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Home / Society & culture

Society & culture

Delve into politics, philosophy and arts with our curated society & culture collections.

Recommended cultural studies books

Take a deeper look at the world around you with these great books, recommended by Readings.

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Cover image for Snake Talk
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Snake Talk

Tyson Yunkaporta, Megan Kelleher

$36.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Witch Power
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Witch Power

Emma Quilty

$41.95
In stock at 6 shops
Cover image for Playtime
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Playtime

Emily Gallagher

$36.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Digital Degrowth
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Digital Degrowth

Neil Selwyn

$26.95
In stock at 5 shops
Cover image for Man Up
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Man Up

Cynthia Miller-Idriss

$36.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Beyond Suburbia
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Beyond Suburbia

Warren Kirk

$49.99
In stock at 8 shops
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Australian Studies

Explore the politics, culture and history that shape Australia.

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Cover image for Snake Talk
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Snake Talk

Tyson Yunkaporta, Megan Kelleher

$36.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Quarterly Essay 99: Woodside vs the Planet - How a Company Captured a Country
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Quarterly Essay 99: Woodside vs the Planet - How a Company Captured a Country

Marian Wilkinson

$29.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Beyond Suburbia
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Beyond Suburbia

Warren Kirk

$49.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place
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Unsettled: A Journey Through Time and Place

Kate Grenville

$36.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for After America (Vantage Point, Issue 1)
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After America (Vantage Point, Issue 1)

Emma Shortis

$19.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for A Fair Day's Work
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A Fair Day’s Work

Sean Scalmer

$34.99
In stock at 8 shops
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Politics, philosophy & economics

Explore the ideas and policies that have shaped our world.

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Cover image for So You Want to Own Greenland?
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So You Want to Own Greenland?

Elizabeth Buchanan

$34.99
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for Quarterly Essay 99: Woodside vs the Planet - How a Company Captured a Country
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Quarterly Essay 99: Woodside vs the Planet - How a Company Captured a Country

Marian Wilkinson

$29.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for We the People
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We the People

Jill Lepore

$39.99
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for Man Up
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Man Up

Cynthia Miller-Idriss

$36.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Year of the Rat
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Year of the Rat

Harry Shukman

$36.99
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for Palestine is everywhere
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Palestine is everywhere

Skye Arundhati Thomas (ed.)

$36.99
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LGBTQIA+ history, culture & memoir

From heartfelt memoirs to insightful cultural analysis, these books explore the queer experience, past and present.

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Cover image for Sex, Gender & Identity
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Sex, Gender & Identity

Paula Gerber

$19.95
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Deep House
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Deep House

Jeremy Atherton Lin

$55.00
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for The Short Story of Queer Art
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The Short Story of Queer Art

Dawn Hoskin

$39.99
In stock at 6 shops
Cover image for It Used to be Witches
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It Used to be Witches

Ryan Gilbey

$39.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything
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Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything

Alyson Stoner

$36.99
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for Frighten the Horses
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Frighten the Horses

Oliver Radclyffe

$36.99
In stock at 6 shops
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New & recommended essay collections

Learn and reflect one essay at a time with these fascinating collections, covering everything from art, science, history and politics.

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Cover image for No Straight Road Takes You There
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No Straight Road Takes You There

Rebecca Solnit

$36.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Freewheeling
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Freewheeling

Imogen Binnie, Aniefiok Ekpoudom, Yara Rodrigues Fowler, Ashleigh Young, Mina Holland, Annie Lord, Jon McGregor, Moya Lothian-McLean, Dervla Murphy, David O'Doherty

$24.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Shadows of Azadi
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Shadows of Azadi

Manisha Sobhrajani (ed.)

$45.00
In stock at 3 shops
Cover image for Worthy of the Event: An Essay
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Worthy of the Event: An Essay

Vivian Blaxell

$34.99
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for The Fran Lebowitz Reader
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The Fran Lebowitz Reader

Fran Lebowitz

$22.99
In stock at 5 shops
Cover image for Songs on Endless Repeat
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Songs on Endless Repeat

Anthony Veasna So

$32.99
In stock at 4 shops
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Nonfiction to help us rethink the world

Find new ways to look at important local and world issues with these well-researched and thought-provoking books.

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Cover image for Consumed
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Consumed

Saabira Chaudhuri

$34.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for On Natural Capital
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On Natural Capital

Sir Partha Dasgupta

$36.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Cities Made Differently
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Cities Made Differently

David Graeber, Nika Dubrovsky

$36.99
In stock at 2 shops
Cover image for Black Convicts: How Slavery Shaped Australia
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Black Convicts: How Slavery Shaped Australia

Santilla Chingaipe

$34.99
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for He Went Back for His Hat
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He Went Back for His Hat

Michael Lee

$36.99
In stock at 6 shops
Cover image for The Place of Tides
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The Place of Tides

James Rebanks

$36.99
In stock at 2 shops
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Quarterly Essay

Quarterly Essay is an Australian magazine that publishes long-form essays on current affairs, politics, culture and debate.

