11
SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities Arts & Humanities Graduate Studies Newsletter WELCOME to the second issue of the School of Arts and Humanities Graduate Studies Newsletter. For many postgraduate students at Stirling, March is the mid-point of their learning experience at Stirling. Studies are in full swing, they are working closely with their tutors and the various student services, and new friendships are firmly in place. Amid the hectic pace of graduate life at Stirling, thoughts might also turn to what happens next. Responding to the varied needs of our students, and connecting their learning to future employment and the changing needs of the modern creative and cultural industries features strongly in much of the activity across the School. In this issue of our Graduate Studies Newsletter we have a number of fascinating examples of how graduate study in Arts & Humanities links to future careers or continuing research in related subjects areas. Claire Squires, Professor of Publishing, informs us of exciting opportunities for creative writing and publishing students, who will have the chance to engage with, and learn from, leading writers in a new international festival dedicated to crime fiction, Bloody Scotland. Cristina Johnston, Director of the MRes and MSc in Translation Studies recounts a field trip to the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh where students had the opportunity to meet practitioners and learn some of the modern techniques of cultural translation. We also have two feature articles from our graduate alumni, Suti Sahariah and Stefanie Van Der Peer, about their post-Stirling careers in both industry and academia. Both Suti and Stefanie are among a growing network of international alumni associated with Arts & Humanities at Stirling, and Tim Fitzgerald discusses what internationalisation means for both staff and students at the university. We encourage our research students to engage with a wider academic community wherever possible. In this issue we feature a range of research symposia and activities involving our students. This includes a short report from our first Postgraduate Research Conference held in January. Run by students for students, the event proved a huge success, and involved students from other Scottish universities. I hope you enjoy reading our second issue. With best wishes, Dr Richard Haynes Director of Graduate Studies School of Arts and Humanities E-mail: [email protected] IN THIS ISSUE Bloody Scotland, and AHRC Digital Transformations Project: The Book Unbound Claire Squires MLitt Modern Scottish Writing Scott Hames MLitt English Language and Literature Andrew Smith Translation Studies at the Royal Observatory Cristina Johnston ASMCF, ADEFFI and SSFH Postgraduate Study Day Cristina Johnston What kind of Internationalization? Tim Fitzgerald Digital Media, Publishing and Law Media and Culture Graham Meikle New Research in Revolutions Launched at Stirling Kevin Adamson & Mike Rapport Arts & Humanities Alumni Stephanie Van De Peer, Suti Sahariah, Sophie Jones New Law Appointments Postgraduate Conference Report MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

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Page 1: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

A r t s & H u m a n i t i e s

G r a d u a t e S t u d i e s N e w s l e t t e r

WELCOME to the second issue of the School of Arts and

Humanities Graduate Studies Newsletter.

For many postgraduate students

at Stirling, March is the mid-point

of their learning experience at

Stirling. Studies are in full swing,

they are working closely with their

tutors and the various student

services, and new friendships are

firmly in place. Amid the hectic

pace of graduate life at Stirling,

thoughts might also turn to what

happens next.

Responding to the varied needs of

our students, and connecting their

learning to future employment

and the changing needs of the

modern creative and cultural

industries features strongly in

much of the activity across the

School. In this issue of our

Graduate Studies Newsletter we

have a number of fascinating

examples of how graduate study

in Arts & Humanities links to

future careers or continuing

research in related subjects areas.

Claire Squires, Professor of

Publishing, informs us of exciting

opportunities for creative writing

and publishing students, who will

have the chance to engage with,

and learn from, leading writers in

a new international festival

dedicated to crime fiction, Bloody

Scotland.

Cristina Johnston, Director of the

MRes and MSc in Translation

Studies recounts a field trip to the

Royal Observatory in Edinburgh

where students had the

opportunity to meet practitioners

and learn some of the modern

techniques of cultural translation.

