Book at Lunchtime welcomes Dr Sandra Mayer, (Elise Richter Fellow, Austrian Academy of Sciences) and Dr Ruth Scobie to discuss their highly regarded book "Authorship, Activism and Celebrity".
Since long before the age of celebrity activism, literary authors have used their public profiles and cultural capital to draw attention to a wide range of socio-political concerns. This book is the first to explore – through history, criticism and creative interventions – the relationship between authorship, political activism and celebrity culture across historical periods, cultures, literatures and media. It brings together scholars, industry stakeholders and prominent writer-activists to engage in a conversation on literary fame and public authority.
These scholarly essays, interviews, conversations and opinion pieces interrogate the topos of the artist as prophet and acute critic of the zeitgeist; analyse the ideological dimension of literary celebrity; and highlight the fault lines between public and private authorial selves, 'pure' art, political commitment and marketplace imperatives. In case studies ranging from the 18th century to present-day controversies, authors illuminate the complex relationship between literature, politics, celebrity culture and market activism, bringing together vivid current debates on the function and responsibility of literature in increasingly fractured societies.
Dr Mayer and Dr Scobie will be joined by an expert panel for the discussion including Professor Simon Morgan (Head of History, Leeds Beckett University) and Dr Hannah Yelin (Oxford Brookes)
Wednesday 31 January, 12,30pm lunch, 1pm-2pm discussion, Seminar Room, Radcliffe Humanities, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford.
Book your place for the discussion here