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Cover image for Quarterly Essay 99: Woodside vs the Planet - How a Company Captured a Country
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Quarterly Essay 99: Woodside vs the Planet - How a Company Captured a Country

Marian Wilkinson

$29.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Quarterly Essay 98: Hard New World - Our Post-American Future
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Quarterly Essay 98: Hard New World - Our Post-American Future

Hugh White

$29.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Quarterly Essay 97: Losing It - Can We Stop Violence Against Women and Children?
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Quarterly Essay 97: Losing It - Can We Stop Violence Against Women and Children?

Jess Hill

$29.99
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for Quarterly Essay 96: Minority Report - The New Shape of Australian Politics
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Quarterly Essay 96: Minority Report - The New Shape of Australian Politics

George Megalogenis

$29.99
In stock at 4 shops
Cover image for Quarterly Essay 95: High Noon - Trump, Harris and America on the Brink
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Quarterly Essay 95: High Noon - Trump, Harris and America on the Brink

Don Watson

$27.99
In stock at 4 shops
Cover image for Quarterly Essay 94: Highway to Hell – Climate Change and Australia's Future
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Quarterly Essay 94: Highway to Hell – Climate Change and Australia’s Future

Joëlle Gergis

$27.99
In stock at 2 shops
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In the National Interest

In The National Interest is a series from Monash University Publishing that focuses on the challenges across Australian society. These short, thought-provoking and accessible books address the major issues of our times.

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Cover image for Sex, Gender & Identity
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Sex, Gender & Identity

Paula Gerber

$19.95
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Corporate Social Responsibility in an Age of Existential Threats
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Corporate Social Responsibility in an Age of Existential Threats

Bryan Horrigan

$19.95
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Broken
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Broken

Graeme Turner

$19.99
In stock at 8 shops
Cover image for Connected Care
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Connected Care

Richard Royle, David Hansen

$19.95
In stock at 4 shops
Cover image for Charities & Politics: A Principled Approach
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Charities & Politics: A Principled Approach

Matthew Harding

$19.95
In stock at 5 shops
Cover image for Retelling Australia's Water Story
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Retelling Australia’s Water Story

Quentin Grafton

$19.95
In stock at 2 shops
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Griffith Review

Griffith Review is a quarterly literary journal. Every edition explores a different theme, bringing together long-form critical and analytical non-fiction and creative writing from the finest emerging and established writers from Australia and overseas.

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Cover image for Griffith Review 89: Here Be Monsters
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Griffith Review 89: Here Be Monsters

Carody Culver (ed.), Lisa Fuller (ed.)

$29.99
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for Griffith Review 88: Culture Vultures
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Griffith Review 88: Culture Vultures

Carody Culver (ed.), Beau Windon (ed.)

$27.99
In stock at 7 shops
Cover image for Griffith Review 87: No Place Like Home
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Griffith Review 87: No Place Like Home

Carody Culver, Samantha Faulkner, Darby Jones (eds)

$27.99
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Cover image for Griffith Review 86: Leaps of Faith
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Griffith Review 86: Leaps of Faith

$27.99
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Cover image for Griffith Review 85: Status Anxiety
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Griffith Review 85: Status Anxiety

$27.99
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Cover image for Griffith Review 84: Attachment Styles
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Griffith Review 84: Attachment Styles

$27.99
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Growing Up in Australia Anthologies

In 2008, Black Inc. published the first in the Growing Up series, Growing Up Asian in Australia, a collection of fifty-five short memoirs and nine interviews, edited by Alice Pung. 

Featuring some of the most well-known and emerging voices in Australian writing, each book in the Growing Up series captures the diversity of our nation in moving and revelatory ways. 

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Cover image for Growing Up Indian in Australia
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Growing Up Indian in Australia

Aarti Betigeri

$32.99
In stock at 4 shops
Cover image for Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia
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Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia

Samantha Faulkner (ed.)

$32.99
In stock at 6 shops
Cover image for Growing Up in Country Australia
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Growing Up in Country Australia

Rick Morton

$32.99
In stock at 3 shops
Cover image for Growing Up in Australia
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Growing Up in Australia

Black Inc.

$32.99
In stock at 3 shops
Cover image for Growing Up African in Australia
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Growing Up African in Australia

Maxine Beneba Clarke

$32.99
In stock at 3 shops
Cover image for Growing Up Asian in Australia
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Growing Up Asian in Australia

Alice Pung

$32.99
In stock at 5 shops
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