Cirrus@Austlit

'For forty-five years, Social Alternatives has included fiction to probe socio-political issues. This issue brings fiction to the fore. Consistent with some earlier special issues (2021, 2013, 2009), we also include analysis of fiction as part of our commitment to a multidisciplinary platform for critical alternatives to oppressive norms. And in celebrating 45 years, our focus was necessarily broad. Social Alternatives believes that multiple mediums are beneficial in the promotion of public debates. Fictional representations of socio-economic and political concerns generate imaginative solutions to our current conditions. The founders of Social Alternatives consider fiction fundamental for the sharing of rigorous and fresh perspectives in the collective effort to navigate contemporary issues.' (Thu Hoang, Ginna Brock : Introduction)

'Since its inception in 1977 Social Alternatives has had a long-running commitment to poetry. During this time the journal has published well over two thousand poems (Synott 2018: 46)1, including work by Judith Wright, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Les Murray, Judith Beveridge, Samuel Wagan Watson and Dorothy Porter (Morgan et al. 2007: 58). Alongside such luminaries, Social Alternatives has published hundreds of relatively unknown poets, many of whom had their first poems published in the journal. Certainly, when I began writing a quarter of a century ago it was one of the places you sent to. Many of the poets featured in the journal's early years were active in various social movements from anti-conscription and nuclear disarmament to Aboriginal land rights, women's liberation, and environmental protection (Synott 2018: 45). The poetry in Social Alternatives has often been slanted towards political and social themes but the work has usually been thematically broader (Morgan et al. 2007: 58), relating more abstractly to politics.' (Aidan Coleman Publication abstract)

'We present this special edition issue of Social Alternatives to celebrate our 40th anniversary and renewed commitment to the social and political project of 'providing a radical outlet for the communication of new ideas' and 'formulating alternatives to existing policies and structures' (Summy 1977: 4). Contributions for this issue were invited from past and current members of the editorial collective, the advisory board and guest editors. Contributors were asked to give account of the way that the journal has given them the opportunity to speak back to conventional assumptions about social and political issues and to open up new ways of conceptualising solutions.'  (Editorial Introduction)

'All leadership is contingent. What works in one institutional setting may not work in another. Within a single institution, what works at one time nay be a disaster at another. In times of crisis the demands on national leaders will be very different from those when the principal task is the manipulation of routines, the continuing problems of daily governing. Consequently, there can be no universal formula for successful leadership. We need to determine in each case the broad circumstances in which the leaders must work, the institutional framework that they must manage, the way they gained and hold their positions and the particular events that make demands on their skills. Even then it would be a brave observer who would say with any certainty what the leaders should do. They must always balance demands, pressures, ideology and ambition, nearly always within environments of uncertain facts and unpredictable outcomes. It is easy to develop declaratory leadership axioms: be bold, have a plan, lead from the front. The issue for each case is always how, when, why and to what extent.' (Editorial)

'When we were invited as co-editors of a special issue on performance, we immediately began discussions on a theme that we felt strongly about. The two of us have had numerous collegial discussions while completing our doctorates (at separate institutions), and one topic that kept returning in our conversations was the issue of working responsibly with other peoples stories and experiences. As feminists we were both sensitive to the implications of speaking on someone else's behalf...' (Introduction)

'Traditionally, symposia followed a banquet so I must apologise for not providing a sumptuous meal with this special issue. However, this issue’s exploration of Roots and Routes holds true to the initial idea of the symposium as a discussion amongst friends/colleagues of some weighty matter. In this case we come together at the invitation of Professor Ananta Kumar Giri from the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai, India to explore issues pertaining to ethnicity, sociocultural regeneration and planetary realisations. It was Professor Giri who coordinated these special symposium contributions. The format presented here is one occasionally practised by various disciplines where a leading scholar in the field sets out a range of issues in a ‘poser’ and invites trusted colleagues to engage with their ideas. So this is not so much a dialogue in the sense of an interactive or combative engagement but a series of scholarly reflections provoked by Giri’s poser.' (Editorial)