Tag Archives: Publish on Site Editor

Testing out a theory

Politics in Wonderland – Templeman exhibition

‘Politics in Wonderland: Sir John Tenniel at 200’ is the theme of a new exhibition in the Templeman Gallery space.

The exhibition, curated by Jo Baines and Tom Kennett from Special Collections & Archives, will run until 20 March. Its launch marks the bicentenary of the birth of illustrator and political cartoonist Sir John Tenniel (1820–1914).

For almost 40 years, Tenniel was the chief political cartoonist for Punch magazine, a Victorian publishing institution, producing classics of the genre such as ‘Dropping the Pilot’. Today, however, Tenniel is chiefly remembered for the illustrations he provided for Lewis Carroll’s ever popular and strange tales Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871).

This exhibition celebrates Tenniel’s contribution to political cartooning in his own work for Punch and in the enduring influence his Alice illustrations have had on subsequent generations of political cartoonists. The exhibition features original cartoon artworks, cuttings and publications from the British Cartoon Archive by cartoonists including Nicholas Garland, Vicky, Strube and E H Shepard.

The exhibition accompanies a production of Alice in Wonderland: A Musical Dream Play, to be performed on Friday 21 February by the University Music department.

First performed in 1886, written by Henry Savile Clarke and with music by Walter Slaughter, the ‘dream play’ was overseen and authorised by Carroll himself, and was the only adaptation to be made with his approval. The production features some of Tenniel’s illustrations projected onto the stage, evoking the original atmosphere of the novel brought so vividly to life by Tenniel’s quirky, characterful images. Tickets are available on the Gulbenkian website.

Award of Honorary Degrees from 2020 onwards

The next meeting of the University’s Honorary Degrees Committee will take place on 4 March 2020 and we are looking for suggestions/nominations for the award of honorary degrees for the consideration of the Committee.

Suggestions should be returned by the deadline of Wednesday 19 February 2020, either by email to J.L.Pearsall@kent.ac.uk or by post to Jo Pearsall, Council Secretariat, The Registry, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NZ.

At its meeting in March 2020, the Committee will be considering suggestions for awards in 2020 and beyond and, to ensure the award of honorary degrees across a broad range of academic disciplines and subject areas, it would be helpful to receive at least one or two suggestions from each School. We would also like to encourage nominations in the area of medicine and health sciences, to celebrate the opening of the Kent and Medway Medical School in 2020.

You can find all the necessary information, including the nomination form in Word and pdf formats on the honorary degree nominations website.

The published information includes the criteria for awarding honorary degrees and the honorary degrees that are available, with guidance notes. To get an idea of the calibre of University of Kent honorary graduates, our honorary graduates website shows recent recipients and short biographies.

Anyone can put forward a nomination so if you have any questions about this or wish to put forward a nomination, please email Jo Pearsall.

Run, Hide, Tell advice – watch the new videos

Staff and students are encouraged to find out more about what to do in the unlikely event of a terror incident on or off campus.

Our Campus Security Run, Hide, Tell webpages include three new videos with UK Government advice on:

How to react to firearms or weapons attacks
How to identify and respond to suspicious behaviour
How to identify and deal with suspicious Items.

Mark Arnold, Head of Security at Kent, comments: ‘While there is no specific intelligence about any threats to the University, these videos are a timely reminder of common sense advice. I’d urge all members of our community to set aside some time to view them.’

The webpages also include advice on what to do if you find a lost or suspicious unattended item, on or off campus – find out more by clicking on the new tab: ‘Unattended items – lost or suspicious’.

And there’s a reminder of the Government’s key ‘Stay Safe’ principles:

RUN – find the best protection available, out of sight does not mean out of danger.

HIDE – see if you can locate the attackers, what type of weapon is being used, the direction the attacker(s) are travelling. Limit access and secure your environment. Lock the doors and remain as quiet as possible.

TELL – contact the police via 999 then Campus Security via 01227 82(3333), give them all the information you have.

Find out more and view the new videos on the Campus Security Run, Hide, Tell webpages.

LGBTQ+ History month events

February marks LGBTQ+ History Month, with the aim to promote equality and diversity. At Kent, the University and Union are running lots of events throughout the month.

Events include:

-LGBT Love Letters Exhibitions
-LGBT History Month reading lists
-How to be an effective ally: staff workshop
-LGBTQ+ Student Network open house
-Show debate: “The Commercialisation of Pride”
-1920s cabaret night at Woody’s

See the full programme of events (pdf).

Join the community

We have staff and student LGBTQ+ groups that you are welcome to join if you work or study at Kent. These include the Kent Union LGBTQ+ Student Network and LGBT+ Society for students and also the LGBT+ Staff Network.

Recruiting for the Pint of Science

The Pint of Science festival is an international public engagement festival taking place over 3 days each May. The University of Kent has been running sold-out events for the past 3 years. In 2019, 35 UK cities held over 600 events, increasing to 40 cities/towns in 2020.

Over 1,000 scientists will have the opportunity to explain their research in an accessible form to the general public – mainly in bars and pubs.

The idea is to provide a platform which allows researchers to share their research with the public. This is a fantastic opportunity to engage the public with your research and to get experience of sharing it with new audiences.

Call for expressions of interest

In 2020, we will again be holding Pint of Science events in Kent in three locations: Canterbury, Medway and Tonbridge. We have selected a number of pubs and are looking for expressions of interest from speakers, particularly Early Career Researchers and final year PhD students looking to develop their skills and experience in talking about their research.

