Professor Katharine Gelber

Katharine Gelber is Head of the School of Political Science and International Studies at The University of Queensland, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia, and a former Australian Research Council Future Fellow (2012-2015). Her expertise is in freedom of speech and speech regulation, with research projects into the operation of hate speech laws, and the effects of counter-terrorism policies on freedom of speech. She has published Free Speech After 9/11 (Oxford Uni Press, 2016) and jointly edited Free Speech in the Digital Age (Oxford Uni Press, 2019) with Susan Brison. With Luke McNamara she conducted a project assessing the impact of hate speech laws on public discourse in Australia. In 2014 she and Luke McNamara were awarded the Mayer journal article prize by the Australian Political Studies Association for the best article in the Australian Journal of Political Science, an article on the Australian hate speech case known as the ‘Bolt case’. In 2011 her book Speech Matters: How to Get Free Speech Right (University of Queensland Press) was a finalist in the Australian Human Rights Awards 2011 (Literature Non-Fiction category). In 2011 she was awarded the PEN Keneally award for contributions to freedom of expression. She has published articles in journals including Law and Society Review, Political Studies, Contemporary Political Theory, Melbourne University Law Review, Review of International Studies, and the Australian Journal of Human Rights.