Author: Catherine Gander

Elizabeth Bishop’s Questions of Travel: Fifty Years After

Posted on by Catherine Gander
 CALL FOR PAPERS.

An international conference on Elizabeth Bishop’s writing hosted by the University of Sheffield

Elizabeth Bishop’s Questions of Travel: Fifty Years After

25-27 June 2015, Sheffield, UK

Confirmed plenary speakers: Professor Stephen Burt (Harvard University), Professor Deryn Rees-Jones (University of Liverpool) and Professor Linda Anderson (Newcastle University)

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of Elizabeth Bishop’s third collection of poems, Questions of Travel (1965), and the importance of Bishop as a major influence on British and Irish contemporary poets, the University of Sheffield is pleased to host this international conference on her work in June 2015.

The aim of the conference is to look at Bishop as an international writer with allegiances to various countries and national traditions, including but not limited to the countries she lived in and felt at home. How does Bishop move between literal geographies like Brazil and Canada but also more slippery categories like home and elsewhere, human and animal, insider and outsider. While the focus of the conference will naturally fall on Questions of Travel, we welcome papers on all aspects and periods of Bishop’s career, from her early writing in the 1930s to the late poems finished after Geography III in the late 1970s and those works published after her death.

We are also interested in how Bishop’s writing has itself travelled elsewhere and what Bishop sounds like in other cultures, languages and traditions. John Ashbery famously called Bishop “a writer’s writer’s writer.” This conference will consider which writers mattered to Bishop and which contemporary writers have taken Bishop home with them.

Topics may include but are not limited to the following:

  • The place of Questions of Travel within the Bishop canon
  • Bishop’s Brazil/Brasil’s Bishop
  • The meaning of “Elsewhere”
  • Bishop’s dedications
  • Bishop’s questions
  • Bishop’s sense of humour
  • Bishop’s animal poems
  • Bishop as a correspondent
  • Bishop as a translator
  • Bishop as a travel writer
  • Bishop and visual art
  • Bishop and the Cold War
  • Bishop’s influence today

We encourage proposals from anyone with an interest in Bishop’s art and life, including established scholars, graduate students and creative writers.

Proposals for 20-minute papers (maximum 300 word abstracts, plus a short biographical note of no more than 50 words) are due by 15 December 2014, and should be sent to EB50@sheffield.ac.uk. Panel proposals (comprised of 3 paper proposals, plus an additional 250 words explaining how the papers are linked in addressing the theme) are also welcome.

In addition to academic papers, the conference will include at least two poetry readings, a wine tasting and a conference dinner. 

For more details, please visit the official website.

Lecturer in Film Studies

Posted on by Catherine Gander
University of Sussex -School of Media, Film and Music
Ref: 548
Permanent, full time
Salary range: Lecturer A: starting at £33,562 and rising to £36,661 per annum Lecturer B: starting at £37,756 and rising to £45,053 per annum
Expected start date: 1 September 2014

The School of Media, Film and Music wishes to appoint a Lecturer to strengthen its current provision in Film Studies. We offer a stimulating, research-focused environment with a strong commitment to delivering the highest standard of teaching and learning.

Candidates must be able to demonstrate an outstanding ability in research and teaching appropriate to the level of appointment, and an aptitude for both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. We would welcome applicants with expertise in any area of film studies, but particularly those with strengths in American cinema, past and present, and in genre. An interest in television study would also be advantageous, for future curriculum developments. 

Closing date for applications: 16 May 2014

For full details and how to apply see www.sussex.ac.uk/jobs

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Latin American Studies

Posted on by Catherine Gander
University of London -School of Advanced Study

The Role
The Institute is seeking to appoint a two-year postdoctoral fellow in any humanities or cognate social science discipline (except language and literature) in the field of Latin American Studies, which includes the Caribbean. The appointee should have a demonstrated capacity for academic research and a research agenda which involves interdisciplinary and collaborative work. S/he will have a proposed research project which can be completed within the two-year tenure of the post.S/he will be expected to play a role in enhancing the ILAS’s profile in research facilitation and promotion through the development of networks, seminar programmes, workshops, and conferences/symposia, and in contributing to its publication programme. The appointee may be expected contribute to research methods and training programmes, but the emphasis of the post is on research and research facilitation and promotion, rather than teaching.

Requirements
A detailed description of the duties and responsibilities of the post is provided in the enclosed job specification, which includes a person specification detailing the key skills and personal qualities required of the postholder.

