From music’s role as a political mobiliser, life on Pluto, gendered speech, and mental illness in rural Australia, the 2023 edition of Aedificamus provides thought-provoking reading on a wide range of issues.

Every year, the residents of Queen’s are invited to contribute to this reviewed academic journal featuring orations, poems, essays, creative prose and short fiction. Aedificamus comes from the College motto ‘Aedificamus in Aeternum – We are building for eternity’.  Professor Stewart Gill OAM, Master of Queen’s College considers the publication an important part of building the fabric of the College, and a way to discover the exceptional writing skills and interests of Queen’s budding literary luminaries.

“To remain relevant, the university sector must strengthen their social role in promoting interdisciplinary dialogue and a culture of human understanding of our environment. Underlying this is the role of Higher Education to bring about transformation in society. The students in this edition are dealing with some of the great questions of this age,” he said.

Aedificamus is produced by an editorial board consisting of senior editors and general members. Dr Helen Sykes AM, the Director of Future Leaders and President of the Trust for Young Australians, sponsors the awards received by contributing students.

Maddy Mulligan (3^rd Year Arts) was thrilled to receive the Aedificamus writing prize for her essay, ‘An Instrument of Change: Music as a Site of Political Resistance’.

“It is very meaningful to be able to publish your work in an academic journal and be rewarded for it, particularly as a young person as there are so few opportunities. I feel very lucky to have a space like Aedificamus. I study politics and have a passion for music, so to be able to weave those into one made sense. While the creation of music and political resistance movements appear to be two unrelated phenomena, both result from the seed of powerful emotions and experiences. Bringing music into it makes it more accessible because music is quite tangible, everyone has a connection to music in some way,” said Maddy.

Sophia Goodwin (2^nd Year Arts/Science) was awarded the Future Leaders Creative Writing Award for her short fiction ‘Big Rain’. It is intended to raise awareness of the prevalent issues surrounding mental illness and suicide in rural Australia.

“I’m studying psychology and am really passionate about mental health. It’s an unspoken thing but it’s so common for people on farms to have bad mental health. Writing about it and allowing people to step into that world, showing the readers it is a real thing, is really important to me. Having this published in Aedificamus has given me a lot of connections. I’m so grateful, I’ve talked to a few Wyverns who have published poetry books and been given a lot of tips and that’s so exciting for me as a young writer. Everyone involved in Aedificamus has been provided that same opportunity. It’s incredible that this space is available to Queen’s students,” said Sophia.