Are you a Chinese student? If so please consider helping one of our Birkbeck Research students who is looking for participants in the UK for a project which aims to look at the relationship between languages and life in the UK.
Get in touch by filling out one of the questionnaires below – it takes 15 minutes to complete. There are 3 versions of the questionnaire: English, traditional Chinese, and simplified Chinese so you can choose the one that suits you best.
The following events and opportunities are available via the AHRC funded CHASE Doctoral Training Programme. All of the opportunities below are open to all Arts and Humanities PhD students at Birkbeck, regardless of whether they are funded or self-funded.
Performing Theory Series – Nuclear Hallucinations
Thursday, 24 October 2019 | 17:00 20:00
Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, SE14 6NW
MRB Screen 1
This event inaugurates a new academic year for those of us
doing Screen related research, by hearing from practitioners about the
relationship between their ideas and their images.
Fathima Nizaruddin will be here to screen and discuss her
2016 film, Nuclear Hallucinations.
Various dates from 28 October | 1400-1600 | University of East Anglia
This series of masterclasses is by translators of creative writing for creative writers and is designed to provide insight into these acts of translation that many if not all creative writers engage with. The sessions are small group and are led by the world’s leading translators – including two Booker Prize nominees and one Booker winner. Sessions will be craft focused. Session leaders include Jeremy Tiang, Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Duncan Large, Daniel Hahn and Marilyn Booth who will share their expertise and insights exclusively on the topic. Each masterclass will explore from a different perspective the relationship between translation and creative writing – which, although inextricably connected, are rarely considered together.
CHASE Latin for Medieval and Early Modernists 2019/20
4-8 November & 1-5 June 2020 | University of East Anglia
The CHASE Latin for Medievalists and Early Modernists course is a series of workshops and residential weeks designed to provide Latin tuition from beginner to intermediate levels, as well as facilitate the discussion and development of Latin methodologies and research practice. A grasp of Latin is essential to cutting-edge work in medieval and early modern studies but tuition is often hard to come by – we aim to provide CHASE scholars with the necessary skills to produce top-quality research and to form a network of Latin scholars throughout the academy.
Wednesday, 20 November 2019 | Sussex Humanities Lab, University of Sussex
‘Mapping Feminists Coding Practices’, a one-day symposium at the Sussex Humanities Lab, University of Sussex, is the first in a series of events that explore feminist coding practices and the historic context of feminism and technology. It explores some of the affordances and resistances of computational technology. Its aim is to develop a wider understanding of current practices and research which make positive interventions into and within computation, in its widest possible interpretation, from a feminist perspective.
Fifty Years of Skinner’s “Meaning and Understanding in
the History of Ideas”
Friday, 29 November – Saturday, 30 November 2019 |
University of Sussex
This programme takes the opportunity of the fiftieth
anniversary of one of the most influential article on intellectual-historical
methods, Quentin Skinner’s “Meaning and Understanding in the History of Ideas”
(1969), to introduce doctoral participants to the methodological commitments
within the field, engaging them in cutting-edge critical reflection on method.
Participants will gain a thorough foundation in the available methods in the
history of ideas, engage in debates regarding method, and participate in the
critical evaluation of such methodologies, considering possible
alternatives.
The Digital Inclusion: Bridging Divides Conference brings together academics, policymakers, future leaders, the private sector, civil society and community practitioners in order to explore innovative and effective ways of promoting equal access to high-quality digital education and political participation across society. Conference participants will investigate how intelligent technology can foster a greater sense of community and inclusion in a digital world, and increase social and political opportunities.
The Conference will start at 10 am on Thursday, 14 November, and finish at 4 pm on Friday, 15 November 2019. Participants are expected to attend the whole event.
Conference costs
Attendance at this conference is supported by their charitable funds and includes overnight accommodation at Cumberland Lodge on 14 November and all meals during your stay.
Registrations of interest in attending are incited, but attendance will be by invitation only, to ensure broad and balanced representation. If you would like to be part of this conference, please click on the ‘Make Enquiry’ button on the event webpage to let them know how and why you would like to contribute.
Travel bursaries available
They are pleased to be able to offer five bursaries for this conference, to support PhD students working in relevant fields with the costs of travelling to and from Cumberland Lodge. All conference costs, accommodation and meals will be provided free of charge.
To find out more about the conference and to download the bursary application form, please visit their website. The deadline for applications is Monday 14 October.
Throughout 21-25 October Birkbeck PhD students are invited to attend events organised by the Birkbeck Library as part of International Open Access Week.
