Orwell week – 1984 Now
16 September 2019
Following the publication of his latest book on George Orwell, English Fellow Dr David Dwan organises a week-long event investigating the impact and legacy of the author’s iconic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.
‘1984 Now’ will encompass an evening talk, a symposium and an exhibition of artwork inspired by Orwell’s novel. The first of these events on 10 October will be a conversation about contemporary journalism and politics between two winners of the prestigious Orwell Prize – Hertford alumna Carole Cadwalladr and Irish columnist Fintan O’Toole. Following this will be a symposium on Friday 11 October, taking in Orwell’s impact on the language of politics in the 1950s through to the implications of Nineteen Eighty-Four in the “post-truth” twenty-first century. Running in parallel will be an exhibition of Orwell-inspired artwork at the University’s English Faculty, from 11-18 October, free to enter and open to all.
Dr Dwan’s book, Liberty, Equality and Humbug: Orwell’s Political Ideals, was published by Oxford University Press in 2018.
Please see below for a full programme and register for the first two events on Eventbrite. Please note that the evening talk and symposium will be hosted at Worcester College, Oxford, OX1 2HB. The exhibition will be in the foyer of the English Faculty Building, Manor Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU.
Evening Talk: Orwell and Journalism
10 October 2019, 17:30-20:00, The Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre, Worcester College.
A conversation about contemporary journalism and politics with Carole Cadwalladr, winner of the Orwell Prize 2018, and Fintan O’Toole, winner of the Orwell Prize 2017.
Register
Symposium: Nineteen Eight-Four Now
11 October 2019, 09:00-18:00, The Nash Room, Worcester College.
09:15 Greeting
09:20 Jean Seaton, ‘Orwell and Fear’
09:40 Joshua Dienstag, ‘Orwell’s Pessimism’
10:40-11:10 Coffee Break
11:10 Anna Vaninskaya, ‘Speaking Truth to Power: George Orwell and Victor Serge’
11:30 Dorian Lynskey, ‘Orwellspeak: How the Language of Nineteen Eighty-Four Infiltrated Politics and Journalism in the 1950s
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30 Joanna Kavenna, ‘How to Live in an Unreal Reality’: The Power of Fiction in a Post-Truth Age’
13:50 Victoria Bateman, ‘Speaking Naked Truth to Power’
14:40-15:10 Coffee Break
15:10 Nathan Waddell: ‘Oceania’s Dirt: Mess, Filth and Nausea in Nineteen Eighty-Four’
15:30 Greg Claeys, ‘Orwell for the Twenty-First Century’
16:20 Concluding Remarks
Register
Exhibition: Room 103
11-18 October 2019, 09:00-19:00, Foyer, English Faculty Building.
A selection of art inspired by Orwell’s novel. Free to enter – no ticket necessary.