We also have two feature articles

from our graduate alumni, Suti

Sahariah and Stefanie Van Der

Peer, about their post-Stirling

careers in both industry and

academia. Both Suti and Stefanie

are among a growing network of

international alumni associated

with Arts & Humanities at Stirling,

and Tim Fitzgerald discusses what

internationalisation means for

both staff and students at the

university.

We encourage our research

students to engage with a wider

academic community wherever

possible. In this issue we feature a

range of research symposia and

activities involving our students.

This includes a short report from

our first Postgraduate Research

Conference held in January. Run

by students for students, the

event proved a huge success, and

involved students from other

Scottish universities.

I hope you enjoy reading our

second issue.

With best wishes,

Dr Richard Haynes

Director of Graduate Studies

School of Arts and Humanities

E-mail: [email protected]

IN THIS ISSUE

Bloody Scotland, and

AHRC Digital Transformations

Project: The Book Unbound

Claire Squires

MLitt Modern Scottish Writing

Scott Hames

MLitt English Language and

Literature

Andrew Smith

Translation Studies at the Royal

Observatory

Cristina Johnston

ASMCF, ADEFFI and SSFH

Postgraduate Study Day

Cristina Johnston

What kind of Internationalization?

Tim Fitzgerald

Digital Media, Publishing and Law

Media and Culture

Graham Meikle

New Research in Revolutions

Launched at Stirling

Kevin Adamson & Mike Rapport

Arts & Humanities Alumni

Stephanie Van De Peer, Suti

Sahariah, Sophie Jones

New Law Appointments

Postgraduate Conference Report

MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

Page 2: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

Bloody Scotland

Claire Squires

Staff and students at Stirling will

be teaming up with Bloody

Scotland a new international

crime festival to be held in Stirling

from 14-16 September 2012. The

festival will feature some of

Scotland’s biggest crime writers,

including Ian Rankin, who spoke

at the recent press launch of the

festival revealing that the climax

of his new novel The Impossible

Dead takes place in Stirling. A

number of international crime

writing stars will also be joining

the Scottish contingent in Stirling.

Bloody Scotland is going to be

working in collaboration with

Stirling’s Creative Writing courses

and the Stirling Centre for

International Publishing and

Communication for ‘Creative

Friday’: a series of creative

writing events including

workshops, masterclasses, and a

publishers’ and agents’ forum.

There will also be internship

opportunities for our students at

the festival. More details to

come… but don’t go down any

dark alleyways in the meantime.

AHRC Digital

Transformations

Project: The Book

Unbound

We’ve just heard that the Stirling

Centre for International

Publishing and Communication

has been awarded a grant from

the AHRC in its Digital

Transformations Research

Development call.

Our project, ‘The Book Unbound:

Disruption and Disintermediation

in the Digital Age’, will be led by

the Centre’s Director, Professor

Claire Squires, with Dr Padmini

Ray Murray (Lecturer in

Publishing Studies) and Dr Paula

Morris (Lecturer in Creative

Writing) as Co-Investigators. The

staff team will be completed by

Scott Russell, as an External

Consultant. We’ll also be working

with the Electric Bookshop in

order to present some of our

findings, and there will also be

opportunities for collaborations

between creative writing and

publishing students.

The project will examine changing

business models in the digital

publishing environment and their

impact on the communications

circuit and notions of authority,

authorship, audiences and access.

It will do this both via a series of

case studies, and an experimental

mode (live publishing – watch this

space!).

We’ll have a new website up with

full details of the project soon,

but if you’d like any information

about it in the meantime, please

get in touch via our Contact page.

For more information on

Publishing programmes, visit,

http://www.publishing.stir.ac.uk/

courses/mlitt-in-publishing-

studies/ or e-mail Claire Squires,

[email protected]

BLOODY SCOTLAND

Staff and students at Stirling will be teaming up with

Bloody Scotland, a new international crime festival to

be held in Stirling from 14-16 September 2012.

http://www.bloodyscotland.com/

MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

Page 3: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

Modern Scottish

Writing

Scott Hames/Suzanne

Gilbert

It’s an exciting time to study

Scottish culture. As the

independence debate intensifies,

fresh attention is being paid to

the role of Scottish writers in

shaping political identities – and

the writers themselves are being

‘claimed’ on both sides of the

constitutional question. Just

yesterday the Prime Minister

began a speech celebrating the

Union by invoking Walter Scott

and Robert Louis Stevenson;

elsewhere, James Kelman and Liz

Lochhead are positioned as

‘Braveheart’ nationalists by

media commentators who seem

not to have read much of these

writers’ work. Each of these

alignments is simplistic, and ripe

for further debate.

