Professor Margaret Davies breaks ground with new ‘eco law’ theory, while other successes include the Law Society celebrating Article of the Year, an inspiring Flinders alum and a Flinders student taking part in a TEDx talk to explain vicissitudes.
Flinders Law founder breaks ground with ‘eco law’ theory
One of Flinders University’s inaugural staff members, Professor Margaret Davies, has reinforced her status as a leading Australian socio-legal scholar with a new book EcoLaw: Legality, Life and the Normativity of Nature (Routledge), which is described as an ‘ecological imaging of law’.
Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor Davies has done a podcast with Stewart Motha (Professor of Law at Birbeck Law School, University of London), which delves into the book’s themes in light of increasing environment, climate and mass extinction issues facing the planet.
The book proposes a new way to understand human norms and law that are both shaped by and always connected to nature, including animals, plants and Earth systems.
During her career, Professor Davies has been a visiting scholar at Birkbeck College, Umea University, UBC and the Victoria University of Wellington, and has held a Leverhulme Visiting Professorship at the University of Kent. She has been a recipient of four Australian Research Council grants, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Law.
Law Society celebrates Article of the Year
‘Sex with Robots: How should the law respond?‘ by authors Madi McCarthy and Flinders University Professor Tania Leiman was named Article of the Year at the annual Law Society of SA awards last week. Meanwhile, Flinders Law graduate David Kelly was announced 2022 Young Lawyer of the Year at the SA Legal Profession Dinner. Professor Leiman has congratulated Mr Kelly for his award and for joining the Bar at Anthony Mason chambers earlier this month.
An inspiring Flinders alum
Associate Professor Lilian Kow OAM, an obesity and metabolic surgeon with Flinders Medical Centre and academic with the College of Medicine and Public Health, has been profiled in the latest issue of the World Journal of Surgery. A Flinders University medical graduate, Associate Professor Kow has made seminal contributions in the field of obesity and metabolic surgery and was the first female President of of the Australian and New Zealand Metabolic and Obesity Surgery Society (ANZMOSS) and the Asia-Pacific Chapter of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO). Since 2019, Associate Professor Kow has been the global president of IFSO.
The profile piece on Associate Professor Kow has been written by fellow College academic Associate Professor Savio George Barreto. As a board member of the World Journal of Surgery, he has been able to initiate a special series acknowledging the extraordinary accomplishments of surgeons who are women, in clinical practice, education, advocacy, and research.
TEDx talk explains vicissitudes
Bachelor of Health Science graduate and Doctor of Medicine student Harry Gaffney will take to the stage for this year’s TEDx UniSA showcase on Saturday 27 August. This year’s theme is ‘Vicissitudes’, which encapsulates alternation between opposite or contrasting occurrences that influence our emotions, thoughts and behaviours.
As a published author and 2022 graduating medical doctor, Harry will talk about the many vicissitudes he has faced in life and explain that despite these vicissitudes, he has been helped to ultimately achieve his medical career goals. Harry will explain the pivotal role that community has played in his story and how he has reached beyond his personal vicissitudes.