If you are interested, please email us at  pintofscience@kent.ac.uk with the following details by  Friday 14 February:

1. Your name and school

2. A summary of your research (max 100 words)

3. Your plan for an interactive session of 20-30 minutes (max 100 words)

4. An explanation of how you will make it engaging for the public audience – an important interactive component (max 100 words).

The Big Catering Survey 2020

Want to win £200, £100 or £50 of KentOne credit?

Help Kent Hospitality improve catering services by completing their short survey and you could win 1 of 3 amazing prizes to spend in catering outlets, Blackwell’s bookshop, Templeman Library, and more!

The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and focuses on eating habits, nutrition and health, sustainability and environment, and technology. By leaving your email address, you will be entered into their prize draw.

First Prize: £200 KentOne credit

Second Prize: £100 KentOne credit

Third Prize: £50 KentOne credit

The survey closes on Saturday 29 February at 23:59 GMT. Good luck!

If you have any queries, please contact catering@kent.ac.uk

Drama accolade for University of Kent Players

NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) have awarded the University of Kent Players an accolade for Excellence in Drama for their production of Gail Young’s Bothered & Bewildered which took place at the Gulbenkian in September 2019.

This is the second time in as many years that the group have been recognised in this way, their production of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility in 2018 also received this accolade.

Their latest production, JB Priestley’s Dangerous Corner, takes place at the Gulbenkian 27-29 February 2020, so go along and see this double award-winning group in action.

Tickets priced at £12 (£10 for concessions) are on sale now on the Gulbenkian website.

Afro-Diasporic Legal Network Black Discussion Series

Law students Khaliq Martin and Siena Phillips and their team were successful with being awarded a Community Scholarship for a project aimed to empower and uplift BME students at the University of Kent – the Afro-Diasporic Legal Network (ADLN) Black Discussion Series.

What is the ADLN?

The ADLN is a collective of law students that encompass the intersection of being Black and from the African-Diaspora. It was created in recognition of a lack of Black legal supportive infrastructures at the University of Kent despite the fact that such systems exist in many institutions.

The network aims to provide opportunities for Black students in the academic/professional legal sphere, to conduct knowledge exchanges, and provide peer-to-peer support in hopes of decreasing the social attainment gap at the University recognized in the 2016 EDI Report.

The network was developed with 3 principles in mind: to support the political and legal education of Black law students, to provide academic, career, and wellness support, and to continue to push the bounds of inclusion for black students.

As an informal society the network is not registered with Kent Union.

What is the ADLN’s Black Discussion Series?

The Black Discussion Series is a pilot project that was developed by the ADLN after an internal assessment, conducted by its committee, highlighted that black students suffered from anxiety and stress as a result of institutional shortcomings. The Series seeks to mitigate these pressures which correlate with the social attainment gaps recognized by the EDI Report.

The discussions are designed for young black men, women, and non-gender binary individuals to deconstruct their university experience through a space created to resolve issues, establish peer-to-peer support, and incorporate academic dialogue from a political/legal lens.

The Series will take place this spring term 2020, for further information please email afrodiasporiclegalnetwork@gmail.com.

Drill Hall Dialogue – Tuesday 11 February

Professor Colin Hills from the University of Greenwich will be taking part in the first Drill Hall Dialogue event of the year.

His talk on ‘Working with CO2 is a gas: mineralising carbon in industrial waste’ takes place on Tuesday 11 February 2020 in the Drill Hall – room DA002.

The University of Greenwich has been researching carbon capture and utilisation through mineralisation technology.

Developing from the treatment of contaminated soil and then hazardous waste, high volume wastes can be useful feedstocks for making carbonated construction products. By producing limestone in the reaction between CO2 gas and alkaline wastes into benign construction materials, the associated risks are managed and the wastes are diverted from landfill and given value. Commercial production of carbonated construction products is in kT range, with new materials under development.

The background to our award-winning carbonation technology, its current status and future direction will be presented and discussed.

Drill Hall Dialogues is a monthly series of talks held at the Drill Hall Library, the learning resource centre for the Universities at Medway collaborative project. A wide variety of topics has been covered including prison libraries, NHS libraries, Dickens and Christmas, Medway regeneration, the Medway Floods of 1953 and Fort Amherst. We have also received talks from academics based on the campus including the Centre for Journalism (UKM) and the Faculty of Education (CCCU).

The talks take place on the first or second Tuesday of the month and usually last no longer than 45 minutes with 15 minutes allotted for any questions and answers. All staff are welcome to attend.

Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week #ITSNOTOK

It is Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week which is the UK’s national week to raise awareness of sexual abuse and violence. During this week up till Sunday, hundreds of events will take place all over the country to raise awareness of the issue and shine a spotlight on what is normally a very hidden subject.

Here at the University, we want to make sure everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As part of our continued work towards this, we have developed Inform Kent (InK) which is an online reporting tool which empowers students to record details of incidents such as sexual assault, harassment, relationship abuse or hate crime.

The most vital use of InK is to ensure that you gain access to the support that is available to you in the aftermath of an incident.

InK also gives you the option to have your voice heard. You are given the option to record an incident and give your name, so that you can be contacted by specialist support. Or you can choose to remain anonymous.

The information that you provide will help us to make continued progress in making our University the safest it can be. You are in control here. Have your voice.