Mediamorphosis will be held at the Attenborough Creativity Zone, University of Sussex.

Henry Jenkins (2004) describes how digital media potentially incorporates all previous media so that it no longer makes sense to think in medium-specific terms, problematising the concept of authenticity and authentic experience. In this one-day symposium, we are thus interested in questioning what is authentic experience within digital media? And what drives the pervasive cultural desire for an authentic experience? Because digitalisation inevitably alters the original in a mediamorphosis-like transformation, we are interested in exploring the authentic nature of this new object and experience. Mediamorphosis is a collective initiative by the Creative & Critical Practice Research Group.

Keynote speaker: Professor Sally Jane Norman (Director of the Attenborough Arts Centre)

Speakers and participants include (in alphabetical order):
Dr Camille Baker (Brunel University), Dr Caroline Bassett (University of Sussex), Cécile Chevalier (University of Sussex), Evren Eken (University of Sussex),  Kate Genevieve (Artist), Ian Grant (University of West London), Marlene Haring (Artist), Daniel Alexander Hignell (University of Sussex), Dr Birgitta Hosea (University of the Arts London), Aysenur Karabulut (University of Sussex), Simon Morse (Artist), Micheál O’Connell  (aka Mocksim, Artist), Dr Gascia Ouzounian (Queen’s University, Belfast), Joe Stephenson (Artist), James Stevenson (Victoria & Albert Museum).

The Mediamorphosis symposium is co-funded and supported by the Doctoral School’s Researcher-Led Initiative (RLI) Fund, University of Sussex. It is also supported by the Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts.

Links to:

• registration
• programme
• speakers

The Brilliant Club is an award-winning charity that recruits, trains and pays doctoral and post-doctoral researchers to deliver programmes of university-style teaching to small tutorial groups of high-performing pupils in schools that serve disadvantaged communities.

Over the course of this academic year we have placed 120 researchers in low participation schools in London, the South East and the West Midlands, where they have worked with over 2000 pupils.  14 of these tutors have come from the University of Sussex. Now, our summer placements will be giving researchers the chance to design and deliver a series of university-style tutorials based on their own research to high performing A-Level pupils (16-18 yrs), many of whom will be considering an application to study your subject at a top university.

During June and July, our tutors will be placed in a pair of schools in close proximity to one another, and they will work with a group of six high-performing pupils in each school, delivering a series of tutorials that takes them beyond the curriculum and helps them to develop the knowledge, skills and ambition necessary to secure places at top universities. Tutors will be supported by a training programme consisting of two half-day sessions and will accompany their pupils on two university trips, which will include their introductory and concluding tutorials.

In addition to earning up to £500 per placement, successful candidates will gain valuable teaching experience, enhance their knowledge of the UK education system and develop a programme of tutorials based on their own research with a chance to disseminate it to a non-expert audience. As well as this, they will also join a cohort of like-minded researchers who are interested in widening access to highly-selective universities.

Download the following documents for more information:

• Brilliant Club: Summer STEM Tutoring opportunity [PDF] 
• Brilliant Club: Summer Placements in London and the South East [PDF]

To apply to be a Brilliant Club tutor this summer, please find the application form on our website www.thebrilliantclub.org and send the completed form with a copy of your CV to apply@thebrilliantclub.org

We will be running the first assessment centre on Saturday 13^th April, so early applications are strongly encouraged. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to email us at apply@thebrilliantclub.org

It is with great pleasure that we can announce the opening of bookings for the 2013 Science Communication Conference on 16 and 17

The Science Communication Conference is the annual event that brings together the most diverse range of science communicators to meet each other, get new skills and discuss the biggest issues in public engagement.

Why attend?

• Gain new skills through the ‘Do It’ strand
• Find out more about inspiring projects and best practice through the ‘Discover It’ strand
• Debate the important issues through the ‘Discuss It’ strand
• Make new connections and find out about other delegates through our structured networking sessions
• Introduction to public engagement session for those who are new to the science communication community
• Pre-conference mixer and social events to meet other delegates and have a good time!

What delegates said in 2012:

“All the sessions and talks I went to were great – very interesting and inspirational.”

“It has provided an opportunity to discuss with others in the field who I may not otherwise get to talk with about what they do and how we could collaborate. It is also nice to get away from the desk and be enthused by others and reminded why we do this!”

“I think this conference has been excellent in providing an introduction to the field, raising the awareness of broader issues and facilitating networking.”

Book now

If you’d like to attend the Science Communication Conference, make sure you book before 14 March to take advantage of our Early Bird day rate of £125.

