On Saturday 2 November Dr Norbert Bugeja was invited to speak at the Inaugural Symposium of the Postcolonial Europe Group within the Centre for Postcolonial Research at the School of English, University of Kent.
Titled 'The Edge(s) of Memoir in an Ageing Europe', Dr Bugeja's paper addressed some of the devices by which the work of memory and life writing intervenes in the uneven relation today between the historic liberal-democratic edifice of Europe and its ability to secure a feasible programme of social implementation for the bloc's zones and peripheries in economic difficulty — a situation that has, amongst other consequences, conceded fertile political ground to ultra-nationalist, extreme-rightwing and other platforms.
The Postcolonial Europe Inaugural Symposium was addressed by Dr Maria Ridda, convenor of the symposium, Professor Sandra Ponzanesi, Professor Lars Jensen, Professor Miguel Mellino, Dr Sam Vardy, artist Agnese Purgatorio and Dr Bugeja. The Symposium was followed up with an in-depth debate on directions for postcolonial scholarship in the rethinking of Europe today.
Dr Bugeja is Senior Lecturer in Postcolonial Studies at the Mediterranean Institute and General Editor of the Journal of Mediterranean Studies. He sits on the Advisory Council of the Anna Lindh Foundation and is Deputy Chair of the National Book Council (Malta).