Sydney Ideas

A multi-award Iraqi film director, producer and civil activist in in conversation with Dr Lucia Sorbera from the Department of Arabic Language and Cultures on social power of cinema.

How did Jane Austen, a no-name author in her own day, become an international literary icon? It started long before Colin Firth’s wet-white-shirt Darcy. Devoney Looser will introduce you to some of the unsung innovators who first turned ‘Miss Austen’ into a household name, from artists and activists to actors and audiences, looking at how they made and remade her image before popular audiences. July 2017 marks the 200th anniversary of Austen’s death. This talk celebrates Austen’s life and writings and makes sense of how her characters and stories have come to be imprinted on each new generation of readers. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Professor Devoney Looser is Professor of English at Arizona State University, writes on literature by women. Her most recent book, The Making of Jane Austen (2017) was named a Publishers Weekly Best Summer Book. Fun fact: Devoney has also played roller derby under the nom de guerre Stone Cold Jane Austen. Held as part of the Sydney Ideas program on 20 July 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/professor_devoney_looser.shtml

This forum explores the shifts in assumptions, mindsets and ways of thinking that are required to achieve gender equality and how symbols, such as portraits may assist. The topics are discussed by Professor Emerita Margaret Harris, Dr Ann Stephen, Dr Scott Hill and the artist Celeste Chandler. Held as part of the Sydney Ideas program on 19 July, 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/portraits_and_place_forum.shtml

Millennials, those born in the final decades of the twentieth century, have come of age in an unsettled world – one that offers few clear or established pathways to a secure future. But what exactly are they up against, and how are they responding to the societies they've grown into? Griffith Review 56 writers Natalie O'Brien, Frances Flanagan, Michael Newton, and Adam Peaston join assistant editor Jerath Head to explore work, labour and economics in the twenty-first century. Held as part of the Sydney Ideas program on 12 July 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/GR56_millennials_strike_back_forum.shtml

Our culture is our identity. It is multiple expressions of plural identities. Nobody owns it. We share it with each other. More…or less. The stories that resonate, the luminous moments, are our inheritance from the past and our bequest to future generations. The endeavour for the storyteller is to illuminate experience. For the executive like me, the endeavour is to enable the storyteller. Dr Ruth Harley explores my experience as a CEO in the screen sector on both sides of the Tasman in terms identity, shared experience, diverse perspectives, the role and practice of government as an enabler and the essential humanity of our endeavour. She concludes with some personal perspectives of the opportunities and challenges for the screen industry and how they might play out in New Zealand and Australia in the global screen industry. Held as part of the Sydney Ideas program on 7 July 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/dr_ruth_harley.shtml

Fusion power is one of a very few sustainable options to replace fossil fuels as the world's primary energy source. Although the conditions for fusion have been reached, much remains to be done to turn scientific success into commercial electrical power. Fusion has progressed from the insight of Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington in 1920 and Fermi's speculations in 1946 to the threshold of fusion burn at JET at Culham and soon in the international experiment ITER. The challenge of providing carbon free energy for the whole world is greater than ever. We need fusion. In this Sydney Ideas lecture, Professor Steven Cowley, theoretical physicist and international authority on nuclear fusion and astrophysical plasmas, and President of Corpus Christi College Oxford examines two key questions: What scientific questions must be resolved and how can we hasten the first fusion electricity?

A phenomenal mathematician, Hanna Neumann achieved her success in the face of the Nazis, an imprisoned husband, and entrenched misogyny. She arrived in Australia in 1963 to take academic positions at the Australian National University, and was made chair of pure mathematics in 1964, making her the first female Professor of Mathematics in Australia. Her most widely known work 'Varieties of Groups' was published in 1967. Dr Peter Neumann OBE describes the life of his mother, Hanna Neumann, and her long and distinguished career as a female mathematician in the early part of the 20th century.

The civil war in Syria has entered its seventh year. With death toll estimates ranging from 220,000 to 400,000 casualties and more than 11 million civilians internally displaced or seeking refuge abroad, it has been described as the world’s deadliest conflict of recent times. In this forum, a panel of experts will explore political, cultural and humanitarian dimensions of the Syrian tragedy. The panel focuses on questions relating to allegations of genocide, the use of archaeological and historical monuments as ‘weapons of war’, and the causes and consequences of failures to prevent atrocity crimes in Syria and elsewhere. The discussion also considers the limitations of our capacity for empathy towards ‘distant others’ and the implications for effective action towards peace and human rights. SPEAKERS - Dr Ross Burns has published two books on the history and monuments of Syria Monuments of Syria (2009); and Damascus; A History (2005). - German born Syrian-American composer and pianist Malek Jandali has spoken at Harvard, Duke and the UN headquarters in New York City. He is the founder of Pianos for Peace, a non-profit which aims to build peace through music and education. - Dr Eyal Mayroz is a Lecturer in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney. His research interests include Genocide Studies, Counter-terrorism, Human Rights and Middle East Politics. Forum moderated by Wendy Lambourne, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney. Held as part of the Sydney Ideas program on 27 June: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/war_syria_destruction_culture_human_rights_forum.shtml

What is the impact of Hillary Clinton's loss and will it discourage or motivate women to become more politically engaged? In conversation with Geraldine Doogue, current host of ABC Radio National’s Saturday Extra, Anna Greenberg who has over 15 years of experience polling in the political, non-profit and academic sectors, charts a way forward for women in politics in both the United States and Australia. A Sydney Ideas and US Studies Centre event at the University of Sydney on 21 June 2017: http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/women_politics_anna_greenberg.shtml

What does it mean to urbanise? Are industrialisation and urbanisation two aspects of the same process? How do villages have a chance to thrive if a state is determined to urbanise the country? Drawing on cases in the peri-urban area of the Pearl River Delta, this talk by Professor Luigi Tomba, Director of the China Studies Centre, The University of Sydney, discusses aspects of China’s rapid urbanisation. It will explore strategies that village collectives have put in place to defend their economic, social and cultural autonomy in the face of the desire of the state to both claim control of ever greater portions of the country’s collective land, and to urbanise as much as possible of the population. Held as part of the Sydney Ideas program on 20 June, 2017 http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2017/professor_luigi_tomba.shtml