Concessions and a small number of bursaries are available, and for information about the Conference, the online programme and how to book, please visit:

http://www.britishscienceassociation.org/sci-comm-conf-2013

Get the conversations started on the LinkedIn Group and on Twitter @SciCommConf, #SciComm13

We look forward to seeing you there!

Perfect timing, seeing as the closing date for the final cycle of the 2012-13 Researcher-Led Initiative (RLI) Fund is 30th April!

How To Organise an Academic Conference

Thursday 18th April, 11am-1pm in Fulton 202

Organising research events is a great addition to an academic CV, but it can appear time consuming and stressful. In this workshop a panel of experienced Sussex conference organisers from a range of schools will answer your questions, and share their knowledge and tips for every stage of the process: from assembling your team, to devising your concept, promotion, time management, practicalities, and more. Find out all you need to know to run a well-attended, fulfilling and stress free research event.

There will also be advice from the Doctoral School on how to put together a successful application for their Researcher Led Initiative fund. This is an essential event for researchers from all disciplines who want to enhance their CVs and gain experience in academic conference organising.

Refreshments provided. Book online on Sussex Direct: https://direct.sussex.ac.uk/mle/page.php?page=staff_development_booking_form&trail=staff_development&ac=39103

Email researchhive@sussex.ac.uk for further information.

eswphd.org.uk is shaping up to be a friendly and productive researcher community – do join in.

www.eswphd.org.uk

You may already be are aware of our weekly ‘Twitter chats’ using the hashtag #eswphd, and we now have a dedicated Webpage/Wiki which carries an archive of these weekly chats (in a nice orderly list – with headings! ) and includes the recent Sussex Library collaboration.

It also has space to host individual student/faculty & group blogs…. Michelle Lefevre from Social Work has already signed up & we also have a blog page for our monthly ESW Writing Group.

This facility was made possible by a collaboration of people who ‘met’ on Twitter & who have given their skill & time in building this for no financial reward – it is hosted by Jon Bolton’s company ‘Focus on Learning‘ and maintained by Sussex doctoral researcher Liz Thackray.  Its a stunning example of group work and the efficacy of community building in social media.

Please do visit the site and see what it has to offer & encourage people to use it – you dont have to be in education or social work.

CALL FOR PAPERS AND PANELS

Critical Debates With(in) Development: Power, Resilience and Change

UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX, BRIGHTON, UK

13 AND 14 JUNE 2013

THE CLOSING DATE FOR ABSTRACTS/ PANEL PROPOSALS IS 31 MARCH 2013

A CORDIAL INVITATION

The School of Global Studies, University of Sussex and the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), with support from the Development Studies Association (DSA) would like to extend a warm invitation to all postgraduate students to submit proposals to our First Annual Postgraduate Development Studies Conference. The theme of the two-day inaugural conference to be held on 13^th  and 14^th June 2013 is: Critical Debates With(in) Development: Power, Resilience and Change.

The aim of the conference is to share research that fosters original ideas, new narratives and alternative ways of thinking about the central concepts of Power, Resilience and Change within development. In the dominant development paradigm certain issues can be disregarded as peripheral and unimportant. Yet the potential of these issues to contribute to processes of knowledge production and transformative practice should not be overlooked. Questions we would like participants to consider include: How can we begin to critically explore the “silences” in development discourse and practice? How can we explore these issues which are still seen as “external” to the dominant development discourse and practice? What power relationships are revealed when we explore these issues? How can we reclaim these alternative spaces, topics and narratives? How can the potential of marginalised issues be harnessed to become revolutionary? What is resilience in the development context? What does ‘not coping’ look like? How can we begin understanding agency in ways that enable development to better serve its transformative potential?

We are interested in papers and proposed panels that explore this theme through theoretical and/or practical perspectives. Sub-Themes include but are not limited to:

• Reimagining Development: Theorising Development, The Changing Geography of Development
• Redefining Aid and Development Economics
• Methodology and Development Research: Reflexivity in Development Research
• State and Development
• Re-assessing Impact Measurement and Evaluation
• Post-2015 Development Agenda
• Alternative Modes of Scholarship and Communication: Knowledge and Power in Education and Pedagogy
• Religion, Faith-Based Organisations and Development
• Indigenous Politics/the Politics of ‘Indigeneity’ and Development
• The Environment and Natural Resources: The Politics of Water, Climate Change and Disasters
• Nutrition and Health
• Inter-generational Dynamics  and Development
• Gender, Sexuality and Development
• Inequality, Identity and Development
• Movement of People, Migration of Ideas, Diasporas and Development
• Conflict, Violence, and Development
• Peacemaking Processes, Reconstruction and Resilience

We hope to encourage academic exchange between graduate students in different disciplines engaging with practical and/or theoretical debates in development. The conference casts a broad net and aims to bring together academic expertise not just from development studies but also from a variety of disciplines such as sociology, political science, anthropology, geography, economics, education, applied social science, public administration, management, law and other disciplines that are engaging with current debates in development.

