St Mary’s University College, Twickenham (UK) 24th November 2007

Panels will be based on the Irish migrant community; Irish identity; the Catholic Church; identity and popular culture; diaspora; new hybridities and Israel and Palestine.

Speakers already confirmed include Prof. Michael Chanan of Roehampton University, Dr John McLeod of the University of Leeds and Kenan Malik of the University of Surrey.

Michael Chanan is a professor of Film & Video at Roehampton University, London. He is a documentary film-maker, author, editor and translator of books and articles on film and media and the social history of music. In 2006 he collaborated with George Steinmetz (University of Michigan) to produce Detroit: Ruin of a City, a unique documentary about Detroit and its ruination.

John McLeod works primarily in the field of postcolonial studies, and has a particular interest in postcolonial representations of London, England and Britain. His book Postcolonial London: Rewriting the Metropolis (Routledge 2004) explores how London has been rewritten by a variety of post-war writers, and his co-edited collection The Revision of Englishness (Manchester University Press 2004) considers the ways in which Englishness has been imaginatively reconsidered by different kinds of writers and film-makers.

Kenan Malik is a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Department of Political, International and Policy Studies at the University of Surrrey. He is a presenter of Analysis on BBC Radio 4 and has written and presented a number of radio and TV documentaries. His books include The Meaning of Race (1996) and Man, Beast and Zombie (2000).

Contact: Dr Richard Mills, Programme Director, Cultural Studies at millsr (AT) smuc.ac.uk, telephone +44 20 8240 4090