Birkbeck awards over 100 research degrees each year. During March, 16 Birkbeck Doctoral Researchers were awarded a PhD or Professional Doctorate for their work in the following areas:
School of Arts
3 PhDs in English, Theatre and Creative Writing
2 PhDs in Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics
By Kim Caris-Roberts Flow n Flux “BIG BROTHER HOUSE, THIS IS DAVINA, YOU ARE LIVE ON CHANNEL 4, PLEASE DO NOT SWEAR!” This month there really was only one place to begin. Each and every one of us at Flow n Flux wanted to acknowledge how scary the world seems right now, in the wake of the war in the Ukraine; watching war unfold can make us feel powerless and the range of emotions can be complex. We needed to acknowledge that. Were there any ‘right words’ for the current climate? We concluded not. We expressed and shared our concerns and we are thankful we have a safe space to do this.
We then began to explore March’s theme: Reality TV. Big Brother seemed to have been the most common first experience of the genre, mentioned a number of times in our individual offerings from the free-writing activity, which enabled interesting free association using 9 words to gently guide us in our flow. “It’s always been my guilty pleasure”, a statement many of us identified with. Why guilty? We discussed the topics of ‘contestant’ exploitation, whether the burgeoning genre which shows no signs of slowing offers opportunities once unheard of to generations, we questioned does Reality TV alleviate any need for talent?, what constitutes reality TV? Perhaps one unexpected answer: Football.
Referring to The White Pube Podcast: The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, we continued to explore our oft’ complicated relationship with this genre of TV. After much discussion one member proudly proclaimed “I am dropping my shame around Reality TV: I love it!”.
Our last task was to create a Dragon’s Den-esque pitch for a new Reality TV show which embedded Feminist thought…Cue one group who pitched a plethora of misogyny offenders fighting it out for the opportunity to repent for their harms to cries of “In the pit! In the Pit!” that will forever echo in my ears every time I watch The Hunger Games.
For April we consider the questions of difference which have been central to the way that the feminist movement articulates itself. Specifically, we will explore difference among women, in particular, along the lines of race, class and sexuality, as well as national and geopolitical location. We will consider feminism, using Black feminism as our centre, in order to look critically at the current cultural landscape.
Little Extras April 1st-31st- Autism Awareness Month April 1st-31st Stress Awareness Month April 7th – World Health Day April 25th-29th National Stalking Awareness Week April 25th-1st May Lesbian Visibility Week
If you want to join FnF mailing list, please email: flownflux@gmail.com
A core component of critical race theory, the term intersectionality was coined by American lawyer and academic Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1991 to describe the “multidimensionality” of the Black woman’s experience.
It describes how an individual’s different identities – such as gender identity, race, class, etc – intersect and overlap to create compound, interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. For example, a white woman may experience misogyny and a Black man may experience racism, but a Black woman will experience both misogyny and racism. All three experience discrimination – and, consequently, disadvantaged – but in different forms and to varying degrees.
This special issue of Dandelion Journal asks what role intersectional identities have in the arts (e.g. film, television, journalism, poetry, fine art, photography, literature, etc.), and how they impact on the production, sale and distribution of art/media objects around the world.
What impact do intersectional identities have on – and within – the arts, if any?
What can we learn from studying lived experiences in the arts through an intersectional lens?
How can we approach, understand and/or evaluate decision-making processes in the arts from an intersectional perspective?
We invite postgraduate research students to consider and respond to these questions within their specific disciplines and research foci, and to look forward towards a decolonised future within the arts.
Potential topics for exploration include, but are not limited to:
The decolonised newsroom.
Intersectional migration narratives.
Locating Black women in the history of art.
Intersectionality in fiction – contemporary and historical.
Decolonising galleries and museums.
Intersectionality in contemporary and historical fiction.
Language, identity and resistance.
Intersectional poetry.
Film and television – intersectionality on camera and behind the scenes.
The intersectional writer’s room (television).
Articles should be 2000 to 2500 words long. We would also be interested in publishing short works of speculative fiction between 1000 and 3000 words on the theme of intersectionality in the arts. You may also submit works of poetry or visual art pieces, accompanied by a critical reflection on your work of no more than 1500 words. We are happy to take any questions and discuss ideas with interested authors prior to the submission deadline.
Please send completed submissions to nsmith22@student.bbk.ac.uk before 1st June 2022, including a 50-word author biography and a 200-300 word abstract. All referencing and style is required in MHRA format as a condition of publication, and submitted articles should be academically rigorous and ready for immediate publication. Complete instructions for submission can be found at www.dandelionjournal.org.
