Boyer Lectures

It is my great good luck that the words I use are English words, which means I live in a very old nation of open borders; a rich, deep, multi-layered, promiscuous universe, infused with Latin, German, French, Greek, Arabic and countless other tongues. I would not be able to swim so far, dive so deep, in a linguistically isolated language such as Hungarian, or even a protectively elitist one such as French.

If one definition of the word 'home' is a goal or objective, then I have to be clear that becoming the kind of journalist who covered war was never my goal or intention.

The idea of home is bigger than the floorplan of any given four walls or the mass of any roof line. It cannot be compassed by rote recitations of suburb or postcode, nation or state. In last week's lecture, I mentioned the various definitions that dictionaries give for that small, heavily laden word, home. Tonight I would like to explore some of them: home as 'a place of origin, a native habitat', home as 'an environment offering security and happiness' and home as 'the place where something is discovered, founded, developed or promoted. A source.'

In dictionaries, definitions of home are various. It is both 'a place of origin, a starting position' and 'a goal or destination.' It may also be 'an environment offering security and happiness' or 'the place where something is discovered, founded, developed or promoted. A source.'

Universities may appear unchanged and enduring, yet the world of the mind is shifting quickly. This is a moment of unparalleled growth, but also of new challenges — the web, on-line learning, and international competition. Australian higher education must think about its role in the republic of learning, so there is a place for every citizen, for every community.