The University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture‘s annual Paris MA Festival and Conference will take place from 3-7 June 2019 at our centre in Montparnasse and across the city of Paris.
The conference’s keynote speakers are Sarah Churchwell and Lauren Elkin.
Please see the Call for Papers below for more information about how you can get involved in the conference.
Find out more about the festival: www.dangerousideasfest.com.
The Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) is delighted to announce the launch of a new split-site Paris and Canterbury MA programme in Medieval and Early Modern Studies. From September 2019, our exciting new MA programme will provide the opportunity for in-depth study across a range of disciplines and will allow students to share their year between Paris and Canterbury.
Dr Emily Guerry, convenor of the new MEMS Paris/Canterbury MA commented; “This MA provides graduate students with unparalleled opportunities to study, live, and learn in two European cities steeped in a rich cultural heritage and it is the only one of its kind in the UK. I can’t wait to start teaching more MEMS students in Paris!”
Based on our long-running and highly successful MA, the new Paris/Canterbury MA programme offers a thorough grounding in the essential skills required for advanced academic analysis of the Medieval and Early Modern periods, including Latin, palaeography (the study of old handwriting), codicology (the study of pre-modern books). In addition, there is a fascinating range of optional modules to choose from, shaped by our cutting-edge research in a range of disciplines rooted in periods from the early medieval to the seventeenth-century.
Students will spend their first term in the historic city of Canterbury – an important focus for literary, religious, archaeological and architectural, and documentary scholarship. The spring term is based at Kent’s Paris School of Art and Culture, in the heart of historic Montparnasse. There students will participate in Paris-focused modules, taught in English, taking full advantage of the City’s extraordinary medieval and early modern cultural and material legacy.
Then in the final term students will complete their MA by writing a 12-15,000-word dissertation on a research topic defined in collaboration with their academic supervisors.
We welcome applications from enthusiastic students who want to embrace an interdisciplinary and dynamic pathway towards understanding the pre-modern past. Scholarships are available on a competitive basis. To find our more about the MEMS Paris/Canterbury MA programme and apply online, please see the University of Kent’s online prospectus or email centres@kent.ac.uk
On Tuesday 5 March, playwright, novelist, and poet Deborah Levy FRSL gave the University’s annual Paris lecture to invited guests in the British Ambassador’s Residence on rue du Faubourg St-Honoré.
Her lecture reflected on her early experiences as a yet-unpublished writer and the determination and perseverance that was born from the rejection of her first story by a literary magazine. She also spoke about the influence of Guillaume Apollinaire on her writing, particularly on the composition of her novel Swimming Home, and his importance as the precursor of surrealism.
Professor Karen Cox, the University’s Vice-Chancellor and President, gave the welcome and introductions.
Guests included: Matthew Lodge, Minister and Ambassador of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to UNESCO; Professor Jeremy Carrette, Kent’s Dean for Europe; Professor Peter Brown, Academic Director of the Paris School of Arts and Culture; current students; alumni; and friends of the University.
This year’s annual lecture was both a celebration of the Paris School of Arts and Culture and Kent’s celebration of ‘20 Years in Europe’ .
Professor Brown said: ‘On behalf of the University I would like to thank Deborah Levy for a fascinating lecture. The evening itself was a memorable celebration of the University’s connections with France over the past ten years, bringing together current students at the Paris School of Arts and Culture, alumni, and our partners such as Columbia Global Center.’
Located in Montparnasse, the Paris School of Arts and Culture is one of Kent’s specialist European postgraduate centres (the others are in Brussels, Rome and Athens). It offers advanced humanities degrees, taught in English, including taught programmes that are split between Canterbury and Paris.
Text by Gary Hughes