News and Events

Sue-Ann Harding selected as one of only 10 academics across the entire country to win the title of 'AHRC and BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers 2012'

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 12:52:00 +0000

We are extremely pleased to announce a very special source of pride for CTIS and Manchester, and for the translation studies community whose national and international profile is bound to receive a boost in the coming weeks and months.

Dr.Sue-Ann Harding, a former MA and PhD student of CTIS (PhD jointly supervised with Russian Studies), currently a Research Associate within the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, has been selected as one of only 10 academics across the entire country to win the title of ‘AHRC and BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers 2012’.

http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/News/Latest/Pages/NewGenerationThinkers2012.aspx

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/ngt2012.html

As the AHRC website explains, “Producers from BBC Radio 3, BBC Television Arts and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) have scoured the UK to find the brightest, early-career academics who have the potential to turn their ground-breaking ideas into sensational broadcasting”. Hundreds of applications were received for this competition. The selection process took six months to complete, reducing the number down to 50, and then to the top 10.

“The ten winners will now become Radio 3’s second generation of resident New Generation Thinkers, receiving top-level mentoring and advice on how to develop their ideas into viable programme propositions and spending time shadowing the work of presenters and producers alike. They will make their debut appearance on BBC Radio 3’s arts and ideas programme Night Waves, broadcast Mondays to Thursdays 10.00-10.45pm, from Monday 18 June talking about a particular idea that has been inspired by their research.

The New Generation Thinkers will also be invited to make regular appearances on BBC Radio 3 to discuss their work and the world of ideas, and will deliver talks at BBC Radio 3’s annual Free Thinking Festival of Ideas, at the Sage, Gateshead in November 2012. Also for the first time, BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers Scheme has partnered with BBC Television Arts to provide an opportunity for the New Generation Thinkers to develop their ideas for television.”

Congratulations to Sue-Ann, who is clearly an outstanding researcher and communicator – one of the best among her generation.

Study Abroad: Alexandra Geca (finalist German and Linguistics) speaks to the Indpendent

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Fri, 25 May 2012 09:17:00 +0000

Alexandra Geca, has been interviewed by The Independent about her study abroad experiences in Austria. Alexandra discusses the active lifestyle she was exposed to and the abundance of pork and potato dishes! The full article is available at: http://tinyurl.com/76ad3ql

To learn more about the study abroad options offered by the School click here.

Osama Sarhan wins Faculty Students' Teaching award

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:37:00 +0000

Osama Sarhan has won the Faculty Students' Teaching award 2011/12.

Osama has received this award as his students believe he has inspired and encouraged their interest in the subject and motivated them towards academic excellence.

Many congratulations to Osama!

Double Award winning Anne Thompson!

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:27:00 +0000

Anne Thompson has been awarded both the University of Manchester Students' Union Staff Member of the Year award and the Faculty of Humanities Students' PSS award.

The students who nominated Anne for these awards, commented on Anne's commitment to delivering a high quality service and her outstanding contribution to the positive experience of students.

Many congratulations, Anne!

Nicholas Treuherz (2nd Year PhD student) awarded William Robson-Scott Travelling Scholarship

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:25:00 +0000

We are delighted to announce that second-year PhD student Nicholas Treuherz, supervised by David Adams (French) and Judith Purver (German), has gained the prestigious William Robson-Scott Travelling Scholarship, awarded by the Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies at the University of London, to assist him with a research visit to Germany in connection with his research on French exiles in Enlightenment Germany and the spread of atheism between 1685 and 1789.

Many congratulations to Nicholas!

5pm, 19th March: Professor Dan Everett - Lessons on life, language and the human mind from the Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:43:00 +0000

Professor Daniel Everett, whose book Don’t sleep, there are snakes was Radio 4’s book of the week in 2008, will give a public talk at the University of Manchester.

