Dr Theresa Petray (she/her) is an Associate Professor in Sociology and Head of the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences academic group. Her research and teaching both centre on the concepts of agency and social change. Theresa is committed to using her academic work to contribute to social justice.

Theresa is a Research Fellow of The Cairns Institute, and Theme Leader of the Social & Environmental Justice Group at TCI. 

Her primary research focus is on Aboriginal activism and self-determination. Her current research, with Gugu Badhun nation, looks at economic development and nation-building through the lens of self-determination. This research has led to important partnerships with researchers around Australia and internationally, and was funded by an ARC Discovery Award, administered though UTS 2019-2023. 

Theresa has researched Aboriginal protest movements in North Queensland as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social media activism. In particular, she is interested in the ways that seemingly marginalised people exercise agency to speak back to power. 

Theresa also has research and professional interests in gender equity. From 2018-2022 she was Coordinator of JCU's Gender Equity Action & Research team (formerly Gender Equity Self-Assessment Team). In this role, she led the development of JCU's SAGE Athena Swan Bronze application, and the subsequent implementation of the Gender Equity Action Plan. 

Theresa supervises JCU students in sociology and related disciplines, and has been on supervisory panels for research students from University of Sydney, University of Copenhagen, and Ben Gurion University. In 2022, Theresa was awarded JCU's Advisory Panel Member of the Year award, and in 2016 JCU's Early Career Advisor of the Year award. 

Teaching

• BA4000: Becoming a Researcher (Level 4; TSV)
• SY1001: Australian Society: An Introduction to Sociology (Level 1; TSV)

Interests

Professional

• Gender equity

Research

• Social movements, social change, protest and activism
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander agency

Teaching

• Active learning, student engagement and agency
• Social Research Methods
• Sociology and Anthropology

Experience

• 2023 to present - Head, HASS, JCU
• 2019 to 2023 - Local Organising Committee member, International Sociological Association World Congress
• 2022 - Associate Dean, Research Education, JCU
• 2022 - Associate Dean, Research Education, James Cook University
• 2019 to 2022 - BA Honours Course Coordinator, James Cook University
• 2018 to 2022 - GEAR Coordinator, JCU
• 2014 to 2021 - Sociology major coordinator, JCU
• 2020 - Stephen Crook Award for best book in Australian sociology panel member, The Australian Sociological Association
• 2017 - Jean Martin Award for best thesis in Australian sociology panel member, The Australian Sociological Association
• 2016 - Journal of Sociology Best Paper Prize panel member, The Australian Sociological Association
• 2016 - Indigenous Governance Program, Native Nations Institute (University of Arizona)
• 2015 - Conference Convenor, The Australian Sociological Association (Cairns)
• 2015 - Bachelor of Arts First Year Coordinator, JCU
• 2013 to 2014 - Secretary, The Australian Sociological Association
• 2011 to 2014 - Convenor, Sociology of Indigenous Issues thematic group
• 2013 - BSocSc (Hons) Course Coordinator, JCU
• 2013 - Jean Martin Award for best thesis in Australian sociology panel member, The Australian Sociological Association
• 2011 to 2012 - Postgraduate portfolio manager, The Australian Sociological Association

Research Disciplines

• Sociology (4410)
• Cultural studies (4702)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• culture and society (1399)
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community services (2101)

Awards

• 2022 - JCU Advisory Panel Member of the Year award
• 2016 - JCU Early Career Advisor of the Year award
• 2015 - Rising Star top up award
• 2013 - JCU Teaching and Learning Development grant with Dr Wendy Li and Dr Kelsey Halbert: CAR in the Flipped Classroom
• 2012 - JCU Rising Star Award
• 2011 - PhD - James Cook University
• 2010 - JCU Inclusive Practice Teaching Award

Memberships

• 2020 to 2023 - International Sociological Association member
• 2015 to 2023 - Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies member
• 2008 to 2023 - The Australian Sociological Association member
• 2014 to 2019 - Asia-Pacific Sociological Association member
• 2007 to 2019 - Australian Anthropological Association Fellow
• 2011 to 2015 - Trans-Oceanik partnership between James Cook University and L'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociale, College de France

