The Publishing Office is creating this year’s Extras, a student life magazine sent to all Kent undergraduate applicants and we’d love your help with two of the features: ‘Why we love Kent Uni’ and ‘Six of the Best’. 

Why we love Kent Uni feature

We’re looking for short quotes of 50-100 words, about why you love the University of Kent. If you would like to help, simply email your quote, full name and the subject you are studying to co28@kent.ac.uk

Six of the Best feature

Tell us about your favourite places on and off-campus. Simply fill in the questionnaire at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/medway2017

As a thank you, we will give a £10 Amazon voucher for any quote we publish in the Extras magazine. If you need a little inspiration, why not check out last year’s magazine at www.kent.ac.uk/extras

Please note: The closing date is Monday 30 May 2016 and we reserve the right to make minor edits.

A call for abstracts and participants is being launched for an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) interdisciplinary event entitled ‘Heritage and Biography: Narrating Pasts, Imaging Futures’, to be held at the University of Kent from 9-10 September 2016.

Under the critical recognition that we become who we are by telling stories about our pasts, and living the stories we tell, this two-day ESRC event aims to bring together interdisciplinary perspectives on the relationship between heritage and biography, drawing on sociology and cultural studies, literary studies, social history, cultural geography and socio-legal studies. We invite doctoral and early career researchers to submit abstracts on heritage’s relationship to personal, community, national, ethnic, gendered and political biographies, bringing a critical focus to heritage as a product and expression of an evolving and dynamic negotiation of past, present and future.

Keynote speakers include Professor Patrick Wright (King’s College London) and Professor Tim Strangleman (University of Kent).

There will be a maximum of 40 delegates and 18 presenters with papers lasting 15-20 minutes, followed by discussion. Abstracts of 250-300 words, together with name, affiliation and email should be sent to heritageandbiography@kent.ac.uk. The deadline for submission is 13 May 2016.

Non-presenting delegates are welcome and are asked to submit a 200-300 word summary of their research.

For abstract submissions, place applications and all general correspondence please email: heritageandbiography@kent.ac.uk and include ‘ESRC Heritage and Biography’ in the subject heading.

Further details are available at:
http://southeastdtc.surrey.ac.uk/Training/sedtc_interdisciplinary_event_heritage_and_biography_narrating_pasts_imagining_futures.htm

Three alumni from the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies, have had their research, entitled ‘Dark Heritage Tourism and the Sarajevo Siege’, published in the Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change, published by Taylor and Francis.

The research of Marija Kamber, Theofanis Karafotias and Theodora Tsitoura, alumni from the Heritage Management MA based in Athens, is the first post war assessment on how Bosnia treats the heritage of war in its tourist industry and was funded with assistance from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

Sarajevo bears a rich and diverse cultural past, which includes the three distinct periods of the Ottoman occupation (1463-1878), the Austro-Hungarian rule (1878-1914) and the Yugoslav Federation (1945-89). But the darkest chapter in its long history was about to be written just after Bosnia and Herzegovina was recognized as an independent country in 1992, when the latest war of 1992-95 unfolded. One of the most distinctive episodes of that war was the siege of Sarajevo. Apart from the open wounds, the Sarajevo siege left behind a painful heritage too. The paper answers some of the crucial questions related to the management of the 1992-95 war sites in Sarajevo. It investigates tourists’ motives and expectations for visiting these sites as well as identifying crucial issues in managing ‘dark tourism/heritage’ sites. Moreover, the paper provides an analysis that could be a powerful tool for the different stakeholders to design activities and promote and manage e ffectively the war-related sites in Sarajevo, depending on the needs and opinion of their public.

Full details of the publication can be found at: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14766825.2016.1169346

Dr Melanie Caiazza from the School of Arts explores how Game of Thrones has changed how we view medieval history and current social and political issues.

‘The return of Game of Thrones, currently in its sixth season, has reopened debate and interest in its dedication (or not!) to historical authenticity, but this time the endurance of the series has established its very own historical legacy.

‘From its conception, George RR Martin made it clear that he ‘didn’t make it up’ but real places and historical events are at the heart of his re-interpreted vision of the past. In recent articles about the series, it is clear that Game of Thrones has become culturally iconic, with writers, psychologists and social theories using characters and situations from the series as tropes for Machiavellian power and brutality.

‘Game of Thrones prompts us to consider how we see history, rather than what we see. Acts of savagery committed while wearing full medieval-esque armour and involving swords or blades semiotically linked to recognised images of the European Middle Ages are synonymous with what we already agree looks like a medieval knight.

‘Ultimately the past is essentially the present since we know how we want it to look and act in order for us to fully engage with the recognisable fantasy of the historical world. This is especially potent with the Middle Ages, a time of transition; a world on the edge of modernity. Not only has Game of Thrones had an impact on how we look at history, but also how medieval settings are re-visualised for our modern age.’

Find out more on the Kent Extra course

Kent students can discuss this further at Dr Caiazza’s ‘Dirty History’ Kent Extra course on Saturday 14 May.

Kent Extra courses are free of charge to any University of Kent students.

Please email kentextra@kent.ac.uk  or visit the Kent Extra website for more information.

Image credits
Title: Game of Thrones bluray 1
Author: Maria Morri
Source: Flickr
License: CC BY-SA 2.0

The theme for IDAHOT 2016 is ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing’. Please come into University on Tuesday wearing as many colours as possible. If anyone would like to bring in any colourful refreshments to share – cakes, sweets, drinks etc, that would be great. There will also be a donation box in G0-05 if you would like to make a contribution towards fundraising for METRO, a registered charity who run a free counselling service for LGBT+ young people across London, Kent & Medway.