To book - click here: http://tinyurl.com/everettmanchester

Daniel Everett, now Dean of Arts and Sciences at Bentley University, was professor of Linguistics at the University of Manchester 2002-2006. Over a long period of time, he has carried out linguistic fieldwork in the Amazons. This work has led him to challenge some fundamental assumptions within linguistics and his academic publications have led to a heated debate. Don’t sleep, there are snakes has been translated into German, French and Mandarin. His work has received attention in newspapers, radio and other media in a wide range of countries. A documentary for television has been produced with the Australian channel ABC Arte France (http://www.essential-media.com/node/119).

Professor Everett has provided the following abstract of the talk:

A remote Amazonian tribe, the Pirahã (pee-da-HAN), have challenged our conceptions of human language and the relationship between culture, thinking, and happiness. Although their language has one of the smallest sets of vowels and consonants and one of the least complex grammars known among the world's 7000 languages, they can communicate by whistling, humming, and singing. They are the only group known to date that lacks number words or any concept of counting. They have no stories of the ancient past or distant future. They have resisted attempts by missionaries to convert them for over 250 years. All this because of certain values that they hold that are also associated with a lack of observable depression, absence of suicides, lack of fear of death, and an admirable stoicism and lack of violence. This talk will combine film, stories, and science in an effort to understand more about the Pirahas.

Commemoration of the late Professor Richard Hogg on the occasion of the launch of the book 'Analysing older English'

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:07:00 +0000

On Saturday 17 December we are organising a half-day event to commemorate the late Professor Richard Hogg on the occasion of the launch of the book Analysing older English.

Details of book and contributors can be found at http://www.cambridge.org/9780521112468

The timetable is as follows.

(A) 2 pm - 5 pm (approx): papers as follows, reflecting some of Richard's research interests:

Professor Joan Beal (Sheffield), 'By those provincials mispronounced': 18th-century attitudes to Northern English

Dr Ricardo Bermúdez-Otero (Manchester), Input restructuring in the history of West Saxon a-stem neuter nouns

Tea break.

Dr Rhona Alcorn (Edinburgh; first winner of the Richard M. Hogg Prize offered by ISLE, and currently revising Richard's Introduction to Old English), Tracking change: from handbooks to word histories

(B) 5 pm - 6 pm (approx): presentation of a copy of the book to Professor Margaret Hogg. There will be some informal reminiscences of Richard from former colleagues, and Richard's family will be present. Drinks will be served.

(C) 6.30 pm - Dinner at Red Chilli, Oxford Road.

The event is kindly sponsored by CUP and the Mont Follick fund of the University of Manchester. Sessions A and B will take place in room W.3.13 of the Samuel Alexander Building, number 67 on the campus map (South Wing entrance).
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/travel/maps/

Everyone is welcome to attend any or all of A, B and C, but we need to know how many will do so. Please let Dr Ayumi Miura ( ayumi.miura@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk) know which parts of the day's events you plan to attend. Thank you.

David Denison
Ricardo Bermúdez-Otero
Chris McCully
Emma Moore
Ayumi Miura

Catalan Nationalism: an Overview by Professor Angel Smith, University of Leeds, Wednesday 16 November, 4.30pm

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:09:00 +0000

Wednesday 16 November, 4.30pm
Samuel Alexander Building, Room A215, Oxford Road

This special lecture will celebrate the signing of the agreement between the Institut Ramon Llull and the University of Manchester in support of Catalan Studies. It will be preceded by a brief ceremony.

Reception will follow
ALL WELCOME

Wednesday 30th November - a debate with French music journalist Bertrand Dicale

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 13:10:00 +0000

The Department of French Studies at The University of Manchester,

In partnership with the Alliance Française de Manchester

present

a debate with French music journalist

BERTRAND DICALE

Wednesday 30 november 2011

2-4pm

The University of Manchester, Samuel Alexander Building, room LG12.

Linked to the final-year undergraduate module 'Protest Music in France', taught by Dr Barbara Lebrun (French Studies), this debate with Bertrand Dicale will primarily be led by the course students, in French, and revolve around the many ways in which 'contestation' has been performed in French music culture. Yet it also provides a wider opportunity for all francophiles and music-lovers to talk about music and identity in France and the wider French-speaking world, and about music journalism specifically.

