Elvis, Doctor Who and class; nostalgia interview with Richard King

buddah statue

In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Head of the Department of Religious Studies, interviews Richard King, Professor Emeritus of Buddhist and Asian Studies.

Richard talks about how no one in his family had stayed in education beyond 14; Richard’s parents were aware of their class background, so he talks about how the programmes he watched when he was young said something about one’s class.

Richard also talks about memories, and how his earliest memory consisted of reading out the words in a newspaper; about swivelling his hips to Elvis; becoming a Dr Who fan in later years; why he chose to go to the University of Hull; being excited about alternative ideas and Eastern philosophy; favouring the underdog both in the playground and in the context of colonialism; political activism; the Labour Party; waiting for change; excavating an alternative history; imagining the world differently; books; binaries; and looking back in order to know where you are going.

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