Humanities and Social Sciences Newsletter

The Humanities and Social Sciences Newsletter • Queen Mary, University of London • Issue 12

SCHOOL OF GEOGRAPHY Tackling global issues on its doorstep pages 16-17

Seb Coe’s speech on race to success Schools news pages 4-13

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£1.4m to capture testimonies of unsung medical pioneers Research grants pages 20-21

Amanda Vickery lecture brings research home Events page 22

Faculty news

Faculty news Major grants support Faculty research Queen Mary has been awarded nearly £600,000 by the Leverhulme Trust in its latest round of Major Research Fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Four of the 24 awards won by academics across Britain went to Queen Mary; more than any other institution. It comes on top of the previous year’s success, where the College received three of 30 grants available.

Professor Virginia Davis, Dean for Research in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, commented that the success “reflects the University’s commitment to original, top quality research”.

Professor Julian Jackson, Professor of Modern History and Head of the School of History, has been awarded £146,818 to re-evaluate the political career of 20th-century French general and statesman, Charles de Gaulle.

Historian Professor Colin Jones was awarded £159,298 for a study

analysing the 27 July 1794 - a pivotal day in the French Revolution that saw the overthrow of one of the Revolution’s most influential figures, Maximilien Robespierre.

The Leverhulme Trust has granted £158,648 to Professor Jane Wills, of the School of Geography, for research into the Government’s efforts to foster localism and a ‘Big Society’ in the UK. Professor Michael Kenny, from the School of Politics and International Relations, will receive £99,227 for his study analysing the political implications of England’s growing and shifting sense of national self-awareness and the causes underlying it.

The Fellowships were developed by The Leverhulme Trust, the UK’s largest research fund provider, to enable distinguished researchers to commit to a single and original two to three-year research project. The award provides replacement teaching cover for the period of the Fellowship.

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Faculty news

New home for History opens its doors Queen Mary celebrates the official opening of its new humanities building, ArtsTwo in March 2012, with a season of events and a visit from HRH the Princess Royal.

Designed by award-winning architects Wilkinson Eyre, the striking edifice has been six years in the making, from concept to completion, at a cost of £22m.

The new home of the School of History, ArtsTwo also boasts a state-ofthe art film and drama studio, a 300seat lecture theatre, a senior common room and a range of seminar spaces.

The spacious building is also home to the Leo Baeck Institute for Jewish history.

“The completion of ArtsTwo, along with the adjacent landscaping works to improve the Novo Burial Ground, is the culmination of more than twenty years work on the East side of the campus of

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the College, including the creation of the Arts Quarter, bringing together the ArtsOne and Laws buildings, the Lockkeeper’s Graduate Centre and the Westfield Student Village,” explains Senior Vice-Principal, Professor Philip Ogden, who has overseen the project from the outset.

To mark the opening, a season of events, entitled ‘Migration, Memory and Identity’, is taking place from 5-14 March on the Mile End campus. The Chancellor of the University of London, HRH the Princess Royal, will formally open the building on 09 March, and be given a full tour of the venue and its facilities.

The season of events includes discussions, lectures and performances.

It celebrates QM’s connection to the vibrant East End and the Jewish culture and history in the area.

Event highlights include a public lecture by Simon Schama, of Columbia University, entitled, Palestine and the holy places in the nineteenth century and Professor Natalie Zemon Davis, of the University of Toronto, with her lecture, Regaining Jerusalem: the Learned Nassy and Jewish Colonisation from London.

For full events listings and to book places, visit: www.qmul.ac.uk/artstwo

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News

Schools news School of History

Study of German-Jewish history and culture expands The Leo Baeck Institute London (LBI) - at the forefront of research on GermanJewish history and culture - is now based on Queen Mary’s Mile End campus.

After 52 years at premises in Marylebone, the LBI recently relocated to the new flagship ArtsTwo building, cementing an existing partnership between the LBI and the university’s School of History.

Since 2009, the School and the LBI have offered a joint MA on European Jewish History, the only taught postgraduate programme in the UK focusing on Jewish history, culture and thought in Europe.

The LBI London also hosts joint conferences, seminars and other events with the university.

The institute, founded in 1955 by the Council of Jews from Germany, is named after Leo Baeck (1873-1956), leader of the Jewish community in Nazi Germany and Holocaust survivor.

Professor Julian Jackson, Head of the School of History, has welcomed the valuable teaching and research opportunities the alliance presents. The proximity between the two institutions will, he says, “create new paths in our research and offer unparalleled expertise to students of Jewish history and culture”.

Prime Minister’s question time Former Prime Minister Tony Blair hosted a select group of history students from Queen Mary at his Grosvenor Square offices at the end of May. To mark the final Blair Government seminar, the third-year undergraduates had the opportunity to quiz the onetime British leader on his decade at Number 10.

Run by Dr Jon Davis, from the School of History, and Independent on Sunday columnist, John Rentoul, The Blair Government Course uniquely covered the ‘ultra’ contemporary history of New Labour.

Since 2008, members of Blair’s inner circle, from Alastair Campbell and Lord Mandelson to senior mandarins such as Sir David Omand and Sir Kevin Tebbit, have attended class.

On securing Tony Blair for the last ever seminar, Dr Davis said: “To be able to finish with the main man himself was truly special - an incredible grand finale.”

The course has now evolved to encompass the entire span of New Labour’s days in power (1997 to 2010) and has been promoted to a new MA module, ‘New Labour in Government’, which started in January 2012.

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News

School of History

Nuns on the run A Gunpowder plotter’s sister and an alleged royal heir were among thousands of women who risked their lives to join English Catholic convents exiled in Europe between 1600 and 1800, researchers in the School of History have found.

The ‘Who Were the Nuns?’ project aimed to profile 4,000 nuns in exile and to understand how the convents recruited and survived against a backdrop of war, plague, and political unrest in mainland Europe and England.

“As religious life is not attracting many entrants these days, the project had an important job to preserve convent history for the future as well as to record their past,” project manager Dr Caroline Bowden explained.

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Dr Bowden’s team gained unprecedented access to thousands of rare manuscripts, revealing testimonies and other written records in England, Belgium and France that had remained largely hidden in archives and convents over the centuries.

The researchers found that far from being shut off from the world in their cloisters, convent inhabitants were politically active and had connections with some of Europe’s major figures, from royal families to artists.

Visit www.history.qmul.ac.uk/wwtn for more information.

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News

School of Law

Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre is ‘Rolls Royce’ operation, says Attorney General The Attorney General was guest speaker at the fifth birthday celebrations of the Legal Advice Centre (LAC) at Queen Mary in November.

Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP, also lead minister and champion of pro bono work in England and Wales, described the pro bono service as a “Rolls Royce operation supported by City law firms”.

Julie Pinborough set up Queen Mary’s award-winning Legal Advice Centre (LAC), the first in London, in 2006.

Staffed by the university’s law undergraduates, supervised by leading City lawyers, the LAC offers free, impartial advice to people who cannot afford costly legal fees.

In his speech, the Attorney General praised what LAC manager Julie Pinborough had achieved in the course of five years. “Making a civilised society in this country depends on this kind of activity, so well done. I hope the project goes from strength to strength, and if I am still in office, to come back and celebrate your tenth birthday.”

Data protection law creates cloud of uncertainty for cloud computing Current European data protection laws could leave Google and Amazon exposed to legal action, Queen Mary cyber-law experts have warned. These companies provide IT services over the internet, a term known as cloud computing.

In a series of four papers, the Cloud Legal Project cites specific issues with the EU Directive on Data Protection, with implications for cloud computing users and providers.

The papers also make recommendations to ensure the Directive, which is currently under review, caters better for such technological advancements.

At present, cloud computing service providers can become subject to the Directive’s complex rules purely through their customers’ choices, of which they may be unaware.

Lack of legal clarity on roles and responsibilities may also discourage cloud computing users based outside the EU from using European data centres or companies.

“Concerns over privacy and security are often cited as reasons why potential users hesitate to move into cloud

computing, so legal clarity is essential if Europe is to secure its position in the global IT industry,” states Professor Christopher Millard, Principal investigator on the Cloud Legal Project based in the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary.

The Cloud of Unknowing papers are available: www.cloudlegal.ccls.qmul.ac.uk

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News

School of Law

Human Rights charity comes to Queen Mary A leading human rights charity has joined the School of Law at Queen Mary in a partnership that will hone the skills of students keen to specialise in human rights.

The British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) will teach about developments on UK human rights law, alongside Professor Geraldine van Bueren, Merris Amos and other QM experts.

“We specialise in taking human rights ‘beyond the courtroom’, translating ideas and laws into practical tools for people and organisations to use in everyday life.

This approach offers lots of opportunities for joint ventures with Queen Mary,” explains Stephen Bowen, Director of the BIHR. The BIHR has two internships open to Queen Mary law students: one for a postgraduate and one for a third-year student over the summer.

There are shorter placements available too to help students understand the practice of human rights and how a small charity operates.

Peter Alldridge, Head of the Department of Law said the collaboration will contribute to “our being able to offer something distinctive and exciting to our students”.

For further information, visit http://www.bihr.org.uk

School of Law celebrates success in league tables www.qmul.ac.uk

The School of Law at Queen Mary recently excelled in the Guardian’s University 2012 Guide, ranking fourth in the UK for law. This is an even higher assessment than the Times Good University Guide 2012 and the Complete University Guide, both of which placed the School seventh overall in the UK. Head of Department, Professor Peter Alldridge welcomed the superb results: “The guides are clear recognition that we offer a wonderful all round legal

education. We emphasise academic excellence, and also, through our mooting, Legal Advice Centre and pro bono activities, student inter-personal and career development.”

In the most recent National Student Survey (NSS), final-year undergraduate students gave the School an impressive 94 per cent for its efforts in delivering student satisfaction, the joint highest overall satisfaction ratings within the University of London law schools.

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News

School of Business and Management School of Economics and Finance

Martins named Portuguese Minister of Employment

Business-savvy graduate shares secrets of his success in new book

An entrepreneurial graduate from Queen Mary has published an inspirational guide for students hoping to replicate his business success.

Junior Ogunyemi, 21, started a thriving business whilst studying for a BSc in Economics at Queen Mary. By the time A professor of economics from the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary has been appointed Secretary of State of Employment in the Portuguese government.

Portugal is undergoing a process of adjustment to get its economy back on track, following several years of slow growth, high unemployment and deficits.

In his new ministerial role, Professor Pedro Martins, who specialises in Labour economics, will have a major impact on the employment prospects and lives of many of his fellow citizens.

He is responsible for a portfolio focused on labour market policies, skills training, employment relations and labour law.

“It is a great honour to have the opportunity to serve one’s country, particularly during difficult times,” says Professor Martins. “I am confident that my expertise can add considerable value to my work.”

Professor Martins returns to Queen Mary in 2013.

he graduated in 2011, Junior owned a football coaching academy operating in schools across London.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Junior’s family moved to London when he was two. The youngest of four children, he grew up in a two-bedroom Islington council flat and has seen the difficulties that can trigger low self-esteem and a lack of ambition in his peers.

He is now a full-time social entrepreneur and inspirational speaker, founder and president of self-help website the Bold Achievers Club.

Junior wrote How to Be a Student Entrepreneur, published by Ecademy Press Ltd, to inspire young people to achieve their dreams and make their fortunes before they graduate.

“Now more than ever, becoming a business owner is the most attractive option to being financially free,” says Junior, who was voted in the top 10 most outstanding black students in the UK for 2010 by Rare Rising Stars.

Seb Coe motivates economics students Lord Sebastian Coe KBE, one of Britain’s best athletes, gave a rousing speech to economics undergraduates at Queen Mary in October.

Now Chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Lord Coe used all his strategic know-how to secure the world’s biggest sporting event in 2012.

In his inspiring speech, entitled “The Winning Mind”, Lord Coe talked to students about the setbacks and the hard graft as well as the victories in his gold medal-winning sporting career. “You don’t become a champion

at anything by turning up and hoping to get lucky,” he explained.

It is an approach he now applies in his current leadership role to motivate others and encourage them to fulfill their own potential. Now in its fourth year, the Annual Lecture gives undergraduates from the School the opportunity to hear first-hand from high-profile guests. BBC News business editor, Robert Peston; and economist and FT journalist, Tim Harford are among the past speakers.

The lecture is just one of a number of events designed to enhance the student experience in the School, which is ranked 7th nationally, and second in London, for overall students’ satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2011.

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News

School of English and Drama

Double success in BBC presenter talent contest Queen Mary has secured a double win in a national BBC talent competition to find young academic broadcasters.

The ‘New Generation Thinkers’ competition, run by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, received over 1000 applications from early-career researchers, passionate about broadcasting their ideas to the general public.

Both Dr Rachel Hewitt and Shahidha Bari were selected from the Department of English, making Queen Mary the only university to have more than one winner in the scheme.

Shahidha was chosen for her research on the Arabian Nights, both their interpretation in Western literature, and

what the stories tell us about notions of Arab identity.