Every year the Birkbeck Law and Criminology community comes together to listen to, discuss, and support PGR research at the School of Law Annual PGR Conference. We are delighted to confirm the dates for this year’s conference and to let you know that it will be taking place in-person at Birkbeck.
We encourage all PhD students within the School to use this opportunity to share their work – no matter what stage it is at! – and to hear and respond to the work of others within our research community. There is no theme to the conference as we would like the event to reflect the wide scope of fascinating and often intersecting topics each of us are working on across the department.
Presenting your work in academic settings is something that all PGR students who are planning to remain in academia need to have done before finishing their research projects, so this is a fantastic opportunity to gain (further) experience, and practice, refine, or experiment delivering your research in a friendly, supportive, and caring setting. Academic staff will be chairing panels and be in attendance, so this is also a useful chance to get some constructive feedback on your work from a wide variety of disciplinary experts.
Each paper should be 20 minutes. First year students are welcome to present shorter papers of 10 minutes if so desired. There will be Q&A sessions after each panel.
If you are interested in presenting, please send your name, a working title, and a few sentences describing the paper to birkbecklaw@gmail.com. This will enable us to organise the panels. However, if you would like to participate but need more time to develop your idea that is absolutely fine – just get in touch. It doesn’t have to be perfect at this stage!
The deadline for submission is 5pm Friday 29th April 2022.
We hope that this event will be a lovely chance for the Law & Criminology community to come together in-person for the first time in a while. However, we also acknowledge the many reasons that might make this impossible for some of us and so we are ready to explore hybrid options. If you want to participate but can only do so virtually, please get in touch with us. We are also keen to make the event as accessible as possible, so please let us know of any required adjustments if you are able to.
The BGRS is pleased to announce the 2022 Birkbeck 3 Minute Thesis Competition, which will take place on Thursday 16 June from 6pm. Please mark this date in your diaries! This will be the first competition to have taken place in person since 2019.
Birkbeck 3MT: Thursday 16 June 2022
Join a selection of Birkbeck PhD students as they compete to communicate their compelling thesis topics in just three minutes. This event is a fantastic opportunity to share and celebrate the interests and successes of PhD researchers from across the College and we invite all current Birkbeck PhD students to take part. The winner of the Birkbeck competition will be chosen by an expert panel of judges who will award:
£500 to the overall winner
£250 to the runner up
The audience will also have their say by picking a people’s choice winner who’ll win a special prize.
Training Sessions
As part of our support for the competition, a free programme of training sessions has been arranged. All potential 3MT competitors should attend these sessions. However, any or all of them are open to any doctoral researcher at Birkbeck who would like to gain skills in these areas:
Applications are invited for a fully-funded three-year CHASE doctoral studentship, jointly supervised within the Departments of Politics and International Studies (SOAS University of London), History, Classics and Archaeology (Birkbeck College, University of London), and the Arab and African Research Center (AARC) in Egypt.
Project
The studentship will support interdisciplinary (Politics and History) research examining the dynamics and dilemmas of transnational solidarity as exemplified in Egypt’s role as sponsor of South ern African liberation movements during the 1960s. This will be one of the first studies of its kind, contributing to scholarship on the Cold War, Afro-Asian decolonisation, and African liberation struggles’ contemporary legacies.
This project’s overall aims are to retrieve and analyse the shifting motivations, power balances, and mutual influences driving relations between the Egyptian state and the southern African liberation movements which it sponsored during the era of decolonisation, and to engage with theories of solidarity in politics and historical geography to evaluate these.
The successful candidate might focus specifically on one or a combination of the following questions: the nature of Egyptian diplomatic, financial support to, and influence on Southern African liberation movements; the place of Egypt in the political imaginaries of nationalist liberation activists’; the implications of the case study for theories of transnational solidarity; the role of Cairo as a Cold War city.
Supervision
The three supervisors will be Dr Reem Abou-El-Fadl (Politics, SOAS), Dr Hilary Sapire (History, Birkbeck) and Professor Helmi Sharawy (Director, AARC). This is an opportunity to work with two disciplinary/regional experts, and with both a scholar and former co-ordinator of African liberation movements in Egypt’s presidency (1958-1971).
Requirements
The PhD will commence in October 2022. The student will spend at least three months each at the AARC, and at archives in South Africa. Fluency in Arabic, a capacity to travel freely in Africa, and a first-class degree in Politics/History are essential.
