An Accidental Activist

Lunch with Dennis Altman AM

Hosted by John Ridley AM

We are delighted to welcome Melbourne Forum member, Dennis Altman AM, for this special lunchtime event.

An Accidental Activist is the subtitle of Dennis' memoir, Unrequited Love, released in 2019 [Monash University Publishing]. However, it was his very first book, Homosexual: Oppression & Liberation [1971] that set him on his activism path. Dennis' literary debut grew out of his involvement in the early gay movement as a junior academic on leave in New York City. A decade later, Dennis was back in New York at the onset of the AIDS epidemic, which led to another early book, AIDS in the mind of America [Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1986]. 

In late 2025, Dennis released Righting My World: Essays from the Past Half-Century, a collection of his writings over the years [Monash University Publishing].

Today, Dennis is politically active in two main areas which also relate to his writings: support for queer refugees and asylum seekers, and membership of the Jewish Council of Australia, a coalition of Jewish academics, lawyers, writers, and teachers who are opposed to the Israeli occupation and the prioritisation of the rights of Jewish people over the rights of Palestinians.

Dennis Altman AM is a Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow and Professorial Fellow in the Institute for Human Security at La Trobe University. In 2008, Dennis was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for service to education as an academic, social and political commentator, to the community through raising awareness of human-rights issues, and to the development of HIV/AIDS policy. He is a patron of the Australian Queer Archives and the Pride Foundation.

Please join us to hear more about Dennis' inspiring journey.