The Burunh Program
The Burunh Seminars
The Burunh Seminars deep-dive into theory, practice, method, application, professional development, research, and literature to ensure students and researchers are versed in the tools and frameworks necessary to study the intersection of science, humanities, social science, and the arts. There will be 17 seminars delivered in 2026.
Seminars are open to all and are held in-person and via Zoom.
Time: Fortnightly on Fridays from 2-4 pm (Melbourne Time) during each semester.
Location: Room 213, Old Arts Building on the Parkville Campus (Map)
Zoom Link: Join us via Zoom here.
Seminar Recordings: You can view video recordings of the previous seminars here.
Semester 2, 2026
31 July 2026
Indigenous Data Governance and Principles of C.A.R.E.
Associate Professor Kristen Smith
University of Melbourne
In this seminar, Kristen Smith, Director of Research in the Indigenous Studies Unit and part of The Indigenous Data Network will discuss CARE Principles for Indigenous data governance — Collective Benefit, Authority to Control, Responsibility, and Ethics - and ethical and culturally responsive approaches to data governance, including catalogue models, vocabularies, spatial reference data, and digital archiving systems.
14 August 2026
Maramataka: Decolonising Science, Space, and Time
Te Kahuratai Moko-Painting
University of Melbourne
This presentation offers a Māori ethic of time through Maramataka, the Māori lunar-stellar environmental calendar. It is a living system of
astronomical and environmental observation with the potential to decolonise science, space and time. We will explore how Indigenous calendars and astronomies offer frameworks for resisting this erasure and restoring Indigenous futures, grounded in relationship, in rhythm with the environment, and in service of Indigenous sovereignty.
28 August 2026
Cultural Astronomy & non-Human Intelligence: from AI to ET.
Dr Christine Black
Independent Indigenous Legal Scholar
Many Indigenous traditions have long spoken of relationships with "Star People". In this seminar, we will contrast Indigenous and contemporary narratives of non-human intelligence, noting that Indigenous accounts of these relationships emphasise kinship, responsibility, and care for the Earth, while modern discourse often focuses on threat, surveillance, and technological advantage.
11 September 2026
Astronomy and Conflict in the South American lowlands
Dr Alejandro Martin-Lopez
University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
This seminar will address astronomy in the South American lowlands and conflicts, in that context. This will involve discussions about Indigenous communities' interaction with educational systems, heritage management, and other challenges faced.
09 October 2026
Inka Cosmovision: Archaeological and Methodological Approaches
Professor Steve Gullberg
University of Oklahoma, USA
This seminar will discuss methods and approaches in conducting archaeoastronomcial research on Inka archaeology in South America.
Reading: Astronomy of the Inca Empire: Use and Significance of the Sun and the Night Sky
23 October 2026
Coffee with Scientists - Translating Indigenous Knowledge
Colin Saltmere, Dr Jitendra Joshi, Matthew Ralph National Indigenous Science Translation Centre
Sharing their work on translating Indigenous Knowledge, they will talk about the challenges that they have faced and the opportunities they envision for supporting the translation of Indigenous Knowledge in Australia.
14:30-16:00, Arts West, North Wing, Room 553
30 October 2026
Halloween Edition: Vampires as Sidereal Predators in Early Modern Europe
Dr Michael Pickering
Trinity College Melbourne
German intellectuals viewed vampires as principally incorporeal, spirit predators, comprising the residual astral "casing" housing the human soul. Within this spiritual economy, vampires were situated at the confluence of the physical, the numinous, and the intermediary astral.
13 November 2026
Space Humanities and Art: Imagining new possibilities in space
Harriet Hurley
(Un)Common Cosmos
This seminar will reflect on the role of humanities and the arts in envisioning ways we can explore space beyond the contemporary extractive and colonial practices of the space industry.
27 November 2026
Data-Driven Historical Research - the Pleiades in ancient Mesopotamia
Dr Dr Susanne Hoffmann
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
This seminar will discuss data-driven evaluation and classical logic and data collection. This will focus on new interpretations of a Late Babylonian claytablet with the Pleiades.