Monthly Archives: January 2017

Canterbury Cathedral at night

Thanksgiving service for Sir John Swire

A thanksgiving service will take place for Sir John Swire in Canterbury Cathedral, on Monday 20 February from 12 noon.

Sir John was Deputy Pro-Chancellor at Kent from 1993-2000 and a generous supporter of the scholarships fund and the Hong Kong Scholarship.  He is also an honorary graduate of the University.

Staff are warmly invited to join the Thanksgiving Service. If you are planning to attend, please register by emailing: johnswirethanksgiving@jssldn.co.uk

Guiding student achievement. SLAS is here to help

Do you wish to improve your academic writing and study skills?

Need help with essay writing?

Learning from feedback?

Not sure when, how and what to reference?

Managing your time is a concern?

How to give a good presentation?

The Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS) is here to help. It offers confidential, individual advice and guidance appointments on all aspects of effective learning and study skills.

Advice, guidance and support is also provided off-campus through phone calls or by emails.

To book an appointment, please find below the Canterbury contact details:

  • Online booking system: SLAS CONNECT
  • Phone: 01227 824016
  • Or just drop in to SLAS offices next to Santander bank.

To book an appointment, please find below the Medway contact details:

  • Online booking system: SLASCONNECT
  • Phone: 01634 888884
  • Or just drop in to SLAS office: G0-09.

Put these dates in your diary!

Kent Sport will be hosting some fantastic events over the next few months, so be sure to put the following dates in your diary. You can also check the online events calendar to see what’s coming up.

Sunday 19 February – Timed tennis tournament. A time limited tennis tournament, which encourages maximum game play in shorter periods of time. Book at www.letsplay.simplybook.me.

Friday 3 March – Canterbury Firewalk in aid of Pilgrims Hospices. A real mental and physical challenge. Brave the fires for charity, and don’t forget to bring friends and family for support!

Friday 10 to Sunday 12 March – Triathlon camp. Three days of tailored advice and guidance with the Kent Sport Physiotherapy Clinic, focussing on personal development and achievement in all aspects of triathlon training.

Monday 13 March – FitnessFest. Join the Kent Sport fitness team for an evening of masterclasses you won’t forget! And for one night only, Jeni is back! Check out the events calendar for more details.

Monday 20 March – Bubble football. A unique way to play the popular sport! A good laugh with mates and an opportunity to meet new people. Book at www.letsplay.simplybook.me.

Monday 10 to Thursday 13 April – Easter Sports Camps for kids. A great opportunity for children to learn a range of sports and meet new friends at the same time at our sports camps run by qualified coaches. Email sportsdevelopment@kent.ac.uk to book your place.

Sunday 30 April – Pilgrims Hospices Cycle Challenge. Kent’s biggest cycling challenge returns for its eighth year. Join over 1,200 riders at the Pavilion and cycle for charity.

To stay up to date with the latest news, special offers and activities, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter UniKentSports.

Vice-Chancellor’s Cup 2017

Fabled staff tournament the Vice-Chancellor’s Cup has returned for 2017! Gather your squad of staff members, pick your events and battle other departments for a chance to be crowned champions and claim the Cup! The tournament is a staff-only event featuring a variety of sports and activities, for all ages and abilities. Any member of University staff is welcome to participate, with the emphasis on encouraging staff to be active in a fun and friendly environment. It’s a chance for staff members who wouldn’t normally meet to interact and get to know one another.

Last year’s winning team captain, Famy Rashid from the School of Engineering and Digital Arts, said ‘We have been absolutely impressed with the organisation and dedication of the Kent Sport team in putting the events together. The VC’s Cup has really inspired us and we now have a regular running club, weekly netball, badminton and tennis practice and we’ve just bought an ultimate frisbee!’

You can view the full calendar of events and follow the results on the 2017 tournament webpage. Photos from the first event, Gladiators, are now up on Facebook.

If you’re interested in taking part, ask your department/school team captain or alternatively email sportsdevelopment@kent.ac.uk. To stay up to date with the latest news, special offers and activities, Like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter UniKentSports.

Staff discount at Gulbenkian

Your Cinema. On Campus. Now with staff discount!

You asked about a staff rate and we are delighted to announce that a new University of Kent Staff rate has been introduced for 2017.

  • Applies to University of Kent staff member only.  Not available for friends and family of Staff member.
  • Special rate is up to £2 off the film price book type on selected performances and screenings.
  • Tickets are available online, in person and over the phone.
  • University of Kent Staff ID required.

Spring What’s On in SMFA out now!

