Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am a Professor in Law at Macquarie University. Between 2008-2011, I was an ARC Post Doctoral Research Fellow at Macquarie University (2008) and the University of Wollongong (2009-11). Between 2011-18, I was a senior lecturer and Associate Professor in Philosophy at UOW. I completed my undergraduate degrees in philosophy (with honours) and law at Macquarie University, and was awarded my PhD in Philosophy from the University of New South Wales in 2006.
Research interests
My research specialisation is primarily at the intersection of philosophy and law. Specifically, I am interested in how philosophical concepts can be utilised to address various and persistent legal dilemmas, including dilemmas about the limits of speech, the importance of democratic deliberation, the place of rights in liberal democracies, and more recently, the place of emotions in law. My book, Sedition and the Advocacy of Violence: Free Speech and Counter-terrorism, is a book length philosophical treatment of modern sedition laws in Australia, and the offence of 'glorifying terrorism' in the United Kingdom. Using established concepts in philosophy of language I demonstrated various problems with the current laws and made proposals for addressing them. I also developed a systematic analysis of the concept of harm and the nature of speaker authority in establishing harm. I have applied this account to other areas of contested speech, including hate speech, holocaust denial, pseudo-scientific speech, and emotionally charged speech in the public sphere. More recently, I have been working in the area of emotions and the law, specifically on the expression and management of emotions during criminal trials. I have supervised and am able to supervise PhD theses in the areas of political philosophy, philosophy of law, and feminism.
Teaching
- LAWS214 - Juripsrudence
- LAWS805 - Theories of Law and Justice
Research student supervision
I have supervised HDR students in the areas of political philosophy. My areas of interests include political philosophy and philosophy of law. I am to supervise topics in this area.
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 2 Finished
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Macquarie University Ethics and Agency Research Centre
Mackenzie, C., Rogers, W., Meyerson, D., Kennett, J., Menary, R., Barrow, A., Bernal-Pulido, C., Deranty, J., Downey, G., Faulkner, J., Formosa, P., Hochman, A., Hutchison, K., Johnson, J., Levy, N., Lipworth, W., Lotz, M., Pugliese, J., Ross, R., Rossmanith, K., Schier, E., Sinnerbrink, R., Smith, N., Sorial, S., Sutton, J., Voyce, M., Gleeson, K. & MacDermott, T.
1/01/20 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
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'Abject failure': why Australia's scheme to curb foreign influence doesn't work and can't be fixed
Morris, S. & Sorial, S., 30 Apr 2024, The Conversation. Academic rigour, journalistic flair.Research output: Contribution to Newspaper/Magazine/Website › Article
Open AccessFile48 Downloads (Pure) -
Farm transparency and the problem of statutory purpose in the implied freedom test
Morris, S. & Sorial, S., 2024, In: Public Law Review. 35, 3, p. 257-276 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Downloads (Pure) -
Foreign interference and the incremental chilling of free speech
Sorial, S., Morris, S. & Greste, P., Mar 2024, In: Federal Law Review. 52, 1, p. 103-127 25 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile78 Downloads (Pure) -
Mini-publics and the legitimacy dilemma: how theoretical tensions are resolved in practice
Sorial, S. & Morris, S., 26 Apr 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: Public Law.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile17 Downloads (Pure) -
Can citizen assemblies make a difference to constitutional reform? Some lessons from Ireland
Sorial, S., 2023, The Australian Constitution and national identity. Olijnyk, A. & Reilly, A. (eds.). Canberra: ANU Press, p. 273-300 28 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Open AccessFile18 Downloads (Pure)