Australianama: Narrating Histories of Muslims in an Age of Growing Islamophobia
by Samia Khatun, PhD
by Samia Khatun, PhD
Please join us for this lecture by Samia Khatun, based on her new book ‘Australianama: The South Asian Odyssey in Australia‘.
Abstract:
While the recent terrorist attack on Christchurch, New Zealand, has drawn attention to Australia as a seedbed of virulent forms of Islamophobia, what is less known is that Australian deserts remain dotted with the ruins of old 19th century mosques. Beginning with a surprise discovery of a Bengali poetry collection in a mosque in the mining town of Broken Hill, Samia Khatun weaves together the stories of various peoples colonised by the British Empire to chart a history of South Asian diaspora.
Australia has long been an outpost of Anglo empires in the Indian Ocean world. In narrating a long history of Muslims in Australia as seen through the eyes of Aboriginal people and South Asians – different peoples colonised by the British – Khatun highlights new strategies for survival, resistance and resilience in our current age of growing Islamophobia.
Samia Khatun, PhD, is a historian whose research has taken her to Antigua, Kolkata, Istanbul, Berlin, New York, Dunedin, Melbourne, London and Dhaka. Her documentaries have screened on ABC and SBS-TV in Australia and she is currently developing a history programme at the University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh. In September 2019 she will be taking up the role of Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Gender Studies at SOAS, University of London.
Signed copies of ‘Australianama: The South Asian Odyssey in Australia‘ will be available for sale for $30 (cash)
Date: Thursday April 11, 2019
Time: 7-9 pm
Location: Lower Social Room, Noor Cultural Centre
Admission: $5
Time: 7-9 pm
Location: Lower Social Room, Noor Cultural Centre
Admission: $5