In this spirit Dr Scott Hames is

editing a collection of essays by

30 writers on the independence

debate, to be published by Word

Power books at the end of 2012.

Figures including Alasdair Gray,

A.L. Kennedy, Alan Warner and

Kathleen Jamie have agreed to

take part, and five writers from

the book project will publish brief

versions of their essays in The

Times newspaper in the coming

weeks.

New activity abounds. A student

reading group on Scottish

literature will be launched at

Stirling in the coming months,

and the web presence of the

Centre for Scottish studies is

being revamped to include a new

blog. Among our postgraduate

students, Meghan McAvoy

recently gave a paper on the

politics of the Scottish folksong

revival at the University of

Strathclyde, while Barbara

Leonardi is preparing for

conferences in Finland and

Malta, where she’ll present

research on James Hogg – a new

edition of whose Scottish

Pastoral will shortly be published

by Dr Suzanne Gilbert. Busy and

energising times in the study of

Scottish literature.

For more information on the

MLitt Modern Scottish Writing,

visit -

http://www.english.stir.ac.uk/po

stgraduate/taught-

degrees/msw.php or e-mail the

Programme Directors, Scott

Hames at [email protected]

or Suzanne Gilbert at

[email protected]

MLitt English

Language and

Linguistics

Andrew Smith

Our new MLitt in English

Language and Linguistics was

successfully launched in

September with a vibrant and

highly motivated group of part-

time students on the

foundational Structures of

Language module. We will

continue this Spring into a more

intensive examination of specific

areas of study through specialist

option modules, including

Sociolinguistics and Varieties of

English and Historical Linguistics

and the History of English.

On the research front, a very

enlightening and well-attended

symposium on Communication

and Interaction: Applications for

Healthcare was organised in

Stirling in January by Bethan

Benwell and May McCreadie,

which explored the use of

Conversation Analysis in

therapeutic and nursing contexts.

Over the next few months, ELL

staff will be presenting their

research to a variety of different

groups, including international

conferences (EVOLANG, Kyoto),

international workshops

(Bologna) and local research

groups (Edinburgh).

For up-to-date news on English

Language and Linguistics at

Stirling, visit www.ell.stir.ac.uk

For more information on the

MLitt English Language and

Literature, visit -

http://www.ell.stir.ac.uk/English

_Language_and_Linguistics_at_St

irling/Home.html or e-mail the

Programme Director, Andrew

Smith at

[email protected]

Page 4: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

Translation Studies at

the Royal Observatory

Cristina Johnston

In Autumn 2011, the students on

Stirling’s MRes in Translation

Studies and MSc in Translation

Studies and TESOL travelled to

the Royal Observatory in

Edinburgh for a site visit as part

of their coursework on a module

examining Cultural Translation.

The students spent a morning at

the Observatory on Blackford Hill,

meeting first with William Taylor

and then with Karen Moran.

William is a PhD student who

works as a Science Communicator

at the Observatory and on

outreach projects, bringing

astronomy and aspects of his own

research to a wide range of

audiences. Karen is the

Observatory’s Librarian and is

responsible for the Crawford

Collection with its 15000 items

charting the history of astronomy

and the Observatory across the

centuries and across languages.

The aim of these site visits, is for

the students to get an

opportunity to meet with

practitioners whose everyday

work involves the communication

of ideas across disciplinary and

linguistic boundaries, often

having to ‘translate’ or adapt

information for non-specialist

audiences. In this way, the

students are able to reflect on

different means of

communication, different forms

that can be taken by the same

message, and ultimately on their

own practice as budding linguistic

translators.

