Transitions 4
26 October 2013 The Centre for Contemporary Literature was delighted to host the fourth Transitions conference "Transitions 4: Mapping New Directions in Comics Studies". Transitions has made a name as one of the UK's leading conferences dedicated to the multi-disciplinary academic study of comics/ comix/ manga/ bande dessinée and other forms of sequential art, now in its fourth year at Birkbeck. Part of Comica, the London International Comics Festival, Transitions 4 featured keynote addresses from Dr. Ann Miller (University of Leicester, joint editor of European Comic Art), with a repsonse from Dr. Roger Sabin (Central St. Martins, University of the Arts London). As the only regular academic comics event based in London, Transitions provides a platform where different perspectives and methodologies can be brought together and shared. As an event devoted to promoting new research into comics in all their forms the symposium provides a forum for research from postgraduate students and early career lecturers. Comics studies occupy a unique multi-disciplinary middle-space, one that encourages cross-disciplinary pollination and a convergence of distinct knowledges: literary and cultural studies, visual arts and media, modern languages, sociology, geography and more. By thinking about comics across different disciplines, we hope to stimulate and provoke debate, to address a wide spectrum of questions, to map new trends, and to provide a space for dialogue and further collaboration to emerge. • Download the schedule here • Download the poster here (designed by John Miers) Tweet Image by Nizam Uddin under a CC BY-NC-ND...
Contemporary Narratives of Care
25 October 2013 The Centre for Contemporary Literature held a day-long symposium on the issue of care (both professional and non-professional) within the rapidly growing field of medical humanities. The event brought together academics, artists and medical practitioners, and featured a mixture of 20-minute academic papers and more informal, 10-minute presentations. The symposium was organised by Dr Reina van der Wiel. She reports: “‘Contemporary Narratives of Care’ drew together delegates from across the globe to discuss and debate issues of care relating to parenting, mental distress, physical illness, disability and ageing. In consideration of the British government’s welfare reforms and the recent revelations about the failure of care in some hospitals, this discussion could not have been more timely.” The symposium was highly interdisciplinary and examined the personal, political, ethical and professional dimensions of care-giving from multiple perspectives. The day started with a panel on the phenomenology and politics of informal care, followed by a session specifically on dementia and Alzheimer’s care. Presentations explored music therapy, the experiences of family carers and graphic life narratives. A panel on identity and care investigated the language of ‘carer’ versus ‘caring’ as well as narratives of ageing. The increasing use of literature in medical education was demonstrated in the fourth session, which included a recording of a theatre workshop using Samuel Beckett’s plays in clinical education. The topic of (non)recovery closed a very successful event. Reina comments: “The symposium was an opportunity to put all these voices from different fields in touch with one another so we can help each other grapple with contemporary issues of care. In particular, it looked at the role narrative, and literature more generally, could play in re-thinking what it means to care.” Programme Panel 1: Informal Care: Phenomenology & Politics Ann Webster-Wright (University of Queensland, Australia), Fatherland: A Phenomenological Narrative Exploring Ethics of Care (20 min paper) Lee Gunn (University of Warwick), Family and Friend Care for People Experiencing Severe Mental Distress & Finding my Own Voice through the Medium of Literary Non-Fiction or Life Writing (10 min talk) Alessandro Pratesi (University of Chester), The Politics of Care: Same-Sex Parenthood, Emotional Dynamics and Social Change (20 min paper) Panel 2: Dementia & Alzheimer’s Care Vanessa Solomon (Infinite Education and Training, Australia) & Daniel Nightingale (CEO Dementia Therapy Specialists, United States), Music and Reminiscence Therapy Incorporating Storytelling (MaRTIS): Development, Applications and Outcomes of this Method (10 min video presentation, pre-recorded) Nicola L. Wheeler (Open University), Early-Onset Dementia: Understanding and Learning from the Experiences of Family Carers (20 min paper) Kathleen Venema (University of Winnipeg, Canada), “she never finished her life’s work”: Graphic Narratives of Alzheimer’s Care...
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