The question of who is allowed to speak for others and who is allowed to tell certain stories has been hotly discussed in the contemporary global public sphere. It foregrounds the cultural appropriation of the intellectual, artistic and cultural property of under-represented and marginalised communities including First Nations communities, people with disabilities and people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. UNSW Lecturer in Creative Writing, Dr Roanna Gonsalves, will present a session aimed at addressing this critical question, through an innovative experiential learning activity and a discussion-based approach. The session will help transform thinking about how the formal literary element of Point of View can be used as a tool to uphold, resist or subvert power on the page and consequently in real life.
The in-person workshop is open to all. No prior literary training is required.
About the Speaker
Dr Roanna Gonsalves is an award-winning writer and educator with an interdisciplinary practice. She is the author of The Permanent Resident (UWAP) published in India and South Asia as Sunita De Souza Goes To Sydney (Speaking Tiger Books). Roanna’s series of radio documentaries, On the tip of a billion tongues, commissioned and broadcast by Earshot, ABC RN, is an acerbic socio-political portrayal of contemporary India through its multilingual writers. Her social-satirical radio essay Doosra: The life and times of an Indian student in Australia was commissioned and broadcast by ABC RN.
Roanna is a recipient of honours such as a UNSW Vice Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence 2022, the Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Endeavour Award and the NSW Premier's Literary Award. Her research interests are in creative writing, creativity studies, the sociology of literature, social media, and postcolonial literatures. She serves on the Board of Writing NSW and on the International Project Reference Group for the ARC-funded project 'Connecting Asia Pacific Literary Cultures. For more information, see roannagonsalves.com.au.
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This event is a part of the Connections series, consisting of seminars and workshops that provide you with the opportunity to learn from your colleagues to inform your own teaching practice.