Humanities in the spotlight

THE Australian Academy of the Humanities’ fifty-third annual symposium is set to take place in Ballarat this week.

The national event will run from Thursday, 17 to Friday, 18 November at The Goods Shed and the Art Gallery of Ballarat.

Joseph Lo Bianco, Emeritus Professor of language and literacy at the University of Melbourne, and AAH vice-president, will serve as convenor, with this year’s central theme being citizenship.

“We’re looking at the topic of belonging in Australia as a practice from the lens of formal citizenship and participation,” he said.

“We’re also looking at diaspora or migrant communities with dual citizenships and Indigenous connections through iterations of citizenship law in Australia, as well as international comparisons.

“Basically, we’ll look at how citizenship has changed in Australian history from British colonialism to adapting to multiculturalism and Indigenous rights.”

More than 20 speakers will take part in the event, with Thursday’s offerings including discussions on inherited traditions, the concept of belonging and practices of citizenship.

The event’s annual lecture will be about the Uluru Statement from the Heart and will take place on the Thursday evening, presented by the University of Sydney’s Professor Duncan Ivison.

The Friday offerings will culminate with a Fellows signing ceremony and a panel discussion theorising a more Indigenous-inclusive citizenship structure.

Dr Lo Bianco said the themes of the event are important for people to think about.

“It makes the difference to how people identify with Australia, how people are included or not included in Australian public life,” he said.

“It’s not about citizenship in terms of voting or paying taxes. We’re looking at it in terms of people’s participation in public life.

“It’s a really important topic which is unfortunately always discussed in a very fragmentary way. We’re trying to have a really comprehensive public discussion about it all.”

Tickets can be booked at bit.ly/3DQgB2k.