Cultures of the Left: Manifestations and Performances

Colloquium June 5^th and 6^th 

(Supported by British Academy and Connecting Cultures GRP

On the anniversary of the October Revolution, questions of the Left have been re-emerging as timely and urgent. This colloquium explores how to live and do Leftist politics in response to injustices of our own time.

After workshops at Warwick (UK) and JNU (India) earlier this year, British Academy Partnership project Cultures of the Left: Manifestations and Performances gathers again for a series of talks and discussions, asking: How can the cultural and ethical legacy of the Left inspire political resistance under neoliberalism? How does cultural Left imagine and perform new ways of doing Left politics to integrate a range of issues (i.e. immigration, nationalism, gender, etc.)? Can performances and manifestations of the cultural Left be explored as means of rethinking the structure of Leftist political organisation and mobilisation in a global context?

Keynotes:

Dr Ameet Parasvaram (JNU) & Dr Igor Štiks (University of Edinburgh):

Speakers:

Prof. Elaine Aston (Theatre, Lancaster University)

Prof. Samik Bandyopadhyay (Theatre, JNU)

Dr Anna Hájková (History, Warwick)

Dr Brahm Prakash (Theatre and Performance, JNU)

Prof. Andy Lavender (Theatre & Performance Studies, Warwick)

Prof. Janelle Reinelt (Theatre & Performance Studies, Warwick)

Prof. Anupama Roy (Centre for Political Studies, JNU)

Dr Mallarika Sinha Roy (Women Studies, JNU)

Dr Illan Rua Wall (Law, Warwick)

Contact: s.jestrovic@warwick.ac.uk

Jim Davis has just delivered a paper entitled ‘An Irishman in London: ‘Irish’ Johnstone’s representation of Irishness on the London Stage 1782-1820’ at a conference at Trinity College, Dublin on ‘The Irish on the London Stage: Identity, Culture, Politics’.

Also, on 2 February he contributed a talk on ‘Some Aspects of Anglo-Australian Cultural Exchange 1880-1960’ for the London Theatre Seminar at Senate House, University of London.

On Thurs 2nd February, Dr. Michael Pigott spoke as part of the 'Cities on Film' series of events at Oxford University. Michael chose the films Dredd (Travis, 2012) and Side/Walk/Shuttle (Gehr, 1993) to be shown as part of the series and the screening was followed by a discussion between Michael and Dr. Peter Wynn-Kirby, who is an environmental specialist, ethnographer, and Research Fellow in the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford.

Organised by the Oxford Forum and Stanford University Centre in Oxford

For more information about the event click here

"Films about cities are both part of modern urban experience and a mode of our reflecting on that experience. Over the last century both cinema and cities have been in flux. What have we learned from films that explore cities? About cities? About films? About tradition? About modernity? About fantasy? About reality? About beauty? About ugliness? About living? About ourselves? About making sense or nonsense of any or all of these? In this series of Film events, the Oxford Forum and Stanford University Centre in Oxford are showing entrancing films about cities, followed by dialogues and discussion."