Category Archives: Research Groupings

Research Seminar Series – Life Matters: Thought, Nature and Technology

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Visiting Speaker – Prof. Joost Van Loon – Historical Materialism and Actor Network-Theory
31 October 18:00 Online
For a link, contact Patrick O’Connor

Research Seminar Series – Life Matters: Thought, Nature and Technology

You are invited to Staffordshire Philosophy’s research seminar series. This time Prof. Joost van Loon from Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt will be joining us online for an MS Teams event to discuss his paper “Historical Materialism and Actor Network Theory.” The paper is available at the bottom of this message.

Paper: ““Historical Materialism and Actor Network Theory.”

Abstract: “Those who invoke the term new materialism mainly do so because they want to distinguish it from materialism-as-we-know-it, or better, from materialism-as-we-thought-we-knew-it. This materialism usually goes by the name of Marxism. However, I prefer to use historical materialism as this is the term that Marx and Engels themselves used to describe their approach. By contrast, ANT is itself working with an already established tradition whose roots go back via Deleuze (1994) and Whitehead (1978) to Tarde (2009), Nietzsche (1992), Leibniz and Spinoza (2004), I am implying a wider philosophical trajectory than those usually invoked by sociologists when dealing with ANT…”

Bio: Prof. Joost van Loon is the Chair of General Sociology and Sociological Theory from Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. His research is concerned with theoretical engagements with social and cultural processes with a specific focus on media and technology. Professor van Loon is editor-in-chief of a great journal called Space and Culture and his publications include the monographs Risk and Technological Culture (2002) and Media Technology: Critical Perspectives (2008). He has also published several articles.

Please note Joost has supplied a copy of his paper so please read in advance. Bring your questions, queries and comments with you, and we can explore the themes of the Joost’s paper together. The session will comprise a short interview with Joost and I. Then we will take questions from the floor. Asking consent here to record event.

Please contact Patrick O’Connor if you would like an invite to the meeting or if you are having trouble accessing the paper. 

Obsolescence and Renewal – C3 Member Prof Neil Brownsword artist talk at The Brampton Museum // BCB’23

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In connection with the BCB 2023:

  • 28 Oct 2023 2:00pm–3:15pm
  • Price £5,
  • Venue details: The Brampton Museum, Newcastle-under-Lyme, ST5 0QP
  • Booking details at BCB website
 

In connection with his exhibition Obsolescence and Renewal, Professor Neil Brownsword will present a lecture about his artistic practice. 

In connection with his exhibition Obsolescence and Renewal, Professor Neil Brownsword will present a lecture about his artistic practice. For nearly three decades Brownsword has explored marginalised histories associated with ceramic manufacture in North Staffordshire, focusing primarily on the impact of globalisation in recent decades upon people, place and traditional skills.

His reactivation of endangered industrial crafts has achieved impact internationally via curated projects and cross-cultural exchange. Brownsword’s work raises questions surrounding the value and contemporary relevance of intergenerational skills and obscure regional histories, and how these can be re-imagined into new narratives and modes of expression that reinforce place identity.

About the speaker

Neil Brownsword is an artist, researcher, educator and Professor of Ceramics at Staffordshire University. Since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1995, his work has gained national and international acclaim. It is represented in public collections internationally, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Korea Ceramic Foundation and Yingee Ceramic Museum Taiwan.

He has received various accolades for his creativity and contribution to contemporary ceramic practice, including the inaugural British Ceramic Biennial Award (2009), the Grand Prize at the 2015 Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, South Korea, and the Whitegold International Ceramic Award (2019).

Rebellious Research is Back!

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Led by one of our C3 Centre members, Agata Lulkowska, a new third season in the Rebellious Research Seminar Series (previously known as art/practice based-research seminar series) is now published and available to download and share.

It runs on a last Wednesday of each month starting in October, via MS Teams, at 3:30-5pm UK time.

More details and the programme can be found in the links below or the downloadable PDF.

https://www.agatalulkowska.com/seminar-series
https://blogs.staffs.ac.uk/c3centre/files/2023/09/Rebellious-Research-2023-2024-Seminar-Series-003.pdf

The C3 Centre at our Research Conference’23

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C3 Centre members will be presenting on various sessions at the upcoming Research, Innovation and Enterprise Conference on 24th and 24th of May 2023, this week.

