| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 |
Sonn, C. C. (250101). Engaging decolonial approaches to deracialize and humanize migrants. American Journal of Community Psychology, doi: 10.1002/ajcp.12817 |
| 2025 | Miller, K., Morda, R., & Sonn, C. C. (250101). Tokenistic or transformative? An exploration of culturally safe care in Australian mental health nursing. International Journal of Mental Health, 54(1), (4-21). |
| 2024 |
Sonn, C. C., Agung-Igusti, R. P., Komba, G., Ruach, R. N., & Deng, E. E. (240701). Freedom dreaming from the university-community nexus: Relational praxis as counterspace. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 18(7), doi: 10.1111/spc3.12990 |
| 2023 |
Perkins, D. D., Sonn, C. C., Lenzi, M., Xu, Q., Carolissen, R., Portillo, N., & Serrano-Garcia, I. (231201). The global development of community psychology as reflected in the American Journal of Community Psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 72(3-4), (302-316). doi: 10.1002/ajcp.12696 |
Key details
Areas of expertise
- Community & liberation psychologies
- Qualitative and post-qualitative research
- Racism and whiteness studies
- Migration and Settlement
Available to supervise research students
Available for media queries
About Christopher Sonn
Christopher is research fellow with the Institute for Health and Sport and Moondani Balluk Indigenous Academic Unit.
He is research leader for the Community Identity and Displacement research group.
His internationally recognised research involves understanding and elevating the voices of individuals and groups who are marginalised or excluded through forms of violence such as racism and sexism.
Christopher has expertise in community and liberation psychology and qualitative and creative methodologies.
He has over 100 publications in high-ranking journals and edited books.
Christopher's recent publications include the coedited volume Decoloniality and Epistemic Justice in Contemporary Community Psychology (2021) and the Handbook of Decolonial Community Psychology (2024) a special issue of the American Journal Community Psychology on Fostering and Sustaining Solidarities. He co-author of Social Psychology of Everyday Life (1st & 2nd ed.)
He has supervised and co-supervised 15 PhD and DPsych students and is currently supervising six Higher Degree by Research students.
Christopher is currently working on projects with community partners to explore how participatory, creative, and arts based methodologies can promote decoloniality, empowerment, and inclusion.
He is visiting professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and a fellow of the Society for Community Research and Action.
Qualifications
- PhD, Victoria University, Australia, 1996
- Grad Dip Applied Psychology (Community), Victoria University, Australia
- Grad Dip Education, Deakin University, Australia
- BA, Monash University, Australia
Key publications
Christopher has over 200 publications, with a selection listed here.
A more comprehensive list of Christopher's publications is available in the VU Research Repository.
Book chapter (showing 3)
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Sonn, C., Agung-Igusti, R., Jayawardana, R., Quayle, A., & Keast, S. (240425). Community arts, decoloniality, and epistemic justice In Christens, B. (Ed.) (pp. 480-503). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. |
| 2024 | Sonn, C. C. (240101). Assembling Decolonial Anti-Racist Praxis from the Margins: Reflections from Critical Community Psychology (pp. 164-177). |
| 2024 | Sonn, C. C., Fernandez, J. S., Moura, J. F., Madyaningrum, M. E., & Malherbe, N. (240101). Decolonisation in and Beyond Community Psychologies: A Transnational Plurilogue (pp. 1-22). Springer Nature Switzerland. |
Commissioned research report (showing 2)
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2025 |
Ali, L., Balla, P., Jackson, K., Price, R. K., Quayle, A., Singh, L. J., & Sonn, C. (250101). The Blak Women's Healing Project: Supporting Blak Women s Healing through Cultural Practice and Connecting to Country. Melbourne, Victoria: Moondani Balluk: Indigenous Academic Unit, Victoria University. doi: 10.26196/6y1p-he36 |
| 2023 | Keast, S., & Sonn, C. (231001). Opening Doors and Conversations: Culture, self-determination & mental health. |
Conference paper (showing 1)
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Sonn, C. C., Quayle, A. F., & Kasat, P. (240801). Picturing the Wheatbelt: Exploring and Expressing Place Identity Through Photography Paper presented at JOURNAL OF PLANNING LITERATURE (pp. 472-473). SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC. |
Journal article (showing 4 of 116)
Research funding for the past 5 years
Please note:
- Funding is ordered by the year the project commenced and may continue over several years.
- Funding amounts for contact research are not disclosed to maintain commercial confidentiality.
- The order of investigators is not indicative of the role they played in the research project.
