College of Arts & Social Sciences

The Swiss Prize is a trilingual essay competition held annually since 1998 by the Swiss Embassy in Australia in collaboration with the ANU. This year's topic challenged students to explore the complexities of Swiss neutrality. The winning essays offered fresh perspectives on this topic from an uniquely Australian point of view. Winners were awarded at a special evening ceremony attended by CASS Dean Professor Bronwyn Parry at the Swiss Embassy in Canberra on October 24th. 

Congratulations to the three winning students who were awarded a $150 prize and certificate: 

In an incomplete and uneven process between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, colonial disdain for ‘freakish’ Australian native species gave way to affection, mythologisation, and conservationist concern. This pre-submission seminar examines the neglected roles of settler women in shaping these shifting relationships with the non-human world. Ruby's thesis charts settler women’s interactions with native animals between 1880 and 1950, across a range of spaces, from nature writing to organised conservationism and from suburban gardens to national parks.

From bushwalks on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country to research trips in Vietnam’s Long Xuyen district, Lily Hardy’s academic journey is grounded in place, people, and purpose. Now in her final semester at ANU, the CASS Student Ambassador is completing a double degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE) and Arts, majoring in Australian Indigenous Studies and Anthropology.

CASS research shows not all addictions are treated equally by the media. Less stigmatised reporting could save lives. 

Originally published in ANU Reporter - By Luis Perez. 

“I don’t even have my lorazepam. I’m going to have to drink myself to sleep.” 

Pham Toan Thinh—known to most as Tony—is a second-year international student at the Australian National University, pursing a Bachelor of International Relations with a major in Mandarin. From Vietnam, Tony came to Canberra to immerse himself in global politics and diplomacy in an academic environment he describes as “open-minded and respectful.” 

This year, as countless thousands of refugees are uprooted from their homes and communities by armed conflict, we consider one of the greatest humanitarian movements to emerge from the Great War – an international effort to aid the Armenian people. What has come to be known as the Armenian genocide began in April 1915 within hours of Anzac forces landing at the Dardanelles.

Professor Samantha Bennett always saw higher education as alien territory. 

Growing up in a working-class household where no one in her family had been to university, she attended what she describes as “an incredibly rowdy comprehensive school”, and left with grades that didn’t reflect her potential. 

The TV series Adolescence might feel like dystopian fiction, but it could be closer to reality than we think. 

Article by Luis Perez, originally published in ANU Reporter. 

The Netflix show Adolescence isn’t your typical binge-worthy comfort watch. 

Written by Erika McGown. 

Fire needs three things to burn: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Take one away and it doesn’t matter how much potential there is – the flame won’t hold. 

Creativity works the same way. It needs the right conditions: time, support, breathing room. Space to Create, a residency led by Creative Australia, is about giving First Nations artists what they need to produce music on their own terms. 

Sophia Diegelmann is a third-year student at the Australian National University, where she is completing a Bachelor of Political Science and a Bachelor of Languages. Originally from Melbourne, she moved to Canberra in 2023 to begin her studies and to immerse herself in the political and cultural life of the capital.