It is still time to sign up for free at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/staffordshire-university-research-innovation-and-enterprise-conference-23-tickets-522644542897

Key events include a session on getting to know the C3 Centre, with a panel including:

  • Carola Boehm, Panel Chair, Co-Director
  • Music and Sound (Marc Estibeiro) (www)
  • Philosophy, Film and The Environmental Humanities (www)(Patrick O’Connor)
  • Ceramic Cultures, Practices and Debates (Neil Brownsword) (www)
  • Practice as Research (Agata Lulkowska)
  • Art and Design Research Group (Ian Brown)

And in a keynote slot, we also have members exploring the tensions between research, teaching, internationalization and regional impact.

Co-chairs:

  • Carola Boehm, C3 Co-Director & Professor of Creative Communities and Creative Industries
  • Jackie Reynolds, C3 Co-Director & Research Impact Manager

And Panel Members:

  • Michael Knowles, PhD Researcher & Film Producer
  • Giulia Lapucci, PhD Researcher & Cultural Researcher, University of Macerata
  • Jodie Gibson, Visiting Fellow & Arts & Culture Professional
  • Nick Gratton, Lead for Civic Engagement and Evaluation & Associate Professor of Community and Civic Engagement
  • Anna Francis, Associate Professor of Fine Art and Social Practice

We also have individual presentations from members, including

  • Dan Lewis: Designing Emotions: Strategies for Furniture Designers
  • Jackie Reynolds: Building Research Impact
  • Rebecca Nunes: Eco-alliances: imaging the other-than-human to create advocacy for the environment
  • Giulia Lapucci: Collaboration at the Centre: building a Constellation to share and disseminate knowledge
  • David White: The design, development and pilot study of a marine ecological simulation for education or environmental changes on marine life

Registration is free at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/staffordshire-university-research-innovation-and-enterprise-conference-23-tickets-522644542897

 

Practice-Based Research: Writing 300-word statements and Developing your (also REF) Portfolio

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Prof Ian Brown, Co-Director of C3, will lead two sessions focussing on practice-based or practice-as-research.

When:

  • 8th Feb 2023 – 2-3:30pm: Overview of Practice-based research (and related published research) along with a session on writing 300 word statements.
  • 1st March 2023 – 2-3:3p: developing a portfolio.

More details will be announced on our C3 MS Teams channel, or contact Prof Ian Brown.

DTA Research Seminar Series 2022-23 – Research Frameworks

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The School of Digital, Technologies and Arts is again holding a series of seminars, chaired and curated by C3 member Becky Nunes, following a life-cycle of reserch: It will cover presentations by researchers about how projects start, how to work across teams, how to co-create research with external communities and in the second half of the season will moev to how research gets funded and reviwed.

Seminars are designed to be in person, but recordings will be available afterwards. Dates for the seminars are:

  • WED NOV 9TH 3.30-5.00P.M : CA204 – BEGINNINGS – How do projects start? What are the catalysts for interesting research projects? (Michael Day, Alke Groeppel-Wegener)
  • WED DEC 7TH 3.30-5.00P.M: CA204 : COLLABORATIONS – Working across teams, co-creating and other fruitful research partnerships (Neil Brownsword, Maria Martinez-Sanchez)
  • WED JAN 11TH 3.30-5.00P.M : CA204: : COLLABORATIONS – Working across teams, co-creating and other fruitful research partnerships (Islam Abohela)

SEMINARS_NOV_JAN_2022_23Download

Age of Creativity: Place Making of Making Place

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This partnership, recorded on 19 May 2022, was co-devised by colleagues at Keele University, Staffordshire University and Age UK Oxfordshire, as part of the Age of Creativity Festival 2022 and Creative Later Life 2025.

The keynote presentations and panel discussions around creative aging and placemaking, is now avaiable from the link above.

C3 Centre’s Professor Carola Boehm gave a talk on #Culture30Walks: How Creative is your Place?

Speakers included:

  • Professor David Amigoni FEA- Director, Keele Institute for Social Inclusion (KISI), Keele Deal Culture & ArtsKeele (chair)
  • Carola Boehm– Professor of Arts and Higher Education, Staffordshire University
  • Rose Gilroy-Professor of Ageing Planning and Policy, Chair of Future Homes Alliance, School of Architecture Planning and Landscape
  • Steven Millington– Director/ Senior Fellow at The Institute of Place Management and Reader in Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Jason Jones-Hall– Director of Development, Five10Twelve
  • Neil Johnson– Engagement Project Lead, Liverpool City Region

It covers topics and case studies exploring the following:

  • How does creativity/ culture contribute to ‘vibrant’ places for older people beyond local tourism?
  • What constitutes a creative/ cultural ‘asset’ to older communities experiencing inequality?
  • What ‘value’ do we give creativity/culture and older communities experiencing inequalities in rebranding places?
  • What role does place based leadership have in making places both ‘Creative/ Cultural’ and ‘Age Friendly’?
  • How can inequalities be tackled by ‘making’ in place and is this place leadership?

