Joy Damousi, AM, FASSA, FAHA is an Australian historian and Professor and Director of the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences at Australian Catholic University.^[1] She was Professor of History in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne for most of her career, and retains a fractional appointment.^[2] She was the President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities from 2017 to 2020.^[3]

Damousi was born in Melbourne, Victoria. Her parents George and Sophia migrated to Australia from Greece in 1956 and 1957 respectively.^[4] Damousi graduated from La Trobe University where she completed her Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) and the Australian National University where she graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy in 1987.^[5]

Damousi held contract positions at Monash University (1988–1990), La Trobe University (1991), and the University of Melbourne (1992–1995) where she accepted a tenured position in 1996.^[5] She was appointed as Professor of History in 2004 and held positions of leadership within the University of Melbourne, including Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Arts, Pro Vice Chancellor Research and also as the inaugural Head of the School of Historical Studies.^[5][6][7]

Damousi was appointed as a Research Evaluation Committee Chair for the Humanities and Creative Arts disciplines as part the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative of the Australian Research Council for 2012.^[8][9][10] On 18 November 2017 she was elected as President of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.^[3] From 2014 to 2015, she was also a member of the ARC Research Evaluation Committee Humanities and creative arts.^[11]

As part of the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Laureate Fellowship in the 2000s, Damousi managed a related fellowship mentoring scheme. This scheme involved mentoring, training and workshops aimed to develop the careers of early career female researchers at the PhD level.^[12]

In 2003, Damousi was chief editor of the leading historical journal Australian Historical Studies, while Patricia Grimshaw was president of the editorial board.^[13]

Damousi's book Freud in the Antipodes: A Cultural History of Psychoanalysis in Australia (2005, UNSW Press) was awarded the Ernest Scott Prize for the most distinguished contribution to the history of Australia or New Zealand or to the history of colonisation in 2006.^[14] Other books by Damousi have been shortlisted for prizes. Colonial Voices: A Cultural History of English in Australia, 1840–1940 (Cambridge 2010) was short-listed for the New South Wales Premier's History Awards, Australian History Prize in 2011.^[15]

Damousi was elected as a Fellow of both the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Humanities in 2004.^[6][16] She was the 2015 Fred Alexander Fellow in History at the University of Western Australia,^[17] and is a holder of the Kathleen Fitzpatrick Fellowship for "outstanding female researchers in humanities, arts and social sciences".^[18]

In 2014, Damousi was awarded the Australian Research Council Kathleen Fitzpatrick Australian Laureate Fellowship for her research leadership and scholarly excellence.^[19]

Damousi was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of her "significant service to social sciences and the humanities, to history, and to tertiary education.^[20]