Friday, 20 July 2007

Australian political history expert David McKnight will discuss progressive politics in Australia in the University Club Theatre Auditorium, at 6pm next Tuesday, July 24, 2007, as part of the inaugural New Critic Lecture Series.

An Associate Professor in Humanities at the University of Technology, Sydney, he will argue that progressive Australians can and should develop a new social and political vision.

In his book Beyond Right and Left: New Politics and the Culture War, Associate Professor McKnight writes: “Do Right and Left mean anything in politics? Political pundits use the terms Right and Left but like any words repeated over and over, the meaning starts to disappear.”

He asserts that while deep seated problems exist around climate change, equality and racism, the Left side of Australian politics is fragmented both in its structure and its beliefs. In the years after the cold war, the Labor tradition has weakened while the green movement remains very young.

This talk aims to provoke questions and debate on how an inspiring new vision can be developed by rethinking and renewing the values of broad progressive Australia.

The New Critic is the online journal of the Institute of Advanced Studies. The second lecture in the series will be given by Australian academic Robert Manne on Thursday, 2 August, 2007.

Media references

Audrey Barton 61 8 6488 1340
(Institute of Advanced Studies)

Simone Hewett / Francesca Robb 61 8 6488 7977
(UWA Public Affairs) 0420 790 097 / 0420 790 098

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