Faculty of Arts & Society
School of Cultural Studies
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Second International Doris Lessing Conference, Friday 6 - Sunday 8 July 2007
This prestigious academic event, hosted by the School of Cultural Studies at Leeds Met and supported by the Doris Lessing Society and the Contemporary Women’s Writing Network, was dedicated to one of the UK’s best-known novelists, Doris Lessing, and attracted delegates from all around the world who have a specialist interest in the writer’s work.
Since 1950 when her first novel was published, Lessing’s fiction has confronted the ‘big issues’ of the twentieth century: the violence of war and colonialism, class and race inequalities, the appeal of nationalism and changes in the role of women. The conference successfully explored the author’s involvement in left-wing politics, her status as a post-colonial writer and her key role in second-wave feminism. It also considered Lessing’s position as a ‘British’ writer and examined issues about nationality, ‘race’ and decolonisation raised in her writing.
The event was supported by the Doris Lessing Society and the Contemporary Women’s Writing Network (an English Association Special Interest Group).
Keynote Speakers included (see links to the right):
Professor Clare Hanson, University of Southampton
Professor Virginia Tiger, University of Rutgers
Professor Dennis Walder, Open University