About The Department
The Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) was established in 1965 following a government review conducted by the historian Professor John H. Parry that identified a national need to develop Latin American studies in the UK. The Parry Report initiated a ten-year programme aimed at developing the field focussing on the creation of five centres of Latin American studies at Liverpool, Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow and London, after which other significant centres emerged at Essex and Warwick among others. The Institute of Latin American Studies became the flagship for the discipline. In terms of the library, it housed the main reference collection for the UK and was at the forefront of coordinating Latin American studies libraries in the UK, publishing regular handbooks on Latin American studies, as well as lists of degree programmes and theses in progress. It has also been the administrative home of the Journal of Latin American Studies since it was established in 1969.
Further information can be found on the Institute’s website at: http://ilas.sas.ac.uk/

Further Information
The closing date for receipt of completed applications is at midnight on Wednesday, 4 June 2014.
The University offers membership to the Universities’ Superannuation Scheme (USS).
Pursuing equal opportunities and excellence in education. www.london.ac.uk

About the University of London
The University of London is one of the oldest and largest universities in the UK – and the most diverse. Established by Royal Charter in 1836, the University is recognised globally as a world leader in Higher Education. We are a federal institution consisting of 18 self-governing Colleges of outstanding reputation and a number of acclaimed central academic bodies. The University of London offers almost every subject covered in any University curriculum, delivering huge flexibility and choice to its students.

Click here for Employer Profile

Lecturer in American History (US International & Transnational History)

Posted on by Catherine Gander
University of Sussex -Department of History
Ref: 543
School of History, Art History and Philosophy
Permanent, full time
Salary range:
  • Lecturer A starting at £33,562 and rising to £36,661 per annum
  • Lecturer B starting at £37,756 and rising to £45,053 per annum
Expected start date: 1 September 2014

The Department of History at the University of Sussex wishes to make an appointment in US International and Transnational History since 1877.

The history of the United States is a long established area of research excellence within the department. More recently the department has sought to enhance the global and transnational dimensions of its research profile. Our ideal candidate will be an ambitious individual with an emerging profile of high quality publications and innovative research project plans, able to contribute to the further development of global history within the department.

The successful applicant will have the opportunity to teach courses both on the History BA and MA degrees, and the interdisciplinary American Studies BA. A demonstrable track record of teaching excellence is a requirement. The person appointed will join a thriving, collegial department with a commitment to interdisciplinary study and a student community that is both well-qualified and intellectually ambitious.

Good communication skills, a passion for the subject area, and an ability to work productively as part of a friendly team-oriented department are essential for this position.

For an informal discussion of the post, please contact the Head of the Department of History, Professor Claire Langhamer by email at: c.l.langhamer@sussex.ac.uk

Closing date for applications: 15 May 2014

For full details and how to apply see www.sussex.ac.uk/jobs

Lecturer in American History

Posted on by Catherine Gander
Manchester Metropolitan University -History
Department of History, Politics, and Philosophy
Full-time / Fixed-term for 3 years
Grade 8: £32,590 – £37,756 per annum

Manchester Metropolitan University is one of the UK’s largest and most popular Universities. We are the University for World Class Professionals.

The Department of History, Politics, and Philosophy is the largest Department within the Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Science. The History team is a highly professional and collegiate group who have been proactive in establishing new programmes of study and innovative pedagogy to serve the needs of a 600+ undergraduate population as well as growing numbers of postgraduate MA and PhD students.

The Department has one of the strongest History programmes in the UK, both in size and scope of our offering. For students, we are the Manchester history programme of choice because we combine an intensive research culture with a strong commitment to bringing that research into the classroom. We place great emphasis on student-centred learning, and take this commitment seriously, as reflected in MMU History’s 98% overall satisfaction rating in the 2013 National Student Survey.

History at MMU has a strong research and knowledge exchange ethos. Staff research is internationally recognized, 70% of staff submitted to the REF 2014 with the goal for 100% by 2020, and we have strong links with foreign research partners in Europe and beyond. We also emphasize connecting the global with the local. Our Manchester Centre for Regional History is the premier Institute for studying the history, heritage, and culture of the Manchester and northwest region; we have excellent, well-developed links to the region’s extensive libraries and museums as well as heritage industries. Current staff interests are wide-ranging: European, American, Asian, and transnational, from the ancient to the modern. We offer a stimulating environment for an active researcher and teacher along with an exceptional level of staff development support.

The post presents an opportunity to join a vibrant research and teaching community in an expanding department. Our extensive range of general and specialist programmes enable staff to use and develop their specialisms and areas of expertise.

