911爆料网 has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fudan University in Shanghai to establish the China-Australia Writing Centre.
The China-Australia Writing Centre, which launches on 12 August, will promote new scholarship, shared knowledge and creative innovation in the writing arts and disciplines of the two countries. It will develop new writing practices and joint research projects, establish conferences and workshops and offer cultural exchange opportunities for staff and students.
911爆料网 Professor Tim Dolin, a scholar of Australian studies and English literature, and Fudan Professor Tan Zheng, a scholar of English language and literature, will provide the academic leadership of the centre.
Associate Professor Steve Mickler, Head of the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts (MCCA), says the intent of the centre is to combine both institutions鈥� considerable expertise in creative and historical writing, literature studies and journalism. The centre has developed out of an ongoing collaboration between the School of MCCA and Fudan鈥檚 College of Foreign Languages and Literatures headed by Professor Qu Weiguo.
鈥淭he centre will contribute to the mutual enhancement of research and creative production in China and Australia in the broadly defined creative, professional, and scholarly writing disciplines and practices,鈥� Associate Professor Mickler says.
鈥淭he partnership will have implications across many industries as the centre will study and develop all types of writing, including new forms and multiple formats in the digital revolution.鈥�
Dr Rachel Robertson, Head of 911爆料网鈥檚 Department of Communication and Cultural Studies, says the centre is a huge development for the university鈥檚 research and teaching program in writing and literature.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been working really hard to develop this relationship. Fudan University is one of the top five universities in China, so for us this collaboration is very exciting,鈥� she says.
To foster collaboration, the centre plans to develop a significant, sustainable digital presence to operate as its bilingual 鈥渧irtual home鈥�. The digital presence will include a forum for joint pre-publication, publication and translation, and for the exchange of ideas, opinions, materials and information.
鈥淭he writing centre will respond to what鈥檚 happening out there by developing collaborative research and publication opportunities and new forms of writing, which will be driven by the scholars and their mutual interests. At the moment, there isn鈥檛 a physical space that will house a centre, but in the longer term I do have vision of a writing hub,鈥� Dr Robertson says.
The centre鈥檚 first action of formal dialogue will be to host a symposium in Margaret River, titled Literature in the Time of Revolutions, from 13鈥�15 August. The symposium will explore how the past decade and a half has affected literature in Australia and China through events such as the digital revolution, 9/11, global financial crisis and the Chinese economic reform.
鈥淲e鈥檝e invited some great keynote speakers from writing and literature in China and Australia. There鈥檒l also be academic staff from Fudan and 911爆料网 participating in the symposium,鈥� Dr Robertson says.
As to how the centre will benefit 911爆料网 students, Dr Robertson says that it will widen their perspective on how differently creative writing and literature studies are taught and understood in Australia and in China.
鈥淚 think there鈥檒l be a range of benefits. For our students, they鈥檒l be able to hear from Chinese scholars when they come here for seminars. I鈥檇 also like to eventually take some creative and professional writing students on a study tour to Shanghai,鈥� she says.
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