In the Spring semester, the

students will follow up on their

Observatory site visit with a visit

of the National Library of

Scotland, where they will spend a

few hours with Chris Taylor, who

works with the NLS’s foreign

language holdings.

For further information on

Translation Studies, visit this

page -

http://www.stir.ac.uk/postgradua

te/programme-

information/prospectus/slcr/tran

slation-studies or contact Dr

Cristina Johnston,

[email protected]

ASMCF, ADEFFI and

SSFH Postgraduate

Study Day

Martin Verbeke and Angus

MacDonald, who are both

currently writing PhDs on aspects

of French and Francophone

culture, will be presenting papers

at the annual Study Day

organised by the Association for

the Study of Modern and

Contemporary France at the

University of Sheffield on 3rd

March. Martin’s paper will be

entitled “A Sociolinguistic

Analysis of French Rap Music: The

Importance of Teaching Familiar

and Vulgar French and French

Slang at University” while Angus

will be speaking on “New French

horror and the trauma of the

future.” The Study Day will also

include two professional

development sessions focusing

on topics such as academic

publishing and research in action

and Martin and Angus will be

presenting their work alongside

Postgraduate students from

across the UK and Ireland.

TRANSLATION STUDIES

View an introductory video on Translation Studies by the Programme Director, Dr Cristina Johnston.

MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

Page 5: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

New Research in

Revolutions Launched

at Stirling

Kevin Adamson and

Mike Rapport

Mike Rapport and Kevin

Adamson of the University’s

School of Arts and

Humanities have launched a

research initiative in

comparative revolution

studies with a piece in

History Workshop Online

looking at the Domino

Revolutions of 1848, 1989

and 2011, of interest to

students following MRes and

PhD programmes focused on

the study of revolutions.

Further information can be

found here -

http://www.historyworkshop

.org.uk/the-domino-

revolutions-1848-1989-2011-

2/ and find our group on

Facebook

[Picture above of protestors in

Tahrir Square, Cairo, 2011,

attached copyright Mostafa

Heddaya, permission kindly

given for use from American

Circus magazine amcircus.com]

What kind of

internationalization?

Some thoughts from the

Underground

Tim Fitzgerald

Tim Fitzgerald, Jamal Bahmad,

Shani Zour, Sean Frye, Martin

Verbeke and other PG's have been

asking about the concept of

Internationalization, what it means,

and how raising its profile can

enhance the position of PG's at

Stirling. There are various groups

and actions at Stirling concerned

with Internationalization but they

have very different aims from each

other. For example, the Students'

International Society is a social

student union club, which anyone

can join. Its current president is

undergraduate student Alexandra

Cron. We joined them in

Underground recently for a

welcome event and enjoyed the

social atmosphere.

However, our group has been

thinking a lot about how we can

not only encourage social

interaction but also raise the

profile of 'international' research

topics and the international

backgrounds of their researchers.

The greatest interest so far has

been expressed in favour of raising

money to invite genuinely

prominent and influential

intellectuals from non-European

countries - from Africa, Asia,

Oceania or Native America for

instance. There are high-level

debates going on around the

world, which we have much to

learn from, because researchers

and thinkers in those countries are

dealing with issues they know

about at first hand and which

might challenge and shift our

'western' theoretical perspectives.

We are interested in pursuing

further discussion with a wider

range of Stirling PG's. If anyone is

aware of other internationalization

ventures at Stirling, or would be

willing to share some ideas with us

about raising the profile of PG's

with international backgrounds or

international topics, then please

feel free to contact any one of us.

We'd be happy to hear your views

on these issues, such as which

prominent scholar to invite and

how to fund the invitation, how

and where to set it up, and how to

promote such an event. We're also

interested in hearing ideas about

how to publicise and maximise the

visibility of the international

postgraduate community and

research, and any other additional

activities we ought to consider.

