Literature Matters 2025-26
Literature Matters: Literature in the Community
Anti-apartheid Activism in Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter
with PhD candidate Vijay Kachru
This talk focuses on South African writer and activist Nadine Gordimer’s 1979 novel Burger’s Daughter. Set in South Africa during the apartheid era of the 1970s, the novel presents a nuanced conversation between factual reality and emotional experience through an alternating use of subjective and objective narrative perspectives. This dual structure functions as a literary device but also as a political strategy, enabling Gordimer to explore the complex landscape of anti-apartheid activism by white South Africans.
Wednesday, January 28, 7:30 p.m.
Grace-Westminster United Church Social Hall
505 - 10th St. E., Saskatoon
Free and open to the public
Sponsored by the University of Saskatchewan's Department of English.
Info: 306-966-1268 | english.department@usask.ca
Literature Matters: Literature in the Community Events for 2025-26
September 24: “Where’s Walmart? The Commonplace in Canadian Literature,” with faculty member Jessica McDonald
October 22: “Detours into Dread: A Short, Scary History of Travel Horror Films,” with faculty member Lindsey Banco
November 26: “Can a Robot Be a Poet?: Navigating AI in Today’s University,” panel discussion with English department members Ella Ophir, Ian Moy, Jeanette Lynes, and Tristan Taylor, chaired by Yin Liu
January 28: “Anti-apartheid Activism in Nadine Gordimer’s Burger’s Daughter, with PhD student Vijay Kachru
February 25: “‘This is a Rat Cage’: Place and Identity in Kate Beaton’s Graphic Memoir Ducks,” with PhD student Jenna Miller
March 18: “Competing Visions of Ireland in the 1840 Painting A Blind Girl at a Holy Well,” with STM faculty member Kylee-Anne Hingston
April 22: “Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan: New Directions for 2026 and Beyond,” panel discussion led by faculty member Jay Rajiva
All events are at 7:30 p.m. in Grace-Westminster United Church Social Hall, 505 - 10th St. E., Saskatoon
Free and open to the public
Sponsored by the University of Saskatchewan's Department of English.
Info: 306-966-1268 | english.department@usask.ca
About
Reading, studying, and talking about literary works helps us to make sense of the world around us. Since 2012, the Department of English has sponsored its literature in the community series, Literature Matters, featuring talks about our research for the Saskatoon community. Presenters are members of the department, including professors, sessional lecturers, and graduate students. All events are held on Wednesdays between September and May at 7:30 p.m. in the social hall of Grace-Westminster United Church, 505-10th Street East, Saskatoon. Everyone is welcome.
For our upcoming lectures, please watch for our Facebook and front page event postings for more detailed day/time information or contact english.department@usask.ca.