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Professor Katharine Gelber

Head of School

School of Political Science and International Studies
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
k.gelber@uq.edu.au
+61 7 334 69544

Overview

Katharine Gelber is Head of the School of Political Science and International Studies, and Professor of Politics and Public Policy. Her research is in the field of freedom of speech, and the regulation of public discourse. She has been awarded several ARC, and other, competitive research grants. In November-December 2017, she was a Visiting Scholar at the Global Freedom of Expression Project, Columbia University, New York. In Dec 2017, she jointly hosted, with Prof Susan Brison, a workshop at the Princeton University Center for Human Values on, 'Free Speech and its Discontents'. In 2014, with Prof Luke McNamara, she was awarded the Mayer journal article prize for the best article in the Australian Journal of Political Science in 2013. In 2011 she was invited by the United Nations to be the Australian Expert Witness at a regional meeting examining States' compliance with the free speech and racial hatred provisions of international law. In 2009 she presented the Mitchell Oration in Adelaide on the topic 'Freedom of Speech and its Limits'. She is the author of three monographs (Free Speech After 9/11, OUP 2016; Speech Matters, UQP, 2011, Speaking Back, John Benjamins, 2002), and three edited books (incl. Free Speech in the Digital Age, OUP 2019).

Kath is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia, and a former President of the Australian Political Studies Association and served on its Executive Committee (2010-2018). She was Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the July 2018 World Congress of the International Political Science Association, Brisbane which brought 2400 political scientists to Brisbane. She is a member of the Editorial Board of the Australian Journal of Politics and History.

Selected publications:

Books

Brison, S and Gelber, K (eds) 2019 Free Speech in the Digital Age, Oxford University Press, New York.

Gelber, K 2016 Free Speech After 9/11, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Gelber, K 2011. Speech Matters: Getting Free Speech Right, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia.

Panzironi, F & Gelber, K (eds) 2012. The Capability Approach: Development Practice and Public Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region, Routledge, London.

Refereed journal articles

Gelber, Katharine and Murphy, M. 2023. ‘The Weaponisation of Free Speech under the Morrison Government’, Australian Journal of Political Science, doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2023.2242304.

Brennan, K; D Duriesmith, E Fenton and K Gelber 2022 “Gendered Mundanities: Gender Bias in Student Evaluations of Teaching in Political Science”, Australian Journal of Political Science (published online 27 Feb 2022), https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2022.2043241.

Bowman, K and Gelber, K 2021 ‘Responding to Hate Speech: Counter Speech and the University’, Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, 28(3): 248-275.

Gelber, K 2021 ‘Differentiating Hate Speech: A Systemic Discrimination Approach’, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 24(4): 393-414, DOI: 10.1080/13698230.2019.1576006 (published online 2019).

Gelber, K and O’Sullivan, S 2020 “Cat Got Your Tongue? Free Speech, Democracy and Australia’s ‘Ag-Gag’ Laws”, Australian Journal of Political Science, 56(1): 19-34, https://doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2020.1799938.

Gelber, K 2019 ‘Norms, Institutions and Freedom of Speech in the US, the UK and Australia’, Journal of Public Policy, online 25 June, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X19000187.

Gelber, K 2019 ‘Terrorist-extremist speech and hate speech: understanding the similarities and differences’ Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 22(3), 607-622, doi: 10.1007/s10677-019-10013-x.

Gelber, K 2018 ‘Incitement to hatred and countering terrorism – policy confusion in the UK and Australia’, Parliamentary Affairs 71(1): 28-49, https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsx008.

Gelber, K 2017 ‘Diagonal Accountability: Freedom of Speech in Australia’, Australian Journal of Human Rights 23(2): 203-219.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1323238X.2017.1363371 (Published in Special Issue: ‘Democracy and Human Rights’)

Gelber, K 2017 ‘Hate Speech – Definitions and Empirical Evidence’, Constitutional Commentary 32: 101-111.