Dr Timothy Fitzgerald

Reader in Religion

[email protected]

http://www.criticalreligion.stir.ac.u

k/

Page 6: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

Digital Media,

Publishing and Law

Graham Meikle

The new MLitt in Digital Media,

Publishing and Law launches in

September 2012. This is a

Master’s degree about the

important developments that are

shaping the creative industries. It

offers students the opportunity

to explore legal, theoretical and

industry perspectives on digital

communications, on

contemporary cultural industries,

and on the law of copyright and

intellectual property. “We’re very

excited about this degree”, says

programme director Dr Graham

Meikle. “It’s an innovative and

original programme that draws

on some of the best existing

degrees we offer here at Stirling,

and combines these into a new

and flexible Master’s.”

Students will take core modules

in digital media, in the dynamics

of the publishing industries, and

in intellectual property law. They

will also take optional modules

which let them specialise in

aspects of media, and/or law,

and/or publishing studies.

Candidates for the Master’s can

choose to concentrate on media

classes, where they can learn

about advertising, about media

economics, about journalism and

digital media, or about media

policy and regulation. They might

decide to concentrate on

publishing studies, where they

will learn about marketing

management, editing, and

content creation. Or they might

decide to concentrate on law,

where they can take classes in

the law of information

technology, sports law or

intellectual property. “Or you

could combine parts of all of

these into the Master’s

programme that’s best for you,”

says Dr Meikle.

This master’s in Digital Media,

Publishing and Law is for people

who want to better understand

contemporary communication,

and its legal, regulatory and

industrial contexts. It’s for those

who work in the creative

industries or who want to work in

those industries in the future.

And it’s for those who recognise

that their careers will benefit

from gaining a competitive edge

in a market that values high-level

skills in communication, research

and critical thinking.

More details here:

http://www.fmjpg.stir.ac.uk/digit

al-media-publishing-and-law

DIGITAL MEDIA,

PUBLISHING AND

LAW

View an introductory video on Digital Media, Publishing and Law by the Programme Director, Dr Graham Meikle.

Page 7: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

Media and Culture

Graham Meikle

MLitt in Media and Culture

programme director Dr Graham

Meikle published his latest book in

December 2011. Co-authored with

Dr Sherman Young of Macquarie

University in Sydney, Australia, the

book is called Media Convergence:

Networked Digital Media in

Everyday Life. This book is about

how networked digital media are

being used to bring together

people and ideas, images and

texts, industries and technologies

in new ways - media convergence.

The book explores the

development of the Internet, the

rise of social media, the global

expansion and consolidation of the

major media corporations, and the

new opportunities for audiences to

create, remix, collaborate upon

and share their own media. The

book focuses on how everyday

media - such as Facebook, iTunes

and Google - can be understood in

new ways for the twenty-first

century through ideas of

convergence.

"Media are what we do. With this

deceptively simple yet particularly

powerful assertion, Meikle and

Young successfully benchmark

contemporary media" -- Mark

Deuze, author Media Life.

"Meikle and Young's 'Media

Convergence' is intelligent,

sensible, precise and timely" --

David Gauntlett, author Making is

Connecting.

You can download the introduction

here, and get a good idea of what’s

involved in the core spring module

MCCPX1 Digital Cultures

http://www.palgrave.com/product

s/title.aspx?pid=344515

Two new option modules will be

offered in 2012 as part of the MLitt

in Media and Culture.

MCCPX8 News, Journalism and

Digital Media explores the news

environment of the twenty-first

century — an environment that is

both broadcast and broadband.

Content, distribution channels,

geographical constraints,

production values, business

models, regulatory approaches and

cultural habits are all changing as

new media technologies are

adopted and adapted by users,

often in unexpected ways. Cheap

hardware and software allow

anyone to blog or comment, calling

into question the distinction

between news and views.

Ubiquitous mobiles with inbuilt

cameras make everyone a

potential on-site correspondent.