Benefits
The candidate will benefit from two world-leading Departments, enjoying specialisms in Middle East and African politics at SOAS, with its internationally renowned research library, and expertise in global history, transnationalism, and African History at Birkbeck. Rigorous methods training will be offered at both institutions. The candidate will join the AARC’s Africanist research network and gain special access to its archives/publications. They will also participate in the University of London Southern African seminar series events and workshops.
Funding Amount
For the academic year 2022-23, the stipend will be £18,612 with London weighting. This includes enhanced stipend to cover additional travel costs relating to the project. The funding will cover UK fees.
How to Apply
Applications for this studentship must be made via the SOAS University of London application form, available at this link , by Friday 6 May 2022 at 12 noon. Applicants must provide two references in support of their application.
Candidates will be assessed by a shortlisting process, and shortlisted candidates will be interviewed. Interview outcomes will be received by the Management Board for approval.
Birkbeck awards over 100 research degrees each year. So far in 2022, up to the end of February, 18 Birkbeck Doctoral Researchers were awarded a PhD or Professional Doctorate for their work in the following areas:
School of Arts
3 PhDs in History of Art
3 PhDs in English, Theatre and Creative Writing
1 PhD in Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics
Our internationally renowned London Critical Theory Summer School returns on Birkbeck’s campus in central London this summer from 27 June to 8 July. The LCTSS may revert to either a hybrid model or a full-scale online programme if Covid-related restrictions globally require us to do so.
Throughout the two weeks, attendees will be immersed in a substantial programme of study with the acclaimed critical thinkers Jodi Dean, Achille Mbembe, Sarah Nuttall, Etienne Balibar, Costas Douzinas, Stephen Frosh, Esther Leslie, Jacqueline Rose and Slavoj Žižek. We are also welcoming Sisonke Msimang as part of our strengthening connections to the WISER institute (Johannesberg).
The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities are pleased to offer three bursaries to Birkbeck students and one bursary to an international student to cover the full cost of fees, travel and accommodation during the period of the Summer School in central London.
This year, there will also be a LCTSS Virtual Programme, an educational experience for those: unsure whether they are ready for the full in person course; with concerns about travel; or on a reduced budget.
The deadline for applications is Friday 18 March. Application forms are available here.
The Essay Film Festival returns in March and April for its eighth edition, with a focus on politically engaged and collectively authored essayistic film practices.
The festival will take place between 19 March & 23 April.
The Essay Film Festival is organised by the Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image in collaboration with the ICA and with support from CHASE.
Around the World in 80 Snippets: Scissors-and-Paste Journalism in a Global Context
Tuesday 8th March | 1800 – 2030 | Online event
This workshop will introduce participants to the Atlas of Digitised Newspapers and Metadata and explore emerging methodologies for working across multiple digitised collections including the development of the Scissors-and-Paste Database. It will work with participants to develop best practice in searching, browsing, mining, and interrogating online collections and working with a variety of tools to build up a contextualised and robust dataset for a variety of different projects as well as discuss how the history of newspapers and newspaper archives continues to shape our historical scholarship.
Animating Archives are pleased to share the details and open bookings for their third workshop entitled Archivable. Led by Beth Bramich and Hatty Nestor, this session aims to introduce PhD researchers to a range of creative approaches to working with materials held in the Jo Spence Memorial Library Archive. There will be a short presentation by archivist Charlene Heath, who oversees the Jo Spence archive at the Ryerson Image Centre (RIC) in Toronto, Canada.
Thursday 24th March 2022 11:00-12:30 | Online (zoom)
Carolina Orloff, Cecilia Rossi and Polly Barton
Moderated by Ashley Barr
The role of a literary translator is often under-appreciated, but with the International Man Booker Prize and rise in translated works published in the UK, translators are finally being recognised for their creativity. Latin American works-in-translation publisher Carolina Orloff, translator Polly Barton and UEA’s Dr Cecilia Rossi discuss the current boom in translated works and how this is shaping the UK publishing industry. Could this be a professional avenue for researchers able to speak two or more languages?
The value of creative writing retreats and writer’s awards
Thursday 26th May 2022 11:00-12:30 | Online (zoom)
Rachel Humphries and Mary Morris
Moderated by Karítas Hrundar Pálsdóttir
Rachel and Mary discuss the value of their creative writing retreats and residential courses, and how incorporating an online programme has reached writers that otherwise would not have access to retreats. Rachel also discusses the Bridge Awards Emerging Writer prize and the value it has for writers. What careers might centres such as Moniack and Arvon offer Creative and Critical Writing researchers? And what pedagogical considerations are taken into account for the workshops/retreats/courses they offer?Register here
Cumberland Lodge offers doctoral students in the UK a unique opportunity to benefit from a close association with our work and discussions for two years.
