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Author and Dean of Arts &Social Sciences, James Donald, will be speaking about modernism and jazz aesthetics at the Sydney Writers’ Festival this week.

Professor Donald is amongst 10 writers who are based at, or graduates of, UNSW who are appearing at the Festival, which runs until 24 May. UNSW Arts & Social Sciences has been a major partner of the Festival for the past four years and was the first university to partner with the event in 2010.

The theme ‘How to Live?’ comes from philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s challenge: “Everything has been figured out, except how to live”.

“In the early decades of the 20th century life changed dramatically,” Professor Donald says of his book, Some of these Days: Black Stars, Jazz Aesthetics and Modernist Culture, which covers the 50 year period from the 1920s to the 1970s.

“The invention of new technologies such as the telephone, the gramophone and cinema, meant there was a virtualisation of experience, which changed the rhythm of life and how people related to themselves and each other,” says Professor Donald. “For reasons I explore in the book, European audiences turned to jazz and black American culture as a way of negotiating the profound experience of modernisation.”

UNSW Arts & Social Sciences is supporting or featuring at 11 Festival events, including one with renowned author and Shakespeare scholar from Britain Sir Jonathan Bate, who shares the stage with actor and director John Bell, founder of Australia’s Bell Shakespeare.

Sir Jonathan will also speak at the University as part of the So, What? Lecture Series. The talk, being held on 26 May, will explore various aspects of the Shakespearean inheritance today in theatre, film, text and his wider cultural influence. The event is in memory of UNSW colleague, Richard Madelaine, who was also an internationally recognised Shakespeare scholar.

UNSW is also supporting the event “Evie Wyld: All the Birds, Singing” at Walsh Bay. The author won the 2014 Miles Franklin award for her work All the Birds, Singing. She will also be speaking to a fully-booked event on the UNSW campus on 19 May.

UNSW students are once again taking part in the Festival, with three undergraduates taking up highly-sought after 8 week internships.

Gali Blacher

Arts & Social Sciences student Gali Blacher, who is an intern at the Sydney Writers' Festival

21-year-old Gali Blacher, who is her third and final year of Bachelor of Media (Communications & Journalism), is working with volunteers on front of house.

“It’s a wonderful environment to do a placement. You feel like you are actually contributing and learning a lot in a short space of time,” says Gali, who hopes to work as a writer for children.

The other student interns are Chiara Middleton, who is working to ensure that partners are looked after, and Rhosian Srother-Woolridge, who is working on publicity.