Murdoch University
The Krishna Somers Foundation presents the year’s fifth lecture. The lecture will be given by
Professor Makarand Paranjape
of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi who is currently a Visiting Fellow in English and Creative Arts.
Please come to the lecture, enjoy debating with Professor Paranjape and drink some excellent wine.
When: Wednesday June 11 4.00 PM
Where: Education and Humanities 3.041
Title: 'A Passage to Uluru: Rethinking Sacred Australia'
Abstract
This paper starts with the identification of the peculiar paradox that lies at the heart of any discussion of "sacred Australia." If viewed from the dominant, "white," secular Australian point of view, the sacred is hard to find in contemporary Australia. But when viewed from the subaltern, aboriginal and now displaced perspective, every thing about Australia is or was sacred. The paper tries to mediate between the two extremes through a personal narrative of a journey to one of Australia's most well-known sacred sites, Uluru. This journey reveals once again the fractured nature of the Australian psyche, with competing narratives and frames of reference uneasily co-existing, but unable to integrate. The rock is thus a contested site, marked by ideological conflict rather than spiritual harmony. Being one of Australia's most visible and visited tourist destinations, it has also been "captured" by the master-narrative of global capitalism in such a way that it is virtually impossible to explore or experience it "innocently." Yet, on rare occasions, the natural energy of the place does break through these encrustations: rupture leads to rapture. The chapter ends with a plea for a new reflection in the context of globalization, which has produced a new, post-secular liminality in our times, and which challenges us to move beyond our present structures of consciousness into something more transformative and integral.
Makarand Paranjape is a literary critic, poet, novelist, and Professor of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has over twenty-five books and over 100 scholarly papers to his credit. He is also the founding editor of Evam: Forum on Indian Representations. Formerly the Chair of the Centre for English Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, he is also the Principal Investigator of the project on "Science and Spirituality in Modern India" and the Coordinator of the UGC Special Assistance Programme on "Indo-Centric Approach to Literary Studies."
