Kent Paris Centre hosts annual summer school on “Revolutions”

The University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture has hosted its annual summer school in July 2018. Taking the theme of “Revolutions”, students examined topics from diverse academic disciplines with Paris as the setting for their scholarly exploration. Led by the University’s expert faculty, students spent two weeks undertaking daily seminars and fascinating study trips. The summer school culminated in the presentations of students’ work and a celebratory farewell meal with staff and students.

A number of summer school students have put together photo and video montages of their memorable time in Paris:

See Giulio’s photographic portfolio

See Gretta’s video presentation

 

Paris School administrator wins University award

The University of Kent Graduate School has awarded its 2018 prize for exceptional achievement in administration (Faculty of Humanities) to Paris School of Arts and Culture administrator Frank Mikus. Frank was recognised for “his exceptional abilities across a wide range of activities…oustanding support and advice provided to the Academic Director…exceptionally effective deployment of social skills… remarkable abilities in managing complex networks…unusual breadth of academic vision… outstanding achievement in recruitment of MA students.”

Frank and other members of staff and postgraduate students were recognised in an awards ceremony held during the University’s Postgraduate Festival in June 2018. Further information regarding the 2018 Graduate School prize winners can be found here.

Kent ranked among top 50 in Europe for teaching

The pioneering ranking draws from data that includes teaching reputation, graduation rate and the development of students’ skills for 242 institutions across the UK, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland.

Half of universities’ overall scores are based on the results of the THE European Student Survey – a student engagement survey of more than 30,000 university students, which includes questions on whether teaching supports critical thinking, whether classes challenge students and whether students have the opportunity to interact with staff.

The University’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Karen Cox, said: ‘Our teaching is regularly acknowledged as being amongst the best in the UK, so I am delighted to see that Kent features so prominently in this new European table. I would like to thank all those who, through their hard work and dedication, contribute to not only our ongoing success and reputation but also to the teaching and learning experience enjoyed by so many students each year.’

In 2017, Kent was awarded a gold rating, the highest, in the UK Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The TEF Panel judged that Kent delivers consistently outstanding teaching, learning and outcomes for its students. It is of the highest quality found in the UK.

Further information on THE European Teaching Rankings can be found here.

Paris MA Film student celebrates documentary premiere

Congratulations to former MA Film student at the University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture Ece Ger who has recently celebrated the world premiere of her documentary, Meeting Jim, at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Meeting Jim is a feature length documentary about Jim Haynes, an extraordinary 83-year-old man and his legendary Sunday dinners in Paris that are free and open to the public.

It takes you on a journey back to his lifetime, a man who grabbed with heart and soul the spirit of the 60s and continued to carry it throughout his life. This journey becomes also a physical one when he takes a train from the city of Paris, where he lives, to London and Edinburgh, the cities where he left his unique mark. A journey that will not only bring out his past and memories, but also his carefully preserved collection of human interconnections.

 

Find out more about the film here.

Find out more about the Edinburgh International Film Festival here.

MA Festival: Revolutions

To mark the 50th anniversary of the May 1968 student protests and general strikes in France, the University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture presents the third annual MA Festival and Conference: REVOLUTIONS.

The events of 1968 began in the Latin Quarter of Paris with students protesting an outdated university system and insufficient employment opportunities after graduation. Following a demonstration at the Sorbonne on 3rd May where students were arrested in their hundreds, courses at the university were suspended and students then took their protest to the streets as a result. Barricades were built and the number of student protestors in the city rose to 40,000. Rioting began on 10th May and lead to the arrest and hospitalisation of hundreds. After this day, wildcat general strikes swept the whole country involving several million workers. Authorities feared a radical socialist revolution as the Latin Quarter lay in ruin and industry in France came to a standstill. Violence and strikes continued throughout May and into June of 1968.

Based at Reid Hall in Montparnasse, just a stone’s throw away from the Latin Quarter, the University of Kent finds itself at the heart of the lively left-bank of Paris. Since the 1890s, Reid Hall has been a space for intellectuals and creatives, with an intermission during the First World War where the building was used as a hospital for French and American officers, the building has since returned to its academic roots and today houses universities from America and the United Kingdom.

From 4th – 8th June 2018, students of the Paris School of Arts and Culture will host an interdisciplinary programme of events dedicated to history, film, literature, visual arts and music, to remember not only May 1968 but moments of protest, resistance and innovation throughout history.

We will be highlighting the different events in the upcoming weeks and you can discover the entire festival programme here.

Follow the festival news on Twitter and Facebook.

From Paris to Rome

Students from the University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture had the exciting opportunity to take a study trip to Rome this Spring term.

Amongst visits to historical monuments and museums across the city, students enjoyed a private tour of the famous Villa Farnesina led by Professor Tom Henry, Academic Director of the University of Kent Rome School of Classical and Renaissance Studies (RSCRS). Paris students gave presentations in the company of their Rome student counter-parts at the Rome School of Classical and Renaissance Studies home at the American University in Rome (AUR). See their highlights in the photo gallery below!

The trip to Rome was a fantastic opportunity to discover another historic European city.  It was interesting meet our ‘Roman’ counter-parts and to have a taste of how they learn in the city.  We saw many monuments, galleries, museums and of course sample the local cuisine. The Sistine Chapel was a huge highlight, though it was also fascinating to have a tour of the Villa Farnesina by Professor Tom Henry.  The trip was certainly something I won’t forget!

Alice Helliwell, Student and President of the Paris Society

 

Painter to the King

Amy Sackville, author and teacher of Creative Writing at the University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture, has released her third novel Painter to the King.

This week it appears as the Guardian’s Book of the Week and is described as “one of the finest historical novels of recent years” by a novelist with “extraordinary gifts.”

Her first novel, The Still Point won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was long-listed for the Dylan Thomas and the Orange Prizes. Her second novel Orkney won a Somerset Maugham Award.

Amy Sackville will be appearing at Shakespeare & Co, a historic bookstore in Paris, on the 3rd of May. She will be teaching at the University of Kent Paris School of Arts and Culture this Autumn 2018.

Celebrations

Students at the Paris School of Arts and Culture celebrated the end of the Spring term in style with dinner on the Seine, starting near the famous Pont des Arts which until recently was covered with thousands of padlocks.

The evening was organised by the Paris Society, a student group who organise varied activities across Paris throughout the year. Other activities this term have included an excursion to the Château de Versailles, a cinema trip and a St Patrick’s day party.

BBC report filmed in Paris

The University’s Paris School of Arts and Culture was the focus of a BBC Sunday Politics South East report on the importance of student and staff mobility.

Filmed on 27 and 28 February, reporter Briohny Williams interviewed Professor Jeremy Carrette, Kent’s Dean for Europe, and students Alice Cadney and Olivia Toulmin about Erasmus+ and the opportunities studying abroad presents. Professor Carrette also outlined the University’s plans for ensuring student and staff mobility continues post-Brexit.

French alumni Kim Randazzo and Theo Thieffry spoke about their experiences of studying at Kent and, more broadly, in the UK.

The report was broadcast on 18 March and can be viewed by the UK audience here  (from 41:00) for 29 days.

Resistance in WWII Paris

Nigel Perrin, PHD student in the School of History at the University of Kent and teacher on the HI890: Revolutions & Resistance module in Paris, led students around the 16th arrondissement of Paris, highlighting places of resistance in WWII Paris.

Follow the adventures of the students on the HI890: Revolutions & Resistance module across Paris here.