 | Among ASAL participants were (back row): Professor Graham Huggan, Uni... Among ASAL participants were (back row): Professor Graham Huggan, University of Leeds; Associate Professor Lyn McCredden, Deakin University (past President of ASAL); Dr Liz McMahon, UNSW (President of ASAL); novelist Michelle de Kretser, winner of the ASAL Gold Medal 2008 for 'The Lost Dog' (2007); Dr Tony Simoes da Silva (UOW co-organiser of the ASAL 2008 Conference) and front row: Dr Peter Kirkpatrick, UNSW (past President of ASAL); Professor Elizabeth Webby, University of Sydney; Professor Wenche Ommundsen, UOW (Co-organiser of the ASAL 2008 Conference); Professor Robert Dixon, University of Sydney. |
UOW hosts 30th anniversary Australian literature conference
4 Jul 2008 | Bernie Goldie
“Australian Literature in a Global World” was the theme for a major literature conference held from 29 June to 2 July at the University of Wollongong.
The 30th Anniversary Conference of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature (ASAL) was organised by staff in UOW's School of English Literatures, Philosophy and Languages.
Key organisers were Professor Wenche Ommundsen, Dr Tony Simoes da Silva, Dr Debra Dudek and Ms Jenn Phillips supported by a group of postgraduate students.
The conference attracted participants from the United Kingdom, the United States, India, New Zealand and Australia. UOW Vice-Chancellor, Professor Gerard Sutton, also attended the conference opening.
The 30th anniversary conference echoed concerns involving media headlines over the past year – how do we teach, and how should we teach the national literature to new generations of Australians in schools and universities?
Conference participants discussed also the question of what is the function of a national literature in the age of globalisation and how does it define Australia’s place in the cultural economy of the 21st century.
The conference consisted of keynote speeches, readings, panel discussions, reports on independent research and a range of informal exchanges of ideas.
Keynote speakers were Nicholas Jose (University of Adelaide), Graham Huggan (University of Leeds), Lydia Wevers (Victoria University of Wellington), Merlinda Bobis (University of Wollongong) and Ken Gelder (University of Melbourne).
A number of Australian writers read from their work, namely Hsu-ming Teo, Tara June Wynch, Hoa Pham, Elizabeth Hodgson and Ernie Blackmore, in a session chaired by novelist and UOW academic, Merlinda Bobis.
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