Bulletin

History Lab Bulletin 31 October 2011

Dear all,

See below for projects and events that may be of interest to History Lab members.

In this issue:

• Next in History Lab
• Calls for papers
• Conferences
• Seminars and lectures
• Workshops
• Projects
• Funding
• Reading groups

_________________________________________________

Next in History Lab:

• Seminar: Jens Olesen (Oxford) - Liberal vs Conservative Conceptual History? A Comparison between Skinner’s and Koselleck’s Method, Thursday 10 November 2011 at 17:30, STB7, Stewart House, 32 Russell Square London WC1B 5DN

• Speakeasy one day public speaking workshop: Saturday, 12 November 2011 from 10am to 5pm, Rooms G37 & G26, Senate House

Do you get the jitters every time you give a seminar paper? Do you find that you are unable to project your voice, speak too fast and don’t connect with the audience? Or worse, are people falling asleep in your lectures? Clear, effective and professional communication skills are absolutely essential to any aspiring academic. While doctoral students are taught essential research skills, less emphasis is placed on learning how to communicate their research effectively either in the lecture hall or in the seminar room. Speakeasy, a public-speaking training organisation, is a one-day workshop on the art of public speaking for young historians. Organised by an academic and a professional actor, the Speakeasy workshop is specifically designed for historians at the start of their career. Drawing on professional acting skills and techniques, our one-day course addresses the following issues:

-How to be an effective communicator in the lecture theatre, the seminar room or in the conference hall.
-How to get your message across, keep your audience engaged and actually enjoy the experience.
-Voice projection, posture, body language and how to calm your nerves
-Different modes of communication: how to lead seminars, chair conferences and conduct a Q&A.
-Techniques for presenting, how to deliver complex ideas and personalise your style of delivery.
-Methods of communication: how to use PowerPoint, present a poster and ‘how to think on your academic feet’.

This course is available to all registered PhD, Mphil students and early career historians. Due to the interactive nature of the workshop, numbers must be limited to 25.

Note on the workshop leaders:

Liza Filby is a historian based at King’s College, London. She was formerly Chair of the History Lab, the Institute of Historical Research’s national postgraduate network and editor of Vitae’s GradBritain. She has four years experience in running peer-based training workshops for PhD students.

Steven Clarke is a professional actor who trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He has a number of distinguished roles under his belt and is currently appearing in a Broadway production of a John Osborne play in New York. Steven has led training sessions on public speaking for both private and public sector organisations.

Reviews of previous Speakeasy workshops in London:

‘A really good day – glad I came all the way from Birmingham’

‘A very, very good day – far exceeded expectations in terms of how useful it has been – thank you!’

‘Great! Very passionate people, very useful!’

‘The session made me realise the importance of public speaking as a tool of professional development and career advancement’

‘[my] confidence grew as the day wore on. Generally really useful – and fun too!’

For a review of one workshop by History Lab organiser Amelia Nel go to:

http://the-history-lab.blogspot.com/

Course requirements: All attendees are required to bring along with them a printed copy of 150 words on/about their research- this could be part of a chapter, paper etc. It is perhaps best not to bring part of your original PhD research proposal. Please also make sure that you wear loose comfortable clothing; don’t be scared by this, no crazy stunts involved!

The cost to attend the workshop is £40 which includes lunch, refreshments and a course pack. If you would like to attend, please sign up and register via the Speakeasy website:

http://speakeasyworkshops.co.uk/.

_________________________________________________

Calls for papers

• Association for German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland
  02.04.2012-04.04.2012, Edinburgh
  Deadline: 30.11.2011
  
  The next conference of the Association for German Studies in Great
  Britain and Ireland will take place at the University of Edinburgh, 2-4
  April 2012. The lead panel for the conference will be "Deviants in
  German-language literature and culture", with further panels on History
  and Remembrance, Linguistics, Gender, Translation, Medieval and Early
  Modern Studies, Eighteenth-Century Studies, Nineteenth and Earlier
  Twentieth Century Studies, Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Studies.
  Information about the conference and the call for papers can be found on
  the AGS website at: http://ags.ac.uk/ags2012.htm
  
  If you are interested in contributing a paper to a panel, please send
  your proposal directly to the e-mail address of the specific panel
  convener. If you would like to propose a panel or if you would like to
  offer a paper that does not fall within the remit of any of the listed
  panels, please contact the Conference Secretary Melani Schroeter
  (m.schroeter@reading.ac.uk). Proposals for papers should be 150-200
  words, panel outlines 50-100 words. Proposals for papers should reach
  the relevant conveners by 30 November 2011. Any proposals for additional
  panels should reach Melani Schroeter by the same date.
  