Bertrand Dicale is the author of several French singers' biographies, including Serge Gainsbourg en dix leçons (Fayard 2009), Juliette Gréco (Textuel 2009) and Brassens? (Flammarion 2011), and of numerous studies on French and francophone popular music, including La Chanson francaise pour les Nuls (First 2006), Ces Chansons qui font l’histoire (Textuel 2010) and Les Chansons qui ont tout changé (Fayard 2011). He is a regular contributor to Radio France, and writes music reviews for Le Figaro, Le Monde, Marianne, Serge and other newspapers. He is also the author of an essay on being 'métis' (mixed race) in France (Maudits Métis, JC Lattès, 2011).

Free event, open to all.

Please contact barbara.lebrun@manchester.ac.uk to register your interest.

Confucious Institute staff provide language and cultural awarness training to Selfridges

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 14:43:00 +0000

Staff members from the Confucious Institute have been giving assistants at Selfridges a crash course in basic Mandarin and Far Eastern Culture, the M.E.N. reports. Selfridges identified a need for the bespoke training package after noticing an increase in Chinese visitors to their Exchange Square store.

Karen Wang, the deputy director of the institute, said: "We are delighted to be working with Selfridges in promoting a greater understanding of Chinese culture and behaviour in a way that will improve the day-to-day experiences of both Selfridges staff and Chinese shoppers."

HRH Prince Hasan of Jordan attends a workshop led by Professor Mona Baker, with participation from the Arab World, Iran and Turkey

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 09:58:00 +0000

With the support of the British Academy, in conjunction with the Centre for British Research in the Levant, Professor Mona Baker led the first of a series of workshops on Translation and Intercultural Studies, designed to build capacity among the younger generation of university academics in the region. The initiative, launched by the Middle East and North Africa Panel of the British Academy, then under the chairmanship of Professor Clive Holes of the University of Oxford, recognises that early-career scholars in the region tend to face problems in terms of knowledge of latest developments in the field and ability to follow the literature, and in terms of access to resources. Capacity building at this level aims to create an environment where Arab, Turkish and Iranian colleagues might be able to strengthen their research profile and publish in international outlets.

The Workshop took place from 5 to 7 September 2011 in Amman and was attended by delegates from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestine (both Gaza and the West Bank), Turkey and Yemen. Delegates from Syria were unable to attend due to political upheaval in the region. Among the delegates, three were former CTIS doctoral students: Dr. Mahmoud Al-Herthani (Palestine, Gaza), Dr. Amer Al-Adwan (Jordan), and Dr. Jehan Zitawi (Jordan). Dr Şebnem Susam-Sarajeva of the University of Edinburgh and Professor Myriam Salama-Carr of the University of Salford also delivered presentations at the workshop.

One of the highlights of the Workshop was a surprise visit by HRH Prince Hassan bin Talal, who gave a brief presentation in which he shared some of his thoughts on translation and intercultural dialogue with delegates, attended a number of presentations by workshop leaders and participated in the debate.

The next workshop, also to be led by Professor Baker, is likely to take place in Iran.

Cornerhouse, 5pm, 30th August: Dr. Nuria Triana Toribio's Introduction to Almodóvar's 'The Skin I Live In'

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:46:00 +0000

Dr. Nuria Triana Toribio, Senior Lecturer in Spanish Cinema will be giving an introduction to Pedro Almodóvar's new film ' The Skin I Live In'. The talk begins at 5pm.

Booking is required and tickets are available from the Cornerhouse.

Professor Stephen Milner talks about his research and the 'cities@manchester' research initiative

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 10:34:00 +0000

As part of the 'cities@manchester' research initiative Professor Stephen Milner, Serena Professor of Italian, was asked to talk about his research and its relevance to the new project. For more information about the project and to see videos from other academics, follow this link.

