and Anthropology News etter

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1 1 School of History and Anthropology News ews-letter etter October 2010 The News-Letter is issued monthly to inform the School s members, the university and wider community of recent developments in and achievements by members of our research and teaching community. If you would like any more information on items mentioned, or have any comments or queries, please contact us by at: history@qub.ac.uk or anthropology@qub.ac.uk, or visit our website at: The School is also on Facebook at: History at Queen s University Belfast QUB Anthropology Student news: Joanne Davies (BA English and Modern History, 2010) has been awarded the prize for Historical Studies at the Undergraduate Awards for Ireland and Northern Ireland, Joanne s winning entry was an essay on Womanhood under Stalin, selfhood under threat? A critical exploration of the Soviet sexual counter-revolution of the 1930s. The presentation was made by former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, at the Royal Irish Academy, on 1 November. Many congratulations to Joanne on her success in this prestigious competition. More information is available at: Ryan Charteris (BA Modern History 2010) has been awarded a British Commission for Maritime History Prize for Undergraduate Achievement in Maritime History. Ryan s entry was his BA dissertation on Sir Thomas Lipton and the Americas Cup. Many congratulations to him.

2 2 Research publications: Books Marie Therese Flanagan, The transformation of the Irish church in the twelfth century (Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2010, 310pp) Articles and chapters John Knight, The ready-to-view wild monkey: the convenience principle in Japanese wildlife tourism, Annals of Tourism Research 37:3 (2010), pp Research project news: BELFAST IN 1911: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE CITY The exhibition, currently on show in the McClay Library, focuses on census night, 2 April 1911, and is built round the Census of Ireland of In effect this is a snapshot of a society at a moment in time. The themes of the Exhibition, illustrated by contemporary photographs and newspaper reports, range from women and work, shipbuilding, labour disputes and housing conditions, to creative Belfast. The census forms filled in by, for instance, the Conor family (William Conor), the Henry family (Paul Henry), and the Lewis family (C.S. Lewis) are featured, as well as those of lesser-known inhabitants of the city. The exhibit is a product of the BelFam project, directed by Liam Kennedy. PhDs completed: Patrick Smylie, Cold War, partition and convergence: Irish communism (supervisor: Dr Fearghal McGarry, AHRC funded)

3 3 Conferences onferences, Seminars and Public Lectures ectures: Public lectures and seminars at QUB: 3 rd Annual QUB Irish Studies Lecture, 21 October: Prof. Elizabeth Malcolm, Gerry Higgins Professor of Irish Studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia, spoke on From famine to fever: the Irish and the Australian gold rushes, The lecture examined the Irish who took part in the Australian gold rushes of the 1850s in the new colony of Victoria. It investigated in particular how their experiences of living in famine-ravaged Ireland and then immigrating to Australia in the fevered atmosphere of the early gold-rush period affected their physical and mental health. Only perhaps 20% of miners made any money, so what happened to the rest who arrived with such high hopes of wealth? And what of their families in Ireland expecting to receive large remittances? Significant numbers of Irish women as well as men went to Victoria during this period. Did they work on the gold diggings or marry miners? Most Irish settled eventually, and the 'gold-rush generation' has been hailed in Australia as a success story. But what of those who didn't succeed or settle and instead became casualties of gold fever? Digger s breakfast by S.T. Gill an image from Prof Malcolm s lecture Dr Laurent Colantonio, of the University of Poitiers, France, spoke to the Ulster Society for Irish Historical Studies on The historian and the "biographical illusion": the case of Daniel O'Connell, a wide-ranging paper discussion the place of biography in French historiography, the issues of research and teaching Irish history in France, and the challenges of conceptualizing a thematic biography of Daniel O Connell. Conference/seminar contributions by staff: Keith Jeffery gave papers on the history of MI6 at Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA; at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University; and at the Centre for War Studies, Trinity College Dublin. John Knight, 'Changes in the human-monkey relationship in 20 th -century Japan: an anthropological perspective', Environmental History of Japan conference at Nagoya University, Japan. Jonathan Skinner, gave an invited paper on Leisure mobilities and cosmopolitanism on the dance floor at the

4 4 Faculty of Music Studies, University of Athens, Greece, and also led a dance workshop there for Masters students. External appointments: Dominic Bryan has been appointed to the steering committee of The European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies (EFACIS) David Hayton has been appointed as a Strategic Reviewer for the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Colin Kidd has been elected a vice-president of the Royal Historical Society Teaching developments: Last May, the School received a grant from the University s Teaching Enhancement Student Success Fund to create opportunities for international learning through interactive, experiential investigation at historical sites in Northern Ireland. In October, Todd Weir and Dominic Bryan led two excursions, the first around Belfast and the second to Derry. Forty-two students made the journey to Derry, including the School s exchange students from China, Europe and North America, as well as a large number of new students from GB and a handful of intrepid locals. More photos and information can be found on the Facebook page: International Exchanges at Queen's Belfast History and Anthropology. Internationalisation nternationalisation: International students visit Derry The School was visited by Prof. Richard McCarty (Provost) and Prof. Joel Harrington (Associate Provost for Global Strategy) from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA, for discussions on staff and student exchanges as part of a strategic alliance between Vanderbilt and QUB. The School hosted a delegation from Minzu University, Beijing, China, including Professor Li Dongguang, University Vice President, and Professor He Keyong, Director of the Office of International Relations and a Queen s alumnus. Following a business meeting at which the ongoing MA collaboration between Minzu and Anthropology was evaluated, and the details of a further undergraduate

5 5 collaboration were agreed, the delegation took tea in the Common Room with staff members and Minzu students already studying at our School. Peter Gray and Lisette Josephides (Minzu coordinator) then joined the delegation at a lunch hosted by Professor Sean Gorman, Chair of the China Working Group. Professor Li presented a gift for Queen s Vice Chancellor, together with an invitation to attend Minzu s 60 th anniversary celebrations in June Minzu and QUB staff Knowledge transfer / impact: Keith Jeffery spoke at the Cheltenham Literary and Ilkley Literature Festivals. He also gave presentations on the history of MI6 to the Cabinet Office, the Security Service and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London. Colin Kidd was interviewed by BBC Radio Ulster on the British Question, 12 October, and also gave an interview to the THES, published on 28 October. Student societies: The History Society had its second big event of the year with the Halloween Social on 25 October. There was a great turn out and we had VIP access in Box Nightclub which everyone agreed was a success. There were a great range of outfits from Marc Antony to Steve Irwin, from Slytherin students to Midsummer Night's Dream fairies, with one member dedicatedly wearing his History Society t-shirt handmade at one of the meetings! The History Society is looking forward to all the exciting events planned for November! Lucy Griffin (Co-President) More information at: Stop press! The Winter Graduation ceremony for History and Anthropology will be on Friday 10 December at am. * * *