Dr Katherine Curchin
Areas of expertise
- Social Policy 160512
- Political Theory And Political Philosophy 160609
- Human Rights And Justice Issues 220104
- Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Policy 160501
- Public Administration 160509
Research interests
Welfare conditionality and income management; welfare stigma; employment services; trauma-informed social services; behavioural public policy; paternalism; philosophy of punishment; ethics of marketization and commodification.
Biography
I am a Senior Lecturer in Social Policy at the Centre for Social Research and Methods and hold an Honorary position at the ANU School of Philosophy. I originally trained in normative political philosophy, and my research is at the intersection of political theory and social policy. I am centrally interested in the justifications for and effects of welfare reform especially behavioural conditionality. I am at the forefront internationally of the application of trauma-theory to the delivery of social security to better understand barriers experienced by people with complex needs. From 2024-2018 I held an Australian Research Council DECRA which focused on the relationship between Indigenous development and the welfare state, and contributed to international theorising on non-market economic development.
I served as editor-in-chief of the Australian Journal of Social Issues from 2019 to 2024. I am a member of the international advisory board of the Journal of Social Policy, a member of the executive of the Australian Social Policy Association, a member of the Social Security Research Policy and Practice Network, and part of the International Trauma-Informed Care Network.
Researcher's projects
Rival Visions for Indigenous Development in Australia
This ARC project compares Noel Pearson vision for Indigenous integration into the 'real economy' with Jon Altman's vision for the development of the 'hybrid economy'.
Current student projects
Supervisory Panel Advisor for Tony Kiessler: 'Understanding how social constructions influence the design and implementation of health policy for socially disadvantaged groups'
Past student projects
Primary Supervisor for Stephanie Puszka ‘Moral Economies of Kidney Disease and Care: Interdependencies between Yolngu and the Australian State’, winner of the Australian Anthropological Society PhD Thesis Prize.
Supervisory panel advisor for Tess Evenstar ‘Maternal Employability, Conditionality and the role of Family Services in the Australian Social Security System’.
Publications
- Scullion, L & Curchin, K 2022, 'Examining Veterans' Interactions with the UK Social Security System through a Trauma-Informed Lens', Journal of Social Policy, vol 51, no. 1, pp. 96-113. doi:10.1017/S0047279420000719
- Curchin, K, Weight, T & Ritter, A 2021, 'Moral framings in the Australian parliamentary debate on drug testing of welfare recipients', Social Policy & Administration, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 409-422.
- Curchin, K & Edwards, B 2021, 'Introduction to the Special Issue on Big Data and Social Policy in Australia', Australian Journal of Social Issues, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 132-142.
- Curchin, K & Rowse, T 2020, ''Taxpayers' Money'? ATSIC and the Indigenous Sector', in Laura Rademaker & Tim Rowse (ed.), Indigenous Self-Determination in Australia: Histories and Historiography, ANU Press, Canberra, Australia, pp. 143-164.
- Curchin, K 2019, 'Dealing with Welfare Conditionality: Implementation and Effects', Journal of Social Policy, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 885-886.
- Curchin, K 2019, 'Economic hybridity in remote Indigenous Australia as development alterity', in Elise Klein and Carlos Eduardo Morreo (ed.), Postdevelopment in Practice: Alternatives, Economies, Ontologies, Routledge, London, London, pp. 163-175.
- Curchin, K 2019, 'Behavioural public policy and poverty', in (ed.), Routledge International Handbook of Poverty, Routledge, London, pp. 376-385.
- Curchin, K 2019, 'The dilemma of rape avoidance advice: Acknowledging women's agency without blaming victims of sexual assault ', Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 75.
- Curchin, K 2019, 'The Illiberalism of Behavioural Conditionality: A Critique of Australia ˜No Jab, No Pay" Policy', Journal of Social Policy, 48(4), pp. 789–805.
- Curchin, K 2018, 'Testing the limits of the politics of recognition: Fox hunters in the United Kingdom', International Political Science Review, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 503-514pp.
- Curchin, K 2017, 'Using Behavioural Insights to Argue for a Stronger Social Safety Net: Beyond Libertarian Paternalism', Journal of Social Policy, 46(2) pp. 231-249.
- Curchin, K 2016, 'From the Moral Limits of Markets to the Moral Limits of Welfare', Journal of Social Policy, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 101-118pp.
- Curchin, K 2016, 'If the market is the problem, is the hybrid economy the solution?', in Will Sanders (ed.), Engaging Indigenous Economy: Debating Diverse Approaches, ANU Press, Acton ACT 2601, pp. 65-77.
- Curchin, K 2015, 'Two visions of Indigenous economic development and cultural survival: The 'real economy' and the 'hybrid economy'', Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 50, no. 3, pp. 412-426.
- Curchin, K 2015, 'Noel Pearson's Role in the Northern Territory Intervention: Radical Centrist or Polarising Partisan?', Australian Journal of Politics and History, vol. 61, no. 4, pp. 576-590.
- Curchin, K 2013, 'Interrogating the Hybrid Economy Approach to Indigenous Development', Australian Journal of Social Issues, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 15-34.
- Curchin, K 2013, 'Discursive Representation and Pearson's Quest for a Radical Centre', Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 48, no. 3, pp. 256-268.
- Curchin, K 2011, 'Pakeha Women and Maori Protocol: The Politics of Criticising other Cultures', Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 375-388.
- Curchin, K 2010, 'Public Protest and Deliberative Democracy', Australasian Political Studies Association Conference, Melbourne Australia.
- Curchin, K 2007, 'Debate: Evading the Paradox of Universal Self-Ownership', Journal of Political Philosophy, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 484-494.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Reconciling rival visions for Indigenous development in remote Australia (Primary Investigator)