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 Jo Pearsall, Deputy Secretary of Council and the Court at the University, and an alumna of the School of History.

Jo discusses how her earliest memories seem to be from photos and we learn that, despite coming from a sporty family, she isn’t sporty herself. Jo also talks about how strange it feels to work in the same university from which she graduated ten years previously; listening to the ‘Pina Colada’ song as a child; the relative merits of reading for pleasure and reading for study; why she was freaked out by ‘Witness’; whether she was a ‘Swap Shop’ or a ‘Tiswas’ person on Saturday mornings; why she was keen on studying 18th century history; the importance of degree congregations, her love of opera and Cher, what would have happened if Staffordshire County Council hadn’t given her free violin lessons up until the age of 18, and what might have happened if her dreams had been even bigger!

The School of Arts will host a talk and Q&A session with television producer Daisy Lilley, entitled ‘Constructing Reality: In Conversation with Daisy Lilley’, on Tuesday 19 March 2019 1pm-3pm, in the Aphra Theatre.

Daisy Lilley is a creative producer with vast experience across factual and entertainment TV production – both prime time and daytime. Some of her projects include Love Island, Come Dine with Me, and I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!

Daisy is also the co-creator and executive producer of the social media-based reality series The Circle, launched in September 2018, which follows a group of contestants who are only able to interact with each other via a specially designed voice-activated social media platform. The contestants must use the platform to become the highest rated participant in order to win the £50,000 prize.

The Circle will be returning to Channel 4 for a second series later this year, and has also been snapped up by streaming service Netflix, who plan to make the French, Brazilian and U.S. adaptations of the programme.

This Q&A will examine Daisy’s process of fusing old and new forms of media to create, develop and deliver some of the most addictive content on contemporary factual entertainment.  Daisy’s work fuses traditional television and digital culture forms making viewing practices multimedia experiences.

The event has been organised by Dr Kaitlyn Regehr, Lecturer in Media Studies, who said: ‘This is a great opportunity to meet an industry professional working on the cutting edge of traditional and new media forms. Daisy’s work is troubling contemporary streaming practices, such as Netflix, as she puts audience interactivity and multimedia experiences at the forefront. Come and learn about the future of TV viewing and tweet out your questions to @UniKentArts‘.

The event is free to attend and open to all. For full details, please see the page here: www.kent.ac.uk/arts/newsandevents/calendar.html?eid=37135

Alumna Faye Golley, who graduated with a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy of Artin 2016, is currently curating the Strangelove Time-based Media Festival 2019, which will feature a special symposium at the Folkestone Quarterhouse, held on Friday 22 March 2019.

Faye is Founder and Gallery Director of Casement Arts, a window gallery in Folkestone, Co-director of Threads Nomadic Gallery, which aids artist development through regular discourse and criticism outside main institutions, and is curator and project manager of the Strangelove Time-based Media Festival.

Faye explains how her involvement in the Festival came about: “In my first year of being a graduate I threw myself at as many opportunities that I came across; I volunteered at a number of arts festivals. My first proper job was as an assistant producer for Threads Nomadic Gallery, which led to me joining the team and being invited to curate a show as part of Strangelove Festival 2017.

“As a student I also did some invigilating at Studio 3. The way audiences entered and interacted with the exhibitions always fascinated me. Which way did they walk around the show? Was this the way the curator had intended them to walk? Which work did they stop at again was this all planned by the curator? I loved it when someone broke the trend, and now when I curate shows I try and think of how that person would move around the space.”

The Festival was launched at the Photographer’s Gallery in London, 23 February, before moving to the Turner Contemporary in Margate and the Fabrica in Brighton, with the festival will concluding with five days of events in Folkestone’s Creative Quarter from 20 March.

The theme of the symposium is ‘Past, Present Future: What is Time-Based Media?’ It will begin with a rough history of video art by artist and writer Chris Meigh-Andrews, who also will chair the programme, followed by presentations from Larry Achiampong, Manuel Vason, Jane England, Keith Piper and Lois Keidan.

Tickets for the symposium cost £8/£6 concessions. To book, please see the Folkestone Quarterhouse page here: www.quarterhouse.co.uk/whats-on/past-present-future-what-is-time-based-media

For all the Festival events listed by location, please see the page here:
www.strangelovefestival.com/programme-by-location

Professor Ian Beckett’s monograph, A British Profession of Arms: The Politics of Command in the Late Victorian Army (published by Oklahoma University Press), has been shortlisted for the Templer Medal of the Society for Army Historical Research, awarded annually to the best book on British military history published in the previous year. The final award will be announced and presented to the winner by HRH the Duke of Kent at the National Army Museum on 9 April 2019. Professor Beckett retired from teaching at Kent in 2015 but remains an Honorary Professor in the School of History.

Unibuddy is a platform which allows prospective students to talk to current students. It gives students a unique opportunity to ask questions which they might not be comfortable asking a member of Kent staff. Students are able to chat informally with a peer and get a real feel for what it might be like if they choose to study at Kent. Current Unibuddies who have said that they used the platform to speak to a current student before starting at Kent said it really helped them feel more confident about going to university.

Ambassadors who sign up to Unibuddy get employability points and we also announce a buddy of the month every month with the chosen buddy winning a £10 Amazon voucher.

We currently have 28 ambassadors on the platform but currently no ambassadors who are based in Medway. We want to change this!

To find out more and apply to be a Unibuddy please visit the Kent Union site: https://kentunion.co.uk/buddyplus

The Learning & Teaching Network are running the following sessions:

Running an effective Board of Examiners (for Canterbury, Internal staff)

Wednesday 20 March 2019, 13:15-14:30

UELT Seminar Room, Canterbury

External Examining and Boards of Examiners at Kent (for Medway, Internal and External staff)

Wednesday 27 March 2019, 13:15 – 14:30

Lunch will be available from 13:00

Gillingham Building Room 412 (G4-12),Medway Campus

The sessions will give an overview of regulations and requirements relevant to Board of Examiner meetings. Participants will be given up-to-date guidance about the Credit Framework and related examination conventions / procedures for the classification of awards, in accordance with Annexes J and K of the Code of Practice. The relevant policies and procedures will be reviewed, and there will be time for questions and discussion.

If you wish to attend one of the sessions please complete the online booking form: https://www.kent.ac.uk/teaching/networks/ltn/documents/LTN_booking_form.html