Higher-quality software and

bandwidth bring near-broadcast

quality to video blogs and citizen

journalism. Platforms such as

Twitter offer a stream of tiny

headlines from news organisations,

celebrities, politicians, and your

next-door neighbour. For many

people, the news is no longer just

something they read, listen to or

watch — the news is now

something they do. This module

discusses and explores these

developments, and sets them in

the context of existing

understandings of news.

PCMPX3 Advertising introduces

students to the theory and practice

of advertising. The module begins

by focusing on the key stages in

the production of an ad campaign,

including the role of the creative

brief, the ways in which ads target

very specific audiences, and the

different media used in campaigns.

It then goes on to explore the role

of branding, how advertising

creates meaning, and issues of

regulation. You will learn how to

analyse advertisements and

evaluate critiques of advertising,

and you will learn how advertising

functions as part of an integrated

marketing communications mix.

For further information on the

MLitt in Media and Culture, visit

this page -

http://www.fmjpg.stir.ac.uk/ or

contact Dr Graham Meikle,

[email protected]

Page 8: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

Arts and Humanities Alumni

Suti Sahariah

Graduated with MSc in

Media Management in

2009

I graduated with a master’s

degree in media management

from Stirling University in 2009.

After completing my studies I

interned with a prestigious public

relations company in London,

and soon got a full time job with

a PR company in Swindon – I

worked there for one year.

I have now returned to my home

country India, and recently joined

an English news channel as their

London correspondent. I am

currently in New Delhi; however,

I will be posted in London and my

job will involve reporting from

the UK and Europe on stories of

global importance or that have

relevance to the Indian audience

at large.

I worked as a journalist in India

before going to Stirling, but my

objective of doing a degree in

media management was to gain

an understanding of

management issues and

challenges facing the media

industry in general. I also wanted

to enhance my career prospects

by applying the knowledge

gained on degree in different

media environments. I chose

Stirling University because I liked

the course content, and also

because of the beauty and sports

facilities at the campus, which

sometimes I still miss!

My degree at Stirling not only

prepared me with the skills

needed for a global media career,

but more importantly gave me

the confidence to explore various

media related sectors where the

learning could be applied. I was

able to use my media research

and strategic management skills

– things learnt in my degree- to a

great effect whilst working in

public relations in England. Now

as a journalist, the understanding

of the UK media environment is

becoming handy to quickly nail

down the news sources.

Overall, I really enjoyed my

studies and stay in Stirling and

hope the same for present and

future students.

Alumni Careers Visit

by Sophie Jones

Former Media Management

graduate, Sophie Jones, will be

visiting the campus in April as

part of the university’s

Pathfinder Careers Event.

Sophie is Head of Corporate

Relations for the broadcaster

Channel 4 and graduated from

the online programme in 2002.

Sophie joined Channel 4 in 2008

having previously worked in

corporate affairs for ITN. She will

be giving a talk on careers in the

broadcasting industry and will be

available to talk informally to

students about opportunities in

the media during a break-out

session.

Further details of the Pathfinder

event being held on 16 April are

on the Careers Development

Centre Website:

http://www.careers.stir.ac.uk/stu

dents/pathfinder/

For further information on

Media Management, visit –

http://www.fmjpg.stir.ac.uk/

or contact Dr Richard Haynes,

[email protected]

Page 9: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

Arts and Humanities Alumni

MARCH 2012 GRADUATE STUDIES NEWSLETTER ISSUE 2

Stefanie Van De Peer

Graduated with PhD in

French 2011

“I did my PhD in what was the

School of Languages, Cultures

and Religions, between 2007 and

2011. I researched filmmaking in

North Africa, focusing on

documentaries made by women.

The staff were all very supportive

and I especially loved the

interdisciplinary nature of

everyone’s work. The

atmosphere in the corridors was

just so convivial and

collaborative. I loved being there.

Following my viva in August

2011, I travelled to the US, where

I had been awarded a semester-

long research fellowship at the

Five College Women Studies

Research Center in

Massachusetts

(http://www.fivecolleges.edu/sit

es/fcwsrc/). The experience was

amazing, not only on an

intellectual but also on a social

and an emotional level. I met the

most amazing activist feminist

women, who inspired me to keep

working really hard for what I

believe in, and to keep being an

ambitious young woman. It is

difficult to pinpoint what exactly

is the difference between British

and US-based academics, but I

feel I am now really benefiting

from having experienced

academia on both sides of the

Atlantic.