Rachel Hewitt, author of Map of a Nation, a history of the Ordnance Survey Map, won for her research on an alternative narrative of Romantic-era Britain.

“There’s something very intimate about inviting people into your thoughts, persuading them that they should be as interested and intrigued as you are about the things you’re discovering,” Shahidha says.

Each winner broadcast an idea inspired by their research on BBC Radio 3 show Night Waves over the summer.

They also delivered talks at Radio 3’s Festival of Ideas in November.

Evelyn Welch gives Globe Annual Lecture A leading art historian from Queen Mary was given a major Fellowship by Shakespeare’s Globe theatre in 2012.

As the Theo Crosby Fellow, Evelyn Welch, Professor of Renaissance Studies, also gave the theatre’s annual talk, exploring the importance of smell in Renaissance drama.

Commenting on her lecture, entitled Scent on Stage, Professor Welch said: “We think of smell in a very different way than audiences did in Shakespeare’s time. In the sixteenth century, perfume could kill or cure you.

“When the Queen of Navarre dies after inhaling the scent from a pair of perfumed gloves in Marlowe’s play The Massacre at

Paris, the episode is entirely believable.”

The Theo Crosby Fellowship is given each year in memory of the architect who helped the Globe’s founder, actor Sam Wanamaker, to articulate his vision for the International Shakespeare Globe Centre.

Previous recipients of the Fellowship include renowned Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro and another Queen Mary historian, Professor Lisa Jardine.

Projects celebrate east London life in run up to Olympics Queen Mary successfully secured two funding awards to enhance and celebrate east London life in the run up to the 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Senior Drama Lecturer Ali Campbell claimed £18,000, while in-house film production unit Mile End Films (MEF) received £5,000 in High Street 2012 Heritage Culture and Community grants.

Ali Campbell is using the funding to map and celebrate community identity across the ages, using performance arts.

MEF is researching how people living and working on Whitechapel High Street and Mile End Road use local cinemas and the cultural significance placed on them in east London.

The projects will be recorded using film and displayed online as well as public spaces within Tower Hamlets to coincide with the celebrations in the run up to the Olympics.

Twitter brings drama to debates Micro-blogging service Twitter has been used to give a multimedia edge to a series of live debates on crime and social justice, co-organised by Queen Mary drama students.

The interactive discussion forum - dubbed ‘The Argument Room’ - has been created by QM’s Department of Drama and Rideout, which aims to rehabilitate prisoners through the creative arts.

‘Argument Room’ audiences can either question speakers firsthand at the venue or watch the discussions online and ask questions in real-time via the website and Twitter.

The first talk, which asked whether politicians, artists, prisoners

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or the Press told the truth about crime and punishment, featured as part of the Southbank Centre’s 2011 autumn exhibition of art, film and creative-writing by prisoners.

Further 2011 Argument Room debates, included Baroness Lola Young on the Arts response to the UK riots, and feminist writer and national journalist, Beatrix Campbell’s views on cultural and institutional resistance to gender equality. Both events were broadcast live from Queen Mary, and were hosted by drama students.

For more information, visit: www.theargumentroom.net/

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News

School of Languages, Linguistics and Film

UK’s oldest PhD student graduates from Queen Mary John North from Richmond graduated from Queen Mary last summer with a PhD at the age of 93, making him the oldest student in Britain.

He was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy following completion of his thesis, Winckelmann’s “Philosophy of Art”: A Prelude to German Classicism, under the supervision of Professor Görner, Head of the School of Languages, Linguistics & Film. Mr North said that he will not use the title ‘Dr’ because “at my age it would not be sensible”.

He added: “The doctorate is a great honour and achievement. I have no clearly defined plans but will continue research in the area of my expertise.”

Mr North was born in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic, in 1918 and served in the RAF.

Professor recognised for promotion of Brazilian Culture in the UK A noted Brazilian academic at Queen Mary has won an international media award for her “outstanding contribution” to the promotion of Portuguese-speaking cultures in Britain.

Professor Else Viera, from the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film, was recognised at the 14th Annual Brazilian International Press Awards, a major celebration of the South American nation’s impact in Europe.

Earlier this year, Professor Viera was selected to address the Deputy Mayor of London on behalf of an estimated one million speakers of Portuguese in the UK. She was also elected a member of the Council of Representatives of Brazilians Abroad in 2010.

Graduate training takes film students the extra Mile An in-house film production unit at Queen Mary has set up the first scheme of its kind in the UK to help students and graduates break into the tough UK film industry.

Mile End Films (MEF) offers 12-month paid placements, giving opportunities to build a solid portfolio in all aspects of film, from storyboarding, directing, and production to marketing and entertainment law.

“Lots of our students start out knowing that film is their passion, but

aren’t exactly sure how to harness that,” explains Athena Mandis, Assistant Technical Director for Film Studies at QM, and MEF founder. “Our scheme gives them direction and confidence about their future career.”

Of the 28 students on last year’s scheme, many have found positions as editors, documentary-makers, production assistants on television hits such as Made in Chelsea, and production managers in film and theatre.

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News

School of Languages, Linguistics and Film

Film festival interview with Charlie Chaplin’s daughter Audience with Noam Chomsky Noam Chomsky, one of the world’s foremost intellectuals and “father of modern linguistics” spoke at Queen Mary in October. He was interviewed by Professor David Adger, Head of the Department of Linguistics. Their hour-long discussion explored how current theories on language inform the study of the human mind, its biological and psychological processes, and how they influence cognitive science more broadly.

“Chomsky renewed linguistics as a science of the mind and as a means of understanding human nature,” explained Professor Adger. “In particular, he identified universal patterns in language that have their source in our biological make-up, part of the hard-wiring of our brains.”

A professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for over 50 years, Chomsky’s radical views have found him global recognition and revolutionised linguistics. He is considered the world’s most cited living author and has made fundamental contributions to mathematics, philosophy and cognitive science. He is also a fierce critic of US foreign policy and the perils of corporate power for democracy.

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Professor Peter Evans took to the stage to interview Geraldine Chaplin, daughter of silent movie legend Charlie Chaplin, for the 2011 Spanish London Film Festival.

Professor Evans, who specialises in Film Studies, Spanish, British and Hollywood cinema, has co-organised all past Spanish London Film Festivals, suggesting films and themes.

Over the years he has interviewed numerous Spanish film stars, including Carmen Maura, Victoria Abril, Maribel Verdu, Angela Molina and this year Ms Chaplin.

