China expert Linda Jaivin presents Bombard the Headquarters!, a gripping account of the Cultural Revolution and its lasting impact.

A riveting account of a turbulent period in Chinese history.

Linda Jaivin and Michael Pembroke discuss how relations with the outside world have changed China, from ancient to modern times.

China, open and shut - from imperial times to the Cultural Revolution - Michael Pembroke and Linda Jaivin discuss how relations with the outside world have changed China, from ancient to modern times. They will show how the writing of history can help make sense of complex events in the past and offer insights into the present day.

Remembering Elizabeth Harrower

Speakers: Helen Trinca – Editor of The Deal & author of Looking for Elizabeth: The Life of Elizabeth Harrower, Geoffrey Lehmann – Australian poet, writer and tax lawyer

The Cultural Revolution saw out the Mao era in China with a decade-long orgy of violence and cultural destruction. The suppression of historical truth-telling combined with the fact that many of the Cultural Revolution’s victims, perpetrators and witnesses are elderly or gone means that its memory is fading even as a kind of nostalgia for the era continues to flourish, with Mao’s collected works climbing back up bestseller lists and some young people embracing Cultural Revolution slogans. But what was the Cultural Revolution all really about and how can it inform our understanding of China today?

Linda Jaivin is the author of thirteen books, including The Shortest History of China, which has been translated into almost two dozen languages, and her most recent Bombard the Headquarters! The Cultural Revolution in China. She is also a widely published cultural commentator and translator from Chinese specialising in film subtitling, and an editorial associate of the Australian Centre on China in the World. 

The ANU China Seminar Series is supported by the Australian Centre on China in the World at ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.

In Looking for Elizabeth, journalist Helen Trinca asks why Elizabeth Harrower – one of Australia’s most important authors – stopped writing at the height of her powers. After publishing four acclaimed books, Harrower faded from the literary landscape and was rediscovered decades later to international acclaim.

Helen unravels this mystery, bringing to life the literary circles of a fascinating era in Australian culture. Based on private interviews with Harrower and full access to her archive, Looking for Elizabeth is the first full biography of this significant figure in Australian letters.

Helen Trinca is an experienced reporter, commentator and editor who has held senior positions at The Australian, including deputy editor, managing editor, European correspondent and editor of The Weekend Australian Magazine. She has authored and co-authored three other books including Better than Sex: How a whole generation got hooked on work.

Toby Walsh is one of the world’s leading researchers in artificial intelligence (AI). In his latest book, The Shortest History of AI, Toby presents six ideas to help understand artificial intelligence today. From Ada Lovelace’s visionary work to IMB’s groundbreaking defeat of the chess world champion and the revolutionary emergence of ChatGPT, Toby explores AI’s cultural journey.

Toby is Scientia Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UNSW and chief scientist at its AI institute, UNSW.ai.