The Cumberland Lodge Fellowship offers doctoral students who are firmly committed to promoting social progress the chance to set themselves apart, by deepening their understanding of pressing societal issues from a cross-sector perspective, and developing valuable skills in public engagement, networking, communication and interdisciplinary working.
Every year in the spring, nine Cumberland Lodge Fellows are selected through a competitive application that is open to doctoral students from universities and higher education institutions across the UK. A tenth is nominated by the Council for At-Risk Academics, which supports international academics who are at risk of persecution, conflict or violence in their home countries to study or work in the UK. Our Amy Buller PhD Scholar, who is supported financially to complete a PhD at Royal Holloway, University of London, also becomes a Cumberland Lodge Fellow for the duration of their three-year Scholarship.
A unique opportunity
Launched in 2014 and originally known as the Cumberland Lodge Scholarship, the Cumberland Lodge Fellowship is designed to fit around the demands of doctoral research. It is open to students of any age who are enrolled on a doctoral programme (on a part-time or full-time basis), and to those undertaking professional doctorates as well as more traditional paths of study.
Cumberland Lodge Fellows play an active role in our interdisciplinary conferences, consultations, public lectures and other programmes, and receive ongoing mentoring and support from our staff.
They have the chance to network with senior figures in public life and to participate in, or help to lead discussions with, people of all ages, backgrounds and perspectives that ultimately inform recommendations for practical action and policy change.
What’s involved?
Ten new Fellows join us each year in September, at the start of the academic year, beginning with a residential weekend retreat at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor Great Park, to which the previous year’s cohort of Fellows are also invited.
Cumberland Lodge Fellows have the chance to be involved in our conferences, consultations, seminars, report launches and retreats, with support from Cumberland Lodge staff. This may include:
leading workshops and/or chairing panel discussions
taking part in cross-sector discussions
proactively networking with fellow delegates at Cumberland Lodge events
supporting Cumberland Lodge staff with event facilitation
writing engaging newsletter articles and blog posts
supporting the promotion of our programmes and outputs to the wider public.
Fellows also have the opportunity to contribute to the development of our programme of events and activities, and are expected to act as an ambassador for our work and programmes, at university and beyond.
Personal development
Fellows are invited to apply for a Personal Development Grant of up to £300 during the two-year fellowship period, to use creatively to enhance their skills and promote progress towards more peaceful, open and inclusive societies.
How to apply
To apply for a 2022-24 Cumberland Lodge Fellowship, please download and complete the application form in the resources section of this webpage, and return it to: Fellows2022@cumberlandlodge.ac.uk
Applications must be received by 12noon on Friday 8 April 2022.
If you are shortlisted for interview you will be informed by Tuesday 26 April, and interviews will take place online via Zoom on Thursday 5 May 2022. Please note that, due to the high number of anticipated applications, we are unable to provide feedback if you are not invited to interview. If you have not heard back from us by Tuesday 26 April, we regret that you have not been shortlisted for interview. If you have any questions that are not answered above, please email us at: programmeteam@cumberlandlodge.ac.uk
Eligibility
To take part in our competitive application process, you must be able to demonstrate that you are:
committed to promoting more peaceful, open and inclusive societies, through your academic research and/or other activities
committed to enabling social progress
studying for a doctorate at a UK university (in any academic discipline or area of study), for the duration of the Fellowship period* (expected completion not before June 2024)
able to provide the names of two referees (one academic, i.e. your doctoral supervisor, and one non-academic) who will vouch for your eligibility and support your application
able to attend the initial residential Fellows’ Retreat at Cumberland Lodge, on 9-11 September 2022
committed to the full two-year programme (even if you complete your doctorate before August 2024).
You should also demonstrate an openness to working across disciplines and engaging with a wide range of subject matters, and explain how you think a Cumberland Lodge Fellowship will benefit your work and life, both now and in the future.
* Please note:
We accept all types of doctoral study equally, including full-time, part-time and non-traditional pathways or professional doctorate programmes. You will most likely (but not necessarily) be in the first year of your doctorate.
If you are currently registered for a Master’s degree and hope to go on to study for a doctorate, you are not yet eligible to apply.
If you are on an agreed pathway to doctoral study, but have not yet transferred from Master’s to doctoral status, you are eligible to apply, providing your supervisor can confirm you are already working to doctoral standard, as part of your application.
We do not provide financial assistance for tuition fees or maintenance, but we do provide Fellows attending our events with meals, accommodation and economy-rate travel expenses to and from our events within the UK, from our charitable funds.
Meet our Fellows
Follow the links below to find out more about our current Fellows.
