Edgar Allen Poe, Sigmund Freud and cognitive scientists have all wrestled with the human tendency to behave in ways that are irrational and self-defeating.
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Articles on Obituary
Displaying 121 - 140 of 224 articles
‘He had the ability to make you think he was addressing you personally, even if you were one among 10,000 others.’
Petyarre, who won the Telstra prize for Indigenous art in 1996, has died in Alice Springs.
With The Dying Trade, Peter Corris introduced Australia to one of its most successful crime heroes, Cliff Hardy.
A giant of the US political scene, John McCain had friends and enemies on all sides.
Charles Blackman forged an urbanised image of Australia that for most, was more familiar than the mythic landscapes of Sidney Nolan or Arthur Boyd. Yet though familiar, it remains uncomfortable.
Franklin, who has died aged 76 in Detroit, was a church girl first and foremost. She was the master of the gospel form.
South African-born composer Stanley Glasser’s musical legacy is in many ways unknown in his motherland which he left under political duress in 1963, and awaits critical engagement.
In an age that venerates celebrities and self-promotion in the arts and culture sector, Winston Ntshona remains a role model for his modesty.
South African Professor Bongani Mayosi was a great mentor to many. Losing him to mental illness is a reminder that we are all human.
Kate Spade has been found dead in New York, age 55. Her handbags, first released in the early-1990s, introduced young professional women to affordable luxury.
His recent death will lead to some old debates about his work returning – but are they still valid?
Whether you loved him or hated him, his canonical status is beyond question.
Philip Tabane was unlike any other musician. His music was intimately woven into his cosmology and spirituality.
A journalism scholar and biographer of Tom Wolfe looks back at a literary great’s life of challenging cultural standards.
Reducing Madikizela’s entire life and legacy to her relationship with Mandela has more to do with patriarchal tropes about powerful women than reality.
Hawking’s most famous book, A Brief History of Time, sold 10 million copies and was translated into 40 languages, skyrocketing to the top of the bestseller lists in the US and UK.
The British inventor of the clockwork radio and over 200 other devices has died.
The obituary of the Zuma administration can be summed up with its ethos: grab as much and as fast as you can.
Ingvar Kamprad’s Ikea revolutionised retail by popularising flat-pack furniture and building maze-like stores.
Top contributors
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Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney
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Associate professor, Music Industry, RMIT University
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Lecturer in the Sociology of Gender, Macquarie University
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Senior Lecturer in Popular and Contemporary Music, Newcastle University
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Associate Professor of French Studies, University of Adelaide
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Professor of Creative Arts, Griffith University
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Associate of the Gordon Institute for Business Science, University of Pretoria
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Senior Lecturer in American Studies, University of Sydney
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Associate Professor in Media, University of Notre Dame Australia
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Head of Film, University of Southampton
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Leader, Complex Systems Science, CSIRO
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Joanna Mendelssohn is a Friend of The Conversation.
Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne
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Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Environment; Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO
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Bizot Family Professor of History, University of Memphis
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Honorary Senior Lecturer, Australian National University
