Kent’s School of English is hosting a free public webinar: ‘British Empire in English Studies’.
The webinar will take place via Zoom on Wednesday 24 June 2020 16:00 – 17:45 (GMT).
Building on the School’s long experience of teaching British Imperial and Postcolonial Literatures, this webinar will address imperialism and public education.
Experts will examine how British imperialism damaged cultures and societies worldwide, from the Caribbean to Iraq, how it was resisted, and how it determined British culture. Leveraging the specialist experience at Kent, the webinar’s objective is to help participants understand British imperial domination and exclusion that lasts to today.
Speakers and their topics include:
Indigenous “Americans”
Professor David Stirrup – Professor of American Literature and Indigenous Studies at Kent’s School of English
Writing the Postcolonial
Professor Abdulrazak Gurnah – Professor of English and Postcolonial Literatures at Kent’s School of English
Hostile Environment
Professor David Herd – Professor of Modern Literature at Kent’s School of English
Iraq
Dr Nadia Atia – Senior Lecturer in World Literature at Queen Mary University London
Caribbean Literature
Professor Alison Donnell – Professor of Modern Literatures at University of East Anglia
Teaching Migration and Empire
Dr Malachi McIntosh – Editor and Publishing Director of Wasafiri Magazine
Dr Bashir Abu-Manneh, Deputy Director of Research at the School of English and organiser of the webinar said: ‘The recent toppling of slave trader Edward Colston’s statue during the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in Bristol returns the issue of historic injustices and legacies of the British Empire to the public agenda. Our primary questions of the day are: “How should we respond to Britain’s imperial past?” and “How can the British Empire be best taught in English Studies today?”’
All are welcome to join the conversation here.
Meeting ID: 835 3767 2224 Password: 8PZyKr