As part of the Visual Politics Program, Michael Barnett gave the first Annual Emma Hutchison Memorial Lecture on the topic of Mobilising Compassion.  With comments by Bina D’Costa and Fiona Terry.  Chaired by Katrina Lee Koo.  Introduced by Heather Zwicker and Roland Bleiker. Held on 4 December 2025 and hosted by the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland.

The Annual Emma Hutchison Memorial Lecture

This Annual Lecture is held in honour and memory Emma Hutchison, who was Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Queensland at the time of her passing in November 2024.

The idea of this lecture is to celebrate Emma and her passion for ideas and scholarship as well as her commitment to make the world a better and fairer place.  In particular, we honour Emma’s creative and pioneering work on the role of emotions and images in international relations and on broader political and ethical challenges, including those related to conflict resolution and humanitarian responsibilities.

Mobilising Compassion

The first Emma Hutchison Memorial Lecture dealt with the challenge of mobilising compassion at the time when humanitarian ideals – and funding for them – are in crisis. The lecture took place in the context of a workshop and collaborative project, which Emma co-initiated and which examines the Politics and Ethics of Visualising Humanitarian Crises. 

Speakers

Michael Barnett is University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at the George Washington University.  He is one of the leading scholars on humanitarian politics and international relations.  Among his many books are Eyewitness to a Genocide: The United Nations and Rwanda; Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism; Sacred Aid (co-edited with Janice Stein); Humanitarianism in Question (co-edited with Thomas Weiss) and Humanitarianism and Human Rights (co-edited with Jon Pevehouse and Kal Raustiala). Barnett’s new book, co-authored with Unni Karunaka, is called The End of Humanity: Humanitarianism in a Post Liberal Age and will be forthcoming with Cambridge in 2026. An ABC Radio interview with Michael Barnet on the topic of his lecture is available here.

Bina D’Costa is Professor of International Relations at the Australian National University

Fiona Terry is Honorary Professor at UQ and until recently Director of Research at the International Committee of the Red Cross

Katrina Lee Koo is Professor and Head, School of Political Science and International Studies at UQ.

Heather Zwicker is Professor at UQ, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Campus Culture and Leadership.