I am still working on

transnational feminist

documentary making and will

continue to do so. While in my

PhD I focused on the pioneering

women, such as Ateyyat El

Abnoudy, Selma Baccar, Izza

genini and Assia Djebar, I now

look at the younger generations

making documentaries in the

Maghreb, Egypt and also in the

Levant. I am simultaneously

anxious and excited about what

is happening in the Maghreb and

the rest of the Arab world during

the Arab Revolutions. I think it

can potentially open doors for

women documentary makers,

and indeed it is already doing so.

Nadia El Fani from Tunisia, a few

other young filmmakers in Egypt

and some women in Syria, like

Soudade Kaadan and Reem Ali,

are confronting their recent

history head on. Women in Syria

are using the revolution as a

backdrop and central theme to

new films, shot digitally and

secretly.

I have recently published a few

articles on Syrian filmmakers, and

am working on a publication that

talks about how animation is

used in documentaries from the

Middle East, confronting issues of

representability and reality. A

book on Art and Trauma in

Africa, co-edited with Lizelle

Bisshoff (University of

Edinburgh), will be published

with IB Tauris in May 2012.

I now work as a senior research

fellow at the Winchester School

of Art at Southampton University

(http://www.southampton.ac.uk/

wsa), where we are setting up a

new research centre, called the

Centre for Global Futures in Art,

Design and Media. We are

organizing exhibitions, events

and film screenings, and

attempting to bring academic

research into the wider

community, thinking about how

it can benefit society and how

society can influence research. I

find it all very exciting. Being in

an arts school is different again

from what I am used to, but it is

extremely stimulating and makes

for interesting brain gymnastics. I

am for example absolutely in the

right place to write a paper on

graphic art and animation in

documentaries – combining high

arts with activism. The rector of

the School is Palestinian artist

Bashir Makhoul, who is a total

inspiration. I am very lucky to be

here, now.”

For further information about

PhD opportunities in French,

Spanish, Global Cinema or

Religion at Stirling, please see

www.slcr.stir.ac.uk

Page 10: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

A&H New Law Appointments

Dr Raphael Heffron Raphael’s research interests are in energy and electricity policy and in particular on low carbon emitting energy. Of particular

importance is the aim to understand the legal challenges involved in planning for energy infrastructure projects focusing on the

EU and the US. Raphael's other research interests include competition, planning and public law and policy. Prior to taking up his

appointment at the University of Stirling, Raphael was a member of the Electricity Policy Research Group at the University of

Cambridge where he is in the final stages of completing his PhD. Before attending Cambridge, Raphael trained as a barrister

(Barrister-at-Law), and was called to the Bar in July 2007 in the Republic of Ireland. He holds degrees from Trinity College Dublin

(BA, MA), the University of St. Andrews (MLitt), and the University of Cambridge (MPhil). In the past he has held visiting

positions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA (visiting student), The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA

(visiting scholar), and the British Institute for International and Comparative Law (visiting research fellow). Raphael has been

involved as a Teaching Assistant/Supervisor in 10 courses at the University of Cambridge, including Technology Policy, Business

Law, and Nuclear Energy Policy at Masters (MPhil and MBA) level. Raphael is a member of the International Nuclear Lawyers

Association and the International Bar Association, and European Nuclear Energy Forum – Nuclear Legal Roadmap Group.