These events will let you learn about developments which are of increasing importance to your current and future research. The programme includes the following events – registration is via the following links.
Monday 21st October, 11.00-11.30, Library Training Room
This session will give an overview of the changes and challenges in publishing models, for libraries with the move from traditional subscriptions, to a hybrid of subscriptions and open access, to transformative agreements which seek to offset article processing charges (APCs).
This is an interactive 1.5hour long session. There will be discussion and opportunities for questions.
This session is aimed at Postgraduate Research Students including Doctoral and Masters Research Students, who are creating or reusing data, or who may require ethical approval, and would like to create a Data Management Plan (DMP) to help guide them through their project.
These plans are also important documents for funded research, with many funders requiring them as part of a bid. Being familiar with the process of creating DMPs is therefore a useful research skill.
We will use example plans and online tools to create DMPs, and look at how to improve them.
If you have questions about open access publishing, where you should put your research data, what Plan S is and what it means at Birkbeck, then pop in to this session to find the answers. David McElroy is our Research Data Support Manager and Paul Rigg our Senior Assistant Librarian (Repository & Digital Media Management) and they will be on hand to talk through any queries that you have. This is an open session, no booking required.
If you have questions about open access publishing, where you should put your research data, what Plan S is and what it means at Birkbeck, then pop in to this session to find the answers. David McElroy is our Research Data Support Manager and Paul Rigg our Senior Assistant Librarian (Repository & Digital Media Management) and they will be on hand to talk through any queries that you have. This is an open session, no booking required.
Plan S aims to significantly shake up the current Open Access publishing ecosystem. This session will give a brief overview of who’s behind it, what the “plan” is, what the “S” actually means, and how it could affect us.
Friday 25th October, 12.30-13.30, Library Training Room
Come and play the Open Access board game to get a better understanding of what Open Access is and how it works. You are welcome as a team of up to 4 people or as an individual to join others.
Dandelion seeks new EDITORS to assist in the editing of the journal’s new volume. Current Birkbeck School of Arts Postgraduate Students are encouraged to join the Editorial Team for the academic year 2019/20. No publishing or editorial experience is necessary: you will learn editorial skills as you go. Although, if any, these will be a valuable asset.
Your research area should lie within, or across, the fields of: History of Art, Museum Cultures, Film, Media and Cultural Studies, English and Humanities, and Cultures and Languages. You can be at any stage in your research. We are looking for:
General Editors
Suitable for PhD students
General Editors will start the production of the new Volume in the Autumn Term of 2019 (or soon after), and will be responsible for the editorial supervision of the next Dandelion volume. They will be selecting the new theme and writing the Call for Papers, setting the timetable for the issue, commissioning articles, and sharing production management tasks.
Subject Editors
Suitable for MA or PhD students
Subject Editors will be required to edit and copyedit two or three articles (of between 1,500 and 8,000 words); the timing of this work will be confirmed by the appointed General Editors. You will be asked to attend two or three editorial meetings with the rest of the team. You will also be welcome to contribute to events planning, design, typesetting etc. Subject Editors are assigned to articles, and therefore advise contributors, according to their subject area expertise.
Find out more
The outgoing Editors will be happy to meet the new team to discuss the handover and for further advice. If you are interested then we would love to hear from you. Please send an email expressing your interest in either editorial role, and detailing any relevant experience you may have, by 11th October to mail@dandelionjournal.org. In your email please include details of which research programme you are enrolled in, and the research area you are focusing on. If you have any questions then please do get in touch – we will be happy to answer them.
The Access and Engagement Department sits
at the heart of Birkbeck’s commitment to improving the access and success of
non-traditional students in London. We work with groups who may otherwise feel
excluded from taking a step into higher education, including trade union
members without a formal qualification above level 4; FE and adult education
college students; forced migrants and those who have been out of education for
a number of years.
Birkbeck’s academic and research community can support our work in a range of ways, including:
delivering
free community lectures and/or learning activities;
running
workshops to support those facing organisational change at work;
helping
people to develop the skills they need to successfully navigate structural
inequality;
offering
insights into community priorities through
their research.
Find out more
To find out more and discuss possible collaborations, the Department is holding an Academic Open House event on Thursday 26th September from 3-5pm in Malet Street B02. The event is open to PhD candidates, Early Career Researchers and academics at Birkbeck. We will present further information about our work across London and our priorities for 2019/20, and there will be the opportunity for discussion with other academic colleagues and members of the Department.
