Understanding the current global crisis

We have to come up with a new way of understanding the current global crisis, says a Victoria University professor.

Professor Warwick Murray, from the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, will explore globalisation and the “so-called global financial crisis” in his inaugural professorial lecture at Victoria University on Tuesday 29 November.

"Seeing it as just a financial crisis is very limited. It also has political, environmental and social ramifications; it’s a human crisis,” says Professor Murray who will draw on his work investigating globalisation in Latin America, the Pacific Islands and the Asia Pacific.

"The roots of such a crisis also run longer and deeper than is being portrayed in the media."

He says to understand the nature of such a crisis, an holistic approach is crucial.

"As academics and teachers, we have to look back and look wide to understand the issue,” says the Professor of Human Geography and Development Studies.

"We need to combine the science-based approaches and the creative approaches, both science and song if you like," says Professor Murray, known as the "singing professor" for his original songs in class.

Professor Murray has won awards for his teaching including a New Zealand National Tertiary Teaching Award for Sustained Excellence in 2006.

In his inaugural lecture, he will offer songs to illustrate his arguments.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh says Victoria’s inaugural lecture series is an opportunity for professors to provide family, friends, colleagues and the wider community with an insight into their specialist area of study.

"It is also an opportunity for the University to celebrate and acknowledge our valued professors," says Professor Walsh.