Title: Mediterranean Fetishisations
Date: Monday, 29 November
Time: 18:30
Venue: Online (via Zoom)
Date: Monday, 29 November
Time: 18:30
Venue: Online (via Zoom)
The Mediterranean Institute is pleased to invite you to the next session of the Mediterranean Institute Seminar, titled 'Mediterranean Fetishisations'.
In this session of the Mediterranean Institute Seminar, Gibraltarian novelist M. G. Sanchez will be discussing his latest literary work with Dr Norbert Bugeja of the Mediterranean Institute. Set in Gibraltar and then in post-Brexit Britain, The Fetishist focuses on the character of Nathan Holgado, a twenty-nine-year-old Gibraltarian historical re-enactor, anglophile and collector of military memorabilia. Although descended largely from Italian and Menorcan migrants, he is obsessed with the British side of his family tree and especially with his great-great-grandfather, Edwin Baxter, who settled in Gibraltar after travelling there in the 1890s with the 15th Regiment of Foot. Following a chance online discovery about his great-great-great-grandfather, Holgado travels to the UK with the intention of reconnecting with his British heritage, but only ends up tasting the bitter fruits of post-Brexit racism and xenophobia. Dr Sanchez will open the seminar by describing what led him to write his new novel and by reading some of its key passages. He will then be joined by Dr Bugeja, who will be quizzing him on Gibraltar, coloniality, cultural hybridity, the Gibraltarian love of British military history, and the novelist’s own close ties with Malta.
M. G. Sanchez was born in Gibraltar in 1968. He is the author of five novels, all on Gibraltarian themes, as well as numerous stories, essays, articles and works of non-fiction. He lived on the Rock until the age of twenty-seven, when he moved to the UK to study English Literature at the University of Leeds, completing his studies in 2004 with a doctoral thesis on the subject of anti-Spanish sentiment in Elizabethan literary and political writing. Since 1995 he has lived mainly in the United Kingdom, but has also done stints in New Zealand (2004), India (2005‒2008) and, more recently, Japan (2014‒2016). He is currently based in West Yorkshire. He has spoken about his writing at different universities across Europe and more than a dozen articles on his work have been published in scholarly journals. His novel Jonathan Gallardo was chosen by Alastair Niven of Wasafiri as his personal highlight for 2015 in an article celebrating the iconic magazine’s thirty-five-year publishing history. More information about his books can be found at https://www.mgsanchez.net/. He also posts regular updates about his writing on a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/mgsanchezwriter) and on Twitter via the handle @MGSanchez/.
The event will be held on Monday, 29 November at 18:30 via Zoom
Meeting ID: 966 5063 1659
Passcode: 779301
The Mediterranean Institute Seminar is free and open to the general public. Students are particularly encouraged to attend. For further information and to reserve a place, kindly contact the seminar convenor, Dr Norbert Bugeja at norbert.bugeja@um.edu.mt
The Mediterranean Institute Seminar is free and open to the general public. Students are particularly encouraged to attend. For further information and to reserve a place, kindly contact the seminar convenor, Dr Norbert Bugeja at norbert.bugeja@um.edu.mt