November 13, 2023

Kipling's "Kim": A Tale for Our Time

Event Series: Cultural Encounters: Books that Have Made a Difference

Showing the Kipling's "Kim": A Tale for Our Time Video

Rudyard Kipling's Kim (1901) has received wide acclaim, ranking 78 in the Modern Library’s 1998 list of the 100 best English novels of the twentieth century and winning “best-loved novel” on the BBC's The Big Read poll in 2003. Despite this praise, it now trespasses into contested topics around race and coloniality with a sensibility that long pre-dates our own, so much so that its subject matter may be considered out-of-date or even offensive. In this talk, Durham University Assistant Professor Carmody Grey discussed why Kim should not be discarded, as the novel models and represents a mode of encounter which remains uniquely textured, subtle, and sensitive beyond its time.

This event was sponsored by the Future of the Humanities Project, the Georgetown Humanities Initiative, and Blackfriars Hall, Oxford. It is part of the year-long series, Cultural Encounters: Books that Have Made a Difference.

Photo courtesy of G.W. & C.B. Colton & Co. via Library of Congress

Participants

Carmody Grey

Carmody Grey

Carmody Grey is assistant professor of Catholic theology at Durham University in the United Kingdom and adjunct professor of ethics at the University of Bern in Switzerland. She writes, lectures, and teaches in academic and public fora on the ethics of science, economics, and environment. She does advisory, consultancy, and advocacy work with wide range of organizations including businesses, civil society organizations and NGOs, cultural and artistic enterprises, and faith leaders in the areas of ethics and values.

Michael Scott

Michael Scott

Michael Scott (moderator) is senior dean, fellow of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford, college advisor for postgraduate students, and a member of the Las Casas Institute. He also serves as senior advisor to the president of Georgetown University. Scott previously served as the pro-vice-chancellor at De Montfort University and founding vice-chancellor of Wrexham Glyndwr University, where he is professor emeritus.