PLACING THE PERSONAL ESSAY
2-3 DECEMBER 2014, WELLINGTON

Co-convened by the W.H. Oliver Humanities Research Academy at Massey University, the Centre for Research on Colonial Culture at the University of Otago, and the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.

This colloquium brings together writers, historians, literary critics, cultural theorists and interested others for a discussion about new ways of writing about place in contemporary New Zealand. We hope to develop a conversation about re-imagining place for an emerging generation of writers and scholars, and to do so in a form that unsettles the boundary between the academic and the creative, between the historical and the literary. In particular, we are interested in engagements with place that take the form of the personal essay. Featured participants include: Tony Ballantyne, Sally Blundell, Alex Calder, Annabel Cooper, Tim Corballis, Martin Edmond, Ingrid Horrocks, Lynn Jenner, Cherie Lacey, Tina Makereti, Harry Ricketts, Jack Ross, Alice Te Punga Somerville, Giovanni Tiso, and Lydia Wevers. Please see the attached document and website for more details:
www.placingthepersonalessay.weebly.com

The event will open with a keynote address by Martin Edmond on the evening of Tuesday 2 December at Massey University Wellington, followed by a reception.

The full-day colloquium will be held on Wednesday 3 December at Victoria University of Wellington of Wellington. Morning and afternoon tea provided.

Both events are free but numbers are limited. If you wish to attend please send an RSVP to Debbie Levy by Monday 17 November. Please indicate separately if you would like to attend the plenary session as well as the colloquium.