Paper and Panel Submissions

We would like to invite students to make submissions on these and related themes in the form of paper presentations or pre-arranged panels. A prize will be awarded for the Best Conference Paper.

The deadline for submission is the 31 March 2013. Early submissions are recommended.

All paper submissions should include a short biography with contact information, institutional affiliation, position or year of study, and an abstract of no more than 250 – 300 words. We also welcome presentations in different forms, for example poster presentations, short documentaries and photo exhibitions.

Proposed panel submissions should include the above information for all members of the panel, a proposed theme and note explaining panel’s connection to the overall conference theme. Complete panels will be composed of 4 presenters. Panel proposals do not need to be for full panels. Proposals with two or three panellists will be considered. Efforts will then be made by the Conference Committee to complete the panels with paper proposals received from other applicants. Interdisciplinary panels are encouraged.

We strongly believe that our conference will provide an excellent opportunity to connect scholars across disciplines and for ideational creativity. We encourage you to attend, participate and engage.

All submissions should be sent to criticaldebatesconf@sussex.ac.uk

by the 31 March 2013.

Registration for the conference will be £5.00.

The second day of the Conference will consist of a series of workshops on Fieldwork Methods and Research Ethics. Further information about the Workshop series, registration procedures will be sent out in due course.

Enquiries about the conference can be sent to criticaldebatesconf@sussex.ac.uk.

Kind Regards,
2013 Organizing Committee
Post Graduate Development Studies Conference
University of Sussex and IDS

We are delighted to announce our 6th Annual Doctoral Student Research Conference. Once again, we have been able to keep this as a no-cost event. Here are the details:-

Chaos, Creativity, and Connections in Social Science Research

At:  School of Education and Social Work, University of Sussex
When:  Thursday 27 June 2013
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Venue: Fulton Building
Registration: http://sussexdrc.eventbrite.co.uk/
Contact: SussexDRC@gmail.com

Hashtag: #SussexDRC

Keynote speaker to be announced.

We would encourage doctoral students at any stage of their research to submit an abstract for a presentation or poster. Details can be found at http://www.sussex.ac.uk/esw/internal/newsandevents/events/doctoralconf. The deadline for submission is 1st April 2013.

To register to attend this free conference, go to http://sussexdrc.eventbrite.co.uk by 1st June 2013.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible there. If you have any questions, please email sussexdrc@gmail.com

Call for Proposals

This year’s theme is “Chaos, Creativity and Connections in Social Science Research” and abstracts – or proposals – are invited from doctoral researchers across the social sciences on their work-in-progress – particularly from those working in areas related to education and/or social work. Researchers can be at any stage of their doctoral studies and papers (or posters) can be methodological or conceptual. They can also be linked to the research process itself, or a discussion of findings. Proposals can speak to, but are not limited by, sub-themes such as:

• Productive chaos in social science research
• Productive chaos in the doctoral research process
• Creativity in research writing and/or process
• Creativity in theory and/or practice
• Connections through collaborations and sharing
• Connections between researcher and the researched

If you would like to present a paper or poster at this year’s conference, please complete the Doctoral Student Research Conference 2013: abstract proposal [DOCX 89.82KB] and submit it to SussexDRC@gmail.com by 1st April 2013.
To register to attend the conference, go to http://sussexdrc.eventbrite.co.uk by 1st June 2013.
Click here for directions to the University of Sussex
Click here for the location of venues on the University of Sussex campus

Best wishes,

The Doctoral Conference Committee

Department of Education and Social Work

University of Sussex

21st PopFest Conference

We have ten conference bursaried for £75 each!

Applications for bursaries should be sent to popfest2013@southampton.ac.uk in a word or PDF document. Please include your name, institution and supervisor, programme and year of study and how your research is funded(name of sponsor/self-funded). State if you wish to be consisered for a poster or oral presentation.

Deadline 1st March.

for more information go to http://www.southampton.ac.uk./popfest

Civilians and War, 1914-1945

A CHASE Postgraduate Conference

University of Sussex, 11-12 April 2013

Postgraduate researchers are warmly invited to join us at the University of Sussex for an interdisciplinary conference on the theme of civilians and war between 1914 and 1945. This will be an excellent opportunity for postgraduate students to present their work in a supportive environment and meet other researchers with similar academic interests.