  Further details:
  
  Lead Panel Convener: Mary Cosgrove/Frauke Matthes;
  Mary.Cosgrove@ed.ac.uk/frauke.matthes@ed.ac.uk
  
  

• 'Representation of the owners, Donors & Patrons in Medieval Art' Conference is taking place at University of Kent at Canterbury on Friday 11 May 2012. The deadline for submission is 15 January 2012. For more information, see attached document.
• The International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC)
  22.07.2013-28.07.2013, Manchester
  Deadline: 15.03.2012
  
  The general theme of the Congress is "Knowledge at Work" and ICOHTEC encourages proposals for sessions dealing with the history of technology within this broad framework.While open to all proposals, the programme committee suggests the following sub-themes for the consideration of session organisers and
  contributors:
  
  -technical knowledge and environmental improvement
  -industrial management: theory and practice
  -institutionalizing research and development in the corporation
  -race, gender, technology, and the workplace
  -craft skill and political power
  -educational ideology and industrial development
  -knowing users: social demands in shaping technology and designing
  products
  -just applied science? the origins of technological knowledge
  -industrial espionage and access to hidden technology
  -military technology and the production of civilian goods
  
  We urge contributors to organize a full session of three papers, or
  multiple related sessions of three papers each, with a named chair for
  each session. Individual paper submissions will, of course, be
  considered and grouped into sessions if deemed appropriate, but full
  sessions are strongly preferred. The programme committee encourages the
  organizers of sessions to announce their plans to compile sessions and
  communicate with potential collaborators through H-NET and other
  networks such as social media. It is also possible to propose papers
  unrelated to the general theme. They can be presented in a "Special
  Topics" session.
  
  Note: Membership in ICOHTEC is not required to participate in the
  symposium. We especially encourage graduate students to participate in
  the symposium and submit their proposals. Limited travel grants will be
  available; see further information at: http://www.icohtec.org/ .
  
  SESSION proposals must include: (1) an abstract of the session (400
  words maximum), listing the proposed papers (see individual paper
  proposal guidelines below) and the chairperson; (2) abstracts for each
  paper (200 - 400 words); (3) a one-page CV for each contributor and
  chairperson. Sessions consist of three speakers, and may include several
  sections of three speakers each, which might extend over more than one
  day. Each individual section should have a chairperson.
  
  INDIVIDUAL PAPER proposals must include: (1) a 200 - 400 word abstract
  in English; and (2) a one-page CV. Abstracts should include the author's
  name and email address, a short informative title of the paper, a
  concise statement of the thesis, a brief discussion of the sources, and
  a summary of expected conclusions. In preparing your paper, remember
  that presentations are not full-length articles. You will have no more
  than 20 minutes speaking time, which is roughly equivalent to 8
  double-spaced typed pages. Contributors are encouraged to submit
  full-length versions of their papers after the congress for
  consideration by ICOHTEC's journal ICON. If you are submitting an
  independent paper proposal dealing with a particular sub-theme, please
  indicate this in your proposal.
  
  Please, submit proposals for papers and sessions via the ICOHTEC online
  submission system at:
  http://www.icohtec.org/annual-meeting/cfp-system/2013-manchester/
  
  Pay close attention to the instructions, particularly those that
  relate to the word length of submitted documents.
  
  Should you have any queries on the procedure, please contact Mark Clark,
  the chair of the programme committee, via email (mark.clark@oit.edu).
  
