Literature, Gender and Politics in Australia: A Launch and Panel Discussion on Writing, Postcolonialism and Memory

Coinciding with the release by Netflix of Miles Franklin’s My Brilliant Career as well as a campaign for a statue in Canberra to honour pioneering feminist writer and reformer Catherine Helen Spence, this event will reflect on the work of some of Australia’s most important writers of the colonial and post-Federation eras. It will be a launch of John Uhr’s latest book, Promoting Postcolonial Australia: New Readings of Miles Franklin and Joseph Furphy (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026) by CoPI Director Frank Bongiorno, followed by a panel discussion on the intersections of literature, politics, civics and memory in relation to Spence. Speakers are Professors John Uhr (ANU) and Kim Rubenstein (UC), and Dr Andrew Dillon (ANU), who will be in conversation with Dr Rachel Cunneen (UC).

Image below: 'I AM A NEW WOMAN' by Alison Alder

Exhibition at:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Visit_Parliament/Art/Exhibitions/I_AM_A_NEW_WOMAN