Gelber, K & McNamara, L 2016 'Anti-vilification laws and public racism in Australia: mapping the gaps between the harms occasioned and the remedies provided', University of New South Wales Law Journal 39(2): 488-511.

Gelber, K & McNamara, L 2016 ‘Evidencing the harms of hate speech’, Social Identities, 22 (1-3): 324-341. DOI: 10.1080/13504630.2015.1128810.

Book chapters (selected)

Gelber, K 2021 ‘Speaking Back’, in Adrienne Stone and Frederick Schauer eds., The Oxford Handbook of Freedom of Speech, Oxford University Press, Oxford: 249-265.

Gelber, K 2020. ‘Post-memory and Artefacts: The Gelber/Altschul Collection’, in N Marczak and K Shields eds. Genocide Perspectives VI: The Process and the Personal Costs of Genocide. Sydney: UTS ePress: 53-68. https://doi.org/10.5130/aaf.

Gelber, K 2020 ‘Capabilities and the Law’, in E Chiapperro-Martinetti, S Osmani & M Qizilbash eds The Cambridge Handbook of the Capability Approach Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: 643-659.

Gelber, K 2020 ‘Free Speech Debates in Australia: Contemporary Controversies’, in Helen J. Knowles and Brandon T. Metroka eds., Free Speech Theory: Understanding the Controversies, Peter Lang: 187-208.

Gelber, K and Brison, S 2019 ‘Digital Dualism and the “Speech as Thought” Paradox’, in Brison, S and Gelber, K (eds) Free Speech in the Digital Age, Oxford University Press, New York.

Gelber, K & Stone, A 2017 ‘Constitutions, Gender and Freedom of Expression: the Legal Regulation of Pornography', in Helen Irving ed. Constitutions and Gender, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham: 463-481, DOI: 10.4337/9781784716967.

Gelber, K 2016 ‘Critical Race Theory and the constitutionality of hate speech regulation’, in R Dixon & G Appleby (eds) The Critical Judgments Project: Re-reading Monis v The Queen, Federation Press, Sydney: 88-102.

Research Interests

  • The harms of online speech
    Prof Gelber is investigating whether, and how, the harms of hate speech can be applied to online speech. This project will clarify how online speech can harm in new ways, and can harm new targets. This will produce new findings that can be used to assess the regulation of online speech in order to protect target communities from harm.
  • Free speech online
    With Prof Susan Brison (Dartmouth), Prof Gelber has undertaken a research project looking at how people exercise their freedom of speech online, and whether (and how) the online environment changes how we think about fundamental aspects of free speech theory.
  • Free Speech After 9/11
    This ARC-funded project (2012-2015) compares free speech-limiting provisions enacted or amended in the context of counter-terrorism laws in the US, the UK and Australia.
  • Hate speech laws in public discourse in Australia
    With Prof Luke McNamara (Wollongong), this is a large ARC-funded research project examining the impact of hate speech laws on public discourse in Australia since they were introduced twenty five years ago.
  • International hate speech laws
    Prof Gelber has an interest in international hate speech laws, their operation and their effectiveness. She has published widely in these areas, and is currently participating in a number of research projects on this topic.

Research Impacts

Professor Gelber has extensive international engagement and collaboration with universities, industry and non-government organisations. She has worked closely with external agencies including human rights commissions and industry regarding the regulation of harmful and allegedly harmful speech including online. She regularly has been invited to make submissions to government and parliamentary inquiries into policy areas including counter terrorism, censorship regulations and anti-vilification laws. She gives regular media interviews on radio, television and in newspapers.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Sydney
  • Bachelor of Arts (Honours), The University of Sydney
  • Bachelor of Arts, University of Tasmania

Publications

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Grants

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Supervision

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Publications

Featured Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • Free speech in Australia

    Gelber, Katharine (2022). Free speech in Australia. Critical Perspectives on Human Rights Law in Australia: Volume 2. (pp. 517-534) edited by Paula Gerber and Melissa Castan. Pyrmont, NSW, Australia: Thomson Reuters.

