Simon Elliot, a doctoral student in the Department of Classical & Archaeological Studies, has just published historical book Sea Eagles of Empire: The Classis Britannica and the Battles for Britain (The History Press, 2016).

The Roman war machine comprised land and naval forces. Although the former has been studied extensively, less has been written and understood about the naval forces of the Roman Empire. Britain’s navy, known as Classis Britannica until the mid-third century, was a strong fighting force in its own right. Its vessel types, personnel, tactics, roles and technology have never been studied in depth. In his book, Simon explores the story of this famed naval force, through the reigns of several Roman emperors, discussing the important role it played in military campaigns all across Europe and in policing the waters of the Roman Empire in Britain.

Roman history is Simon’s area of research for his PhD in Classical & Archaeological Studies, for which he is completing his thesis on ‘Late Roman Kent’ under the supervision of Dr Steve Willis.

For more details about the book, please see the publisher’s webpage.

Acclaimed award-wining contemporary visual artist and School of Music and Fine Art Lecturer, Adam Chodzko, is one of the exhibiting artists in Points of Departure (part of Estuary 2016) with a new commission as part of an ongoing project which will result in a video and sculpture installation in Tilbury Cruise Terminal. Estuary is a biennial arts festival celebrating the Thames Estuary from 17th September – 2nd October 2016. The artworks presented reflect themes of arrival, departure, migration, trade, connection and nationhood via the estuary out to the wider world.

His work Ghost is described thus:
a kayak; a sculpture as vessel, coffin, bed, costume and camera rig. It is designed to ferry people to the ‘island of the dead’, with a rower at the back, and the passenger lying down low and flat in the front, like a body in a coffin with their head slightly raised, travelling along the interface between water and sky. A camera, mounted on Ghost’s deck, records each unique voyage, the passengers’ point of view, from across its bows. The video archives from multiple journeys along four previous Ghost passages (The rivers Swale, Tamar, Tyne and Thames) here joins new video footage made this summer from the Essex Ghost voyages made by a group of estuarine insomniacs, to be shown alongside Ghost itself, held suspended in the Tilbury Cruise Terminal.

Chodzko’s art explores the interactions and possibilities of human behaviour. Exhibiting internationally since 1991, he works across media, from video installation to subtle interventions, with a practice that is situated both within the gallery and the wider public realm.

Points of Departure runs from 17 to 30 September, 11.00 to 16.00 daily (closed Sat 24 September) at venues in Gravesend and Tilbury. More at www.estuaryfestival.com

Kent hosted a gathering of election and public opinion experts over the weekend of 9-11 September, as the annual conference of the ‘Elections, Public Opinion and Parties’ (EPOP) group came to the university. EPOP is the largest organised group within UK political science, and the conference attracted over 150 delegates from Britain, the USA, Canada, continental Europe, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Delegates came from academia, polling organisations, political parties, government agencies and the media.

The conference opened with a welcome from the Vice Chancellor, Julia Goodfellow. There followed over 100 paper presentations on topics such as why Britain voted to leave the EU, why people support radical right parties, how to explain the 2015 general election, what people think of ethnic minorities and immigrants, what accounts for political participation and how people view the role of women within politics. Many of these papers can be found on the conference website [link: https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/epop/].

Following on from the opinion poll debacle of the 2015 general election, the conference also hosted a plenary session on the future of opinion polling, which explored various ways in which academics and polling companies can in future measure public attitudes more accurately. The gala conference dinner, held in the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral, was addressed by Daniel Hannan MEP, who offered a pugnacious defence of the Leave campaign at the EU referendum.

Open to all at UKC, in support of national Cycle to Work Day 2016

On Wednesday 14 September Kent Sport would like to invite all University of Kent staff and students who cycle to work/study or are interested in cycling, to join them at the NEW Kent Sport Cycle Hub (due for completion very soon) for tea/coffee and bacon rolls. There will be a chance to talk to Kent Sport staff about the Cycle Hub and its cycle hire, maintenance and events in collaboration with other University initiatives promoting cycling on campus, such as Dr Bike. We welcome any comments or feedback from riders on the day. The event runs on Wednesday 14 from 08.00 to 09.00 with a photo opportunity at 08.30.

Students and staff can attend The Historic Dockyard’s ‘Salute to the 40s’ weekend on 17 and 18 September 2016 for a discounted price of £5.

Buy vintage items and enjoy music, food and drink at one of ‘Britain’s Best Vintage Festivals’ (Daily Telegraph 2014). Find out more about Salute to the 40s.

You will need your University of Kent ID to receive the discount on the day.

We know that some of you have experienced problems with your timetable showing incorrect times. We are working on this and should have a solution in place by Tuesday 13 September.  Please check your timetable again tomorrow.

Please note regular teaching hours are Monday – Friday, 09.00 – 18.00, except Wednesdays which are 09.00 – 13.00. Read more information about your timetable.

