Dates and Times
07 March 2024
12:30 - 13:30
Event for
Location
Organiser
Centre for Cultural and Creative Research (CCCR), Faculty of Arts and Design
Speakers
Dr. Andrew Sneddon
Enquiry
Centre for Cultural and Creative Research (CCCR)
Event about:
Culture and Creativity seminar – Prehistoric Joy: Using Archaeology to Write a Personal Memoir about Family Violence
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Sneddon
Date\Time: Thursday 7March 2024, 12:30-13:30
Location: Building 1 Level A Room 1A21, University of Canberra (https://www.canberra.edu.au/maps/buildings-directory/building-1);
or Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/93012439780
Abstract
Dr. Andrew Sneddon spent a career writing about other people – by delving into their archaeology, assessing the significance of their heritage places – before he turned his hand to writing about himself. Was it liberating? At first it felt that way. In his memoir (Prehistoric Joy), about growing up in a family beset by domestic violence and alcoholism, Andrew found himself writing in a new language where he was the boss, telling his story, in his own way, instead of having to accommodate a ‘multivocal past’ and competing academic opinions about how things should be interpreted. But during the editing process, and since Prehistoric Joy’s publication, he has entered a world of difficult conversations, where he has learned that his personal story intertwines with those of others and that no story is univocal. Andrew will talk about his memoir and the writing experience, drawing on his career as an archaeologist, while describing how it is that storytelling is at the heart of everything, that it has consequences, and carries with it responsibilities.
Anyone is welcome!
Bio: Dr. Andrew Sneddon is an archaeologist and heritage practitioner with over thirty years’ experience in Australia and internationally. He has published monographs and peer-reviewed articles on the prehistory of Cyprus, a collection of poetry (Ghost Armies), and most recently a memoir entitled Prehistoric Joy.
The Culture and Creativity Seminar Series is hosted by the Centre for Cultural and Creative Research (CCCR), Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra. To discover upcoming seminars, please follow us on Facebook @uccccr, or Instagram and Twitter @uc_cccr. Alternatively, join our mailing list by emailing cccr@canberra.edu.au.
Any questions and accessibility requests please contact: cccr@canberra.edu.au.
UC acknowledges the Ngunnawal people, traditional custodians of the lands where Bruce campus is situated. We wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of Canberra and the region. We also acknowledge all other First Nations Peoples on whose lands we gather.