More coverage for 'New Cartographies: Algeria-France-UK'

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:45:00 +0000

More reviews keep pouring in for New Cartographies: Algeria-France-UK, curated by Dr Joseph McGonagle (University of Manchester) and Dr Edward Welch (University of Durham).

Next month's Art Monthly will feature an in-depth review of the exhibition. You can view a sneak peak of the full article below.

Art Monthly NC Review

Dr Barbara Lebrun discusses Proust and Madeleines on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Thu, 26 May 2011 14:54:00 +0000

Dr Barbara Lebrun, Lecturer in Contemporary French Politics and Culture, was a guest on Radio 4's Woman's Hour, as part of a feature on Madeleines, the cake made famous in Proust's 'À la recherche du temps perdu'.

You can hear the recording here (feature begins at 33.10):

Nafas Art Magazine reviews 'New Cartographies: Algeria-France-UK'

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Nafas Art Magazine has posted a review of New Cartographies: Algeria-France-UK, an exhibition curated by Dr Joseph McGonagle (University of Manchester) and Dr Edward Welch (University of Durham). The full review is avilable here

The exhibition runs until 5th June, for more information please click here.

Re-evaluating medieval poetry: a major new publication

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Mon, 23 May 2011 09:38:00 +0000

In 2005-9 Manchester was a major partner in an AHRC-funded project, 'Poetic Knowledge in Late Medieval France'. Co-directed by Adrian Armstrong, Professor of Early French Culture, the project team aimed to reassess how verse conveyed and shaped knowledge between the late 13th and early 16th centuries. This meant revising 250 years of French literary history, as scholars have normally assumed that prose essentially superseded verse in this period. The team's findings are crystallized in a recently-published book, Knowing Poetry: Verse in Medieval France from the Rose to the Rhétoriqueurs (Cornell University Press). Renate Blumenfeld-Kosinski, Professor of French at the University of Pittsburgh, describes the book's significance:

"Does verse convey a different kind of knowledge than prose in the later Middle Ages? Yes and no, according to the authors of this erudite and entertaining book. Verse can convey knowledge as profound as does prose, but it does so differently: verse links the quest for knowledge to orality, performance, and personifications and thus invites its readers to engage in a different kind of epistemology: 'verse’s ways of knowing.'"

Dr Barbara Lebrun to appear on BBC Radio 4's 'Woman's Hour', 10am Friday 20th May 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:59:00 +0000

Dr Barbara Lebrun, Lecturer in Contemporary French Politics and Culture, will speak on BBC Radio 4's 'Woman's Hour' at 10am on Friday 20th May. Discussion on the programme will centre around Proust and in particular, Madeleines. As well as providing insight in to Proust and the literary backstory of the cake, the show will also feature a live cookery discussion about how to make the perfect Madeleine.

Computing language histories - International conference on historical corpus linguistics held at Chancellors

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Wed, 11 May 2011 11:01:00 +0000

The use of IT to explore the development of languages has become one of the most exciting areas of modern linguistics, and it is now possible to compile large datasets which enable us to trace the history of languages and compare them in a way we were not able to do in the past.

The three-year ESRC/AHRC funded GerManC project, led by Professor Martin Durrell and Dr Paul Bennett of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, with Silke Scheible and Jason Whitt as post-doc researchers. It will be the first fully representative corpus of Early Modern German (1650-1800), when the language was developing from regional varieties into a national language. In developing linguistic software, the project is collaborating extensively and exchanging programs with researchers in Britain, Germany and elsewhere.

The project has attracted much international interest, and hosted a conference at Chancellors on 29-30 April which was attended by nearly 60 colleagues from 10 countries, who gave 24 papers on historical corpus projects on a wide range of languages, from Latin and Old Saxon to Catalan, Luxemburgish and Slovene, with plenary papers by colleagues from Berlin and Helsinki, as well as Prof. David Dension of SLLC.

The conference was a great success (helped by splendid weather); Prof. Peter Gilles from Luxembourg wrote “a very warm Merci to Mancunian colleagues for organizing this for me very inspiring conference! The combination of technical aspects and presentation of corpus work will help us a lot with our project. E schéine Bonjour!”

