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Tara Brabazon

@tarabrabazon.bsky.social

475 followers 384 following 170 posts

Prof of Cultural Studies at Flinders University. Pop Cult Obsessive. Fan. Listener. Learner. Teacher. Writer of 22 books. AM.

Posts Replies Media

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

We live in a time of a saturating self. The academic question remains - what is the role of these stories in research? Do they have a function beyond over-valuing a data set of one (ourselves)? Let's talk about the meaningful use of personal stories in scholarly life. New Post: youtu.be/hjvVhz1shw8

Post 166 - Making personal stories professionally meaningful

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Standards. Not a very exciting word... But crucial. External examiners hold a pivotal role in enabling quality assurance and standards. This week, we talk about this role, and its value for our universities, the higher education sector, and the fuure of knowledge. New Post - youtu.be/4qZ3TrZVANM

Post 165 - Being an external examiner

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

One of my more unusual requests! A tough time indeed. Easy to get stuck. We had plans for our research. They haven't happened. Yet. Let's get organized. The old goth is back with some 'tough love.' Let's get your powerful words out into the world. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieGl...

Post 164 - Tough love from Tara

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

A question of our time and for our time is how to change. How to make changes. We can sit in comfort - or we can activate discomfort. With an agenda. The Post this week probes strategies, structures and maxims to make changes. Today. New Post - youtu.be/UFodcdHAaoM

Post 163 - How to (make) change(s)

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Certain phrases have power and potential - moving us to a different future. One of those phrases is Civic Media Literacies. This week, let's probe this phrase, and explore if and then how it can enable change. New Post - youtu.be/y80RCRwt7lE

Post 162 - Civic Media Literacies

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

This week, the Post has a meaningful project. And a project of meaning. Let's explore 'noticing' as a concept and trope. And explore how it changes our understanding of the world, and our practice of research. New Post - youtu.be/cQ4Bs3i1NWc

Post 161 - Noticing (in life and research)

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Certain people change lives and transform times. They are 'thinking pop,' providing the storying and the teaching to arch beyond the self. This week's Post summons the life and music of Don McGlashan, to activate courage, grit and challenge. A #newzealand moment in our day: youtu.be/YWe_Kx_56ZE

Post 160 - Don McGlashan and Thinking Pop

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Reflexive Reading. So much more than critical reading, critical thinking and critical literacy. We read to enable our future selves. To enable a future world. Let's - together - read words to read the world with integrity, respect and defiance. New Post - youtu.be/5QZj3cg4Jo0

Post 158 - Theoretical reading

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Our work in schools and university is specialist. It must be. This week, we enter the theoretical slice of our reading series. Let us value the specialist. The particular. The careful knowledge we create in our disciplines. Let's go with theoretical reading - youtu.be/5QZj3cg4Jo0

Post 158 - Theoretical reading

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Reading is a gift. It is a singular strategy that allows us to move beyond the self. To the world. This week, we explore Applied Reading. The reading we take for granted in our daily lives. Let's remember its power in enabling full participation in citizenship. New Post - youtu.be/YOSVAVv2cvc

Post 157 - Applied Reading

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

We can complain about a lack of reading. Or... Today... We can decide to read for five minutes. Just 5. This week's post activates everyday reading. How to do it. And why. New Post - youtu.be/GnJ6v6JdVy8

Post 156 - Everyday reading and reading every day

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Whenever we enter a social media platform there is so much talk of a literacy crisis. A reading crisis. The academic debates are volatile. So - are we (post) reading? Does it matter? What is lost? Is this 'crisis' really a crisis? Here we go - new Post - youtu.be/UcB_D3Raga4

Post 155 - (Post)reading

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

The word I hear most from colleagues is "exhausted." The question is, what is the next step after exhaustion? This week, we explore (post)sleep and the future of academic work. How do we transcend and transform a 24/7 life, including a working life? New Post - youtu.be/x0e8eXSY-ho

Post 154 - (Post)sleep and the future of academic work

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

When writing an author's biography, how do we avoid appearing like a self-absorbed star of a personal soap opera? This week, we enter the yucky (technical word) space of the author biography. How do we write them without coming across like an influencer selling protein drinks? youtu.be/CVy60w2NhOY

Post 153 - How to write academic and author biographies

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

The #phd is diverse. So is the PhD examination. This week, let's explore a characteristic of particular doctoral assessments: the presentation that starts the oral exam. What is it? What is its function? How do you prepare for it? Let's go - youtu.be/AE6DLoikNcs

