19.12.2006
Difference - a point of contrast or diversity. Easily taken for granted in society today but imagine a world without difference. Imagine an era when difference was neither accepted nor celebrated.
Distinguished academic Gina Wisker, Professor of Higher Education and Contemporary Literature at the university, will give her inaugural lecture on Wednesday 31 January to explore the concept of difference and the impact it has made in teaching and literature today.
Drawing upon her research and experience gained from supervising postgraduate students from a variety of cultural backgrounds, along with her discipline in literature, Professor Wisker will set out to explore some of the many facets of difference in teaching and literature.
Professor Wisker explains: "Without difference there can be no growth, no real life, only something boundaried and complacent, which ultimately tends towards disorder."
Drawing upon the work of theorists like Audre Lorde, the lecture will centre around differently shaped and focused parts, beginning with the importance of learner difference and the effect teachers are able to make to enhance the education of diverse learners. It will also look to convey how different students engage conceptually with their learning and contribute to meaning.
Finally, drawing on her knowledge of literature, Professor Wisker will explore gothic and post-colonial literature and examine how these genres challenge the limits within set orthodoxies and help pave the way for the celebration of cultural diversity and expression.
Playing an active role in the Staff and Development Association, Professor Wisker's career has taken her across the globe, running workshops in Australia, South Africa, Singapore and Ireland.
She continues to research and publish in both learning and teaching areas - specialising in postgraduate student learning and supervisory practices, and in her discipline, specialising in women's and post-colonial writing. Her recent books, The Good Supervisor and Horror Fiction both came out in 2005.
Wednesday 31 January 2007 at 6.30pm
Westlain House lecture theatre
Falmer campus
Brighton BN1 9PH
All welcome - if you would like to attend please email events@brighton.ac.uk.
For more information about literature courses offered at the university go to: www.brighton.ac.uk/arts.
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