Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Thursday 31 October
12:45 PM - 1:15 PM
Have our preoccupations with cultural identity made societies more progressive and just, or have they strengthened the fetishistic ideology of hegemonic, late capitalism?
Ali Alizadeh’s recent works have been concerned with the desire and possibility for a renewed universalism, a cross-cultural, cross-national consciousness in the face of the horrors of global capitalism. Today he argues that the time has come for us to think critically about the cherished ideals of cultural, religious, national and ethnic identity and diversity; to reconsider universality.
Lunchbox/Soapbox
Sometimes there’s nothing better than a good rant. Every Thursday, the Wheeler Centre hosts an old-fashioned Speakers’ Corner in the middle of the city, where writers and thinkers can have their say on the topics that won’t let them sleep at night.
Featuring some of our most compelling voices across just about every sector of human endeavour you can imagine, the themes dominating Lunchbox/Soapbox are proudly idiosyncratic. BYO lunch. Ideas provided.
Featuring
Ali Alizadeh
Ali Alizadeh is a writer and academic, based in Melbourne.
His books include the new novel, The Last Days of Jeanne d'Arc (Giramondo, 2017); the work of fiction, Transactions (UQP, 2013); the collection of poetry, Ashes in the Air (UQP, 2011) and the work of creative non-fiction, Iran: My Grandfather (Transit Lounge, 2010).
Iran: My Grandfather was shortlisted for a 2011 NSW Premier’s Literary Award and Ashes in the Air was shortlisted for the 2012 Prime Minister's Literary Award.
Ali’s research and writing interests include the connection between politics and literature, writing and history, aesthetic theory and poetry, and art and violence. He was born in Iran in 1976 and migrated to Australia at the age of 14. He has lived and worked in China, Turkey and Dubai and is now a lecturer at Monash University.