Dr. Nama (left) greets members of the SWPCA after his keynote address.
At the high tea, Dr. Nama gave the conference's keynote address. In it, he challenged the scholars present to engage the public at large in their analysis of popular culture, not to allow our ideas to remain in the ivory tower. In order to do this effectively, Nama asserted that we must consider how we write about our objects of analysis. He warned that academic jargon
alienates the general public and therefore does not serve our culture.
In the Q & A period that followed, Dr. Nama answered the question of how we can do tis demystification of our subject matter when peer-reviewed journals do not always reward such writing. Nama asserted that this is where those of us who do analysis of popular culture must do more than the traditional academic. He maintained that we cannot and should not neglect peer-reviewed venues for publication but that we should have two distinct versions of the work we do: one for the academic journals and one for mainstream press. He encouraged us to send this second version of our work to magazines and to seek speaking opportunities at
public libraries. Even if it doesn't count for tenure, it is our responsibility as public intellectuals to go the extra mile. One audience member used her opportunity during the Q & A to further Nama's argument by saying that all of us who have achieved tenure should exert any influence we can to acknowledge our junior colleagues' work as public intellectuals.
Dr. Nama received a standing ovation.
After many of the audience had finished speaking with him, our editor Bridget Cowlishaw sat down with Dr. Nama to discuss his work and his views on current popular films. His responses to the films Precious and Avatar might surprise you:
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