  • Speaking back

    Gelber, Katharine (2021). Speaking back. The Oxford handbook of freedom of speech. (pp. 249-265) edited by Adrienne Stone and Frederick Schauer. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198827580.013.15

  • Post-memory and artefacts: the Gelber/Altschul Collection

    Gelber, Katharine (2020). Post-memory and artefacts: the Gelber/Altschul Collection. Genocide perspectives VI: the process and the personal costs of genocide. (pp. 53-68) edited by Nikki Marczak and Kirril Shields. Sydney, NSW, Australia: UTS ePress. doi: 10.5130/aaf

  • Capabilities and the law

    Gelber, Katharine (2020). Capabilities and the law. The Cambridge handbook of the capability approach. (pp. 643-659) edited by Enrica Chiappero-Martinetti, Siddiqur Osmani and Mozaffar Qizilbash. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.

  • Free speech debates in Australia: contemporary controversies

    Gelber, Katharine (2020). Free speech debates in Australia: contemporary controversies. Free Speech Theory: Understanding the controversies. (pp. 183-203) edited by Helen Knowles and Brandon Metroka. New York, NY, United States: Peter Lang Publishing.

  • Constitutions, gender and freedom of expression: the legal regulation of pornography

    Gelber, Katharine and Stone, Adrienne (2017). Constitutions, gender and freedom of expression: the legal regulation of pornography. Constitutions and gender. (pp. 463-481) edited by Helen Irving. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar. doi: 10.4337/9781784716967

  • Critical race theory and the constitutionality of hate speech regulation

    Gelber, Katharine (2016). Critical race theory and the constitutionality of hate speech regulation. The Critical Judgments Project: re-reading Monis v the Queen. (pp. 88-102) edited by Gabrielle Appleby and Rosalind Dixon. Annandale, NSW, Australia: Federation Press.

  • Argumentation and the responsibility to protect: the case of Libya

    Dunne, Tim and Gelber, Katharine (2015). Argumentation and the responsibility to protect: the case of Libya. Human rights protection in global politics: responsibilities of states and non-state actors. (pp. 288-308) edited by Kurt Mills and David Jason Karp. Basingtoke, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.

  • The French court

    Gauja, Anika and Gelber, Katharine (2015). The French court. The High Court, the Constitution and Australian Politics. (pp. 311-326) edited by Rosalind Dixon and George Williams. Port Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9781107445253.016

  • McLeod v Power [2003] FMCA 2: commentary

    Gelber, Katharine (2014). McLeod v Power [2003] FMCA 2: commentary. Australian Feminist Judgments: Righting and Rewriting Law. (pp. 405-408) edited by Francesca Bartlett, Trish Luker, Heather Douglas and Rosemary Hunter. Oxford, United Kingdom: Hart Publishing.

  • 'Speaking back': the likely fate of hate speech policy in the United States and Australia

    Gelber, Katharine (2012). 'Speaking back': the likely fate of hate speech policy in the United States and Australia. Speech and harm: controversies over free speech. (pp. 50-71) edited by Ishani Maitra and Mary Kate McGowan. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199236282.003.0003

  • Introduction

    Gelber, Katharine and Panzironi, Francesca (2012). Introduction. The Capability Approach: Development Practice and Public Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region. (pp. 1-6) edited by Francesca Panzironi and Katharine Gelber. London, United Kingdom: Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9780203116159-8

  • Introduction

    Gelber, Katharine and Panzironi, Francesca (2012). Introduction. The capability approach: development practice and public policy in the Asia-Pacific region. (pp. 1-6) edited by Francesca Panzironi and Katharine Gelber. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.