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Velazquez M, Petray T and Miles D (in press) The impacts of drug and alcohol use on sentencing for First Nations and non-Indigenous defendants. Race and Justice,
• Alexander N, Petray T and McDowall A (2022) Conscientisation and Radical Habitus: Expanding Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice in Youth Activism Studies. Youth, 2 (3). pp. 295-308
• Alexander N, Petray T and McDowall A (2022) More learning, less activism: narratives of childhood in Australian media representations of the School Strike for Climate. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 38 (1). pp. 96-111
• Milton J and Petray T (2020) The two subalterns: perceived status and violent punitiveness. M/C Journal, 23 (2).
• Petray T, Doyle T, Howard E, Morgan R and Harrison R (2019) Re-engineering the "leaky pipeline" metaphor: diversifying the pool by teaching STEM "by stealth". International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology, 11 (1). pp. 10-29
• Petray T and Gertz J (2018) Building an economy and building a nation: Gugu Badhun self-determination as prefigurative resistance. Global Media Journal: Australian Edition, 12 (1).
• Petray T and Pendergrast N (2018) Challenging power and creating alternatives: integrationist, antisystemic and non-hegemonic approaches in Australian social movements. Journal of Sociology, 54 (4). pp. 665-679
• Lloyd R, Newlands M and Petray T (2017) Coral Battleground? Re-examining the 'Save the Reef' campaign in 1960s Australia. Environmental Sociology, 3 (1). pp. 54-63
• Petray T and Collin R (2017) Your privilege is trending: confronting whiteness on social media. Social Media and Society, 3 (2). pp. 1-10
• Page A and Petray T (2016) Agency and structural constraints: Indigenous peoples and the Australian settler-state in North Queensland. Settler Colonial Studies, 6 (1). pp. 88-98

Book Chapters

• Alexander N, Ashley A, Lisciandro R, Oleszek R and Petray T (2021) When students protest and when they don’t: challenging the apathy narrative in Australia. In: When Students Protest: Universities in the Global North. Rowman & Littlefield, London, UK, pp. 159-178
• Petray T (2016) The ties that bind: the importance of religion and community to the non-religious. In: Religion and Non-Religion among Australian Aboriginal Peoples. Vitality of Indigenous Religions. Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, UK, pp. 157-176

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 40+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Theresa Petray from 2008 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Swimming Upstream: A narrative exploration of the lived experience of older LGBT people and how social work professionals can support and advocate for their community. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• A sociological examination of children?s experience and effectiveness when participating in activism. (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• A Comparative Analysis of the Construction of French Identity in the Tropics through the Language and Music of the French National Anthem (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Experiences of embodiment and exclusion in medical systems: Power, knowledge and transvaginal mesh devices (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Rifts and Reconnection: An Examination of Reconnective Mitigative Practices under Capitalism (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Risk Perception and Intersectionality: Implications for Large-scale Restoration and Adaptation (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Trauma and gender in natural disaster and conflict contexts: a comparative study of Aceh, Indonesia and the Deep South of Thailand (2018, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Exploring place in North Queensland: a contemporary visual artist responds to colonial journeys (2020, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Mapping connection, disconnection and power within the social news media network: a case study of the Great Barrier Reef UNESCO 2021 'In Danger' recommendation on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook (2022, Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• Indigenous perspectives on evaluating community development programs in Indigenous communities: a case study of Palm Island (2022, Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• Gugu Badhun Sovereignty, Self-Determination and Nationhood. (2022, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Self-Determination Discourses of Zenadth Kes People through Time (2023, Masters , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Sentencers' attitudes toward women in the criminal justice system: explanations for sentencing treatment disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous women (2018, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Social Media as a zone of violence: Neoliberal ideology and violent self-presentation in online spaces (2023, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit Research Data Australia.

• Petray, T. (2017) #WhiteProverbs Australia tweets. James Cook University
• Petray, T. (2014) Using the Internet for Civic Engagement. James Cook University

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.