Professor Michael Sheringham of the University of Oxford, will give a talk on his latest book project:

Archival Lives: Legacies of ‘La Vie des hommes infâmes’ in Michel Foucault, Arlette Farge and the Collectif Maurice Florence

Pre-LLM Summer Programme

Where and when:

University of Kent at Paris  in Montparnasse from 9th to 13th June 2014

This three day programme at the University of Kent at Paris  will give prospective students an immersive introduction to the experience of  postgraduate study at Kent Law School. Law School staff will provide sample classes  across the range of LLM specialisations, including international commercial law,  criminal justice, human rights and environmental law.

Call For Papers

Organised and funded by KIASH, the School of English and the School of History 

We are pleased to announce that in conjunction with KIASH, the School of History and the School of English, we are able to offer three postgraduate scholarships to outstanding applicants. These will cover Eurostar travel between London/Ashford to Paris, as well as accommodation for one night. By submitting an abstract, postgraduate students will automatically be considered for a scholarship.

University of Kent, Reid Hall, Paris

Monday16^th June 2014

Confirmed Keynote: Dr. Daniel Kane, University of Sussex

Alternative spaces can be understood as any area which is used in an unconventional way. Historically, non-purpose built spaces have played an important role in advancing architectural forms, as well as impacting upon their surrounding environments. Yet spaces of alterity have often been marginalised in critical studies. With advances in technology, the boundaries between normative and alternative spaces are continually evolving.  The impact of the internet and new media have altered the way we perceive and use a range of sites. This transformative potential has raised the cultural significance of alternative spaces, and facilitated their emergence within contemporary political discourse. The privatisation of space and the loss of public access have inaugurated a number of social/spatial interventions – such as the Occupy Movement. Our comprehension of space must adapt to this mobility and employ a range of versatile approaches. This KIASH funded conference seeks to challenge prevailing attitudes towards concepts of space – its formation, occupation and utilisation – by promoting the discussion of ‘alternative spaces’ in an inter-disciplinary sphere. This one-day conference gives postgraduates and early career researchers from different disciplines, the opportunity to come together to explore the idea of ‘alternative spaces’ within their research.

The conference will be held at Reid Hall, in the heart of Paris, which is a fascinating example of an ‘alternative space’. As a non-purpose built educational facility, it initially functioned as a porcelain factory, later a military hospital and a woman’s refuge, finally becoming a university campus at the end of the Second World War.

We welcome abstracts of 250 words for 20-minute papers from a range of academic disciplines. Including, but not limited to: literature, history, the arts, philosophy, architecture and politics.

Some ideas may include: 

• Concepts of space and non-space.
• Representations of spatiality in film, TV and new media.
• Configurations of textual and visual space.
• Utilisation of alternatives spaces in history.
• Inhabiting, occupying or operating within sites of alterity.
• Mobilising boundaries/re-thinking thresholds.

Please submit abstracts for papers, complete with a short biographical note, to alternativespaces2014@gmail.com by the 20^th of April 2014.

Successful applicants will be informed by the beginning of May.