Dr Jessica K Weir is an Associate Professor at the Institute for Culture and Society, and a non-Indigenous scholar who investigates environmental issues and natural hazard risk through a lens that holds environment and society in intimate relation. Her scholarship re-thinks nature and what counts as evidence about nature, innovating in areas traditionally investigated by the natural sciences. She also investigates the policy and regulatory consequences of co-located Indigenous and non-Indigenous jurisdictions. This research program is fundamentally informed by over two decades of collaboration with Indigenous leaders in Australia. Jessica’s internationally recognised book Murray River Country (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2009) examines how an alliance of Indigenous leaders critique the public sector’s either/or hyper-separation of nature and society, to counter argue both/and. As an engaged academic, Jessica builds on 20 years in the public, private and community sector, including ten years with the Native Title Research Unit at the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). In addition to journal articles, Jessica prioritises non-traditional research outputs, such as training for public servants and collaborations with artists. This includes the So you care about Indigenous scholars? poster series and At risk in the climate crisis podcast series. Jessica also prioritises collaborating with natural scientists and is currently a node leader in the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Research Centre. Her scholarship is in dialogue with human geography, Indigenous studies, decolonial studies, political science, the environmental humanities, and science and technology studies. Jessica is an editorial board member of the Routledge Environmental Humanities Book Series.

Jessica is available to supervise PhD students in her areas of expertise.