To register your interest, please complete the following short form: https://bbk.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/open-house-register-of-interest For refreshments purposes it would be helpful to know how many are able to attend the Open House event, but even if you are unable to join us on the 26th, we’d still love to hear from you so please do complete the form so we can keep in touch about future opportunities.
CHASE Essentials training is available to all Arts and Humanities PhD students at Birkbeck, regardless of whether you they are funded by CHASE or not.
About this training
CHASE Essentials is a year-round programme of training and development workshops and residential programmes and is part of the training opportunities available to all arts and humanities doctoral researchers at CHASE institutions.
Arts and Humanities
PhD students at CHASE member institutions can apply for expenses using the form here (Word
document, best viewed on a laptop or desktop). Approval for the travel claim
must be sought in advance.
Royal Museums Greenwich (which comprises the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory, the Queen’s House and Cutty Sark) has a well-established programme supporting high-quality research providing new perspectives on our collections. Fellowships are stipendiary, and can run for a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 12 months. Applications should engage with our thematic priorities which include:
The migration of people, objects and ideas
British identities in imperial, post-colonial and global contexts
Human perspectives on the modern maritime world
Understandings of nation, community and identity in museum practice
Developments in citizen heritage, public engagement and heritage science
Female patronage, art, architecture and performance in the Stuart court
Naval/military uniform and concerns regarding status, display and identity
Engagement with our collections is essential, and we welcome applications from within a wide range of disciplines and cross-disciplinary approaches. We also seek to encourage creative and practice-based projects in areas such as the visual arts, performance and literature.
Eligibility
The fellowship programme mainly supports study at a post-doctoral or equivalent level. We encourage applications from scholars of all nationalities and career stages who have been awarded a PhD, or who expect this to occur before the start of the fellowship. Queries regarding eligibility should be sent to: research@rmg.co.uk
Mining Back: Data Skills for Researching Corporations and Governments
Saturday 14 September | 12:15-13:25 Goldsmiths, University of London | RHB 307
Dr. Anna Feigenbaum, Principal Academic in Digital Storytelling, Bournemouth University (designed with Tom Sanderson, The Centre for Investigative Journalism)
While corporations and governments gain more and more access to our data, ‘researching up’ or investigating governments and corporations is often riddled with obstacles. While the move in recent years toward open data has brought with it increased transparency and information access, not all information is equally available. Critical documents remain hidden behind paywalls, blocked by confidentiality agreements, or deemed too sensitive to be brought into public view. Even when Freedom of Information requests return results, they can come back worded in generalisations or dressed up in retractions.
These challenges prompt researchers and campaigners to employ creative methods for legally obtaining data from governments and corporations. In this workshop we bring together key strategies for investigative research, showcasing a range of data sources, as well as freely available and easy to access tools that can be used to ‘mine back’ or obtain and analyse data of government and corporate elites. Geared toward non-coders, qualitative researchers and those with limited budgets and resources, these strategies for ‘mining back’ include advanced searching techniques, data scraping from a webpage, liberating PDF tables, and creating visual power-maps.
This workshop will focus on the reproductive technologies industry in the UK, but most of the skills and resources we will introduce are adaptable across any research project engaged in investigating corporations or governments.
CHASE Latin for Medieval and Early Modernists 2019/20
Monday 4 – Friday 8 November 2019 & Monday 10 – Friday 14 June 2020 (plus two single day workshops – TBC)
The CHASE Latin for Medievalists and Early Modernists course is a series of workshops and residential weeks designed to provide Latin tuition from beginner to intermediate levels, as well as facilitate the discussion and development of Latin methodologies and research practice. A grasp of Latin is essential to cutting-edge work in medieval and early modern studies but tuition is often hard to come by – we aim to provide CHASE scholars with the necessary skills to produce top-quality research and to form a network of Latin scholars throughout the academy.
Residential week 1 will be held from Monday 4th to Friday 8th November 2019 and residential week 2 will be held from Monday 10th to Friday 14th June 2020, both at UEA. Two single-day workshops will take place in London between the residential weeks with dates TBC. Please note that accommodation for the residential weeks is booked in advance, and so if you subscribe to a residential week and are subsequently unable to attend it is important to notify us as soon as possible.
The skills developed in this course over the past two years have enabled CHASE researchers to pursue previously unavailable avenues of research, and besides structured language tuition we include classes on palaeography and archival research to ground our linguistic work in practice.
Although this course primarily teaches on classical Latin it will feature texts from a wide range of historical periods and is suitable for medievalists, early modernists, and scholars from any background whose research engages with the language.