During the interview, Professor Evans asked Geraldine about growing up in Hollywood, the daughter of

famous parents, Charlie Chaplin and Oona O’ Neill, daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill.

The interview touched upon her earliest films including her Golden Globe-nominated role of Tonya in David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago (1965), her involvement in European cinema, and her links to prominent Spanish directors, above all, her partner of many years, Carlos Saura.

Geraldine was, says Professor Evans, “extremely approachable and friendly, and seemed relaxed in talking about her career”.

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News

School of Politics and International Relations

Politics student turns beauty guru

A Queen Mary politics student is a true entrepreneur of the internet age.

Olivia-Rose Strange, in her second year, began uploading her cosmetics tutorials to Youtube a year ago and has since gone on to attract a huge fan base, earning enough money to support her university education.

Her Youtube video channel ‘liviesays’ gives step-by-step guides to celebrity make-up looks. The clips have been viewed more than five million times, earning her anything from £50 to thousands of pounds per month in advertising sponsorship and revenue.

“It’s incredible to think that so many people around the world are watching my videos,” Livie says. “Earning money from my hobby is something I never thought possible, but it’s brought me so many opportunities, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.” www.youtube.com/liviesays

Major study on future EU membership for Balkans Adam Fagan, Professor of European Politics, is to prepare a policy paper and research report on civil society development in potential EU member states: Albania, Bosnia and the rest of the Western Balkans.

“The invitation for Croatia to join the EU in 2013, the crisis in the Eurozone, and the lack of any enthusiasm for further European Union enlargement among existing member states has made the EU Commission seriously re-evaluate the aid it provides to its Eastern and Balkan neighbours,” explains Professor Fagan, who is also Director of the newly established European Politics Research Centre at Queen Mary.

Professor Fagan and his team have already shared preliminary data with a group of officials from Brussels working on the region. Their findings will be presented to the EU Commission. “In terms of research impact, we hope our findings will serve as a basis for re-fashioning the EU’s Instrument for Preaccession Assistance in 2014,” he adds.

The research is funded by the Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD), a 10-year, $36m public-private partnership initiative that supports democracy, good governance, and Euro-Atlantic integration in Southeastern Europe.

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News

School of Politics and International Relations

Book chronicles Blair-Brown years

Professor Michael Kenny, who joined Queen Mary in 2011 year, recently published a new book dissecting the long–term legacy of New Labour.

‘Reassessing New Labour: Market, State and Society under Blair and Brown’, was jointly edited by Patrick Diamond, former policy advisor to the Labour Party.

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The book was launched at the Institute for Government in September, with speakers including Peter Kellner, President of YouGov and Mary Riddell, Chief Political Editor of The Daily Telegraph.

Reassessing New Labour is the first book-length retrospective to be published on this subject with contributing essays on the purpose and future of the Labour Party and the challenges facing the UK centre-left.

The book received recognition in both the Guardian and the New Statesman blog, where it was described as a “superior book” with “clear and bold analysis” from its contributors.

Prior to joining Queen Mary, Professor

Kenny spent 15 years at Sheffield University. He also held a Senior Visiting Research Fellowship at the Institute for Public Policy Research, one of the UK’s largest and most influential think-tanks.

Professor Michael Kenny has been awarded a Major Research Fellowship by the Leverhulme Trust. This will run for two years from September 2012. This award will support a major research project examining the causes and political implications of a re-emerging sense of English national identity in the last 20 years.

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Appointments and promotions

Appointments and promotions Linguist joins British Academy A Professor of Linguistics at Queen Mary has been elected to the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Professor Jenny Cheshire became a Fellow of the British Academy in recognition of her significant achievements to linguistics research.

Professor Cheshire specialises in language variation and change, especially grammatical variation in the speech of teenagers, and the educational implications.

Each year, the British Academy elects up to 38 outstanding scholars, who have achieved distinction in the humanities and social science, to its Fellowship. The British Academy Fellows work to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.

New strategic head for Business School The School of Business and Management appointed a new head last semester.

Professor Martin Laffin was previously Deputy Dean (Research) and Professor of Public Policy and Management at Durham Business School and, before that, Head of the Department of Management in Durham Business School. Professor Laffin sees the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary as having an exciting future at a time when the demand for an effective business education is growing.

He adds, “The School already has a strong identity which takes the political, social and economic context of business seriously. But we need a clearer focus on the realities of management in all sectors and ensure that we equip our students with the understanding and capabilities to be effective managers and entrepreneurs in an increasingly competitive world.” He is particularly keen to develop a new Master of Public Administration programme, working with colleagues across the university, Professor Laffin replaces Professor Gerard Hanlon who completed a successful fouryear term as Head.

Esteemed historian and broadcaster on The National Archive Board An esteemed historian and popular broadcaster in the School of English has joined The National Archives’ management team as a new nonexecutive Director. Lisa Jardine CBE, Centenary Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, is a passionate advocate of archives, having used them for many years both professionally and personally.

She is also Director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters which focuses on archive-based research projects of relevance for the period 1500 to 1800.

With a rich historical and literary background, Professor Jardine’s appointment complements the already diverse skills and experience that the Archive’s team of non-executive directors offers in their leadership of the organisation.

As well as being Chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Professor Jardine is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and Honorary Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge and Jesus College, Cambridge.

In addition to her academic posts, Professor Jardine has written a number of bestselling books. She is also a regular contributor to national newspapers and magazines, TV and radio, including writing and presenting for Radio 4’s A Point of View.

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Appointments and promotions

Görner elected to German Literary Academy The Head of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film has been elected to the German Academy for Language and Literature. Rüdiger Görner, Professor of German, and the Founding Director of the Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations at Queen Mary, was elected a Corresponding Fellow of the Deutsche Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung, one of the most prestigious literary institutions in the German-speaking world. It was founded in 1949, to mark the bicentenary of Goethe’s birth, on the basis of the statues of the Académie Française and the former Prussian Academy for Arts and Science.

Professor Görner said he felt “truly humbled” by his election.

Literature expert charts history of audio books An expert on nineteenth-century literature at Queen Mary has been made a Visiting Scholar by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

During his year-long residency at the Academy in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr Matthew Rubery will work on the project, The Untold Story of the Talking Book, researching the story of recorded literature since Edison invented the phonograph in 1877.

Dr Rubery, from the School of English and Drama, was one of seven academics awarded a fellowship under the Academy’s Visiting Scholars Programme, which supports potential leaders in the humanities, policy studies, or social sciences.

Rubery says he plans to use his time at the Academy “listening to early recordings of literature made for Victorian audiences and for blinded veterans returning from the First World War”.

