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Where Are You From? No, Where Are You Really From? – HYBRID EVENT
Sat 20 Apr, 2:00 pm–3:00 pm
About the event
Professor Audrey Osler draws on stories from her mixed-heritage family to explore ideas around migration, identity and belonging.
For people of colour the questions in the title of Professor Audrey Osler’s new book: Where Are You From? No, Where Are You Really From? often imply more than simple curiosity. They are political questions of identity, since the assumption (naive or aggressive) is that to be British and to belong you must be white.
Whether or not we trace our families from beyond the shores of Britain, British people deserve a better understanding of our shared past, and opportunities to explore and recognise the complexities and contractions of empire. Careless or wilful amnesia has allowed the British migration narrative to begin in the mid-20th century, with migrants from India, Pakistan and the Caribbean forming the foundation of present-day multicultural Britain. A racist fixation means that some 21st-century Britons fantasise that people of colour arrived after the Second World War, without any link to the country, to exploit the British welfare state and British hospitality.
As Audrey Osler says: “The stories I tell here reveal as much about Britain as they do about the countries of the British Empire. This is not just my history, it elucidates the largely untold history of a nation and of its citizens, both people of colour and white.”
“Lovely, perceptive and timely… weaving the threads of colonialism, migration, mixed-race relationships and other life experiences into the tapestry of Britishness today, it is wonderful” Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Audrey will be interviewed by the poet and playwright Chérie Taylor Battiste.
Audrey Osler is Professor Emerita of Citizenship and Human Rights Education at the University of Leeds. She Is widely known for her research on teachers’ lives and careers, children’s rights, and racial justice, and has worked as an educator in many countries, predominantly in Europe, East Asia and North America. She has acted as an expert advisor the Council of Europe, UNESCO and a range of national governments. Her books have been translated into many languages, including Japanese and Chinese.
HYBRID EVENT – this is a Hybrid event, which can be attended in person at the venue or accessed online. Simply select the Live or Online ticket link for your preferred event viewing. For online access a link will be sent to you the day before the event takes place.
Access and Covid safety measures: if you have specific access needs or queries and/or prefer to be seated away from other audience members as a Covid safety measure, please contact our Admin at: [email protected] with your request.
Date: Saturday 20 April
Time: 2pm-3pm
Venue: Small Seeds, Castlegate (New Street junction), HD1 2UD
Tickets: £5, free for University of Huddersfield staff and students & essential carers, Online ticket: £2
Age guidance: 16+
Access Guide: https://www.accessable.co.uk/huddersfield-literature-festival/access-guides/small-seeds
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