Melville Thomas

Melville Thomas is a Senior Lecturer and the longest-serving lecturer in the School of Indigenous Studies at The University of Western Australia, with over 25 years of teaching experience. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History (1994), a Bachelor of Laws (1996), and a Master of Laws by Research (2001) from UWA, with his LLM thesis examining the human rights foundation of international law under the supervision of Dr Peter Johnston. Prior to his current role, Thomas lectured at the West Coast College of TAFE from 1996 to 1999, teaching legal studies and human rights in the Community Services department. At UWA, he has held positions including Coordinator of the Aboriginal Pre-Law Program (2007-2011), Coordinator of the Advanced Diploma in Indigenous Legal Studies (2013-2016), and Associate Dean of Research for the School. He has also taught socio-legal subjects in the UWA Aboriginal Orientation Course and tutored Constitutional Law in the Faculty of Law. Currently, he coordinates the Indigenous Knowledge, History and Heritage Major.

Thomas's research specializations include human rights, Indigenous legal education, international law jurisprudence and history, Indigenous rights, and LGBTIQ rights history. He is the author of two books: Gay Humanism and Higher Education: A Rights Based Approach (2019) and Meaning in International Law: From Pericles to Trump (2020), the latter advocating for a more effective international legal order post-COVID-19. Key publications also encompass peer-reviewed articles such as ‘Cosmopolitanism, Law and the Challenge of Globalisation’ (Journal of the Australasian Law Teachers Association, 2012), ‘Indigenous Jurisprudence and Legal Education in the 21st Century’ (ISAA Review, 2005), and co-authored works like ‘Teaching and Learning the Law: The University of Western Australia’s Indigenous Pre-Law Programme’ (Indigenous Law Bulletin, 2010). His contributions to Indigenous legal education were recognized with the ALTC Neville Bonner Award in 2009 (shared with Professors Bartlett and Milroy) for the UWA Indigenous Pre-Law Programme, which has produced over 60 Indigenous lawyers. In 2020, he received a Senior Fellowship from the Higher Education Academy for his service to the Discipline of Indigenous Studies. Thomas serves as Convenor of the Social Justice Forum for The Australasian Law Teachers' Association Journal and chaired the School of Indigenous Studies Teaching and Learning Committee from 2018 to 2022.

Professional Email: mel.thomas@uwa.edu.au