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Exploring cultural diversity in the classroom

September 07, 2005

Mycac.thumb.JPGDr Sonia Mycac, a literary scholar visiting The University of New England, will present a public seminar this Friday, 9 September, on the use of multicultural literature in the classroom.

Dr Mycac, a Research Fellow of the Australian Research Council based at the University of Sydney, is a co-editor of "Australian Mosaic: An anthology of multicultural writing" (Heinemann, Sydney, 1997). The book is a teaching resource for secondary schools designed to explore Australia's cultural diversity. It comprises 60 literary texts with accompanying suggestions for classroom activity.

"In this presentation I would like to discuss the making of 'Australian Mosaic', present some of the texts, and outline some of the strategies for exploring cultural diversity in contemporary Australian society," she said. "Teachers in secondary schools and those involved in teacher training are particularly welcome to attend." The seminar will be at 12.30 pm in Room 236, Education Building, UNE.

Dr Mycac (pictured here) is visiting UNE at the invitation of Dr Siri Gamage from UNE's School of Professional Development and Leadership. Her visit is being sponsored by UNE's Centre for Research on Education in Context (CREC). She and Dr Gamage are exploring possibilities for collaborative research projects.

Dr Mycac's research interests include book history, the multicultural literatures of Australia and Canada, and culturally diverse writing communities. She is the editor of the scholarly journal "Australian Canadian Studies", and the author or editor of several books. One of the books she has written is "Canuke Literature: Critical Essays on Canadian Ukranian Writing", published in the United States in 2001.


Media contact: Dr Siri Gamage on (02) 6773 3836 or Jim Scanlan (UNE Public Relations) on (02) 6773 3049.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at September 7, 2005 04:33 PM