FAQs
History of MAHA
MAHA began as a student branch of the Macquarie Ancient History Association, also known as Big MAHA, in the late 1970s. Their members include ancient history lecturers and teachers, and they provide funding for academic opportunities. Big MAHA was founded in the 1978s.
MAHA's student branch serves a social purpose, bringing together students studying ancient history and archaeology as well as students who simply enjoy history.
Our aim is to promote the study of ancient history at Macquarie University, to foster a spirit of community and social connection between ancient history students, the MAHA Executive body, staff, and the broader community, and to offer members a variety of social and ancient history related activities, events, and opportunities for further learning and involvement in the discipline of ancient history.
Affiliations and More
ASMU
ASMU (Archaeology Society of Macquarie University) is a collective of archaeology students and those with a casual interest in the field that come together to expand both our knowledge of archaeology and our friendships. ASMU and MAHA occasionally collaborate to hold social events throughout the year this helps archaeology and ancient history students network across societies.
They focus on archaeological practice, including excavation and artefacts, which distinguishes archaeology from history, and often focuses on important events and people. They strive to create a balance between fun social events such as bowl painting and museum treasure hunts and academic events for archaeology students such as talks from lecturers and professionals in both research and commercial archaeology. They are also active on social media, including Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, where they post about events, excavation and job opportunities and changes in executives. Their website also offers merch, membership sign-ups and limited-time offers.
TELES ANGELS
Tele’s Angels (The Telemachus Ancient History Mentor Program) is Australia’s longest-running and most awarded peer mentoring program. Tele’s was founded in 2002 by a group of second-year undergraduate history and archaeology students after they observed the need for greater support, resources and communication for and amongst first-year students.
The program seeks to offer free academic and personal assistance to all History and Archaeology students on a one-to-one basis, in seminars and through developed programs. Tele’s also provides networking opportunities between students and staff as well as making connections with broader industry and community.
Every semester Tele’s hosts:
- Welcome Reception for networking amongst students and staff (as well as the student societies),
- Seminars: We host three seminars a session on assessment advice, learning ancient languages and archaeological fieldwork & internships
- Drop-in Sessions: for small group or individual mentoring
- Potential Pathways: A panel of speakers working across different fields who started with a history/archaeology undergraduate degree
Tele’s is also available all year for 1:1 mentoring sessions. To get some advice, contact us, or become a mentor please email us at telesangels@gmail.com and stay up to date with Tele’s events via our socials: @telesangels.
The Revue
The Revue is our yearly comedy show that was started in the late 70s, it centres around historical based skits and is a collaborative effort of students from Macquarie University. While The Revue is a part of MAHA, it is still a separate entity with its own director that is separate from the MAHA executive.
We start auditions around the middle of semester one each year from actors to stage-hands, to writers, if you want to be a part of the production, keep your eye on The Revue’s Instagram.
ArtingTheAncients
“ArtingtheAncients” is an illustrative blog that aims to make Ancient History accessible to the general public. Their main goal is to create a collaborative space that offers a platform to dedicated young artists and historians worldwide. The team currently consists of a permanent editor, artist, and co-writer who volunteer their time to the project. Each publication provides our audience with approachable content and artwork. The endgame is to create a new kind of academic journal that's accessible to everyone, not just academics. Check out their website or their Instagram to view their work.
The Executive, How it runs, and How you can join
The Executive consists of seven members in total, five of which are voted in at the end of year meeting and two of which are voted in at the first general meeting of the year.
The 5 roles that are voted in at the end of year meeting include:
- The President, whose responsibilities include overseeing and organising meetings, events, and spending, as well as communicating with the university on the society's behalf.
- The Vice President, whose role is to assist the President and other members of the executive branch when necessary.
- The Treasurer, whose duty is to handle the society's assets and keep track of its finances.
- The Secretary, whose job is to keep track of the society's records and oversee membership.
- The Social Media and Events Coordinator, whose job is to plan events and keep the society's social media channels up to date.
In 2023, MAHA is trialing the new role of a General Committee. This role purpose is to allow spaces for newer students to gain experience within the executive, while also exploring new opportunities.
The first five roles of the executive are voted towards the end of each year to give the previous executive time to hand over the responsibilities; the other two roles are elected at the first general meeting with the new executive because they are generally taken up by first years. You must be voted in during one of the two general meetings to be elected.
Meeting Minutes
These documents are records of what occurs in the meetings between the exec and are published on the archives section of our website for public viewing
The Constitution
The Constitution is the rules MAHA as a society must follow, they are also available for public viewing under the archives section of our website.