May 9, 2012

Global Literature: a Lecture by Award-winning Professor Anu Taranath

Award-winning University of Washington Professor Anu Taranath will present examples from global literature to showcase an extraordinary body of talented writing and suggest ways of reading that invite conversation on difficult topics of power, privilege, voice, and agency. Dr. Taranath presents her lecture “Global Literature: How Learning about ‘Over There’ Helps us Understand ‘Over Here’” at the Lacey Timberland Library on Monday, May 14 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. In a summary of her lecture, Dr. Taranath states that a novel from Nigeria, Sri Lanka, or Trinidad illuminates local cultures, but also invites us to reflect on our own culture. Characters and stories in novels might speak like us or seem totally dissimilar, and in figuring this out during our reading

process we begin to form an impression of what we are like, how we define ourselves, and where these definitions come from. Literature from around the globe helps us picture “people over there” and brings texture and depth to our lives “over here.” Dr. Taranath is a professor in the English Department and the Comparative History of Ideas Program at the University of Washington Seattle since 2000. She is a Fulbright-Hays Scholar, and a recipient of the University of Washington 2010 Distinguished Teaching Award and the Harlan Hahn Award for Disabilities Studies. In addition to her work with undergraduates in Seattle, she leads a study-abroad program to India on issues of social justice and NGO activism. Students seek out her classes, finding them challenging, but also inspiring and life-changing. This event is cosponsored by Humanities Washington and the Friends of the Lacey Timberland Library. The Lacey Timberland Library is at 500 College Street SE. For more information, call the library at (360) 491-3860 or go to www.TRL.org. Timberland Regional Library provides for the information, reading and lifelong learning needs of the Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston county public at 27 community public libraries and 7 library service partner locations. The library system is funded mainly by local property taxes. Anyone needing special accommodations to participate in a library’s program may contact the library one week in advance.