This conference is for students at a CHASE (Consortium for Humanities and Arts in the South East) institution. These are the Open University; the Courtauld Institute of Art; Goldsmiths; and the Universities of East Anglia, Essex, Kent and Sussex.

We expect to cover a broad range of themes which could include, but will not be restricted to: resistance, emotions, family, gender, and the media. We would particularly welcome papers with an international perspective.

We are delighted that Professor Rod Kedward
will be delivering a keynote address at the end of the conference.

Proposals

Proposals should be no longer than 250 words and include a brief synopsis of the proposed topic. Please also let us know what university you are studying at and the stage of your research. Papers should last around 20 minutes.

We are able to offer travel bursaries for speakers.

Deadline for proposals 28 February 2013

We will notify respondents by early March.

Please submit papers to Rose Holmes R.Holmes@Sussex.ac.uk or Paul Weir pjrw20@sussex.ac.uk

Update: Due to circumstances beyond our control, Excursions has had to amend the dates to 11^th and 12^th July. We have therefore decided to extend our submission deadline until 15^th March and still welcome proposals for individual papers, panels, works in progress, and creative performances or displays.

“Purity is the power to contemplate defilement.”
– Simone Weil

“Purity is a negative state and therefore contrary to nature.”
– William Faulkner

“Throughout human history, the apostles of purity, those who have claimed to possess
a total explanation, have wrought havoc among mere mixed-up human beings.”
– Salman Rushdie

PURITY is a division, a concept, a value-system, a fallacy, an ideal state, a doctrine, a transfer. It marks the territories of sex and contamination, mathematics and martyrdom, economy and resistance, music and annihilation.

Excursions Journal and the University of Sussex Doctoral School are delighted to announce PURITY, a unique interdisciplinary event, to be held on the University of Sussex Campus, Falmer, near Brighton, on Thursday 11^th and Friday 12^th July 2013.

Excursions encourages scholarly debate between academics of all disciplines, choosing topics we feel have relevance to diverse subject areas. We hope this event will encourage cross-disciplinary debate, inquiry and exploration into the scientific, academic, sociological and cultural implications of PURITY in all its forms.

Keynote Speaker

- Robbie Duschinsky, Senior Lecturer in Social Science for Social Work, University of Northumbria

We have chosen to frame the theme in three ways:

1. IDENTITY STATES
2. MATHS, MUSIC & DRUGS
3. CODES OF CONDUCT

These are areas of investigation not only extremely relevant to current academic discourse, but integral to our understanding of PURITY in all its connotations and manifestations.

Call for papers

We invite proposals – from all disciplines – for both academic and artistic contributions to the event. We will consider proposals for individual academic papers (20 mins), pre-formed panels (comprising a series of papers each of 20 mins) and presentations on work in progress (20 mins). The event will include a programme of films and a series of musical, dramatic and verbal performances, as well as experiments, which we encourage proposals for. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the event, we strongly welcome proposals which combine creative work, performance or experiment with a paper on, or discussion of, critical practice.

We will consider applications dealing with, but not restricted to, the following components of PURITY:

1) IDENTITY STATES

• Economic policies and national identities
• International identity and foreign/domestic policies
• Drag and persona performances
• Intellectual identity
• Artificial Intelligence and Uncanny Valley
• Electronic identities: passports, biometrics, body scanning, profile pages
• Food identities and “positive” consumer choices
• Religious identities

2) MATHS, MUSIC & DRUGS

• Spectral music
• Synaesthesia
• Poisons / toxicology / pharmacology
• Music and brainwaves
• The science of music
• Electronic music and the radiophonic workshop
• Creativity and drug abuse

3) CODES OF CONDUCT

• Marriage and fidelity laws, “honour killings”
• Codes of resistance within repressed communities
• History and evolution of censorship
• Squatting / occupation
• Media protocol and Internet codes
• Bankers’ conduct, financial ethics, benefits fraud and accountability

Submissions

For both academic papers and creative work, please send abstracts of no more than 300 words to purity-submissions@excursions-journal.org.uk, accompanied by your name, institutional affiliation, email address, a short biography, and any audiovisual requirements. For creative work, short excerpts should also be submitted alongside the abstract where possible.

The deadline for submissions is 15th March, 2013. Selected contributors will be offered the opportunity to publish in a special issue of Excursions detailing the proceedings of the event. Please direct any queries to purity@excursions-journal.org.uk

Excursions is the open-access peer-reviewed journal set up and run by Sussex researchers.