Timetabling Office
timetabling@kent.ac.uk

The Graduate School aims to ensure that your academic and social interests are appropriately provided for within the University wherever you are based.

Professor Diane Houston (Dean of the Graduate School) and her team work in partnership with academic schools, faculties, central service departments and the Students’ Union to enhance the quality of the postgraduate student experience across all campuses and European centres to create a vibrant postgraduate community.

The Graduate School also supports a wide range of activities enabling postgraduates to promote their research interests and studies as well as opportunities to meet and socialise.

In addition to the initiatives highlighted below please keep an eye on the Graduate School’s events calendar for further information.

The Graduate School is located on the third floor of the Cornwallis East building on the Canterbury campus, with offices for its staff and a postgraduate training room. There is also an adjacent networking space which postgraduates can used for socialising and study.

Postgraduate inductions

University-level postgraduate inductions are taking place on the following dates:

Wednesday 21 September – Canterbury taught Master’s students
13.00 – 14.30  Social Sciences (Woolf College Lecture Theatre)
14.45 – 16.15  Humanities and Sciences (Woolf College Lecture Theatre)

Thursday 22 September – Medway postgraduate students
11.00 – 11.20 Taught Master’s students (Rochester Building RC-09)
11.30 – 12.30 Postgraduate Researchers (Rochester Building (RC-09)

Friday 23 September – Canterbury Postgraduate Researchers
9.30 – 10.45    Social Sciences (Cornwallis South East Lecture Theatre 2)
10.30 – 11.45  Sciences (Cornwallis South East Lecture Theatre 3)
11.30 – 12.45  Humanities (Cornwallis South East Lecture Theatre 2)

The GradPost newsletter

The quarterly postgraduate newsletter (The GradPost) is supported and coordinated by the Graduate School. Postgraduate students can join the GradPost editorial team and/or contribute articles for publication in the newsletter. Further information about the GradPost can be found online. Please email GradPost if you would like to become involved with the newsletter.

Postgraduate Experience Awards

Postgraduate students have the opportunity to bid for funding up to £1,500 via the Postgraduate Experience Awards to coordinate their own events and projects aimed at enhancing the postgraduate experience at Kent. Proposals for funding are required to have an interdisciplinary and/or external focus.

Projects funded previously have included a cross-disciplinary Latin American Society and Research Network, an interdisciplinary conference on Social Movement, and a short story reading group.

Postgraduate students will be notified when the awards are open for applications during the course of the academic year.

Postgraduate Festival

The annual Postgraduate Festival in the summer term provides our students with the opportunity to present their work to a wider audience, network with their peers from across the University and attend academic talks.

Global Skills Award

The Global Skills Award programme for postgraduate taught Master’s students which comprises of a range of lectures on global issues and a series of workshops, has been specifically designed to improve your employability in a competitive job market. The programme is free and those who successfully complete the programme will receive an award certificate.

Researcher Development Programme

The Researcher Development Programme for postgraduate researchers is coordinated by the Graduate School.

The programme provides a range of workshops and online training opportunities designed to enhance your skills as a researcher and prepare you for a variety of careers.

The coverage of the programme has been developed in line with Vitae’s Researcher Development Framework and it reflects the UK Research Councils’ aims to develop exceptionally skilled researchers for the 21st century.

PhD students will be notified in September about booking a place on one of our ‘Kick-start your PhD’ Workshops.

Postgraduate Research Café

The Postgraduate Research Café takes place monthly and provides an opportunity for postgraduate researchers to showcase their research in an informal setting and network with researchers from a variety of disciplines.

Postgraduate Handbooks

All new postgraduate students will receive a copy of the 2016-17 Postgraduate Handbook at the induction. You can also download a copy online or pick one up from the Graduate School.

The handbooks contain useful information about postgraduate study and research at Kent, details of academic and regulatory processes as well as local information for students who are new to Kent.

We look forward to welcoming you to Kent – come and meet the Graduate School staff in Cornwallis East or contact us via:

• email: graduateschool@kent.ac.uk.
• Facebook
• Twitter

The opening night of the Tate Film series From Reel to Real: Women, Feminism and the London Film-makers’ Co-operative includes a screening of One and the Other Time, (1990), directed by award-winning artist Sarah Turner, Reader in Fine Art and Director of Research at the School of Music and Fine Art.
The work is being shown at Tate Modern on 23 September from 18.30-21.00 as part of Collapsing the Frame.
The filmmakers in this programme, which is supported by LUMA Foundation, FLUXUS and LUX, experiment with film structure in an attempt to collapse the frame within which women are confined, both cinematic and cultural. The screening is followed by an artist discussion moderated by the series curator Maud Jacquin.

Event Venue: Starr Cinema, Tate Modern, Bankside, London, SE1 9TG

For more details go to http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/film/reel-real-women-feminism-and-london-film-makers-co-operative/collapsing