  If you are unable to access the submission website, proposals may be
  sent by fax to Mark Clark: 001-541-885-1520. Otherwise they may be sent
  via regular mail, postmarked 28 February 2012 to:
  
  Mark Clark
  Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
  Oregon Institute of Technology
  3201 Campus Drive
  Klamath Falls, OR, 97601
  USA
  
  

Conferences

• Interrogation in war and conflict: between liberty,
  security and justice - Reading, 11 November 2011
  
  Professor Hilary Footitt and Dr Simona Tobia, University of Reading;
  with the support of the Leverhulme Major Research Programme
  29.11.2011, Reading, UK
  
  After recent revelations of a 'UK Abu Ghraib', with allegations of
  systematic mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners of war at a British military
  interrogation centre, and the opening of a formal inquiry, the role of
  military interrogations has once again been under scrutiny. This seems a
  particularly opportune time to discuss 'interrogation' both as a
  military event and as a cultural phenomenon. Interrogation raises moral
  questions, especially for states that see themselves as 'liberal', but
  it can also be approached from many other angles. It is often, for
  example, a 'first contact' between actors who come from different
  cultures and speak different languages. It sets out to elicit
  information, but the absorption of that information depends on the
  conceptual scheme of the interrogator. There are important differences
  between interrogations done by ordinary soldiers, debriefings by
  professional intelligence operatives, and interviews that generate
  forensic evidence.
  
  Given these complexities, it is surprising that practices involving the
  'questioning of enemies' seldom receive comparative discussion. This
  interdisciplinary workshop gives an opportunity for a historically-informed discussion of the continuing problems that they cause for liberal states.
  For more information, see attached document.
• DFG-Network "Body Techniques"; in co-operation with the German
  Historical Institute London 17.11.2011-19.11.2011, London, German Historical Institute London, 17 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2NJ
  
  While the history of sport in the modern period has attracted a great
  deal of interest in recent years and new approaches have found their way
  into research, sport and physical exercise in the early modern period is
  still a rather neglected topic. Our aim is not to continue the
  well-known discussion of whether or not sport existed in pre-modern
  times. There were many physical activities beyond the courtly exercises
  of fencing, riding and dancing, ranging from rowing, wrestling, jeu de
  paume, soccer and gymnastics to swimming, diving, pall mall, shooting,
  running and ice skating. The early modern period had professional
  players as well as sports grounds, training as well as contests,
  referees as well as public audiences. And sometimes important political
  and economic issues were at stake.
  
  This conference aims to bring together specialists from diverse
  disciplines and many nations to view the practice of sport and physical
  exercise in its cultural context, taking into special consideration
  social, political and economic influences. Contributions may relate to
  individual countries, to specific individuals or groups, or to individual sports.
  For more, see:
  http://www.ghil.ac.uk/events_and_conferences/conferences_and_workshops.html
  
  

• Realism and Romanticism in German Literature: An International Conference at the Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, University of London, Thursday, 1 December and Friday, 2 December 2011
  
  Co-Ordinators: Dirk Göttsche (Nottingham) and Nicholas Saul (Durham)

Conference Fees:
2 Days: £65.00; £60.00 Reduced Rate; £35.00 Student Rate
1 Day: £40.00; £35.00 Reduced Rate; £25.00 Student Rate
Dinner on Thursday, 1 December: Three courses with choice incl. coffee: £35.00
Reduced Rate: Fully paid-up Friends of Germanic Studies/paying members of the IGRS
Student Rate: Students with proof of status only

For more information and how to register, see:

http://igrs.sas.ac.uk/events/conferences-workshops/realism-and-romanticism- conference.html

• 'Beyond Camps and Forced Labour: Current International Research on Survivors of Nazi Persecution'. Fourth International Multidisciplinary Conference, Imperial War Museum, London, 4-6 January 2012
  
  This conference is a follow-up to the three successful conferences which took place at the Imperial War Museum London in 2003, 2006 and 2009. It will continue to build on areas previously investigated as well as open up new fields of academic enquiry.
  
  More than 100 speakers from all over the world will present and discuss the latest results of their research on all groups of survivors of Nazi persecution. These include - but are not limited to - Jews, Gypsies, Slavonic people, homosexuals, Soviet prisoners of war, political dissidents, members of underground movements, the disabled, the so-called racially impure, and forced labourers.
  