Post 152 - Creating the presentation for the PhD oral examination

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Academic leadership - including management of our universities - is (rightly) under scrutiny. In such times, what does it mean to lead with authenticity? The post this week - with Professor Jamie Quinton - explores how to maintain integrity and focus in tough times. New Post - youtu.be/8wTb5AX5v60

Post 151 - Academic Leadership with Authenticity

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Hyper-personal information is shared in public. Memoirs proliferate. How can non fiction - and academic research - be clawed back from the focus on the self? This week, we explore the life and writing of Siri Hustvedt, and ask how much of life should be in writing. New Post: youtu.be/ihzWHSIFEFg

Post 150 - To finally move beyond the self: Pondering the life and writing of Siri Hustvedt

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Most of us - most days - are asking, what the hell is happening? This week's Post provides one answer - one warning answer - to this question. Time to summon Greater Fool Theory. May we acknowledge and understand this history. New Post - youtu.be/iV9XSjM9R_k

Post 149 - Greater Fool Theory

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

It has been special writing series. Valuing the writer. You. Valuing the writing. Writing remains a gift to the planet. So let's - for 30 days - write each day. And change the world :) Let's begin with the end in mind. New Post - youtu.be/ZDeMD3AOVhQ

Post 148 - Building the muscle: 30 days of consistent writing

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Writing is really difficult. Why do it? Particularly now, with all the focus on the 'ease' of Generative AI writing. It is easy to 'outsource' our reading, thinking and writing. Therefore, why does the commitment to writing - our authentic writing - still matter? New Post - youtu.be/F0a5t79Wh5Y

Post 147 - Reclaiming your long term writing goals

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

We are at the second stop in our - getting your writing train back on tracks. We've worked on the physical reconnection of our brain, body and fingers. Now - let's implement a short term goal. Let's do this. Together. New Post - youtu.be/dMfE0llmqcE

Post 146 - Reclaiming your short term writing goals

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

There is always something more important. More urgent. academic writing seems to disappear from the 'to do' list. This week - we conduct an intervention. We get the writing train back on the tracks. Let's begin. Again. You matter. Your words matter. New Post - youtu.be/8B1Wen9mBmM

Post 145 - Intervention: Getting the writing train back on the tracks

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Some words are overused. Seemingly 'everything' is curated these days... What is the value and purpose of this word - and can the new movements in (post) curation enable a different way of seeing and thinking about the tangible - and the intangible? New Post - youtu.be/jaZvKuxks8k

Post 144 - (Post)curation

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Much of life - including academic life - focuses on the present. The loud. The visible. But there is value in recognizing the power of absence, the ghosts of the past that reframe and reshape our present. This week's Post activates Hauntology - to value what we ignore or deny - youtu.be/E0HofM9enQ0

Post 143 - Hauntology

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Writing is tough. There are millions of self help books talking about how to write. But what is the role of 'place' in our writing? The 'where' of our writing? This week's Post ponders how we align the tasks, the time and the place of writing to enable productivity and meaning. youtu.be/hdMRbFBzcn8

Post 142 - Where to write

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Yep. We made it. Vlog 500. Weekly vlogs delivered through the last ten years. 3 series. Thank you for sharing them with me. This week, we consider this body of defiant research, and how we can not only enable Non Traditional Research Outputs, but un/popular culture. New Post - youtu.be/y8WMjyQudtM

Post 141 - Defiant Research, NTROs and un/popular culture (and Vlog 500)

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Good on you, Petra. My love and respects to you, and to colleagues :) txxx

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

It is so valuable to learn from the suffering and survival of other remarkable humans. This week - for Post 140 - we explore how Gisele Pelicot suffered so greatly in her life, but learned to make meaning from the lies, the violence and the exploitation. New Post - youtu.be/HpWLicvCT2c

Post 140 - Gisele Pelicot: the woman who is so much more than a trial

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

A PhD can become - with some planning - our first book. But how do we create, write and publish the second book? The fifth book? The twentieth book? This week, we probe how to create sustainable and efficient academic book publishing. Together - let's do this... youtu.be/8uQjOq73MH8

Post 139 - Writing your second book

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

We are taught from a young age that suffering is inevitable. It will be rewarded with a 'heaven' or an 'afterlife.' There is another way to think about suffering. This week, we use suffering to understand a context of injustice, inequality and harm. New post and new literacy - youtu.be/G8IKBJIUhIM

Post 138 - Suffering: a literacy for change

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Wow, the world is dark. And troubling. But as opinion replaces fact, and emotion displaces evidence, what do we do? The Post this week has one solution. Let's ask better questions... NewPost - youtu.be/z48nkAsTXvM