“Boston is a great place to do research on talking books,” he adds. “Harvard’s Woodberry Poetry Room made a recording of TS Eliot reading his poetry in 1933, and nearby is the Perkins School for the Blind, which Charles Dickens visited in 1842 during a lecture tour of America.”

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Queen Mary historian ‘Twitterati’ award Visiting Fellow in the School of History, John Rentoul (@John Rentoul) won ‘Political Tweeter of the Year’ at the 2011 Public Affairs News Awards, beating Kerry McCarthy MP and co-editor of political blog Lib Dem Voice Mark Pack to the title. In addition to posting razor-sharp insights and opinions on the micro-blogging site Twitter, John teaches contemporary history at Queen Mary, is chief political commentator for the Independent-on-Sunday, contributes to the Indy’s Eagle Eye blog and is biographer of former prime minister, Tony Blair.

Knowledge Exchange Hub for the Creative Economy Queen Mary is leading a £4m-project combining academic knowledge and entrepreneurial skill to benefit the UK’s creative industries. Creativeworks London is one of four ‘knowledge exchange hubs’ set up nationally and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Creativeworks London aims to shore up new commercial opportunities between academia and the capital’s ‘Creative Economy’, which comprises artistic industries, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions.

Queen Mary arts and humanities researchers will be among those providing consultancy services for small businesses, assisting on matters such as policy overviews, intellectual property advice, and digital business solutions.

The hub will also offer placements for postgraduate researchers who want

industry practice and entrepreneurs who may gain from working in a higher education environment.

“London faces distinctive challenges as it attempts to sustain global competitiveness in the ‘Creative Economy’, particularly in terms of digital innovation,” explains Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Principal for Research and International Affairs at Queen Mary, and the new Hub Director.

“The scheme will inform our ongoing research into London’s distinctive creative economy, which, relative to GDP, is probably the largest creative sector in the world.” The results will be fed back to business, policy-makers and government.

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Special feature

School of Geography: meeting students’ needs in a changing education landscape

Top for research in the UK, the School of Geography is really going places, as Emma Lowry discovers 16 | JANUARY 2012 | HSS NEWS www.qmul.ac.uk

Special feature

Climate change, immigration, international trade and poverty are all topics that make headlines for their effect on our lives.

Charting real-life patterns in humanity and nature, and attempting to understand the world-at-large is what Geography is all about.

Within a broad discipline, the School of Geography at Queen Mary concentrates on a selection of research themes, which it excels at nationally. In the last Research Assessment Exercise, the national benchmark of UK university research quality, the School was positioned joint first.

Students are offered flexible modular programmes, to harness those themes and to suit interests and career aspirations.

That the School’s human geography programmes came second in London for satisfaction in the 2011 National Student Survey, is testament to its friendly and dynamic outlook.

For physical geographers, modules look at issues such as glaciation, water and coastal management, and environmental pollution. Human geographers can study globalisation, economics and development, health and inequality, or cultural and historical geography.

Fieldwork at Queen Mary offers a oncein-a-lifetime chance to explore key geographical processes and issues firsthand in locations such as Ireland, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Florida, Mumbai and Scotland.

But making the most of cutting-edge research does not always involve travel to far flung corners of the Earth. “A hallmark of the School is tackling global issues on a local scale, particularly in human geography,” explains Professor Miles Ogborn, Head of School and a historical geographer.

“With London on the doorstep, our students and academics have a unique opportunity to study important social issues, from homelessness and the challenges of living and working in a world city to the environmental impact of urban development.”

Under the research theme ‘Economy, Development and Social Justice’, the School runs a successful Masters in Community Organising. The MA includes a five-month placement with the training arm

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of London Citizens, an alliance of community organisations that operate across the capital.

Students are assigned an experienced mentor to work with one of the organisation’s campaigns, which include fighting for amnesty for migrants, better social housing and the adoption of the “living wage” – a rate of pay that affords a decent standard of living.

The MA convener, Professor Jane Wills was also a collaborator – together with Cathy McIlwaine, Jon May and Kavita Datta - on Global Cities at Work, a major project examining inequalities experienced by migrants, often existing in badly-paid jobs in London.

New research off-shoots have since emerged on the back of Global Cities.

Dr McIlwaine, for example, recently established that the Latin American

“A hallmark of the School is tackling global issues on a local scale...” community in London has grown fourfold in the past 10 years - a figure vastly underestimated by government. With half those migrants employed in low-paid jobs in cleaning, catering and hospitality services.

Jane Wills has been examining the economic legacy of the London 2012 Games, on the back of government pledges to build more affordable housing, and boost jobs for people living in boroughs around the Olympic Park.

The popular MA in London Studies also brings together historical and contemporary perspectives on metropolitan life in the capital. Convened by historical geographer, Dr Alastair Owens, the course examines the capital as a seat of cultural production and political power embedded in a dense network of global connections.

In addition to drawing on expertise across Geography, Politics and International Relations, and English and Drama, London Studies Masters’ students benefit from easy access to some of the nation’s best museums and archives.

Developing links with such cultural institutions is a key priority for the School.

The latest is a partnership with the Geffrye Museum of the Home. Together, they have established the Centre for Studies of Home, exploring the concepts of place, identity

and belonging.

“We are studying how people define home across time and space; it is too simplistic to say where you live and work is always where you feel you belong, particularly in today’s global economy,” explains Professor Alison Blunt, who heads up the Centre.

Cultural geographer, Professor Catherine Nash is working on an in-depth study of the histories of people’s homes. ‘Living with the Past at Home’, which secured nearly £300,000 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and will culminate in an exhibition at the Geffrye.

The Centre for Urban Health is another new research hub approved last year. The Centre aims to investigate how the city environments - understood socially and physically - impact on human health.

As part of the wider ‘Health, Place and the Society’ research theme, studies explore how food shopping and technology transform relationships to diet in the UK and how regional and national variations in healthcare provision affect well-being.

The sustainability of our ecosystem, human impact on the planet’s climate, and the management of aquatic environments are all key research areas for physical geography at Queen Mary.

The School has a growing Masters in integrated management of fresh-water environments, which researches the effects of pollution, flooding and drought. “The Environment Agency is particularly keen to employ people trained to understand and manage those sorts of issues,” adds Professor Ogborn.

Indeed, employment statistics for geography graduates are better than for most traditional academic subjects. In addition to research, report writing, and data analysis, geographers have embraced new digital technologies and media in their field and laboratory work, making their knowledge and skills relevant to many employers.

