Saramago touts university’s role in democracy
June 8, 2005 - Nobel Prize-winning author José Saramago accepted his honorary degree from the University of Alberta today with humility and a note of his trademark irony.
Though recognized as one of the world's greatest living novelists, Saramago has never attended university; he was forced to leave grammar school in his native Portugal at the age of 12 to learn a trade, and trained subsequently as a metalworker, draftsman, healthcare worker and social worker.
In speaking to secondary education and law graduates on the university's role in democracy, Saramago said through a translator: "To quite a few it must seem strange that someone who has never sat in a university classroom should talk about themes such as these; who, besides anything else, has for many years sustained ideological and political inclinations, which in the eyes of right-minded people render him the target of the worst suspicions. Let's say then, to repeat a classical remark, it is a case where vice - having nothing to lose - has yielded itself to pay homage to virtue."
Saramago has been outspoken regarding the state of global democracy as a journalist, publisher, critic and novelist. His work and views have frequently stirred controversy, not least during the early 1970s, when Portugal's right-wing dictatorial government sought to quell dissent at home and in its colonies as its power met growing opposition.
Saramago said that a university not only prepares its students for professional life, but is the perfect place to incubate "the joint ideals of solidarity and respect for our fellow human beings" with its emphasis on diversity and critical thought.
"University - being a place for manifold interchanges - embodies all conditions to create a practical and effective learning environment of the most important democratic values. And I would start with what seems fundamental to me: the questioning of democracy itself," he said.
Saramago expressed hope that the graduates present would play an active part in revivifying democratic institutions and making them accountable once again to the people they profess to serve.
"We have to find ways to reinvent and renew democracy, to hoist it from stagnation of routine and disbelief, where the economic and political powers strive to maintain a decorative façade of the democratic building - keeping us from seeing whether there is still anything left behind it," he said. "Let us, then, reinvent democracy before it's too late. And let the university help us in this pursuit. She can do it - you can."
Drs. Peter and Doris Kule were also recognized today for their generosity and commitment in supporting educational endeavours in the community, and helping to preserve Ukrainian culture and heritage in Alberta. In addition to providing major support to the Chartered Accountants Education Foundation Chair at the U of A and creating the Kule Chair in Ukrainian Ethnography at the university's Ukrainian Folklore Centre, the Kules helped fund the Stay in School Program at Edmonton's Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, a program that is helping 180 immigrant high school students from 44 countries adjust to Canadian culture and the educational system. The Kules were presented with honorary Doctor of Laws degrees by U of A Chancellor Eric Newell at this afternoon's convocation ceremony.
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