Successful candidates must have a strong record of excellent and innovative teaching in Colonial and/or Antebellum American history (c. 1609-1861), a PhD in American history and demonstrable ability to publish. Suitable applicants will be able to make a significant contribution to our introductory (Level 4) course North America: From Columbus to the Civil War, and to develop further courses in American history.

The successful applicant will be required to be available for the start of the 2014/15 academic year. For an informal discussion regarding the requirements of the role please contact Dr Tony Adams (t.adams@mmu.ac.uk)

For more information and to apply online, visit http://www.mmu.ac.uk/jobs. If you do not have access to the internet, or require an application in an alternative format, please contact Human Resources on 0161 247 3502 quoting the reference number G1/4572. Closing date for receipt of applications is midnight on 19 May 2014.

Early Career Lecturer in Latin American Studies

Posted on by Catherine Gander
University of London -School of Advanced Study
The Role

The Institute is seeking to appoint an early career lecturer in any humanities or cognate social science discipline (except language and literature) in the field of Latin American Studies, which includes the Caribbean, for three years. The appointee should have a demonstrated capacity for academic research and a research agenda which involves interdisciplinary and collaborative work. The appointee will be expected to attract eternal funding to support their research. S/he will be expected to play a significant role in enhancing the ILAS’s profile as a research facilitator and promoter through the development of networks, seminar programmes, workshops, and conferences/symposia, and in contributing to its publication programme. The appointee will be expected contribute to research methods training programmes and to the supervision of PhD students, as well as relevant masters programmes, but the emphasis of the post is on research facilitation and promotion, rather than teaching. 

Requirements

A detailed description of the duties and responsibilities of the post is provided in the enclosed job specification, which includes a person specification detailing the key skills and personal qualities required of the postholder.

About The Department

The Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) was established in 1965 following a government review conducted by the historian Professor John H. Parry that identified a national need to develop Latin American studies in the UK. The Parry Report initiated a ten-year programme aimed at developing the field focussing on the creation of five centres of Latin American studies at Liverpool, Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow and London, after which other significant centres emerged at Essex and Warwick among others. The Institute of Latin American Studies became the flagship for the discipline. In terms of the library, it housed the main reference collection for the UK and was at the forefront of coordinating Latin American studies libraries in the UK, publishing regular handbooks on Latin American studies, as well as lists of degree programmes and theses in progress. It has also been the administrative home of the Journal of Latin American Studies since it was established in 1969. 

Further information can be found on the Institute’s website at: http://ilas.sas.ac.uk/

Further Information

The closing date for receipt of completed applications is at midnight on Wednesday, 4 June 2014.

The University offers membership to the Universities’ Superannuation Scheme (USS).

Pursuing equal opportunities and excellence in education. www.london.ac.uk 

About the University of London

The University of London is one of the oldest and largest universities in the UK – and the most diverse. Established by Royal Charter in 1836, the University is recognised globally as a world leader in Higher Education. We are a federal institution consisting of 18 self-governing Colleges of outstanding reputation and a number of acclaimed central academic bodies. The University of London offers almost every subject covered in any University curriculum, delivering huge flexibility and choice to its students.

The IAAS Lecture 2014

Posted on by Catherine Gander
The 2014 IAAS Lecture       IAAS poster RonCon
University College Cork, 14th March

It is the great pleasure of the IAAS to report on the inaugural IAAS Lecture, delivered by the esteemed Ron Callan.

The annual IAAS Lecture will become an annual event in which a member of the Association takes to a stage in one of our third-level institutions, either north or south of the border, to deliver a talk on a topic of their own choosing. The idea is a simple one: to bring the work of the IAAS to new audiences across Ireland, to attract new members and, in turn, to help finance our support for the work of postgraduate and early career researchers.

This March 14th, IAAS Chair Philip McGowan (QUB) extended thanks to Lee Jenkins and Alan Gibbs and the School of English at UCC as he introduced Dr Callan. He continued:

‘Who better to start this new chapter in the IAAS’s history than this evening’s speaker. Lecturer here in the School of English in 1994-95, before moving to UCD for the remainder of his teaching career, Dr Ron Callan is known to many well beyond these shores, is loved by all and – and this is no exaggeration – is the reason why we can be here at all tonight. Without Ron Callan, it’s fair to say there would be no IAAS. Ron chaired the Association through some dark and difficult times between 1997 and 2003, combining that role with his editorship of our Association’s journal over twelve years, between 1995 and 2007. Ron Callan has inspired uncountable numbers of students with his teaching appointments at UCD, here at UCC, and also at Trinity as well as in the US at Dickinson College in PA and during a Fulbright Visiting scholarship posting at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1986.

