Â鶹ֱ²¥ has signed a memorandum of understanding with Fudan University in Shanghai to establish the China-Australia Writing Centre.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Curtin 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019 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\u2019s College of Foreign Languages and Literatures headed by Professor Qu Weiguo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d Associate Professor Mickler says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Rachel Robertson, Head of Curtin\u2019s Department of Communication and Cultural Studies, says the centre is a huge development for the university\u2019s research and teaching program in writing and literature.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve 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,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
To foster collaboration, the centre plans to develop a significant, sustainable digital presence to operate as its bilingual \u201cvirtual home\u201d. The digital presence will include a forum for joint pre-publication, publication and translation, and for the exchange of ideas, opinions, materials and information.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe writing centre will respond to what\u2019s 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\u2019t a physical space that will house a centre, but in the longer term I do have vision of a writing hub,\u201d Dr Robertson says.<\/p>\n
The centre\u2019s first action of formal dialogue will be to host a symposium in Margaret River, titled Literature in the Time of Revolutions<\/em>, from 13\u201315 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve invited some great keynote speakers from writing and literature in China and Australia. There\u2019ll also be academic staff from Fudan and Curtin participating in the symposium,\u201d Dr Robertson says.<\/p>\n As to how the centre will benefit Curtin 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019ll be a range of benefits. For our students, they\u2019ll be able to hear from Chinese scholars when they come here for seminars. I\u2019d also like to eventually take some creative and professional writing students on a study tour to Shanghai,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n