University English 2018 AGM
13th -14th April, held at the University of Lancaster.
Friday 13thApril
9.30 Registration for Heads of Department and Subject Leaders’ Networking Day
Refreshments in Faraday Foyer
12-1pm Buffet lunch
From 2.30pm Registration for University English’s Annual General Meeting University; tea and coffee
3.00pm Panel 1: All change?: challenges for English and the humanities.
Convenors: Kathryn White and Susan Bruce
A decline in A-level recruitment; changing patterns of UCAS applications across the humanities; the subject level TEF pilot; the review of higher education funding, the pensions crisis, strike and looming staff cuts: these are among the factors which will shape the landscape of English over the next five years. This panel brings together speakers from a range of perspectives to look at specific aspects of these developments and attempt to formulate an overview. It focuses in particular on the ‘pipeline’ for English from school through to teacher-training; on recruitment issues to HE across the humanities; on the first iteration of a subject level TEF; on the experiences of colleagues in institutions under threat, and on strategies for the humanities in the current pensions crisis.
- Dr Jenny Stevens (The Godolphin & Latymer School, EA/Common English Forum)
- Professor Jan Jedrzejewski (Ulster University)
- Professor Suman Gupta (The Open University)
- Professor Susan Bruce (Keele University; co-chair of the Arts and Humanities Alliance)
[4.55pm short break: deadline for receipt of nomination forms for committee]
5.00pm PLENARY SESSION: REF2021 Q&A
- Professor Greg Walker (University of Edinburgh; Chair, Sub-panel 27 & Member, Main Panel D, REF2021)
6.15pm Wine Reception; University English Book Prize award
7.30pm Conference dinner
Saturday 14thApril
9.30am Panel 2: The Long Professor: Mentor, Manager, Emeritus
Conveners: Will May and Helen Fulton
The professionalization of HE has transformed the role of professors, which can vary widely between institutions and departments. REF2021 guidelines and legislation on retirement age continues to shift the goalposts. Professors might be creative writers on fractional contracts, active researchers taking on significant management roles, or younger academics who have had a substantial impact in their field. Yet despite the diversity of professorial work, women and BME academics make up less than 25% of the professoriate. This panel surveys the new landscape, and considers the role of the professor in our subject community and beyond.
- Professor Katharine Cockin (University of Essex)
- Professor Peter Knight (University of Manchester)
- Professor Sandeep Parmar (University of Liverpool)
10.45am Tea & Coffee
11.00am Panel 3: A Good Life: Citizenship, Skills and Employability
Convenors: Alison Waller and Alex Thomson
- Dr Clare Egan (Lancaster University)
- Dr Fiona Douglas (University of Leeds)
- TBC
- Dr Dawn Watkins (University of Leicester)
12.15am AGM Business Meeting
1.15pm Lunch
2.15pm Finish
2.00-3.30pm Executive Committee meeting and refreshments
Twitter: @UnivEnglish
AGM Hashtag: #UEAGM18