The School is sixth in the UK for geography graduate starting salaries, with alumni taking roles in local authority planning, environmental consultancy, aid agencies, charities and non-governmental organisations, and more general careers such as teaching, youth work or IT. With the chance to access world-class teaching and research, to make sense of the world and change it, and to secure great career prospects, there has never been a more exciting time to study geography at Queen Mary.

HSS NEWS | JANUARY 2012 | 17

In the news

In the news The lessons of history are clear: this is a genuine crisis

Dr Jon Davis, from the School of History wrote in the Observer on the coalition, riots, budget cuts, deficit reduction and the politics of crisis. “The devaluation of 1967 is an almost negative image of today, when a three-year pro-growth strategy piloted by James Callaghan collapsed in the face of repeated exchange rate and balance of payments crises, to be followed by three years of real austerity under Roy Jenkins. A belated U-turn is harder the longer it is left,” he warned.

Be your own boss In TNT magazine’s article about starting your own business, historian Dr Tom Sebrell talked about finding a niche with his American Civil War-themed walk. He said: “With advertising costs what they are in London, business is a brutal world to enter into right now. If I’ve learnt anything, it’s to network like mad and to go into partnership with companies who can help you to promote your business. It’s all about who you know.”

British riots Professor Parvati Nair, Professor of Hispanic Cultural Studies and Director of the Centre for the Study of Migration, was interviewed on last summer’s riots by the Canadian Broadcasting Company. She spoke on what the riots meant for future community relations between Police and Londoners, particularly in areas where racial tensions have historically run high.

The US and UK: Old Friends In the run up to the 10th anniversary of the Twin Towers attacks, The School of History’s Dr James Ellison wrote in BBC Knowledge Magazine on the past, present and future of the ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK. He concluded that: “As a result of a dynamic mix of shared history and experience, and

political, economic and military intimacy, the exclusivity of their relationship has endured”.

Risky business: children at work Dr Marco Manacorda was interviewed by The Lancet for a piece on hazardous child labour. It is estimated by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) that more than 115 million children aged 5-17 years work in dangerous conditions, with a large percentage doing unpaid and risky work on family farms. Commenting on the statistics, Professor Manacorda from the School of Economics and Finance, said: “quoting absolute numbers is very eye-catching, but not very helpful.”

rising unemployment and austerity” have left the European left on the back foot compared to social-democratic and progressive left parties in the polls.

Think you’re clean? Well your ancestors might not agree To coincide with Dirt, a major exhibition at the Wellcome Collection, Professor Amanda Vickery commented in BBC History magazine on the history of filth and our preoccupation with “beating back the slime” over the centuries. “It seems strange that a people so keen on cleanliness were so unwilling to wash in water,” she notes.

“The solution was to change your body linens frequently. A flourish of bright white linen at the neck and sleeve publicised your hygiene,” said the historian.

Jeremy Bowen lectures Queen Mary students on Islam and The West

How can we protect children from internet porn?

London24.com reported on BBC journalist and war correspondent Jeremy Bowen lecturing Queen Mary students to mark the launch of the new history masters course in Islam. Course-convenor, Dr Tom Asbridge, from the School of History, commented that “Jeremy very much has his finger on the pulse of the Middle East... He offers a unique perspective through his well-honed journalistic expertise and background as a published author in the field”.

Child safety campaigners have called for more to be done by internet providers to stop children having access to adult material on computers and phones. On BBC News, Professor Ian Walden, of the School of Law, said the government is using a “carrot and stick approach” with the industry - with the stick being that legislation could be brought in if the internet industry does not do enough.

Britain’s intellectuals: leading thinkers have their say

Professor Quentin Skinner wrote to the London Review of Books on Harold Macmillan’s 1957 speech, where the Prime Minister uttered the phrase “you’ve never had it so good” as a comeback to an audience member yelling “what about the workers?” to interrupt his dialogue. As a sixth-former in Bedford, historian Professor Skinner witnessed the speech and describes the incident as “mildly comic and absurd” and best forgotten by Macmillan’s diarist.

Professor Lisa Jardine, from the School of English and Drama, was one of 10 intellectuals appearing in the Observer to offer their thoughts on Britain’s relationship with its intelligentsia. She questioned whether public opinion in the UK has any respect for intellectuals, arguing that the university fees debate and the removal of funding means that we have little respect for our higher education system, and therefore little respect for academics.

European solutions and progressive problems Dr Simon Reid-Henry, from the School of Geography, wrote in the New Statesman that factors such as the “eurozone crisis,

What about the workers?

Banished but unbroken sisters Dr James Kelly, from the School of History, wrote for Standpoint magazine on the recently closed Our Lady of Syon convent in South Brent, Devon. The convent was

18 | JANUARY 2012 | HSS NEWS www.qmul.ac.uk

In the news

home to a community of Bridgettine nuns and is unique in history as the only English religious community to have remained in continuous existence from before the Reformation.

phone hacking case. He explained that if Rebekah Brooks, Chief executive News International, was charged after her arrest, she would not be able to give public evidence before a parliamentary committee as it could prejudice the trial.

On the shoulders of giants In a THE anniversary issue, journalist Matthew Reisz recalled Professor Peter Hennessy’s relationship with the magazine and with former editor Brian MacArthur.

Professor Hennessy is described as having, in his mid-20s, “the mannerisms of a 55-year-old country squire”. The historian was persuaded to write articles for THE by MacArthur at a party for Kennedy Scholars and joined the magazine’s staff for a year and a half at the end of 1972.

A new jury to put the British public interest first

Madame de Pompadour podcast

Criticising Thailand’s Computer Crimes Act

In November’s History Today podcast, Professor Colin Jones explored the history of a collection of obscene caricatures of Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV. Professor Jones also authored The Other Cheek, the cover feature on November’s History Today magazine.

In the Bangkok Post, Dr Lee Jones was one of more than 100 international scholars to sign a joint letter to the Thai Prime Minister, calling for a review of the Computer Crimes Act 2007. The letter highlights claims of human rights violations in Thailand and the arrest of independent media icon, Chiranuch Premchaiporn after her news website published comments that criticised the Thai monarchy.

We economists have a Plan B that will work, Mr Osborne Academics, including Professor Simon Mohun and Professor Stefano Harney, from the School of Business Management, published a letter in the Observer suggesting alternatives to the government’s economic policies. They urged the coalition “to adopt emergency and commonsense measures for a Plan B that can quickly save jobs and create new ones”.

The cushiest PoW camp Professor Clair Wills, author of, That Neutral Island, contributed to a Daily Express article on the Curragh in County Kildare, Ireland, a World War II Prisoner of War camp where Allied and Nazi prisoners co-existed “peacefully” due to Ireland’s neutral status.