The Spring issue of SMFA’s What’s On is now out, with info on the diverse range of concerts, masterclasses, talks and events, showcasing our talented students. Most events are free – copies of the booklet are available in the Historic Dockyard Chatham Clocktower and SMFA reception, and various venues in Medway. Digital version here
https://issuu.com/musicfineartkent/docs/smfawhatsonspring_2017_final_web

The first event is a lunchtime concert on 14 February.

Centre for Parenting Culture Studies Forum

War – a family affair. Anthropological perspectives on family life, parenting and gender in the light of military deployment, introduced by Maj Hedegaard Heiselberg, visiting PhD student with CPCS
Wednesday 1 February,
15.00 Cornwallis North West, Seminar Room 4

The forum focuses on Danish soldiers and their families before, during and after military deployment. Maj seeks to understand the struggles faced by women married to soldiers as they try to balance professional careers and family life during deployment. Based on ethnographic examples, Maj argues that the frustrations experienced by these women are something else and more than a sacrifice of time. The tasks of everyday family life are interwoven with notions of parenthood, gender and identity, and thus these women’s situation becomes an issue not only of gender equality and family life in the Danish military but also a reminder to empirically and analytically acknowledge the everyday.

All are welcome.

Kent website: changes to top links

From 31 January, the links in the top right of our web pages (mainly ‘Quick links’ and ‘Information for me’ menus) will no longer be there. They’re being removed and replaced with a Kent bar containing links to Students, Staff, Alumni and Departments.

The new Kent bar will be at the top of all standard University web pages.

The Student and Staff links pop open, offering:

  • featured links to the six most popular services (with a ‘show all’ option)
  • ability to search for systems and services relevant to you.

There are no changes to the main menu below the Kent logo (About, Research, Courses, Locations, International etc).

You can try it now – any feedback will be welcome:

Why are these links being replaced?

Over the years, our users have told us the ‘Quick links’ have grown too long. We’ve also improved the website’s search. This is part of a project to improve the Kent website.

What’s next?
We intend to launch the new Kent bar to the live website on 31 January. After that we’re looking at a launch date for some of the new-look web pages on the Beta site including the University homepage.

Todd Mei publishes on the philosophy and economics of land

Dr Todd Mei, Lecturer and Head of the Department of Philosophy, has just published a new book, Land and the Given Economy: The Hermeneutics and Phenomenology of Dwelling (Northwestern University Press, 2017).

Alarming environmental degradation makes ever more urgent the reconciliation of political economy and sustainability. Todd’s book examines how the landed basis of human existence converges with economics, and it offers a persuasive new conception of land that transcends the flawed and inadequate accounts in classical and neoclassical economics.

Todd grounds this work in a rigorous review of problematic economic conceptions of land in the work of John Locke, Adam Smith, David Ricardo, John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx, Henry George, Alfred Marshall, and Thorstein Veblen.

Todd then draws on the thought of Martin Heidegger to posit a philosophical clarification of the meaning of land its ontological nature. He argues that central to rethinking land is recognising its unique manner of being, described as its ‘givenness’. Concluding with a discussion of ground rent, he reflects on specific strategies for incorporating the philosophical account of land into contemporary economic policies.

Revivifying economic frameworks that fail to resolve the impasse between economic development and sustainability, Land and the Given Economy offers much of interest to scholars and readers of philosophy, environmentalism, and the full spectrum of political economy.

For more details, please see the publisher’s page.

Documentary films selected to premiere at international film festivals

Documentaries by Dr David Redmon, emerging from a two-year Leverhulme Trust research grant award to his project titled ‘Donkey’, have been chosen to premiere at film festivals this year.

Do Donkeys Act?, narrated by Willem Dafoe, will premiere at CPH: DOX in Copenhagen in March 2017, whereas Sanctuary will premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) this month.

The IFFR is one of the largest audience and industry-driven film festivals in the world. It offers a high quality line-up of carefully selected feature films. The film Sanctuary evokes a safe haven for abandoned and abused donkeys. The camera seeks to establish direct contact with the animals in an interplay of trust, curiosity, and vulnerability.

Do Donkeys Act?, which explores inter-species relationships in our surrounding wider ecology, has been selected to premiere in competition for the DOX: AWARD (one of only 16 films) at The Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX), the third biggest documentary film festival in the world. Each year, the festival fills Copenhagen’s cinemas with a selection of more than 200 films from around the world.

Dr Redmon is a Lecturer in Criminology in the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research. His research interests include ethnographically recording experiential encounters and rendering expressivity with audiovisual and written mediums.