Hawthorn Ridge : a forensic investigation into the archaeology and history of Hawthorn Crater

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Recently released, in a warm and engaging audio interview, producer and Associate Professor Fiona Graham from C3 and historian Colin Winn walk to the craters and tour their perimeter. While doing so they share with us their stories behind this exciting project into the crater and talk about the special relationship that has developed with the local community. Colin is a military historian and tunnelling expert and Fiona an associate professor on the project.

The Hawthorn Redoubt was an formidable defensive position for the Germans which was blown up on the morning of 1 July 1916 by a mine that had been placed beneath the German stronghold on the ridge. The explosion, ten minutes before the whistles blew at 7:30am, destroyed the position but the timing of the detonation and the lifting of the artillery barrage meant that the position was reinforced by the Germans, leading to massive losses among the attacking British troops. 

The full article and interview can be viewed and listened to at:
https://www.westernfrontassociation.com/world-war-i-articles/hawthorn-ridge-a-forensic-investigation-into-the-archaeology-and-history-of-hawthorn-crater/

Neil Brownsword, Prof of Ceramics, in Conversation at the London Craft Week 2022

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As part of the London Craft Week 2022, the Korea Association of Art and Design returns for London Craft Week 2022 with a panel of experts in the area of ceramics, glass and crafts.

The virtual event will take place 9 May 2022, at 11:00 AM . Professor Brownsword will give a talk on:

Thinking through the Past for the Future: Neil Brownsword, Artist, Researcher, Professor, Department of Ceramics, Staffordshire University, UK 

Registration is at:

https://www.londoncraftweek.com/events/conversations-in-contemporary-korean-craft/

Abstract is provided below.

Conversations in Contemporary Korean Craft

Thinking through the Past for the Future.   

Neil Brownsword 

 Throughout history, ceramics have played an important role in the phenomenon of cultural transfer. For centuries China, Korea and Japan have influenced each other’s aesthetics, practices and technologies. Subsequent trade with the West, and the imitation and assimilation of East Asian goods and styles in the late 17th and 18th centuries greatly influenced the development of new ceramic traditions in Europe that were to gain historical prominence.  

 Since 2015 artist Neil Brownsword has explored this historic cycle of knowledge exchange, via performances staged in South Korea and the UK which have addressed the cultural hierarchies and value systems aligned to their ceramic traditions.In his work Factory (2017) staged at Icheon World Ceramic Centre, Brownsword re-choreographed the indigenous ceramic practices of two ex-factory personnel from Stoke-on-Trent and four Korean artisans to question established hierarchies of cultural production and reassign value to people and practices displaced by global economics.  

By reactivating obsolescence via non-commercialised production, Brownsword revealed a shared language of haptic intelligences developed through ethical modes of exchange between East and West.  

 Performing FACTORY in Korea enabled the actors of marginalised immaterial heritage to renegotiate their value in a context where similar embodiments of knowledge are culturally protected. Its tour to the British Ceramics Biennial 2017, furthered UK/Korea cultural exchange, strengthening Stoke-on-Trent’s regeneration ambition as a global centre for ceramics. This presentation examines the context and development of Brownsword’s collaborations and his exploration of heritage as a ‘living process’ that can be constantly reimagined for the future. 

 Neil Brownsword is an artist, researcher and educator who holds a professorial position in ceramics at Staffordshire University. Brownsword began his career in ceramics as an apprentice at the Wedgwood factory in the mid- 1980’s. His practice examines the legacy of globalisation in relation to Stoke-on-Trent’s ceramic manufacturing sector, and the impact this has had upon people, place and traditional skills. Using film and performative installation Brownsword deconstructs complex craft knowledge within industrial production to pose questions surrounding the value of inter-generational skill. His work is represented in public/private collections internationally, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Korea Ceramic Foundation, Yingee Ceramic Museum Taiwan and Fu Le International Ceramic Art Museum China. In 2009 he was awarded the ‘One Off Award’ at the inaugural British Ceramic Biennial, and the Grand Prize at the Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, South Korea in 2015, and Whitegold International Ceramic Prize in 2019.