What ‘Arrest’ means for legal cases in Britain Professor Aldridge, Head of the Department of Law, commented in the Wall Street Journal on the News of the World

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QM Business academic Professor Stefano Harney joined a group of scholars in calling for “a new Public Jury for the British public interest to propose reforms of banking, politics, media and the police”. In a letter to the Guardian, the group criticised Britain’s “feral elite” who, “left to their own devices”, could not regulate themselves.

One Show. She was helping to tell the story of a pioneer of early photo-journalism, Olive Malvery who went undercover in the East End to expose the poverty and hardship suffered by the Edwardian working classes.

Helping high school students graduate cuts property crime, says study A study co-authored by Giulio Fella, from the School of Economics and Finance, has shown that increasing funding to ensure more students graduate from high school in Canada is more effective at reducing property crime than increasing prison sentences.

Improving high school graduation rates boosts the future incomes, taxes and spending power of future graduates says the study, Education and Crime over the Life Cycle, which Montreal Gazette featured.

200 years on, why Jane Austen’s lovers find new reasons for their passion In the Observer, Professor Amanda Vickery argues that Jane Austen’s “brand” has “global reach”, with Austen appreciation societies in countries across the world.

Professor Vickery says: “Austen leaves room for the reader’s intelligence and fantasies, which has the uncanny effect of allowing each new generation to see themselves reflected back from her pages.”

In December, Professor Vickery presented The Many Lovers of Miss Jane Austen, a BBC2 documentary to mark the bicentenary of the publication of Jane Austen’s first novel, Sense and Sensibility.

The referendum on AV Dr Françoise Boucek was interviewed on the Canadian French station Radio Canada about the UK referendum on the Alternative Vote (AV) and more generally about the reform of the ‘first-past-the-post’ voting system.

EU debt deal may be divisive for Europe Commenting in USA Today, James Heartfield, from the School of Politics and International Relations, says the EU will have to come to terms with a shifting balance of power now that Britain is sidelined and Germany and France are calling the shots. “Take a step back and look at it and you see the European elite has failed to come to a consensus decision,” he said.

History of undercover journalism revealed Dr Nadia Valman, a Victorian literature specialist at QM, appeared on BBC1’s The

Achtung! Not more anti-German headlines Dr Pfalzgraf, acting deputy director of the Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations at QM, was quoted in a Guardian blog on growing anti-German sentiment in the media in light of the Eurozone crisis. A mention of the Second World War has always been an easy way to score points against Germany, Dr Pfalzgraf notes, but it also reflects British insecurities. He adds that while the British media often mentions the war, “such fervent anti-German sentiment is not considered to be deep-rooted in the general British public”.

HSS NEWS | JANUARY 2012 | 19

Research grants

Research Grants Professor Steve Cummins

Professor Catherine Nash

School of Geography Senior Fellowship NHS National Institute for Health Research £591,581 01/01/2011 - 31/12/2015

School of Geography Living with the Past at Home Arts and Humanities Research Council £292,117 01/12/2011 - 28/02/2014

Professor Trevor Dadson School of Languages, Linguistics & Film Major Research Fellowship The Leverhulme Trust £103,133 01/10/2011 - 30/09/2013

Dr Matthew Rubery School of English and Drama Research Fellowship The Leverhulme Trust £44,978 19/09/2011 - 18/07/2012

Birgitta Hall School of Languages, Linguistics and Film Development of Business and Entrepreneurial Skills London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Commercial Education Trust £50,000 01/09/2011 - 31/08/2013

Professor Julian Jackson School of History Early Career Fellowship: Dr J Baldwin The Leverhulme Trust £136,008 01/09/2011 - 31/08/2014

Professor Julian Jackson School of History CDA: Franco-British Cultural Exchanges Arts and Humanities Research Council £60,250 01/10/2011 - 30/9/2014 “The collaborative doctoral award will allow a PhD student to write the first ever history of the Institut Francais of London.

The Institut Francais has been an important focus of French cultural activity, and French cultural diplomacy, since its foundation in 1911. It also played a role in the early days of de Gaulle’s Free French movement in 1940. Queen Mary has built up good links with the French Embassy and the Institut Francais and this project offers the possibility to extend these in future years.”

Dr Kate Spencer School of Geography DTG: Development of a Quantitative Risk Assessment Natural Enivornment Research Council £77,511 01/10/2011 - 30/09/2015

Professor Spyros Maniatis Centre for Commercial Law Studies Professor Spyros Maniatis Microsoft-IPI Lectureship in Intellecual Property The Intellectual Property Institute £300,000 01/10/2011 - 30/09/2016 “Microsoft is funding the appointment of a lecturer in intellectual property, innovation and strategy at CCLS. The move comes at a very important juncture in the development of intellectual property law and policy across Europe and internationally. The post demonstrates a timely commitment to research and teaching in intellectual property and business management on behalf of the IP industry.”

Barbara Petrongolo School of Business and Management Structural Transformation and Female Employment Economic and Social Research Council £28,899.96 01/09/2011 - 31/12/2011 “This project investigates particular industrial trends on female employment. Firstly, the outsourcing of domestic roles such as child care, cooking and cleaning historically performed more by women at home.

Also the comparative advantage women appear to have over men in ‘white collar’ service industries. The objective is to quantify the extent of these factors on the rise of women in the labour force.”

Tiffany Watt-Smith School of English & Drama Postdoctoral Fellowship The British Academy £222,784 01/10/2011 - 30/09/2014

Professor Angela Gurnell School of Geography REFORM Commission of the European Community £306,872 01/10/2011 - 31/10/2015

Professor Loukas Mistelis Centre for Commercial Law Studies Research Fellow in International Arbitration White & Case LLP £39,000 01/11/2011 - 31/08/2012

20 | JANUARY 2012 | HSS NEWS www.qmul.ac.uk

Research grants

Professor Johanna Gibson

Professor Julian Jackson

Professor Tilli Tansey

Centre for Commercial Law Studies FSTP Software Testing Teles PRI Gmbh £523,200 01/07/2010 - 31/10/2012

School of History Early Career Fellowship Arts and Humanities Research Council £40,704.80 01/01/2012 - 30/06/2012

School of History Medical History & Humanities Fellowship Wellcome Trust £35,245 01/04/2011 - 31/12/2011

Dr Matthew Rubery

School of Law

Professor Michael McKinnie

School of English and Drama Visiting Scholarship American Academy of Arts and Sciences £38,169 20/08/2011 - 30/04/2012

