[csaa-forum] Elspeth Probyn - Inaugural Professorial Lecture - Nov 3

[Melissa Gregg]

The Sydney University Arts Association 
the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry 
and the Department of Gender Studies 
are proud to announce the Inaugural Professorial Lecture of 
Professor Elspeth Probyn 
Department of Gender Studies, University of Sydney 

Blush: The Faces of Shame 

Wednesday 3rd November 2004 
Refreshments will be served from 6:00pm in the Nicholson Museum 
Lecture 6:30-8:00pm in General Lecture Theatre 1 
University of Sydney

  
 In this talk Professor Elspeth Probyn will present some of her recent
research on shame. In the context of the debates within feminist
cultural studies over the last twenty years, she argues that shame
returns us to fundamental questions about the body, subjectivity and
culture. In her new book, Blush (University of Minnesota Press, and UNSW
Press, 2005) she draws on some unusual sources or at least ones that
have tended to be shunned in gender and cultural studies. She is
interested in what bodies do biologically and physiologically when they
are affected by shame.  

While shame has a bad reputation in our society, she proposes that it
should be seen in a very productive light. Shame makes us viscerally
aware of our humanity and connects us in fundamental ways to others.  It
is only when shame is ignored that it becomes toxic. While painful (as
many have argued, shame is felt like a sickness of the soul), it demands
that we radically reflect on what we hold dear,- personally and
collectively. 

Elspeth Probyn has taught media studies, sociology, and literature in
Canada and the US, and is now the Professor of Gender Studies at the
University of Sydney. Her work focuses on questions of identity,
sexuality and bodies. She has been constantly interested in what people
think and do with their bodies from eating, sex, to emotions.  

Elspeth is the author of several books in these areas, including Sexing
the Self, Outside Belongings, Carnal Appetites, Sexy Bodies and Blush.
She is also interested in ethics, the media and popular culture, and
recently co-edited Remote Control, a book on media ethics, and new forms
of television such as reality TV and food shows. She is currently
working on a co-authored book with Catharine Lumby on Girl Cultures,
stemming from their ARC research project. In addition, she is preparing
a popular book, Shameless: how to use bad emotions well. 

All welcome. Admission free. No booking required.

Melissa Gregg
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies
4th Floor, Forgan Smith Tower
University of Queensland Australia 4072
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