A F Davies Prize

Eligibility

To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:

• be a graduate research student in political science or sociology at the University of Melbourne;
• be enrolled in a PhD or research masters in the year that your article is submitted to a refereed journal; and,
• submit an article that has been accepted by a refereed journal within the past 12 months (up to the closing date of the award).

Selection criteria

The committee will determine whether a paper can be classified within the disciplines of Political Science or Sociology and if a student is eligible for the award. Their decision in this matter is not subject to appeal. The committee may determine not to award the prize in a given year.

The scholarship is available initially for one year but extension of scholarship for a further period may be considered.

Submit an online application, including the following supporting documents:

• a copy of research paper/article submitted;
• an academic transcript/statements of all tertiary education to date; and,
• evidence of acceptance to a Refereed journal; and,
• referees reports.

Applicants will be advised of the outcome via email within 8-10 weeks after the closing date.

Professor Alan Davies

This prize is supported by the School of Social and Political Science to honour the life and work of Professor Alan Fraser Davies (1924-1987). A political scientist, with a deep interest in psychoanalysis, and graduate of Ormond College and the University of Melbourne (BA Hons, 1945), he described himself as a social psychologist.

As Chair and Head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Melbourne, Professor Davies had a significant influence on the development of Australian political science and sociology. His contribution ranged from pioneering political psychology through to the study of local government, and through works exploring political passion, politics at work and the Australian political system. Over his career, he drew on art, film, fiction, history and psychoanalysis in his exploration of political behaviour, and Professor Davies became known as one of Australia’s most creative political scientists.

His work featured prominently in university teaching programs in political science throughout Australia and played a key role in the foundation of the Sociology discipline in Australia, particularly his research and writing on class and political sociology. Professor Davies encouraged people to articulate their projects and to discover their own potentials and impediments, while also suggesting fresh insights, different angles, and apposite readings. Driven by an unquenchable curiosity, he was a pioneer of interdisciplinary dialogue. His capacity to bring together novelists, poets, psychoanalysts, literary critics, journalists and historians, as well as political scientists, gave his department a distinctive élan—but it was a quality largely dependent on his enthusiasm.