It is fitting that Ron’s talk tonight deals with the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson. In ‘The American Scholar’, Emerson noted that “[t]he office of the scholar is to cheer, to raise, and to guide men by showing them facts amidst appearances. He plies the slow, unhonored, and unpaid task of observation. He is the world’s eye.”

How true this observation has been for the career of tonight’s speaker.’

 

CFP: Bridging North America: Connections and Divides

Posted on by Catherine Gander
Call for Papers for
‘North America: Connections and Divides’ at the University of Turku, Finland
August 28-30, 2014

The John Morton Center for North American Studies, established at the University of Turku in 2014, invites proposals for previously unpublished papers for its inaugural conference, “Bridging North America: Connections and Divides,” to be held on August 28-30, 2014. The conference seeks to bring together junior and senior scholars from inter/disciplinary backgrounds from the social sciences and the humanities to explore various cultural, socioeconomic, geographic, and political connections and divides between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and their global ramifications. The papers may deal with either historical perspectives or contemporary issues, and they may include both empirical and theoretical considerations. We particularly encourage submissions that engage in interdisciplinary and multi-methodological discussions on the study of North America.

Topics for paper presentations may include:

• bridges, borders and boundaries

• the movement of people, goods, and services

• information flows, leaks, and security

• continental economies, policies, and politics

• transnational relationships

• identity formations, identity transformations, identity politics

• cultural expressions, sporting practices, and visual representations

• interdisciplinary theories and practices

Please email abstracts of 250 words for 20-minute paper presentations, together with a max. 150-word bio, including name, institutional affiliation and position, phone number and email address, to Research Coordinator Johanna Leinonen, email johlei@utu.fi. Abstract Deadline: May 31, 2014. Participants will receive notifications of acceptance by June 15, 2014. Selected papers will be published in a textbook designed for the transnational North American Studies classroom context, to be published in 2015. The book will follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.

For further information, please visit the conference website at www.utu.fi/en/units/jmc/bridging2014/.

For general inquiries, please contact us at jmc@utu.fi

Click here for a pdf of the CFP.

Winner of the WTM Riches Essay Prize

Posted on by Catherine Gander
SONY DSC
Sarah Cullen is presented with the WTM Riches Essay Prize by Julie Sheridan, vice chair of IAAS, 25th April 2014.

Many congratulations to Sarah Cullen, University College Dublin, for winning the WTM Riches Essay Prize.

Sarah’s excellent essay, ‘The Search for a Mother in Toni Morrison’s Paradise‘, was selected by the judging panel as ‘a clear front runner’ for its persuasive and original analysis, clear intellectual engagement and eloquent prose style.

Sarah was awarded her prize of €100 in book vouchers by Julie Sheridan, vice chair of the IAAS, at the 2014 annual IAAS conference held at the National University of Ireland, Galway, 25th-26th April.

 

Job vacancy at the University of Sussex

Posted on by Catherine Gander

Lecturer in English and American Literature Ref 502

School of English

Permanent, full time Salary range for Lecturer A: starting at £33,562 and rising to £36,661 per annum Salary range for Lecturer B: starting at £37,756 and rising to £45,053 annum Closing date for applications: 14 April 2014 Expected start date: 1 September 2014

Description

The School of English at the University of Sussex wishes to appoint a Lecturer in English and American Literature with a research focus on Modernism from 1st Sept 2014. We seek a scholar whose research and teaching embraces interdisciplinary and theoretical approaches to literary Modernism from 1900 to 1950. We particularly welcome applicants with expertise in one or more of the following: comparative work in Anglo-American Modernism; race and ethnicity; Visual culture and writing; Modernism, medicine and the social sciences.

The successful candidate will possess a completed doctorate in English or a related subject and have teaching experience at least to undergraduate level. You will possess high quality research publications that demonstrate your ability to achieve international distinction in your specialist area. You will contribute teaching into a wide range of modules on the BA English and the BA American Studies, and develop research-led modules in your particular special field. You will also contribute teaching in your research area to one of the School’s MAs and participate in Sussex’s vibrant research culture.

For further information please contact Prof Thomas Healy, Head of School, (t.f.healy@sussex.ac.uk)

For more information, go to the University of Sussex website.