Where curiosity can take you

In 1996, decorated sociologist Anthony Giddens wrote a scathing essay charting a grim future for the study of anthropology.

Published in a collection of his essays, the prominent academic figure brutally defined anthropology as “a discipline which deals with an evaporating subject-matter, staking claim to a method which it shares with the rest of the social sciences anyway, and deficient in its core theoretical traditions”.

A young student in Melbourne stumbled across the damning words at the tail end of an arts degree at La Trobe University. Coincidentally, he was at a crossroads between choosing a career in anthropology or sociology, admiring both for their understanding of human behaviour and culture.

“And sociology won out,” Dr Haydn Aarons admits. 

Off the back of Lord Giddens’ persuasive words, Dr Aarons has built a strong 20-year academic career teaching and researching the ever-evolving study of society. 

“Sociology is very much a discipline that is focused on the social, cultural and systemic institutional forces that produce certain types of behaviour in individuals and in groups,” said Dr Aarons,  Senior Lecturer of Sociology at ACU Melbourne Campus.

“It’s been described as, and I see it as, a science – a way of interpreting human behaviour of groups: gender, social class, what we do for a living, our workplaces, families – all of those broader influences that we can or can’t sense but have very strong influences on us as individuals.”

Shaped by several forces

Before embarking on his academic career, Dr Aarons was your classic arts student. Keenly interested in the ways of the world, he found himself studying not only anthropology and sociology, but also economics and Mandarin Chinese.

And like many university students, he quietly interrogated the influence of religion in society, leading to his ongoing scholarly work on the sociology of religion. 

Preeminent sociologist of religion, the late Professor Gary Bouma AM, played a key role in shaping his academic research, as did Dr Timothy Phillips.

“I grew up in the Catholic faith and of course, like everyone, started to question it,” Dr Aarons said.

“But I was really interested in experience, so I used to go along to these meditation classes that this Buddhist monk ran. Buddhism was having a bit of a moment at the time – the Dalai Lama was a real rock star – and there was a lot of Hollywood types who were drawn to it.

“I had always questioned various things about the sacred or about faith, and to some extent it had a personal impact, but I still was scholarly about its role and function.”

The next classic trajectory was undertaking a doctorate.

“I was quite enjoying study in university and my supervisor said I should live in what he called ‘a stylish poverty’ and try and get a scholarship to do a PhD,” said Dr Aarons.

He successfully won the now ceased Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship and pursued a PhD on the influence a person’s religious identity could have on their musical preferences – and why that’s morally problematic.

From the inside out

While Dr Aarons has been widely published on a range of sociological topics, including religion, health, and cultural consumption, he’s recently turned to community-engaged research with ACU’s Stakeholder Engaged Scholarship Unit (SESU).

Designed to support community organisations serving people facing marginalisation and disadvantage, SESU projects offer ACU experts an opportunity to undertake research with real-world impact. 

One of the projects, an evaluation of an employment service for migrants and refugees, has led to numerous job accelerator events, fast-tracked recruitment programs, and the early stages of career pathway programs.

“What I really like about community-engaged research is that you're dealing with real life problems,” said Dr Aarons.

At the launch of the evaluation of SydWest's employability programs and services for recently arrived migrants and refugees.

“The problem of refugee and migrant employability affects thousands of people, not just in Western Sydney, but all around the country. And it's an international issue, particularly in Western countries or countries that have a lot of migrants or refugees.

“So that for me has been really rewarding kind of research. I'm up to my neck in it still and I'm really enjoying it.”

Dr Aarons said his involvement in the evaluation project has sparked ongoing research into the plight of highly skilled migrants who fail to find equivalent work when they move to Australia.

“One of the areas of research potential for me has been the plight of highly skilled migrants and refugees – those who come to Australia who in their home countries were doctors, lawyers, scientists, accountants, economists, teachers,” Dr Aarons said.

“The Australian system does fairly well in looking after migrants and refugees who don't have those backgrounds. But in my research, I discovered there's a lot of people who have more professional backgrounds and experience that Australia really needs, but they find through various means that they’re locked out of those professions here in Australia.”

From a sociological perspective, Dr Aarons says issues related to qualification recognition point to an inefficient system that can trigger larger issues: identity loss, reduced productivity and economic contribution, and even family breakdown – none of which society needs.

Leaving a legacy

As well as making a difference within communities, Dr Aarons has been part of the team of academics who developed two new ACU degrees: the Bachelor of Human Rights which launched in 2023, and the Bachelor of Social and Environmental Sustainability which commenced in 2026.

The latter is one of the few university degrees in sustainability that draws on the social sciences and humanities rather than traditional sciences.

Having attracted a committed cohort in Strathfield and Melbourne, the new course presents an exciting opportunity for students with an interest in climate change, social justice, and a desire for sustainable corporate practice.

“We've got some really exciting work-integrated learning opportunities that I think our students will love, including an on-country experience in Northern Territory with First Nations’ peoples, and some opportunities in the Pacific,” said Dr Aarons.

“A lot of groups, organisations, agencies and so forth are thinking sustainably and we want to contribute to that through good graduate outcomes, through this course and through the major.”

Making sense of the world

Given the broad and systematic study of social forces and behaviour, do sociologists like Dr Aarons have the answers to the complicated and messy state of the world, its climate, and its societies?

“Goodness, what a question. I don’t know the answers. There are all kinds of theories,” Dr Aarons says.

“The one thing that does really concern me though is the widening gap in inequalities between haves and have nots.

“We live in an age of widening inequalities and that translates to people having more or less power. This has been a constant for sociologists and others interested in society and culture and politics.”

But even if he’s no closer to having closure on the social forces at play, Dr Aarons wouldn’t trade his career for all the world’s solutions.

“I think I've said a few times to a friend, I'm not sure what else I'd do to be perfectly honest,” said Dr Aarons.
 
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