Public Lecture Series
Upcoming lectures
None at present.
Past lectures
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Date May 1st 2008, 6.00pm Title The Impossibility of History Location Old Geology Theatre 2 Speaker Laksmi Pamuntjak Background Laksmi Pamuntjak is one of the most versatile literary figures of the contemporary world, and a leading poet, essayist and food critic in contemporary Indonesia. The range of her writing - in both English and Indonesian - is exceptional, and constitutes not only a complex meditation on Indonesian cultural experience and political history, but also a reflection on the wider human condition. Her talk in Melbourne, as part of the Asia Institute’s Public Lecture Series, will focus on her first novel The Blue Widow. -
Date April 15th 2008, 6.00pm Title Pondering China’s Size Location Economics and Commerce Prest Lecture Theatre - Room 115, Sidney Myer Asia Centre Speaker Professor Patricia Ebrey (University of Washington) Background Patricia Ebrey is one of the world’s leading historians of Chinese society, and she has published numerous books and articles on this subject, including one of the most admired general introductions to Chinese history, The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Known particularly for her work on the history of the Chinese family in imperial times, the history of women and the history of ritual, her interests have for many years focused on the medieval era, particularly on the history of the Song dynasty (960-1279). Her most recent contribution to this field is a study of the art collections of the emperor Huizong of the Northern Song, famed for his talents as a painter and calligrapher. Her talk at Melbourne, which is sponsored by the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne as part of its public lecture series, involves her reflections on the historical consequences of the physical dimensions of China’s territory.