I will be giving a talk on the above on Feb 16th as part of the Bishopgate Institute’s Monarchy and Republicanism series. Details here.
Non-traditional assessment in ‘traditional’ subjects – HEA workshop 4th April 2012
The Department of Humanities at the University of Roehampton has received some funding to host a workshop exploring the use of ePortfolios in teaching and assessing ‘traditional’ subjects (the examples used in the workshop will mainly be drawn from History and Classics). In particular, we will be looking at the use of PLEs (Personal Learning Environments) in supporting independent project work, improving study skills and enhancing employability. Details of the workshop can be found over here at the HEA website. The event is free and we have 30 places for interested delegates.
Christmas gifts…of a sort
There has been quite a lot of discussion recently about the ethics of publicly-funded research often only being available through subscription-only journals. (Much of it sparked off by this article by George Monbiot in the Grauniad.)
One thought I had at the time was that if academics collectively did more to make use of existing self-archiving policies this might open things up a bit. I hadn’t then had the time or energy to follow this up myself but a search of the Sherpa/Romeo database makes clear how restrictive the archiving policies of most academic journals are. (There are some notable exceptions – Cambridge Journals having a good general archiving policing.) Most only permit posting of pre-print copies (meaning pre-refereed). So, if you want peer-reviewed content you’ve still got to pay for it.
Of work I’ve published in journals, only three articles (from JBS, Historical Journal and Huntington Library Quarterly) could be uploaded in final PDF form. I’ve added them to my academic.edu profile in case anyone is interested….they’re not exactly hot-off-the-press.
I don’t have any brilliant solutions to this problem myself but it does seem to me that journal editors might think about their archiving policies and whether they are too restrictive. The approach of titles like Journal of British Studies seems to me the fairest for all parties.
PhD research studentships in humanities
The Department of Humanities, University of Roehampton, is offering two full fees studentships for Phd study in either history, classical civilisations or theology and religious studies.
Further details can be found here.
Face for radio?
I took part in another BBC Radio 3 Nightwaves discussion on Thurs 2oth Oct, this time on the ‘Occupy’ protests in historical perspective. You can listen again here, first item on the show.
Whose Mind Is It Anyway? Resisting Control: Dissent, Protest and Organised Belligerance
I’m taking part in this discussion organised by Neil Denny of Little Atoms at the Bishopsgate Institute along with Dan Hind, Bibi van der Zee and Alex Butterworth. 3 November @ 7.30pm.
Info over here.
Monarchism and Absolutism in Early Modern Europe
Editors: Cesare Cuttica and Glenn Burgess
Political and Popular Culture in the Early Modern Period
Hb: c.320pp: November 2011
978 1 84893 198 5: 234x156mm: £60.00/$99.00
978 1 84893 198 5: 234x156mm: £60.00/$99.00
978 1 84893 199 2The fourteen essays in this volume look at both the theory and practice of monarchical governments from the Thirty Years War up until the time of the French Revolution. Contributors aim to unravel the constructs of ‘absolutism’ and ‘monarchism’, examining how the power and authority of monarchs was defined through contemporary politics and philosophy. Questions are asked as to whether it is possible to speak of a general political monarchist doctrine in early modern Europe, about the role of despotism, and the formation of national identities.
Now available to order here from Pickering and Chatto.
Historian reviews pop record shocker
My musings on PJ Harvey’s Mercury Award winning album ‘Let England Shake’ published in the Guardian yesterday. Paul Lay at History Today picked this up and gives his top five musical evocations of Englishness, including one of my favourites, Roy Harper’s ‘When an old cricketer leaves the crease.’
In other news, I’ve now uploaded my talk to the Suffolk Book League over here. Thanks to all who come, especially for the excellent questions afterwards. Anyone who lives in the area and likes books (historical or otherwise) would be well-advised to take a look at their programme of events.
Update: apologies to those who tried to download the Suffolk talk podcast earlier. I’ve now fixed the link which was to a non-public bit of my web filestore.
Suffolk Book League Talk Sept 6
I will be giving a talk on my A Radical History of Britain to the Suffolk Book League on Tues Sept 6 at 7.30pm. Details here.
