Three renowned speakers will address culture and its role in connecting and dividing the world as part of a free event at the University of Warwick this month.
A free-to-attend discussion and art showcase on Cultures of Belonging: The Politics of Inclusion, Exclusion and Reparation takes place at the University of Warwick’s new Faculty of Arts building on Wednesday, June 21 from 4.15pm to 6.30pm, with three expert speakers in conversation.
The panel discussion, which will be open to questions from the audience, will feature Janina Ramirez, author of Sunday Times Best-Seller Femina: A New History of the Medieval Period Through the Women Written Out Of It alongside Charles Forsdick, who has published widely on travel writing, colonial history, postcolonial literature, and the afterlives of slavery, and Xine Yao, Lecturer in American Literature, BBC 3/AHRC New Generation Thinker, and co-director of the queer studies network at University College London.
This will be the flagship event for Warwick’s Connecting Cultures Global Research Priority, and will be accompanied by an art showcase by the local poet, musician and artist Sujatha Menon in collaboration with digital artist and film maker Paul Windridge.
The pair will be presenting a short film drawing on key themes from the projects funded by Connecting Cultures over the past year. Sujatha will also be exhibiting a poetry installation that aims to promote women in science. The exhibit includes 12 microscopic poems viewed under 12 dissection microscopes and a macro-poem shared as large-scale projections of labels on old medicine bottles.
The Connecting Cultures Global Research Priority supports work exploring who is included and excluded from certain cultures and why, and questioning the legacies of silencing and appropriation that continue to inform and affect cultures across the world.
The event will be followed by a drinks reception with light refreshments.
Connecting Cultures Leads Felicity Boardman, Emma Campbell, Ana Chamberlain, and James Poskett said: “We are excited to be discussing the pressing issues that cultural connection raises with three major public intellectuals – and thrilled to be opening our doors to the public so everyone can be part of the conversation.
“There will be plenty of food for thought in both the panel discussion and the exhibit. We hope our visitors will find this event to be an enriching and thought-provoking experience, and that the discussions will continue at the reception afterwards.”
For more information visit https://warwick.ac.uk/research/priorities/connecting-cultures/events/culturesofbelonging/.
Registration is required https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cultures-of-belonging-the-politics-of-inclusion-exclusion-and-reparation-tickets-629288297237