In the latest episode of the Nostalgia podcast series, Dr Chris Deacy, Reader in Theology and Religious Studies in the Department of Religious Studies, speaks to SECL alumnus Abi Hawkins, Head of Religious Education at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School in Canterbury.

Abi graduated with BA (Hons) in Philosophy in 2018 and now teaches pupils in key stages 3-5. In the interview, Abi explains that she always wanted to become a teacher and why she especially enjoys teaching subjects she struggled with the most at university, eg the philosophy of language.

In this podcast, we learn about the challenges Abi has faced in teaching subjects with which she formerly struggled; playing an orphan in ‘Annie’; why Abi remembers listening to a CD of upbeat cover songs in Australia at the age of ten; why she is not a fan of 3D film; what happened when she once went to a sing-a-long version of her favourite Christmas movie; using film in teaching; how students are more involved in politics now than was the case in the past; what happened when Abi was once asked in a bar to explain what Philosophy is; why she used to love the pressure of exams and why she feels she has fulfilled the dreams she has had since childhood.

Does your bike need a check over? Visit Dr Bike on  Thursday 21 March outside the Student Hub , from 11.30-14.30.

Dr Bike are trained bicycle mechanics who regularly come onto campus to check and adjust your bike for free. The service is available to University of Kent and University of Greenwich students and staff.

Additional work will be quoted individually but will always be at a special reduced rate.

For more information visit our Dr Bike webpage.

If you do not own a bike, check out the Rent & Ride cycle hire scheme.

The School of Arts, in partnership with Studio 3 Gallery, Kent Law School, and the Centre for Critical Thought, has organised two collaborative events with artist Heath Bunting, to be held on Friday 15 March 2019.

The events consist of a seminar for students and staff at 11.00 in Cornwallis North West Seminar Room 6, and a talk which is open to the public at 16.00 in the Studio 3 Gallery.

This joint venture was initiated by Mihaela Varzari, an independent curator currently undertaking a PhD in History and Philosophy of Art, and Dr Connal Parsley, Senior Lecturer in Law and Deputy Director of Kent’s Centre for Critical Thought. Each presentation will be followed by discussion with the organisers, chaired by Dr Michael Newall, Senior Lecturer in History and Philosophy of Art.

Heath Bunting’s international artistic career, spanning over 30 years, has roots in local political and social activism in Bristol with a strong focus on anarchism. The emergence of the internet in the mid 90’s in UK, perceived by Bunting as a social revolution, allowed him to immediately embrace it as an artistic medium, as well as a tool for social change. Street art, sports, permaculture, information sharing via networks, or forest trips, to mention only a few, become artistic ways of representation. Considered a pioneer of net.art, Bunting’s work is also associated with the second wave of institutional critique, known for challenging via networks and exhibitions available only on-line, the hyper commodification of art markets in the West. As politics and the nature of the internet have changed, so does Bunting’s questions and interests. His strong interest in recent legislation, commerce and systems of control, as seen in Status Project (2008), renders his work difficult to categorise, but nevertheless richly informative for students of history of art and law.

If you wish to attend the seminar on Friday, please RSVP to Connal Parsley at C.Parsley@kent.ac.uk

Please book your free ticket for the talk at 16.00 on Facebook or Eventbrite.

Learning and Organisational Development are running a Managing Performance training session on Monday 25 March from 9.30-12.30.

For further information and to book a place, please visit your Staff Connect Dashboard.

Please book your place by Friday 22 March, 17.00.

Dr Sophia Labadi, Senior Lecturer in Heritage & Archaeology for the Department of Classical & Archaeological studies, has recently been featured in a report by the French Ministry of Culture in regards to her book Museums, Immigrants and Social Justice (Routledge, 2017).

Museums, Immigrants and Social Justice (Routledge, 2017) is referenced in this report, entitled ‘Culture and Migrants’ (Culture et migrants), to explain the unique role that museums can play in providing opportunities for immigrants to learn the language of their host countries. The conclusion of Dr Labadi’s book and the recommendations from the report by the French Ministry of Culture are aligned: provisions of language skills must be improved and expanded. Museums could play a greater role in this process, to tackle better multiple forms of exclusions faced by migrants.

Museums, Immigrants and Social Justice argues that museums can offer a powerful, and often overlooked, arena for both exploring and acting upon the interrelated issues of immigration and social justice. Based on three in-depth European case studies, spanning France, Denmark, and the UK, the research examines programs developed by leading museums to address cultural, economic, social and political inequalities. Where previous studies on museums and immigration have focused primarily on issues of cultural inequalities in collection and interpretation, Museums, Immigrants, and Social Justice adopts a more comprehensive focus that extends beyond the exhibition hall to examine the full range of programs developed by museums to address the of cultural, economic, social and political inequalities facing immigrants.

Chapter 1 of Museums, Immigrants and Social Justice is available online.

A presentation on ‘Understanding and Working with Self-harm and Attempted Suicide’ is to be given by Dr Terence Nice, Programme Director (Psychotherapy), from the Centre for Professional Practice.

The presentation will take place on Monday 25 March, from 9.30-11.30, in Grimond Lecture Theatre 2, Canterbury campus.

The presentation focuses upon the assessment and treatment of people who self-harm and attempt suicide. The presentation looks at the prevalence of self-harm, national guidelines, causative factors and ways of ameliorating suicidal ideations and diminishing acts of self-harm. The territory of self-harm and attempted suicide is often paradoxical and labyrinthine, leaving clinicians, practitioners and workers uncertain about how to react positively and respond appropriately. The presentation is aimed at all those people who come into contact with young or older people who self-harm or attempt suicide.

The presenter is a Lecturer in Psychological Therapies, Highly Specialist Psychotherapist and an active researcher in this field. Dr Nice has also developed a self-harm tool-kit to assist in the assessment and treatment of this group.

The presentation will be followed by Q&A time. Refreshments will be provided and certificates of attendance will be issued.

Entrance fee to the event is £20 per person. All spaces must be pre-booked – book your place now via the University’s  online store.

For Kent staff, internal journal transfers areavailable. Please use the cost code 1830-385-44385 and email professionalpractice@kent.ac.uk with your name and contact details.

For any queries, please email professionalpractice@kent.ac.uk or call 01634 888929.