  Papers will focus on following areas:
  
  -DPs in post-war Europe
  -Reception and resettlement
  -Survivors in central, east and southeast Europe
  -Exiles, émigrés and refugees in the reconstruction process
  -Child survivors
  -Women survivors and gender issues
  -Trials and justice
  -Reparation and restitution
  -Testimonies and record building
  -Film and photography
  -Memory and amnesia
  -Trauma and intergenerational transmission
  -Remembrance and memorials
  
  Further information and a registration form are now available at:
  
  http://beta.iwm.org.uk/events/beyond-camps-and-forced-labour
  
  
  

• The 4th Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries International Conference QQML2012, Limerick, Ireland, 22 – 25 May 2012
  For more information, see attached poster.

Seminars and lectures

• History of Art Department Research 2011-2012 seminar series at the University of York.
  
  This term, all seminars will take place in the Berrick Saul auditorium. Seminars are followed by refreshments. The schedule for Autumn 2011 is as follows:
  7 November Anne Wagner, Professor Emerita of Modern and Contemporary Art at
  the University of California at Berkeley, Title to be announced
  
  21 November Jeanne Nuechterlein, Senior Lecturer in the History of Northern
  Renaissance Art at the University of York, Writing Fictional Histories of
  Early Netherlandish Art
  
  Please contact emily.guerry@york.ac.uk with any questions.
• Frank Davis Memorial Lecture, which will take place on Tuesday 8 November and which will be given by Dr Catherine Reynolds (Christie's). This lecture, entitled 'Makers of Royal Manuscripts: Court Artists in France and the Netherlands', will be at 5.30pm in the
  Kenneth Clark Lecture Theatre.
  For more information, see attached document.
  
  

Workshops

• The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's Center for Advanced Holocaust
  Studies is accepting proposals from Workshop Co-ordinators to co-ordinate
  two-week research workshops at the Museum during the months of July and
  August of 2012. The Center's Summer Research Workshop program provides an environment in which groups of scholars working in closely related areas of study, but with limited previous face-to-face interaction, can gather to discuss a central research
  question or issue; their research methodologies and findings; the major
  challenges facing their work; and potential future collaborative
  scholarly ventures.
  For more information, see attached document.
  

Projects

• Historians Connect encourages collaboration and dialogue between
  academic historians and school history teachers in order to enhance
  students' understanding and enjoyment of history. When they register
  with 'historians connect!', history teachers in primary or secondary
  schools are paired with an academic historian (usually a PhD student
  or post-doctoral researcher) whose area of expertise best suits their
  needs.
  For more information, see:
  http://www.raphael-samuel.org.uk/young-history-workshop/
  
  
  The e-mail address for enquiries is: historiansconnect@gmail.com

Funding

• The National Army Museum is offering two bursaries of £500 each towards travel and accommodation costs incurred by students while researching in the NAM Templer Study Centre. For more information and how to apply, see attached document.

Reading groups

The Global Century: A Twentieth Century Global History Reading Group, alternate Thursdays, 3-5pm, at the School of Advanced Study, University of London

Rosy Rickett (University of Manchester) and William Booth (Institute for the Study of the Americas, London) would like to announce a new reading group based in London, aimed primarily at postgraduate students but open to all. Over the course of the academic year we will be taking in many of the major events, themes and developments of the past hundred years or so, devoting a fortnightly session to the following topics:

World War I and the Global Settlement; Old Empires and New Nations; The Long Cold War;Modernity and Modernism The Market Intervenes; Responses to the Great Depression; World War II and the Postwar Order; China’s Century; Decolonisation; Neo-Imperialism; The Politics of Race; Postwar Western Europe; Globalization; Responses to State Power; The Neoliberal Paradigm; Not the End of History; Where is History Leading?

The first session will take place on Thursday 3rd November from 3-5pm at the School of Advanced Study, University of London. Details of the first three sessions (including key text and other suggested readings) can be found at the group's blog: http://theglobalcentury.wordpress.com

Convenors:
Rosy Rickett (University of Manchester) - rosyrickett@gmail.com
William Booth (Institute for the Study of the Americas, London) - william.booth@postgrad.sas.ac.uk

If you are interested in attending or require further information regarding subsequent weeks, please contact the convenors.

--
Regards,

The History Lab team.

Web: www.history.ac.uk/historylab

Email: ihrhistorylab@googlemail.com

Blog: http://the-history-lab.blogspot.com

Post: History Lab, The Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU