Professor Marcia Langton AO
Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies, University of Melbourne
Mabo Centre Co-Chair
Professor Marcia Langton AO is an anthropologist and geographer, and since 2000 she has held the Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne.
Professor Langton has produced a large body of knowledge in the areas of political and legal anthropology, Indigenous agreements and engagement with the minerals industry, and Indigenous culture and art. Her role in the Empowered Communities project under contract to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and as a member of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians are evidence of Professor Langton’s academic reputation, policy commitment and impact, alongside her role as a prominent public intellectual.
Her 2012 Boyer lecture series titled The Quiet Revolution: Indigenous People and the Resources Boom is one of her recent contributions to public debate, and added to her influence and reputation in government and private sector circles.
Mabo Centre Co-Chair
Professor Marcia Langton AO is an anthropologist and geographer, and since 2000 she has held the Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne.
Professor Langton has produced a large body of knowledge in the areas of political and legal anthropology, Indigenous agreements and engagement with the minerals industry, and Indigenous culture and art. Her role in the Empowered Communities project under contract to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet and as a member of the Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians are evidence of Professor Langton’s academic reputation, policy commitment and impact, alongside her role as a prominent public intellectual.
Her 2012 Boyer lecture series titled The Quiet Revolution: Indigenous People and the Resources Boom is one of her recent contributions to public debate, and added to her influence and reputation in government and private sector circles.
Leadership Roles & Achievements
Professor Langton is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, a Fellow of Trinity College, Melbourne and an Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College at the University of Queensland.
In 1993 she was made a member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her work in anthropology and the advocacy of Aboriginal rights. In 2016 Professor Langton was honoured as a University of Melbourne Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor. In further recognition as one of Australia’s most respected Indigenous academics, Professor Langton was appointed as the first Associate Provost at the University of Melbourne in 2017.
Honours & Awards
- Inaugural winner, Rechnitz Memorial Award, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (2025)
- Honorary Fellow, Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (2021)
- Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) (2020) - For distinguished service to tertiary education and advocacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Listed 7th in Australia's top 40 public intellectuals by API Network (2008)
Named one of Australia's top 20 intellectuals by The Sydney Morning Herald (2005)
- Member of the Order of Australia (AM) (1993) - For service in anthropology and advocacy of Aboriginal rights
- Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA)
- Fellow of Trinity College, Melbourne
- Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College, University of Queensland
Published Works
- It's Our Country: Indigenous Arguments for Meaningful Constitutional Recognition and Reform (co-authored with Megan Davis, 2016)
- First Australians: an illustrated history (co-edited with Rachel Perkins, 2010) - Companion book to the landmark SBS documentary series