Writing Lit & Culture March Seminar – Gilbert Caluya on The Spartan Variations…

WLC seminar series 2022 – where the world meets the word…

Our March seminar features a presentation from Dr Gilbert Caluya, Lecturer in Gender and Sexuality Studies. 

When: Wednesday 9 March from 12.00 noon to 1.00 pm.

Where: Zoom

https://deakin.zoom.us/j/88377332684?pwd=UVc0ZlRITWRCMnhDMWxkaHNFRTZCQT09

Meeting ID: 883 7733 2684 Password: 26361432

Title: The Spartan Variations: A Fugue for the War on Terror

 Abstract:

This work-in-progress paper traces the figure of Spartans as it traverses Western everyday culture during the War on Terror and its ongoing aftermath to see how they shape and influence attitudes to the War on Terror. From war films to military wear, from video games to fascist populism, the figure of Spartans has been a site of masculine and militaristic identifications, the embodiment of various white supremacist/European supremacist ideologies, and inspiration for mythic politics and utopic/dystopic fictional worlds. This draws on the musical theory and form of fugue as both analytical technique and experimentation in form in non-fiction writing. 

Bio:

Gilbert is the Lecturer in Gender and Sexuality Studies at Deakin University. His research focuses on the intersections of race, intimacy and security across various cultural sites, from sexual subcultures, everyday cultures of security to digital citizenship. He was a recipient of the ARC DECRA Fellowship, is currently completing an ARC DP on CALD student global digital citizenship and was recently awarded an ARC DP to study anti-racism in Australia. Before joining Deakin he worked at the Gender and Cultural Studies Department of the University of Sydney, the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding at University of South Australia and the Screen and Cultural Studies Department of the University of Melbourne.