The Department of Classical and Archaeological Studies recently hosted their end of year prize competition for this year’s ‘Classic Tales’ project. Thirty pupils in Year Seven at Dover Grammar School for Boys were invited to attend an event at the University to celebrate their achievements.

The pupils were required to produce an artistic interpretation of Homer’s Odyssey, either individually or as part of a small group, with the thirty students who produced the most original projects invited along for an unforgettable day at the University’s Canterbury campus.

With interpretations ranging from pottery to poetry and re-imaginings of the tale set in locations as far-flung and far-fetched as space and cloning labs, Lecturer in Classics and Philosophy Dr Kelli Rudolph, and Dr Alexandra Martin-Carey, Humanities specialist from the University’s schools outreach team, were delighted by the range and quality of the submissions.

The project was delivered with the aim of giving pupils access to the history and traditions of story-telling, with the day at the University designed to allow pupils to experience what life with lecturers and being on a real campus would be like. The pupils who took part in the project said they enjoyed ‘the atmosphere around campus’, with another remarking that ‘before going on this trip, I didn’t really want to go to a university, but after my experience I now really want to go!’ The vast majority agreed, with just 42% of attendees saying they wanted to go to university before the trip, but that number soared to almost 75% after their glimpse of life on campus.

Kelli Rudolph said: “Classical Tales has had another amazingly successful year! The power and beauty of Homer’s Odyssey inspired thirty 11-12 year olds to new creative and intellectual heights. In addition to their creative responses to this 3000 year old tale, they easily sustained a near university-level analysis of key aspects of the text in a seminar style setting. This is a spectacular outcome for a programme designed to make the literature of antiquity accessible to all students regardless of their background or attainment level. The students’ outstanding work is evidence of the timeless nature of ancient literature, and its ability to spark imagination. After getting a taste of what Humanities has to offer on a university campus, it was no surprise that the number of students in the group wanting to go to University nearly doubled. This is what great literature has the power to do: inspire students to dream bigger, strive harder and let their imaginations run free.”

KMTV has launched the county’s only dedicated video news app.

The Freeview channel, owned by the University of Kent and the KM Media Group, broadcasts to thousands of residents across the county every day. Now, even more people are being kept up to date with stories and content that really matter to their communities through its innovative app.

The app, that’s available to download for free on both Apple and Android devices, broadcasts KMTV’s live output 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Users are also able to watch all of the channel’s shows on demand, including its flagship news programme ‘Kent Tonight’.

‘We’re so excited to be launching the app and serving even more people in Kent,’ says Andy Richards, KMTV’s News Editor. ‘Every single minute of the content that we create at KMTV is now available on the app. 90,000 people currently watch our content on Freeview and Virgin for three minutes or longer every week. 100,000s use our social media and website and we’ve achieved 1,000,000s of views of our videos since launching. We’re delighted to have built this audience in our short existence but by developing the app, we’re now able to serve an even wider audience.’

After a soft launch of the app to help test the software, hundreds of people have already downloaded it on both stores. ‘It’s been amazing, considering there’s only been limited promotion whilst we finessed the app’s functionality. I think it shows that there’s a huge appetite for the kind of content we’re creating and we’re really excited about its future’.

The app has been developed by Publishers’ Toolbox, an international digital agency that’s working with media organisations such as NewsUK and The Gay Times.

Working with Publishers’ Toolbox, KMTV’s helped develop key innovative features. Users are able to submit their own content to the channel that flows directly into KMTV’s news gathering system. ‘Through producing our content online, we’ve seen how well user generated content does in terms of traffic on social media groups,’ says Richards. ‘Why not take this a step further? We want smaller communities to use our various channels to tell stories that wouldn’t usually get a platform to thousands. The public are more educated than ever before on how to use powerful devices such as smartphones and it’s a really simple process to send the content. We’re hoping to work with lots of diverse groups to deliver hyper local stories to areas that doesn’t traditionally get a voice’.

As part of its relationship with the KM Group’s newspapers, KMTV will also be trialling the use of ‘Augmented Reality’ through its app. Users will be able to scan pictures in the KM newspaper titles that will bring the pages to life by delivering videos within the app. ‘This
could be the future,’ continues Richards. ‘Augmented reality has been around for a little while, but has had limited uptake or success. That’s because technology wasn’t ready for it but I think it is now. It’s a fantastic way of bringing a modern twist to traditional media and we think it’s a really interesting feature that’s worth exploring, as there are both editorial and commercial opportunities through its use.’

For more information contact Andy Richards on 01634 202024 or visit the KMTV website and social media pages: Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.

Congratulations to alumna Zoë Carey-Williams, who graduated with a BA (Hons) in Drama and French in 2017, who worked on the comedy TV movie Death on the Tyne (2018), which has been nominated for Best Comedy Programme at the Broadcast Digital Awards 2019.

Death of the Tyne was produced by UKTV, and saw Zoë starring alongside comedy legends Johnny Vegas and Sue Johnston. The film is a follow up to Murder on the Blackpool Express (2017), and follows a mystery on an Amsterdam cruise ship crossing the Tyne.

Explaining her background, Zoë said: ‘I studied Drama and French at Kent and the teaching on the acting modules I chose for second and third year were outstanding. We were really pushed and taught so many tools to apply to the craft.’