2023
|
Vingrys - VicHealth
Impact Research Grant: Aboriginal Australian dietary practices and place-making
in public health equity
From: Vic Health Impact Research Grants, Victoria University
Other investigators: Aspr Alison Baker, Ms Karen Jackson, Dr Megan O'shea, Dr Kristina Vingrys
For period: 2023-2025
|
$296,943 |
|
Strengthening Creatives Capacity for Research Accompaniment
From: VicHealth, Victoria University
Other investigators: Dr Samuel Keast, Aspr Matthew Klugman
For period: 2023-2025
|
Not disclosed |
2022
|
Its Bigger Than This:
From: Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission
Other investigators: Dr Samuel Keast
For period: 2022-2023
|
Not disclosed |
|
VicHealth - Mental Health Literacy Project Evaluation
From: Victoria University, VicHealth
Other investigators: Dr Samuel Keast
For period: 2022-2023
|
Not disclosed |
|
Co-creating Social Change: Documenting Community-Based and Arts
Approaches to Foster Social Connectedness
From: VicHealth
Other investigators: Aspr Matthew Klugman
For period: 2022-2022
|
Not disclosed |
2021
|
Moving critical voices to the forefront: Building global solidarities with Community Psychology scholars to increase Scholarly Impact and Inform Everyday Praxis
From: Wilfred Laurier University
For period: 2021-2022
|
$7,698 |
|
Blak Women's Healing
From: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Other investigators: Ms Karen Jackson, Ms Paola Balla, Ms Rowena Price, Dr Amy Quayle
For period: 2021-2023
|
$164,610 |
2020
|
Evaluation of the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation's GOAL Mentoring Program 2020
From: Western Bulldogs Community Foundation
For period: 2020-2020
|
Not disclosed |
2019
|
Evaluation of the gender equality through the Arts Grants Program
From: VicHealth, VU Internal Funding
Other investigators: Dr Kim Shearson, Aspr Gavin Ivey, Prof Jenny Sharples
For period: 2019-2020
|
Not disclosed |
|
Capacity Building Grant - Participation in the Collaborative Centre of Excellence for Resilient Communities and Inclusive Societies (CERCIS) Think Tank
From: Dept of Premier and Cabinet (Vic)
Other investigators: Prof Debra Smith, Prof Ramon Spaaij
For period: 2019-2023
|
Not disclosed |
2018
|
CBTL (Colour between the line): Creating Solidarities Across Communities of Difference through Arts and Activism
From: CoHealth
Other investigators: Dr Amy Quayle
For period: 2018-2020
|
Not disclosed |
Supervision of research students at VU
Available to supervise research students
Available for media queries
Currently supervised research students at VU
| No. of students | Study level | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | PhD | Associate supervisor |
| 2 | PhD | Principal supervisor |
| 2 | PhD Integrated | Associate supervisor |
| 2 | PhD Integrated | Principal supervisor |
Currently supervised research students at VU
| Students & level | Role |
|---|---|
| PhD (6) | Associate supervisor |
| PhD (2) | Principal supervisor |
| PhD Integrated (2) | Associate supervisor |
| PhD Integrated (2) | Principal supervisor |
Completed supervision of research students at VU
| No. of students | Study level | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PhD | Acting supervisor |
| 11 | PhD | Principal supervisor |
| 3 | PhD | Associate supervisor |
Completed supervision of research students at VU
| Students & level | Role |
|---|---|
| PhD (1) | Acting supervisor |
| PhD (11) | Principal supervisor |
| PhD (3) | Associate supervisor |
Other supervision of research students
Christopher has co-supervised 2 PhD students at Curtin University, and 1 PhD at Edith Cowan University. He was on the PhD dissertation committee at the University of Miami and is currently co-supervising a PhD candidate at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Teaching activities & experience
Christopher is Professor and Fellow with the Institute for Health and Sport and Moondani Balluk Indigenous Academic Unit..
He was the course chair of the Master Applied Psychology (Community Psychology). He coordinated and taught the following units in this program:
- APM6010, Foundations of Community Psychology
- APM7004, Intercultural Approaches to Community Pscyhology
- APC6089, Research Methods.
He also supervises research thesis in the thesis units for this course.
Christopher also:
- taught APH4018, Social Research Methods, in the fourth year program in Psychology
- supervises research thesis
- taught in into the undergraduate research methods course, APS2030, Qualitative Social Research.
Awards
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2020 |
Fellowship - Society for Community Research and Action |
Keynote and invited speeches
| Year | Title/Description |
|---|---|
| 2024 |
Co-constructing psychologies for liberation: Qualitative inquiry, healing and epistemic justice Keynote delivered at the annual conference of the Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology held at Boston College, USA, June 2024. The theme was, Transforming Psychology and Reimagining Knowledge. |
| 2024 |
Reinventing life together: Reimagining epistemic communities and place-making through decolonial praxis Invited presentation presented at the 10th International Conference on Community Psychology held at the Universidad de Republica, Montevideo, Uruguay, September, 2024. The theme of the conference was, Reinventing life together in the current socio-political context. |
Professional memberships
- Fellow, Society for Community Research and Action
- Academic Member, Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology
