Registration: Through C3 MS Teams Channel “C3 Ideas Space”
For Who: C3 Members Only
We are organising various monthly 60 minute mini online writing retreats for anyone who wants to pop in, and reserve some time for writing or getting some advice on
Drafting research bids
Writing articles
Idea creation for new bids
Reviewing article drafts
Or anything else that involved writing in the pursuit of research or enterprise activities.
Bring a virtual cup of coffee/tea and get those fingers warmed up. I (Carola Boehm) will be there, so if you want to
bounce of any ideas around publications,
get some first reviews of your funding-bid drafts, or
need some advice on how to put your output into STORE,
or have a quick chat about your research,
just feel free to pop in.
60 minutes will be divided into:
5 minute intro, chat, committing to what to focus on
20 minute writing
5 minute chat break
20 minute writing
5 minute goodbye and plans for next steps
Link is available on our C3 Centre MS Teams Channel “C3 Ideas Space”
Registration: Through MS Outlook and C3 MS Teams Channel “C3 Ideas Space”
For Who: C3 Members Only
We welcome you to a Research Overview session which will take place on Teams and in two different slots to hopefully allow all staff who want to attend to do so. Ian Brown will lead on these sessions and they will take place on Tuesday 18th at 1:15 and be repeated on Wednesday 19th at 12.
The session is intended for those who are currently research active, those that are interested in becoming research active, or just curious about research, and want to know more. It is aimed at staff who would potentially be submitted to either Unit of Assessment 32 (Art & Design: History, Practice and Theory) and 34 (Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Library and Information Management) and so covers a diverse range of research from different disciplines and departments (from Philosophy to Games, for example). This overview will discuss the variety of forms that research can take, the roles of research centres (and how to get involved), institutional support, funding and REF. Further, more specific, sessions will take place at a later date.
Education through Podcasting (EPOD) is a collaboration between Keele University Tim Canfer), University of Staffordshire (Carola Boehm) and Morley College (Camilo Salazar and Joanna Duchesne) and includes an annual conference and a book series focusing on discussing and disseminating research and practice of learning/educational contexts using podcasting and recorded audio media.
EPOD welcomes academics, researchers and professionals to be part of our growing network that explores the intersections between podcasting and education.
EPOD 2025 will be hosted again on 26th and 27th June 2025 by Morley College’s facilities at their Waterloo Campus in Central London, made for an ideal venue. Our theme for 20025 will be: Between Entertainment & Education: balancing media industry expectations within educational contexts.
Key Date and link to more Info:
03/02/2025 Deadline for Conference Abstracts (see call)
Proceedings Publication
The proceedings from the conference will be published by Routledge. More details can be found here.
About:
Education through Podcasting (EPOD) is a conference series where academics, researchers and professionals will find a forum to come together to discuss and disseminate their research and practice within learning/educational contexts using recorded audio media and podcasting.
All speakers at the conference will be given the opportunity to write up their presentation into a chapter for the proceedings book published by Routledge.
Themes of the conference include, but are not limited to:
Practices in the intersection of the podcasting industry and the education sectors
Developments of podcasting as a learning environment
How does podcasting fit into pedagogical trends of Blended, Online, Mixed Mode, Digital or other?
Public vs private vs common. Where does Podcasting in Education sit?
Explorations of issues related to intellectual property in educational podcasting?
Standards and standardisation and their effects on Podcasting in Education (both industry and educational standards)
Case studies of good practice, podcasting and community learning
Case studies in discipline specific uses of podcasting in education (e.g. in Theatre, Music, Storytelling and Creative Writing, Forensic Science and True Crime, Philosophy, Journalism and Podcasting, Media Production, Audio, Music Technology and Music Production)
Critical Ecologies is an opportunity for academic and non-academic staff to come together and share research in alliance with communities and ecologies.
We have two exciting keynote presentations, and space for 6 presenters from within the University to share their research. In creating this fledgling research hub we are acknowledging the need for an open and respectful space where we can build (and rebuild) an interdisciplinary research culture. We also aim to centre nature recovery and environmental justice within these interdisciplinary conversations.
“Welcome to Stoke-on-Trent”, Student Projects 2017 (*)
Last week, Rishi Sunak called for a General Election to be held on Thursday 4 July 2024, saying it was “the moment for Britain to choose its future”. Our C3 members have their on thoughts on what this future ought to look like, and what they see to hope in various party manifestos. Here are some:
Carola Boehm, Professor of Creative Industries and Creative Communities at Staffordshire University:
“As Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the UK general elections, all I could think about was: Could this be the return to “Cool Brittania”? I arrived in the UK at the beginning of 1997, and thus, I experienced the rush of immense hope and giddiness that caught the country as Labour swept into power after a decade of austerity. This giddiness had at its core an appreciation of British creative outputs, both in terms of the biggest Creative Industries of music and film, as well as the art scene of designers. It was the time when the likes of Noel Gallagher were invited to No 10, where there was a real and explicit effort to turn the UK into a cultural powerhouse, as the Blair government recognised the cultural moment that could help the whole country get back to its feet. These were the years of Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, Ginger Spice wearing the Union Jack at the Brit Awards, Austin Powers, and Vanity Fair covers of “London Swings Again”, Blur, Pulp and Notting Hill.
Since then, we have had various Creative Industry strategies and policies, which I would suggest are, at worst, uninformed and, at best, lack aspirations. So when this election was called, my mind snapped immediately to the question of whether any incoming government is aware of how much the creative sectors contribute to our daily lives in the UK. Will it be at the forefront of their thinking, that it was our UK Creative Industries that tended to grow faster than any other sector in the UK; that pre covid, 12% of our total exports of services were from the Creative Industries, and that boosting the Creative Industries was the fastest economic leveller than any other policy implemented, with, for example, West Midlands Creative Industries jobs growing by 38.9%, whereas all jobs only grew in that region only by 10% (Figures DCMS 2011-2017). So my hope for any incoming government is that they understand the power of the Cultural and Creative Industries and invest in the country by putting policies in place that allow us all, up and down the country, to re-imagine and experience another era of Cool Britannia. In the words of Austin Powers, we have lost our mojo, so wouldn’t it be groovy to get it back?”
Anna Francis, Associate Professor of Fine Art and Social Practice:
“After 14 Years under the current administration it is certainly true to say that I will be looking carefully at the messages of all parties concerning arts and culture and particularly arts education, and who has access to it. The latest report by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (May 2024) set out the important role the creative and cultural industries play in health and well-being, community development, and education, but also set out the worrying statistics in terms of the underrepresentation of people from working class backgrounds in employment within every area of arts and culture.
The stripping of the arts from school curriculums, and the significant undermining of the role of arts and culture in our society that we have seen in recent years is certainly having an impact on who feels able to take up a career in the arts.
Keir Starmer’s speech at the Labour Creatives Conference, in March 2024 directly addressed these issues and I think we should all be observing with interest how this may be acknowledged within Party Manifestos ahead of the election.”
Sarah Page, Associate Professor in Social Justice and Social Learning:
“With austerity cuts and the cost-of-living crisis significantly impacting people and particularly the most vulnerable, inequalities have seemingly widened. For example, more people have needed to use foodbanks, while others have seemingly misused their privileged positions with illicit covid lockdown parties and visits to second homes when travel was not permitted. Such injustices have led the public to question the authenticity of some policy makers, who have one rule for the public and another for themselves. I wonder whether now is the time for leadership that better understands and address the inequalities gaps in Britain, and is prepared to challenge price extortions that we have been experiencing?”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – (*) If you were the artist that designed above posters, we would love to add credits to the image. Contact us on c3centre@staffs.ac.uk
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.
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).
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.
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:
On 29 March 2023, Carola Boehm gave a talk at CHIME https://www.chime.ac.uk/ , bringing together some key thematic discourses from both higher education policy.
