The Language of the Marginalized
About the project
The Global South Literary Festival celebrates peripheral voices and their stories of joy, struggle, success, survival and diaspora. The Festival aimed to attract writers, artists and thinkers based in and beyond Warwick and offer a platform for constructive cross-disciplinary discussions, where language and the arts play the crucial role of (re-)signifying difference and solidarity. Building on the Global South Initiative’s extensive network of academics, students and artists in the UK and abroad, from January ‘23 until June ‘23, the project ran a number of events to foreground Global South narratives.
Project Context
In the past, centred views to integrate different cultural experiences from the periphery in an “add-and-stir” fashion have not done much to help the cause of breaking the dominance of Western-centric narratives on life, science, faith or the arts. As Global South realities continue to be marginalised, misrepresented, dismissed and exploited, repudiation of non-Western knowledge and expertise has further disconnected individuals from their histories, landscapes, and languages. Building on the combined expertise and existing efforts of both the Global South Initiative (GSI) and Warwick’s Library staff, the Festival represented another step towards decolonisation through reconnecting knowledge(s).
Aims
- To promote Global South knowledge and authentic narratives, strengthening understandings of marginalised cultural imaginaries and endorsing productive exchanges between South-South and South-North cultural and academic scenes
- Expand knowledge of Global South literature and alternative research methodologies to generate inclusive intellectual and creative practices, including the use of Zines as an emancipatory tool
- To aid the student body to gain project management skills, while exposing all staff to new ideas and research methodologies, supporting the Library's desire to "innovate for the benefit of our communities"
Project Impact
The team ran a number of events to raise awareness of the project. In December 2022, there was a festive themed cultural events in the Library, which showcased the initiative to PhD students; this was followed by a second event in January 2023, which included music and talks from students interested in taking part in the wider project. Unfortunately, industrial action meant that a number of other planned events were postponed or cancelled.
Project Lead
Kat Halliday
Library
Project Co-lead
Sara Abdel Ghany
PAIS
Staff
- Christine Bradford, Library
Students
- Chung-Ah Baek, PAIS
- Safiya Ali, PAIS
- Bruna Maria do Rego Troccoli, Sociology
- Tumi Araga, English and Comparative Literature