School of Music and Fine Art MA music student Amy Morgan will hear her new work, commissioned by the City of Rochester Symphony Orchestra, performed in a concert on Saturday 28 May 2016 at The Central Theatre, Chatham at 19.30. Her piece for the orchestra, called Stranger Things Have Happened shares a programme with works by Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky.

Says Amy: ‘The commission was facilitated by Duncan MacLeod, who is my Specialist Project supervisor. After getting the idea down on paper, or computer and sometimes they are sung I then put them onto music software programme Sibelius. The last stage takes the longest as I tweak the ideas to fit the mood of the composition. In Stranger Things Have Happened, I purposely make some parts dissonant and try to make use of a wide range of extended techniques. This is something new for me, as I normally stick within the boundaries of the instruments. The inspiration for this piece comes from retro game music (such as Super Mario), film music (particularly composer John Williams) and rock music. The orchestra is really friendly and helpful, and it is even more exciting when I hear the orchestra playing the piece in rehearsals. After my Masters, I hope to continue composing for a wide range of instruments.’

For tickets, go to http://crso.org.uk/concerts/

The #EarBox series in which music speaks to visual art – and vice-versa – returns to Studio 3 Gallery on Weds 18 May with a short musical ‘happening; centred on Alvin Lucier’s otherworldly ‘Unamuno,’ an intense yet beautiful soundworld, which promises to be something remarkable with the singers arranged around the gallery’s sonorous acoustic.

The programme is rooted in the medieval, opening with twelfth-century plainsong, and finishing with a dramatic re-telling of the ‘Song of Roland,’ an epic poem written sometime between 1040 and 1115, based on the Battle of Roncevaux in 778, featuring Cory Adams on percussion. Staying with the Norwegian theme, Lillebjørn Nilsen’s haunting, lilting contemporary piece, ‘Danse, ikke gråte nå’ (Dance, do not cry now), has echoes of old folk-song.

The backdrop to the event will be a new exhibition of works by Philip Hughes devoted to the strange landscape of Dungeness, including paintings, prints and photographs, as well as a special garden installation made in collaboration with the ceramist, Psiche Hughes. Admission to the event is free, and the performance will last twenty minutes.

Join Minerva Voices to hear Lucier’s unique piece amidst the new exhibition in Studio 3 Gallery next Wednesday.

Kent Sport have put together a comprehensive programme of activities for the summer term to help keep all members active and stress-free.

On Mondays we have a thirty minute fitness and dance class called Chillaxation, Relax and Unwind on Tuesday, Piyo Light on Wednesday, Tai Chi on Thursday and Veraflow on Friday.

These five chilled classes running weekly from the 9 May to 17 June.

We also have a stamp out stress massage offer with the Physiotherapy Clinic, open to members and non-members available to book from 9 May for two weeks. Book early, spaces are limited! For further details, please email us at physio@kent.ac.uk.
There are plenty of opportunities for all Kent Sport members to get involved with even more Stamp Out Stress activities this summer term, and we’d encourage you to download Sport at Kent activities booklet to find further details of what’s ahead.

Here are some of the Stamp Out Stress activities coming up this term:

• Bucking Bull, Wednesday 11 May 2 to 5pm outside the library
• Last year 55 participants tried their hand at riding the mechanical bull with mixed success.
• Guided bike rides, Sunday 15 May and Wednesday 18 May
• Bring your bike and we will take you there!
• Bubble Football, Thursday 2 June
• The classic. Can you get better than running into someone in an inflatable ball?
• Archery, Wednesday 15 June

Following on from last year’s success we are bringing back archery! Try your hand at shooting targets, fake animals and zombies. A great laugh for anyone.
Why not try something new and give yourself a break from your work.

You can also check out our online events calendar at www.kent.ac.uk/sports or pop into the Sports Centre and pick up a term three Sport at Kent activities booklet.

Its exam season at the university and Kent Sport has lots of fun activities to get involved in when you need a break. The term starts this week introducing a Stamp Out Stress siesta zone as part of the fitness and dance timetable with five chilled classes a week to help all relax. To stamp out even more stress we have a dedicated timetable with activities ranging from guided bike rides to canoeing. Or why not get a sports massage?

The Inter College football, Kent Amateur Football League (KAFL) and the Vice-Chancellor’s Cup competitions continues this term.

Looking ahead to the rest of the term we have an open tennis tournament in May, archery in June, UKC Wimbledon in July and many more fun activities open to all kent sport members.

Let’s Play continues to offer a wide range of activities for just £1 such as frisbee, outdoor basketball, squash, dancefit, swimfit and many more. This is your chance to give these activities a go and perhaps discover a hidden talent! The timetable also contains dedicated This Girl Can weight lifting sessions.

For more information on the events mentioned above download Sport at Kent which highlights all our activities and events. Inside, find timetables for football, tennis, Let’s Play activities, outdoor events, Vice-Chancellor’s Cup and Stamp Out Stress.

You can check out our online events calendar at www.kent.ac.uk/sports or pop into the Sports Centre and pick up a term three Sport at Kent activities booklet.

To make the most of all that Kent Sport has to offer find out about our membership options and benefits.

To keep up to date and involved, follow UniKentSports on Twitter or like us on Facebook.