Following her study, she wanted to pursue acting professionally – which swifty led to her getting the role of Hen in Death on the Tyne: ‘I got the role from a self-tape audition. It was only a couple of lines but it was my first professional speaking role on-screen and I was ecstatic – and very nervous – because the cast featured many brilliant and hilarious actors who I’d grown up watching, and the director Ed Bye had directed my favourite comedy show as a kid, After You’ve Gone.’

Has Zoë any advice to current students? ‘Sometimes we take our time at university for granted – the access we have to brilliant minds ready to impart their wisdom. I still go back to the notes from my courses. I will always be grateful for my time at Kent!’

To see the full list of nominations, please see the page here.

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 Vivian Asimos.

Vivian recently achieved her PhD on theology and virtual storytelling at Durham with Douglas Davies (next week’s guest), with ‘Slender Man’ (a fictional monster created on an internet forum) as her main case study. The pair discuss blurring the line in horror between fiction and reality.

She and Chris go on to discuss video games; Florida; wanting to be a creative writer; ‘stumbling into’ Religious Studies; playing the piano; funk; listening to the charts on the way to church; ‘Lord of the Rings’; working in a food bank and on President Obama’s re-election campaign; the comfort of not belonging; what her childhood version of herself would expect she would be doing now; and using the past as a learning experience for future situations.

Alumna Patrycja Dynowska, who graduated with an MA in Physical Acting in 2017, will be performing in a one-woman show at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden in London, opening on Tuesday 18 June 2019.

Sh*t Happens is a multidisciplinary performance exploring the taboos and challenges of living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, drawing on personal experience of one of the more than 300,000 people affected in the UK.

The performance deals with the awkward and often embarrassing subject in a light and humorous way that is not deprived of its importance and seriousness. Through the use of technology, autobiographical stories and poetry, the spectator gradually discovers the inconvenient aspects of living with a chronic invisible disease.

Explaining the background to the show, Patrycja said: ‘I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in January 2013 at the age of 21. I was scared, ashamed, embarrassed and didn’t really know how life-changing it was going to be. I felt there was little to no understanding of the condition. Having been able to see a show that addressed this subject in a light-hearted way would have provided comfort and reassurance, that being affected by this debilitating disease is not the end of the world. I hope to spread awareness on Inflammatory Bowel Disease and make people realise that more and more individuals are being affected by invisible and debilitating diseases nowadays, and what better way to do it than through theatre?’

Patrycja spoke of her time at Kent: ‘The MA in Physical Acting contributed greatly to my development as an actor, performer and a theatre maker. It gave me the confidence and inspired me to create my own work that is strongly rooted in physical and devised theatre. Since graduating, I have performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Orestes by Wacky Goats) and at The Bread & Roses Theatre (Some Birds Never Return by The Collective). Sh*t Happens is my first full-length solo performance.’

The show runs until Saturday 22 June, with performances at 6.15pm each night and a matinée performance on the final Saturday at 2:30pm. Tickets cost £12/£10.

Patrycja will also perform the show at the Camden Fringe Festival, from Wednesday 14 to Sunday 18 August at Camden People’s Theatre.

For more details, please see the page here. 

Dr Chia-Yuan Lin, Postdoctoral Research Assistant in the Department of English Language & Linguistics has been awarded a Summer Vacation Research prize by the University’s Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching for a project titled ‘Arabic digits and spoken number words: Timing modulates cross-modal numerical distance effect’.

This project aims to systematically investigate the correspondence between auditory number words and visual Arabic digits in adults. Auditory number words and visual Arabic digits will be presented concurrently or sequentially with a blocked design and participants have to indicate whether two numerals describe the same quantity. It is expected that the temporal relation between multi-sensory numerical inputs will modulate the cross-modal numerical distance effect. The relationship between individual mathematical performance and the timing modulation effect will be also examined.

This project aims to investigate temporal dynamics of a cross-modal number matching task, using these two most common numerical symbols. In addition, examining the relationship between audiovisual correspondence and individual mathematical performance may shed light on mathematics education issues.

A revolutionary, student-led research project at Kent Law School has empowered Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) students to begin ‘decolonising’ their curriculum; it has also inspired a chain reaction of events across the University.

Earlier this year, student members of the Decolonising the Curriculum Project (DtCP) led café-style focus groups with their peers to research and write a Manifesto for enhancing inclusivity, identity and academic performance at Kent. Underpinned by values of social justice and collaboration, their aim was to critically explore perceptions of the BAME attainment gap, to identify barriers to learning and to explore the broader student experience both in and beyond the classroom.

DtCP students launched their Manifesto in March to a packed-out audience of Kent students, academics, professional services staff and senior leaders (including Professor April McMahon, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Education).

Feedback from the launch helped inform a strategy document that was later prepared for the University’s Executive Group, outlining how key points from the Manifesto could be implemented at Kent.

An increasing number of Kent initiatives have sprung (and continue to spring) from the project including: a dedicated DtCP website; a Kaleidoscope Network for staff and students who support the principles of race equality; a BAME Network for Staff of Colour; new training in cultural competency as part of Kent’s PGCHE; and a podcast series, created by students, called Stripping the White Walls. 

 The project was initiated by Kent Law School Senior Lecturer Dr Suhraiya Jivraj and is supported by Dave Thomas, Student Success Project Manager from the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences and Sheree Palmer, Student Success Project Officer from the Law School. DtCP students were recognised for their work in making an ‘outstanding contribution to equality, diversity and inclusivity’ at the 2019 Kent Student Awards.