Media Coverage for Cornerhouse Exhibition - 'New Cartographies: Algeria-France-UK'

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 08:33:00 +0000

New Cartographies: Algeria-France-UK, an exhibition at Manchester's Cornerhouse, opened on the 8th April and runs until the 5th June. The exhibition is curated by Dr Joseph McGonagle (University of Manchester and Dr Edward Welch (University of Durham). Below is a selection of the media coverage the exhibition has received:

BBC World Service interview with artists Amina Menia and Zineb Sedira:

From Culture 24:
http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/art354861

http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/art352611

From the Guardian Guide:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/apr/16/this-weeks-new-exhibitions

From the Cornerhouse blog:

http://cornerhousemcr.posterous.com/new-cartographies-opening-events

http://cornerhousemcr.posterous.com/this-weeks-podcast-john-perivolaris-takes-us

From The Jewish Chronicle:

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/47883/forgotten-algeria-revived

From MEN City Life:

http://www.citylife.co.uk/news_and_reviews/news/10019312_new_exhibition_looks_at_life_inside_algeria

From Documentally's Audioboo:

http://audioboo.fm/boos/330427-new-cartographies-at-cornerhousemcr

Palaver 2011: Taking the 'The Stalker' into the local community

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:26:00 +0000

The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Mark Hackett, with Ruti Worrall on his right and Sophie Garside on his left with all the cast of 'The Stalker'. Pictured at a performance of the play on Sunday 27th April at Menorah Synagogue: Chesire Reform Congregation

For the first time, the Palaver Festival has stepped outside the university and into the community. On Sunday 27th April, 'The Stalker', a play presented in Arabic, Hebrew and English, was performed by Manchester's students of Middle Eastern Studies at Menorah Reform Synagogue in front of 120 people. The Lord Mayor was a guest (see photo) and he was so impressed that he invited the students, Ruti Worrall (the writer and director) and Sophie Garside (the producer) to tea in Manchester Town Hall.

Cornerhouse Exhibition: New Cartographies - Algeria-France-UK, 8 April – 5 June 2011

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 14:22:00 +0000

New Cartographies: Algeria-France-UK opens at the Cornerhouse Manchester on 8th April. The exhibition is curated by Dr Joseph McGonagle (University of Manchester) and Dr Edward Welch (University of Durham). For more information, please watch the video and download the press release.

Set against the backdrop of recent social turmoil and a complex colonial and political history, ten contemporary artists chart the influence of family, memory, migration and cultural heritage on identity to map an intricate web of connections across the Mediterranean and beyond.

The Study China Programme receives another year's funding

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:01:00 +0000

The Study China Programme, which is the largest student mobility project in the UK, receives another year’s funding from the Department of Business, Skills and Innovation. The project funds 450 students from across the English and Scottish universities on a residential programme in China learning the language, culture and business during the summer and Easter periods. This is the fifth year the University was awarded the contract and the project is managed by Karen Wang.

Inaugural Lecture: 'Dante In Manchester' - Thursday 24th March, 5.15pm

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:55:00 +0000

Professor Stephen J. Milner, Serena Professor of Italian, will be delivering his inaugural lecture, entitled 'Dante in Manchester', on Thursday the 24th March at 5.15pm.

The event will be held in Manchester's historic John Rylands Library, Deansgate and items from the library's famous Dante collection will be on view just prior to and after the lecture.

Two new publications by Dr Mara Patessio, lecturer in Japanese Studies

noreply@blogger.com (SLLC) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:38:00 +0000

Dr Mara Patessio, lecturer in Japanese Studies, has recently published two books.

One is her monograph, Women and Public Life in Early Meiji Japan, which focuses on women's activities in the new public spaces of Meiji Japan. The other is The Female as Subject, edited along with P. F. Kornicki (Cambridge) and G. G. Rowley (Waseda, Tokyo), and which explores the world of literate women in Japan from 1600 to the early twentieth century.