The Australian Academy of the Humanities has awarded School of Languages and Cultures graduate, Dr Simon Burke, its major national award. The award recognises outstanding achievement in translation, and celebrates the important work of translation professionals in Australian scholarship and culture.
Unlocking new knowledge for the English-speaking world
Simon’s book offers a readable English translation of a 13th-century Middle Arabic text by Syriac Orthodox monk, Rabban Daniel Ibn al-Ḥaṭṭāb, which he translated during his PhD research at the University of Sydney. Published by Brill in 2024, it provides an insight into the Syriac Orthodox Church during a time of cultural and linguistic transformations. The text engages with the Christian and Islamic worlds across the Middle East, including broad Greek philosophical frameworks shared among Medieval Christian, Muslim and Jewish authors.
The Academy recognises Simon’s work as a major achievement in philology, based on the scholarly and cultural importance of the source text, and the success in conveying the voice, context, and meaning of the original source.
From learning new languages to translating different languages
In 2012, Simon commenced his Bachelor of Arts to study languages offered by the Disciplines of Arabic Language and Cultures and Hebrew and Jewish Studies.
Learning languages, including Arabic and Hebrew opened the pathway to deeper studies of moral, cultural and religious frameworks through philosophical and theological texts. During his Honours year, he produced his first translations of non-English texts as part of his thesis.
Simon pursued a PhD under the supervision of Professor Emeritus Rifaat Ebied FAHA OAM, Dr Ali Aldahesh, and Honorary Associate Professor Ian Young, laying the foundations for the book as he honed his expertise by delving into Medieval Arabic texts. Simon attributes his significant academic growth to his PhD supervisors and their support.
How translators foster cross-cultural cohesion
According to Simon, engaging with different ideas from various cultures can be transformative for one’s worldview and offer a better understanding of people.
“A humility to learn from others of widely diverse backgrounds who are engaged in systematic searches, explanations of first principles and questions of ultimate concern can expand one’s horizons,” reflected Simon.
“Understanding traditions of thought that were developed from various cultures across the globe is critical today to counter an uncritical reproduction of views from one’s own context.”
Translation facilitates cross-cultural understanding. Cross-cultural understanding is a social good that tangibly contributes to human flourishing. Where it is absent, arising anxieties can undermine social cohesion and wellbeing.
Dr Simon Burke
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and PhD graduate, and 2026 Australian Academy of the Humanities Medallist for Excellence in Translation
Translators unearth fountains of knowledge
Simon owes much of his achievements to translators and commentators of non-English ancient and medieval works which he read prior to his university studies.
“The translators and commentators of such books benefited me by making what was otherwise inaccessible available. I wanted to do likewise – making a valuable text of philosophy and theology available,” said Simon.
Over the years, he has written translations of several Syriac texts and is currently working on a text by an Islamic philosopher of the 16th and 17th centuries. He also serves as Moderator of Arabic and Hebrew at the Australian University of Theology and is an Honorary Associate of the Discipline of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at the University of Sydney.
“There are many monuments of genius from ages past that remain inaccessible – resting in manuscripts, unedited and untranslated. I encourage prospective and current language students to imagine what treasures await their keen minds to unlock for English readers.”