  • Nussbaum's capabilities approach and freedom of speech

    Gelber, Katharine (2012). Nussbaum's capabilities approach and freedom of speech. The capability approach: Development practice and public policy in the Asia-Pacific region. (pp. 38-52) edited by Francesca Panzironi and Katharine Gelber. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203116159-11

  • Nussbaum’s capabilities approach and freedom of speech

    Gelber, Katharine (2012). Nussbaum’s capabilities approach and freedom of speech. The Capability Approach: Development Practice and Public Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region. (pp. 38-51) Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9780203116159-12

  • Reconceptualizing counterspeech in hate-speech policy (with a focus on Australia)

    Gelber, Katharine (2012). Reconceptualizing counterspeech in hate-speech policy (with a focus on Australia). The content and context of hate speech : Rethinking regulation and responses. (pp. 198-216) edited by Michael E Herz and Peter Molnar. New York , NY, U.S.A.: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CBO9781139042871.016

  • The courts

    Gelber, Katharine (2012). The courts. Contemporary politics in Australia: theories, practices and issues. (pp. 260-270) edited by Rodney Smith, Ariadne Vromen and Ian Cook. Port Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Cambridge University Press.

  • Religion and freedom of speech in Australia

    Gelber, Katharine (2011). Religion and freedom of speech in Australia. Law and religion in public life: The contemporary debate. (pp. 95-111) edited by Richard Mohr and Nadirsyah Hosen. Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203816967

  • The role of the Constitution in major social conflicts

    Gelber, Katharine (2011). The role of the Constitution in major social conflicts. The German Constitution Turns 60 : Basic Law and Commonwealth Constitution, German and Australian Perspectives. (pp. 129-144) edited by Jurgen Brohmer. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang Publishing.

  • Citizens engaging and communicating with government

    Gelber, Katharine (2007). Citizens engaging and communicating with government. Government communication in Australia. (pp. 270-283) edited by Sally Young. Port Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Cambridge University Press.

  • Hate speech and the Australian legal and political landscape

    Gelber, Katharine (2007). Hate speech and the Australian legal and political landscape. Hate speech and freedom of speech in Australia. (pp. 2-19) edited by Katharine Gelber and Adrienne Stone. Annandale, NSW, Australia: Federation Press.

  • Introduction

    Gelber, Katharine and Stone, Adrienne (2007). Introduction. Hate speech and freedom of speech in Australia. (pp. xiii-xvii) edited by Katharine Gelber and Adrienne Stone. Sydney: Federation Press.

  • Privileged discourses of hate in Australia and Germany : The Holocaust and the Stolen Generations

    Gelber, Katharine (2007). Privileged discourses of hate in Australia and Germany : The Holocaust and the Stolen Generations. Polyculturalism and discourse. (pp. 91-120) edited by Anja Schwarz and Russell West-Pavlov. Amsterdam: Rodopi. doi: 10.1163/9789401205184_005

  • When are restrictions on speech justified in the war on terror?

    Gelber, Katharine (2007). When are restrictions on speech justified in the war on terror?. Law and liberty in the war on terror. (pp. 138-146) edited by Andrew Lynch, Edwina Macdonald and George Williams. Sydney: Federation Press.

  • Australia as international human rights citizen: Understanding national interest

    Gelber, Katharine (2005). Australia as international human rights citizen: Understanding national interest. Who's Australia - Whose Australia? Contemporary politics, society and culture in Australia. (pp. 11-30) edited by Russell West-Pavlov. Trier, Germany: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier.

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Note for students: Professor Katharine Gelber is not currently available to take on new students.

Completed Supervision

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Hate speech, Freedom of speech, Australian politics, The rights of donor conceived people, Hate speech online, Academic freedom

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

Links

ResearcherID: F-8859-2014

ORCID: 0000-0002-0239-3552

Scopus ID: 6602758195

Google Scholar ID: p3MBZ4EAAAAJ

Personal Profile: Link

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