CONFERENCE - Multicultural Australia: Its Literature and Representation (30 May 2008)

Multicultural Australia: Its Literature and Representation, Hillside Forum, Tokyo, 30 May 2008

This one-day symposium on multiculturalism in Australian literature will include the launch of an anthology of Australian short stories in translation entitled, Diamond Dog: An Anthology of Contemporary Australia Short Stories which Reflect Multicultural Society (Gendai Kikakushitsu Publishers). Co-edited by Professor Kate Darian-Smith (University of Melbourne) and Professor Yasue Arimitsu (Doshisha University) the collection will be the first of its kind released in Japan, and hopes to introduce Japanese readers to the diversity of Australian literature.

The symposium will feature a keynote address by Professor Darian-Smith, as well as presentations by Professor David Carter (University of Queensland), the current Visiting Professor in Australian Studies, Centre for Pacific and American Studies, University of Tokyo, and Professor Shuzo Koyama. There will also be discussion from several of the translators and authors involved in the anthology project, including Australian author Matthew Condon.

The event, to be held at the Hillside Forum, will feature simultaneous translation to ensure the full participation of all attendees.

The event is being sponsored by the Australian and New Zealand Literary Society of Japan and Gendai Kikakushitsu Publishers, with support from the Australian Embassy in Japan and the Centre for Pacific and American Studies, Tokyo University. The event will also receive assistance from the Australia-Japan Foundation and The Australia Council.

For further information, or to register your attendance please contact Professor Kate Darian-Smith (k.darian-smith@unimelb.edu.au) and Professor Yasue Arimitsu (yarimitu@mail.doshisha.ac.jp)