Teaching Black British Writing in China: Professor Deidre Osborne

Dr Michelle Asantewa will be in conversation with Professor Deidre Osborne.

Professor Osborne is editor ofThe Cambridge Companion to British Black and Asian Literature, the first comprehensive account of the influence of contemporary British Black and Asian writing in British culture, which covers 65 years of writing.

In 2014 Professor Osborne co-founded the MA in Black British Writing/Literature at Goldsmiths University, a ground-breaking course taught nowhere else. It received the Student Union Teaching Award for "Compelling and Diverse Curriculum" in (2018)

In 2017, Osborne wrote the syllabus and produced materials[to facilitate the Edexcel Examination Board's A-level Black British Literature syllabus.

Professor Osborne was responsible for organising two notable international conferences at Goldsmiths University : "On Whose Terms?": Critical Negotiations in Black British Literature and the Arts, in 2008, and On Whose Terms? Ten Years On… (2018). She co-convened the spoken-word poetry conference at Royal Central School of speech and Drama in 2022 and supported the International Black Speculative Writing Festival, directed by Kadia Sesay, at Goldsmiths in 2024.

Professor Osborne is now Distinguished Professor in Literatures and Drama in English at Central China Normal University where she teaches Black British writing to Chinese students.Significantly she now teaches the unique course that she co-created at Goldsmiths, in China, where students have opportunities to study Black British literature on a scale not possible in Britain. Professsor Osborne has dedicated her literary activism to placing the work of Black British writers at the centre of curriculum and courses she has taught. Collaboration is key to her work.

In this rare public appearance, Professor Osborne will be in conversation with independent scholar, Dr Michelle Asantewa from WaywivWordz HERE.

They will cover:

• Britain and China an academic comparison
• Race and gender in academia
• Institutional racism at Goldsmiths and the BFI, (British Film Institute)
• Chinese reception to Black writing and histories
• The current state of Black Publishing
• Future opportunities and challenges

This event is organised by Black History Walks as part of 60 Years Since 1965 the first ever Race Relations Act, and 20 years of the African Odysseys film seriess

Other coming events www.blackhistorywalks.co.uk HERE

• Black History Steam train tour
• Black History Bus Tour/ River Cruise
• Hackney, Mayfair, St Paul'/Bank, Theatreland and Soho Black History Walks
• African Odysseys, Racism in Academia and @BFI Southbank
• Ismahil Blagrove season of films and books
• Frantz Fanon weekender
• 60 years of Black British Civil Rights, racism @BFI with Professor Gus John
• Kung Fu and anti-racist street fighters with Professor Lez Henry
• World Wars and Black soldiers. African Odysseys @BFI with Professor Patrick Vernon
• 60 years of Black history Success Stories 1-20
• Sign petition to save African Odysseys and Black film history at BFI Southbank HERE

About African Odysseys

The volunteer-run, African Odysseys film programme screens educational, popular, anti-racist, films with Q&A's . It regularly filled the BFI Southbank 450 seater at 2pm on Saturdays when cinemas are typically 'dead'.The British Film Institute refused to answer 8 simple questions or meet the volunteers, then cancelled the programme so they could 'cut costs and promote diversity' HERE

African Odysseys continues to show films across London as can be seen HERE