Society of Australia Conference, December, 2016, Adelaide.
- 2016: Hutchings, S., Cultural dilemmas for Rural Aboriginal communities in the Native Title process, Native American and Indigenous Studies Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, May.
- 2015: Hutchings, S., Hip-Hop saved my life : hip-hop as Indigenous philosophy on identity, authenticity and politics amid Australian Aboriginal youth, Research Tuesdays, University of Adelaide, 14th July 2015.
- 2015: Hutchings, S., Hip-Hop saved my life : hip-hop as Indigenous philosophy on identity, authenticity and politics amid Australian Aboriginal youth, Native American and Indigenous Studies Conference, Washington DC, USA, June.
- 2014: Hutchings, S., Caught in the middle: The fragmentation of Indigenous knowledge through the Native Title process in urban and rural Australia, in the session entitled Alliances of, with, as Indigenous Peoples: The Obligations and Actions of Anthropologies and Anthropologists, in the Middle, A sponsored session by the AAA Executive Program Committee for the American Anthropological Association conference, Washington DC, USA, December.
- 2014: Hutchings, S. & Hanchant-Nichols, D., Who defines Indigenous identity? World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE), Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, May.
Film, Arts, Radio & Media
- 2018: Co-presenter and music curator, Survival Day Special on Indigenous Protest Music, Sunday Lunch, Radio 3RRR, 102.7FM, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 28/1/2018, https://www.rrr.org.au/program/sunday-lunch?an_page=2018-01-28.
- 2018: Interview, A. Pavlotski, Looking from the inside out: A keynote retrospective with Dr. Suzi Hutchings, in Q Australian Anthropological Society Newsletter, No. 143/February, 2018 (pp. 2-4).
- 2017: Interview on Indigenous Australian Hip-Hop for Le Courier Magazine (Switzerland) by Jeremie Berlioux, 18/8/2017.
- 2017: Interview, Clune, R., Briggs On the Power of Indigenous Hip-Hop: You're in For A F*cking Treat, in GC (Australia), 13/4/2017, .
- 2016: Interview, K. Coombs, Hip hop and rap giving voice to young Indigenous protest, in The Citizen, 26/1/2016.
- 2009-2016: Radio program producer and presenter for the radio shows, Crossing Tracks, PrimeTime Jazz, International Links, Jazz on the Terrace, Free Range and Launch Pad, Radio Adelaide (101.5FM), Adelaide.
1 PhD Completions