ESRC Doctoral Training Centre 2011 Economic and Social Research Council £60,975 01/10/2011 - 31/03/2015

School of English & Drama Early Career Fellowship: Dr S Bose The Leverhulme Trust £43,736 01/09/2011 - 31/08/2013

School of Geography

ESRC Doctoral Training Centre 2011 Economic and Social Research Council £60,975 01/10/2011 - 31/03/2014

ESRC Doctoral Training Centre 2011 E.S.R.C £142,275 01/10/2011 - 31/03/2015

School of Politics and International Relations

Professor Michael McKinnie School of English & Drama Early Career Fellowship: Dr M Laera The Leverhulme Trust £43,736 01/09/2011 - 31/08/2013

Project to reveal hidden pioneers of modern medicine Testimonies of the ‘unsung heroes’ of modern medicine will be captured in the largest medical history project of its kind at Queen Mary, University of London, thanks to a £1.4m Strategic Award in the History of Medicine from the Wellcome Trust.

Professor Tilli Tansey, a former neuroscientist-turned medical historian at QM, will lead this major project to record the narratives behind key medical breakthroughs of the twentieth century.

“It is the stories of the hidden pioneers of medicine that we want to preserve; the technicians, nurses, patients, carers, funders and journalists, amongst others,” says Professor Tansey, who is also a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

The project is run by the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group, based in the School of History at QM, and led by Professor Tansey.

Over the next five years, its researchers will oversee 130 individual interviews and 20 witness seminars, which are chaired discussions between participants involved in medical advancements and discoveries.

The interviews and seminars will focus on five key areas of modern biomedicine: clinical genetics; neuroscience; ethics

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in medical research and practice; global health and infectious diseases; and bio-medical engineering and technology. These oral accounts are to be recorded, before being transcribed, edited and published.

The funding from the Wellcome Trust, says Professor Morag Shiach, Vice-Principal for Humanities and Social Sciences at QM, will support “a major contribution to our growing research profile in the History of Medicine, which involves a range of scholars in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and beyond”.

The £1.4m Strategic Award follows a £700,000 Wellcome Trust Fellowship awarded to Professor Tansey in late 2010 when she joined QM. In addition to supporting all meeting costs, the Strategic Award funds two academic editorial assistants, a project manager and a multi-media manager, plus several freelance transcribers, designers, and interviewers for five years.

In keeping with the Wellcome Trust’s policy of open access to research material, a major QM project objective is to make the material gathered widely available, via transcripts, podcasts and videos for the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group website.

The previous work of the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group, covering significant areas of modern biomedicine, is now freely available to consult or download from: http://www.history.qmul.ac.uk/research/modbiomed/

HSS NEWS | JANUARY 2012 | 21

Humanities and Social Sciences events Recent Events Amanda Vickery inaugural puts domestic life under microscope Professor Amanda Vickery gave her inaugural lecture, entitled: Family life makes Tories of us all, to coincide with the launch of the Centre for Studies of Home in November.

“After 1688, new ideas on political authority and social manners came to the fore, but household hierarchy endured.

Husbands were to govern wives, masters and mistresses to rule servants, and parents to discipline children,” explains Professor Vickery, who specialises in Early Modern history.

“By the eighteenth century, new ideals of politeness revolutionised domestic manners and the vogue for sensibility in novels and paintings inflated expectations about affection and happiness at home.”

Professor Vickery explored the home as the state in miniature, discussing the balance of love and power in eighteenthcentury family life, and how dependents lived with the contradictions.

The Centre for Studies of Home, run in partnership with the Geffrye Museum, which focuses on homes in England over the past 400 years, offers exciting opportunities to explore themes such as architecture; interior design; the relationship between home, household and identity; the diversity of home-making on a global scale, and privacy and security.

For more information visit www.studiesofhome.qmul.ac.uk

Honorary degree for renowned feminist Queen Mary awarded an honorary degree to a leading feminist writer and renowned psychoanalyst at the Winter Degree Ceremony in December.

Julia Kristeva is professor at the Institut Universitaire de France and a full member of the Paris Société psychoanalytique. A major theorist of literature, psychoanalysis and feminism, Professor Kristeva is also a successful novelist.

Following the degree ceremony, Professor Kristeva delivered a public lecture at Queen Mary entitled ‘Is there a feminine genius? Hannah Arendt, Melanie Klein, Colette’, which focused on three themes: language, identity and women.

She said her honorary degree was “recognition not just of my own thought, but of the necessary interdisciplinarity of the humanities” and the “deepening of those links which already bring together the University of Paris and the University of London”.

Crusades history series airs on BBC2 A Queen Mary historian is presenting a new BBC documentary series tracing the history of the Crusades - the 200year medieval war for control of the Holy Land, fought between Christians and Muslims.

In his three-part series, Dr Thomas Asbridge, reader in Medieval History, presents a new interpretation of how these two mighty religions waged war in the name of God. “This landmark series is controversial, because it challenges the most ingrained misconceptions surrounding the crusades,” explains Dr Asbridge, who filmed on location across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, visiting numerous archives to reveal rarely seen manuscripts and artefacts.

The first episode traces the epic journey of the First Crusaders, as they marched

3,000 miles from Europe to recapture the city of Jerusalem from Islam. The second episode examines the Third Crusade and its renowned figures: Richard the Lionheart, King of England, and the Muslim sultan Saladin, unifier of Islam. In the concluding episode, Dr Asbridge reveals that the outcome of these epic holy wars was decided not in Jerusalem, but in Egypt.

Dr Asbridge is director of the College’s new MA in Islam and the West and chairs the Islam and the West Research Seminar.

He has published two acclaimed books on the subject: The First Crusade: A New History (2004), and The Crusades – The War for the Holy Land (2010). The Crusades first aired on BBC 2 and BBC HD on 18 January.

Forthcoming and current events Professor Lois Weaver School of English and Drama 21 March 2012 Professor Uma Suthersanen School of Law 4 April 2012 Professor Omar Garcia School of Languages, Linguistics and Film 25 April 2012 Professor Lizzie Barmes School of Business and Management 16 May 2012 Professor Catherine Maxwell School of English and Drama 29 May 2012 Andrew Graham Dixon Reflections on the Art of Germany ANGERMION lecture Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations and the German Embassy 24 January 2012 ArtsTwo opening 5 March – 14 March 2012 AHRC Arts and the Media conference 17 April 2012

For more information on other future events at Queen Mary, visit: www.qmul.ac.uk/events or email: events@qmul.ac.uk

Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 5555 www.qmul.ac.uk