Post 137 - Asking better questions

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

A refrain from this strange time is, "I've done my own research." Research is becoming subjective. Academics - similarly - are judging some outputs as junk and other publications as elite. How are such categories constructed? This Post probes the impact of this arbitrariness - youtu.be/uc0BW4D1dIg

Post 136 - The junkification of research

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

With my love to my amazing sista from another mista, @nazlinbhimani.bsky.social, I send my respects, love and congratulations to Cate. Powerful piece. Powerful project. Citation politics is transformational and meaningful. We can change the world. One reference at a time :) txxx

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

I know, Gavin. The requests are extraordinary (!!!!). I always promised that I would be a human jukebox and play the requested tune. Amazing requests. Amazing year. And - I didn't predict the tragedies overnight - but exterminism (and fighting it) has become powerfully important. Biggest hug! txxx

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

The requests I receive for the Post are extraordinary. This week - I was asked to explore a concept. Exterminism. What is it - and how do we fight it??!!! Great question of our time. And for our time. Here we go - New Post - youtu.be/9ovnqQ552vs

Post 135 - Fight Exterminism (Again)

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

My absolute pleasure, Belinda. I'm here when you need me. And please - always call me Tara or T :). All my hopes, respects and best wishes for your future. txxx

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Oh Belinda - my goodness. Thank you for taking the time with our friendly vampire this week ;). I am so thankful and appreciative of you... Thank you for your kindness :) txxx

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

There are many attempts to understand - to comprehend - what is happening in the world. But 10 years ago, a remarkable researcher predicted our present. It is time to revisit and revalue Vampire Capitalism. Time to break the thrall... #latecapitalism New Post - youtu.be/q1lN4dqay1Y

Post 134 - Vampire Capitalism

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Interdisciplinarity. A word. A cliche. A tick-a-box platitude. But it does not have to be this way. This week's Post explores interdisciplinarity, how to write an interdisciplinary PhD thesis and - perhaps most importantly - how to examine one. New Post - www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oac...

Post 133 - The interdisciplinary thesis and its examination

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

With chaos and confusion encircling us, I was asked 'how can I be taken seriously as a researcher?' Intriguing question. This week, let's answer it. But we also probe the much bigger question: what does success mean? New Post - youtu.be/fWnMo12jpHI

Post 132 - How to be taken seriously as a researcher (or - what does success look like?)

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Most of us have experienced a frightening workplace. The word 'toxic' doesn't begin to capture it... This week, we probe how to manage intimidation and threats as a researcher. We provide concrete strategies to manage a really (really) tough environment. New Post - youtu.be/3mnM2_Yx49A

Post 131 - How to manage intimidation and threats as a researcher

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Who is believed? Who has the right to speak? Who has the right to write? This week - through the lens of the writing, life and death of Anthony Bourdain - we explore myth, meaning and mattering. And the stories that connect them... youtu.be/C1cy3NcH-tk

Post 130 - 'Who gets to tell the stories?' Anthony Bourdain and (post) popular culture

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

So thrilled to be a part of it :) txxx

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Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Thank you to Jo for the lovely mention!!! I'm writing the session now - can't wait to see everyone :) txxx

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Grief activates deep and dark emotions in our lives. But sharing a death while a loved one is still living? Devastating. This week, we explore life, work, research and teaching through anticipatory grief, with strategies to enable care, love and respect. New post: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eozi...

Post 129 - Work and life through anticipatory grief

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

For much of the last decade, I've wondered how (the hell) did we end up here? That question has many answers. One is that we live in a time of simple ideas - expressed with great confidence. This week's Post activates a new project: the Tedtalkification of knowledge. Let's go - youtu.be/eyhnRCRP9MU

Post 128 - The Tedtalkification of knowledge

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

I'm loving the monsters, 'probably.' ;) txxx

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

The year after finishing a PhD is tough. How we support early career colleagues remains crucial to our academic future. This week's Post learns from the remarkable Dr Damien O'Meara. How do we build success, inclusion, momentum and meaning? New Post - seeing beyond the present: youtu.be/L-laFC91ptE

Post 127 - Seeing beyond the present (The New Year's Post)

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

We love you right back, Jane :) txxx

Tara Brabazon @tarabrabazon.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

This is - for some - a challenging time of the year. For many, this has been a challenging year. For the Post this week, we talk with Dr Sophia Staite. We explore the precariat academic workforce, and remaining a scholar in tough times. New Post - youtu.be/bQ4yyTPEzmc

Post 126 - Persistence with Passion (the Christmas Post)

YouTube video by Tara Brabazon