Dr Terrence Leahy

Work Phone	(02) 4921 6106
Fax	(02) 4921 6902
Email	Terry.Leahy@newcastle.edu.au
Position	Senior Lecturer School of Humanities and Social Science The University of Newcastle, Australia
Office	W342, Behavioural Sciences

Biography

I have been lecturing in Sociology since 1973, at UNSW till 1988, and following 1990 at the University of Newcastle. My initial research interests were in gender and sexuality. From about 1993, I shifted my research interest to environment and society, working on the political implications of environmental problems such as global warming. I began research in the Hunter in 1995 to consider attitudes of the public to environmental problems and environmental policy, culminating in a survey with the Hunter Valley Research Foundation in 2003. Another area of interest that has developed during this period is project design for food security and sustainable agriculture in developing countries. In relation to this I have researched an EU project for irrigation for poor farmers in Northern Bali with my student Nazrina Zuryani, and projects for rural development and food security in South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Namibia. Out of my research in South Africa came a monograph "Permaculture Strategy for the South African Villages" which was published in 2009. I am at present working on a documentary on the CELUCT project in Zimbabwe. In the last few years I have revived a long standing interest in social theory and am writing a book about the relevance of humanist realism to the social sciences in terms of epistemology, ethics and social analysis. I have also been publishing more on the topic of the global environmental crisis and the political response to that, working with some of my students and colleagues to consider the responses of business leaders and young people in the Hunter to these issues. I maintain a website that has pdfs and web pages for my writings - www.gifteconomy.org.au.

Qualifications

PhD, University of New South Wales
Bachelor of Arts, University of Sydney
Master of Arts, Carleton University - Canada

Research

Research keywords

Food Security and Development
Non Market Socialism
Philosophy of the Social Sciences
Sustainable Agriculture
The Environmental Crisis

Research expertise

Dr. Terry Leahy has undertaken research and consultancy work on environmental attitudes, landcare and sustainability in the Hunter Valley, Australia, as well as in Indonesia and Southern Africa. At present his research covers three broad topics. The first is food security in the context of rural development. The second is the global environmental crisis and the response of the public to environmental politics. The third is social theory, the philosophy of the social sciences and the place of a humanist realist perspective in sociological analysis. His most recent monograph is "Permaculture for the South African Villages", a study of project design for food security for South Africa.

Collaboration

My primary research collaboration at present is with Steven Threadgold and Vanessa Bowden, but I have also published a number of papers with other authors.

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
160899	Sociology Not Elsewhere Classified	70
070199	Agriculture, Land And Farm Management Not Elsewhere Classified	20
050299	Environmental Science And Management Not Elsewhere Classified	10

Centres and Groups

Centre

Research Institute of Social Inclusion & Wellbeing

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

Member - The Australian Sociological Association

Invitations

Bachelor of Land Management (Ecological Agriculture) Charles Sturt University (Orange), Australia (External Reviewer - Programs.)	2005
Advance Australia Queer: New Imaginary Relationships between the mainstream and the marginal Sociology, Latrobe University, Australia (PHD Examiner.)	2001
Crystal Waters: A Permaculture Community Anthropology, University of Sydney, Australia (PHD Examiner.)	2002
Dancing With Leviathan: Community in the Sydney Anti-Nuclear Warship Movement Sociology, University of New South Wales, Australia (PHD Examiner.)	1997
Dancing With Leviathan: Community in the Sydney Anti-Nuclear Warship Movement Sociology, University of New South Wales, Australia (PHD Examiner.)	1997
Research assessment on Greenpower options for University of Newcastle University of Newcastle Council, Australia (University Council Working Party)	2007

Administrative

Administrative expertise

Terry Leahy is currently the program convenor for the Master of Social Change and Development and the Discipline Convenor for Sociology and Anthropology.

Teaching

Teaching keywords

Environment and Society
Food Security
Key debates in the Social Sciences

Teaching expertise

Terry Leahy has extensive teaching experience.

His current undergraduate teaching includes, "Professional Practices and Key Debates in the Social Sciences", "Media and Society", "Environment and Society".

His current postgraduate teaching includes, "Environmental Issues" and "Supervised Reading".

He is the convenor of the Master of Social Change and Development Program.

He is also coordinating the Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Stream of the Master of Social Change and Development.

He is supervising 6 research postgraduates at the present time and has had 8 successful PhD completions since 2003.

Many of Terry Leahy's works are made available to students through his website < www.gifteconomy.org.au>

The University of Newcastle, Australia