Dr Oles Andriychuk Dr Oles Andriychuk studied law in Ukraine (Lutsk, Kyiv), the Czech Republic (Charles University in Prague) and Italy (European

University Institute, Florence). His main research is focused on the philosophical aspects of European competition law, exploring

the phenomena of economic freedom and competition from the perspective of legal, political and moral philosophy. He has also

published articles in the area of jurisprudence and legal theory, European law, antitrust law, constitutional law, media law and

the theory of adjudication. Before moving to Stirling he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the ESRC Centre for Competition

Policy (University of East Anglia). He also taught Competition Law; Law and Morality (Jurisprudence) and EU Law at the UEA Law

School. His research has been recently presented at the various international (Bonn, EUI Florence, Frankfurt, Tilburg) and

domestic (KCL, Oxford, UCL, QMUL) forums. The most representative publication, which outlines his main normative and

methodological research questions is Oles Andriychuk, 'Rediscovering the Spirit of Competition: On the Normative Value of the

Competitive Process', European Competition Journal, Vol. 6, No. 3, 2010

(http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1781512).

Dr Belén Olmos Giupponi Dr Belén Olmos Giupponi is an Assistant Professor of International Law and International Relations at Rey Juan Carlos University

in Madrid. She was born in Argentina, where she worked as an attorney and taught International Law during the period 1998-

2000. In 2004 she earned a Ph.D. in Law from the University Carlos III. She holds an M.A. in Human Rights (University Carlos III)

and a Magister in International Relations (Advanced Studies Centre, Argentina). Author and editor of various books: Human

rights and regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean (2006), New Perspectives of Democratic Principle in America

(2007), The Law of MERCOSUR/Edited with M. Franca Filho and L. Lixinski (Hart, 2010) and Climate change, human rights and

the environment (2011). She has also published fifteen articles in peer-reviewed science journals. Her research has been

featured in journals in economic integration and cooperation, human rights, environmental law and international migrations.

She was a Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow at the European University Institute (2007/2009) and, previously, a Research Fellow

at the Istituto di Studi Giuridici Internazionali (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche) in Rome in 2006 and at the Centre de

Recherche sur les Identités Nationales et l'Interculturalité (CRINI) of the University of Nantes - France- in 2005.

MARCH 2012 ISSUE 2

Page 11: Arts & Humanities Spring Newsletter

SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

Graduate Studies School of Arts and Humanities University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA Tel: 01786 467592 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.stir.ac.uk/schools/arts-and-humanities

CALENDAR:

APRIL

23rd – World Book Night book

domino rally. For more details

contact [email protected]

MAY

3rd - Industry Advisory Board,

Publishing Showcase and 30th

Anniversary Alumni Event For

more details contact

[email protected]

SEPTEMBER

The Bloody Scotland Masterclasses, in association with crime writing festival Bloody Scotland For more details go to http://www.bloodyscotland.com/

MARCH 2012 ISSUE 2

Postgraduate

Conference

On January 27th, 2012 over 40

postgraduate students from

Scotland and beyond gathered to

take part in “Funding the Future:

Ensuring Research

Development”, a workshop

organised by Stirling PhD and

Masters students. Aimed at

broadening postgraduates’

understanding of research

funding, the workshop began

with a presentation from Daniela

Bolle, Research Development

Manager at the University of

Stirling, on the key steps to take

when applying for funding. Next,

six postgraduates discussed their

topics and spurred energetic

debate around research

methodologies, challenges for,

and interdisciplinary

opportunities. Overall the day

reaffirmed the diversity and

value of postgraduate research

whilst forging new friendships

and academic ties.

Presenters

The AHRC and the Grant

Application Process - Ms. Daniela

Bolle, Research Development

Manager (University of Stirling)

Musical Interventions in the

Treatment of Anxiety - Ellen

Spaeth (University of Edinburgh)

The Future of Food - Francesco

Buscemi (University of Stirling)

Theological Reflections on

Criminal Justice in Melville's

Bartleby - Katja Neumann

(University of Stirling)

Hyperculturality and Transparency

- Judith Kahl (University of Dundee)

Redefining Religious Concepts

through Popular Television: The

Second Coming - Gemma Carroll

(University of Stirling)

Multi-disciplinary PhD: framing

the proposal within AHRC award

scheme - Val Dufeu (University of

Stirling)

NEXT ISSUE: MAY 2012

Items for next issue: send to [email protected] by 20 April 2012