VS Naipaul and the Quest for Modernity, with Pankaj Mishra

QWA
...

Pankaj Mishra Portrait Image with event title, "VS Naipaul and the Quest for Modernity"

The 2024 VS Naipaul Lecture

5.45PM Tuesday 12 March

Quarry Whitehouse Auditorium

Over five decades VS Naipaul wrote about the political and intellectual awakening of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America—its promises and perils, its achievements and ambiguities. In novels as formally different as A House for Mr Biswas and A Bend in the River, and in his travel books, he described the difficult transition to modernity in remote corners of the non-Western world.

Unlike many other writers and journalists, Naipaul saw modernity as the sum of something more than economic development, industrial growth and urbanisation. It indicated to him a deeper transformation of the mind, an acceptance of rational modes of thought, and the cultivation of an individual sensibility.

This review of his writings from today's perspective should examine not only his personal background but also the broader intellectual influences on his attitude and his conflicting feelings. It will, above all, explain where the transitional world he described is today.

About the speaker

Pankaj Mishra is an award-winning Indian writer, known for his literary and political essays. He has written introductions to two volumes of VS Naipaul’s essays, The Writer and the World and Literary Occasions, and has spoken extensively on the fabric of society — most recently in his book Run and Hide (Penguin, 2022). 

Selwyn College gratefully acknowledges the kind support of the Eranda Rothschild Foundation.

How to join

In-person tickets

Bookings to join the event in person at the Quarry Whitehouse Auditorium are free, and all are welcome. Please reserve your seats using the form below.

Livestream availability

The event will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel, but it will not be recorded. Please book an "Online Livestream" ticket through the form below to receive a reminder with the link to the livestream. Alternatively, if you have a Google account, you can set a reminder to watch the livestream directly here.

 

Location and timing details

The event takes place at the Quarry Whitehouse Auditorium, Selwyn College, Grange Road, CB3 9DQ. It is pictured below, as seen from above from Grange Road.

QWA

The Quarry Whitehouse Auditorium is located on the corner of West Road and Grange Road and can be accessed via the gate to Ann’s Court on Grange Road. The Auditorium will be signposted —  but the Selwyn College Porters, located in the Lodge by the main entrance, will be more than happy to help direct you if you have trouble finding the auditorium.

Doors will open at 5:20pm. Please be seated by 5:35pm as the event will start promptly at 5:45pm. We expect to finish by 7:00pm at the latest. 

If you are arriving by bike, you may lock your bicycles on the railings by the Quarry Whitehouse Auditorium.

Please note that photographs will be taken during this event and the audience may be visible at certain points on the livestream.

--

--

--

--

Latest News

  • Prestige lecture
    Wed, 01/05/2024 - 14:17

    The author and broadcaster Nick Bryant gave Selwyn’s Ramsay Murray lecture on Friday May 10th. This is our annual flagship event at which previous speakers have ranged from Niall Ferguson to Bridget Kendall and from Trevor Phillips to Amanda Vickery.

     

    Nick Bryant Panel

     

  • Watch Selwyn events
    Mon, 29/04/2024 - 22:47

    Selwyn’s high-profile events from this Spring, and earlier, are available to view online.

    We began the recent series with the visit by the Swedish foreign minister Tobias Billström on April 16th. Mr Billström, a Selwyn alumnus, explained why Sweden had joined NATO. The video of the session can be viewed here:

  • Minister’s warning
    Wed, 17/04/2024 - 12:20

    Sweden’s foreign minister Tobias Billström gave a talk at Selwyn on April 16th about why his country has joined NATO. He warned that the world is going through a dangerous phase: not just the Russian attack on Ukraine, but also China’s intentions and the current crisis in the Middle East. These changing circumstances were why Sweden decided to relinquish the neutrality that it has held for more than two centuries.

  • MA Graduation 2024
    Tue, 09/04/2024 - 12:02

    An MA graduation ceremony was held in the university Senate House on Saturday April 6th. Selwyn’s graduands gathered in Old Court on a warm, windy Spring day and then made the journey into the centre of the city via West Bye Lane and King’s College.

     

    People Graduating

     

  • Student champions
    Fri, 15/03/2024 - 10:35

    Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Selwyn three minute thesis competition. It’s an opportunity for undergraduate and postgraduate students to explain their academic work - against the clock.

more