Programme of Events - University of Stirling

WELCOME
TO THE SCHOOL OF ARTS & HUMANITIES
A stimulating series of lectures, workshops and tours to mark the official launch of the University of
Stirling’s School of Arts & Humanities.
Friday 14 September 2012 (6.30pm)
Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate, world-renowned poet and honorary graduate of the University of
Stirling will join us ‘in conversation’ with Alasdair Macrae, friend, literary critic and former senior
lecturer.
To reserve a space at this popular event, RSVP to externalrelations@stir.ac.uk or 01786 467055.
Professor Claire Squires – Crime Writing Masterclasses (10am)
Crime Writing masterclasses will take place in the macrobert, University of Stirling.
Sharpen your knives … at a day of lively masterclasses and workshops designed to help aspiring
crime-writers develop their talent, technique, and professional savvy.
Whether you're trying your hand at crime fiction for the first time or already working on a novel, our
practical classes – taught by the University’s creative writing staff – will help you hone your skills
and get insights into the fast-changing marketplace.
Day includes:
- Keynote address by Ann Cleeves: The Craft of Crime Writing:
- Morning and Afternoon writing workshops (choice of one per session):
• The Plot Thickens: Shaping a Dramatic Story
• Dark Alleys: Creating Atmospheric Settings
• Victims and Villains: Developing Convincing Characters
• Agents and Publishers Panel, featuring:
-­‐ Wayne Brookes, Publishing Director, Pan Macmillan
-­‐ Maxine Hitchcock, Editorial Director, Simon & Schuster
-­‐ Bob McDevitt, literary agent, Jenny Brown Associates
-­‐ Claire Squires, Director, Stirling Centre for International Publishing & Communication
- Lunch, plus morning and afternoon tea
PRICE FOR THE FULL DAY: £75/£65 concessions
Note: All participants will be contacted in advance for workshop registration/catering requirements.

Saturday 15 September 2012
Members of the public, staff and students are invited to join us for an open day of lectures,
workshops and tours. All events will be held in the Pathfoot building, University of Stirling.
Dr Katherine Halsey - Sight and Insight in Jane Austen’s Novels (10-11am, Room C1)
Different ways of seeing – looking, glancing, gazing, staring, glaring, peeping, observing, peering
(and many more) – abound in Jane Austen’s novels. In her work, where the unsaid is often far
more important than what is actually said, the language of the eye is particularly powerful. And
Austen’s characters understand how to speak this language. In Persuasion, Captain Wentworth,
for example, beseeches Anne with “eyes of glowing entreaty” as he pushes his letter towards her
in the middle of the crowded parlour of the White Hart. When Mr Darcy meditates on the pleasure
bestowed by “a pair of fine eyes” in Pride and Prejudice, he surely does so because eyes are so
very expressive. And yet, however well characters may communicate with their eyes, they may
also remain blind to what is most important. In this lecture, I will explore the relationship between
the physical eye and the eyes of the mind in Jane Austen’s novels, concentrating particularly on
Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Persuasion (1818).
Isabel Mendes - Africa in Motion (11-12.30pm, LTA96)
The Africa in Motion (AiM) Film Festival was created in 2005 with the aim to introduce Scottish
audiences to the brilliance of African cinema and to overcome the under-representation and
marginalisation of African film in British film-going culture. Our priority is to create opportunities for
Scottish audiences to see African films while providing a platform for African filmmakers to exhibit
their work in Scotland, but our main reason for screening the films is because we believe they are
great films which should be seen the world over. Over the past six years we have screened over
200 African films to audiences totalling around 15,000 people. Throughout the festival's life, the
University of Stirling has been a longstanding partner and supporter.
We are looking forward for the chance to introduce AiM to Stitling's academic community, share
some of the African shorts which has been awarded in our Short Film Competition strand, and talk
about the programme of films AiM is bringing to Stirling in November.
Dr Rowan Cruft - What are ‘rights’ and why do we need them? (11am-12 noon, Room C2)
In this fascinating lecture Dr Cruft, recently called as a witness at the Leveson Inquiry, will examine
the nature and justification of rights and duties and take a closer look at the way in which different
types of rights e.g. human rights, property rights and contractual rights are viewed within our
society. Such rights are often criticised as an indicator of many modern ills however the questions
posed in this lecture will ask you to consider what life might be like without the existence of the
concept of rights.

Dr Suzanne Gilbert - James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd (12 noon-1pm, Room D1)
As a self-educated shepherd from Ettrick Valley, James Hogg (1770-1832) was an improbable
candidate for a literary career. From an impoverished family, as a child Hogg had to go into service
as a cowherd having completed only a few months of formal education. From these very humble
beginnings, Hogg went on to write prolifically, producing poems, songs, essays, tales, and novels,
including his acknowledged masterpiece The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified
Sinner. His most famous book is renowned for the innovative, sophisticated way in which it
presents double and multiple narratives; it may be seen as a major influence for many subsequent
writers, among them Robert Louis Stevenson, Muriel Spark, Ian Rankin, and James Robertson.
The Stirling/South Carolina Research Edition of the Collected Works of James Hogg is engaged in
republishing all of Hogg’s works, many of which have not appeared since the early 1800s. Twentyseven
of the eventual thirty-nine volumes have been published to date. Hogg is remarkable for the
way in which he overcame great odds: aspiring to become a writer, he educated himself to an
amazing degree by sheer force of intelligence, will, and audacity, crossing class and cultural
boundaries to produce some of Scotland’s most unforgettable literature.
Dr Dale Townshend - The Gothic Imagination, 1764-Present (12 noon-1pm, Room D2)
This paper will provide an introduction to the dark but exciting world of the Gothic, starting with the
political discourses, architectural styles and literary experiments of the eighteenth century,
progressing through the monstrous curiosities of the Victorian period, and culminating in an
account of the ubiquity of Gothic in contemporary culture.
'Royal Observatory Edinburgh' - ‘Wish you were here? Searching for Exoplanets.’ (1-2pm,
LTA96)
Scotland-based scientists are helping to further the world’s knowledge about planets orbiting other
stars. A sci-art collaboration between The Royal Observatory Edinburgh (key partner for the
School of Arts and Humanities' programmes in Translation Studies and Translation with TESOL),
Edinburgh College of Art and University of St Andrews, has produced two short documentary films
looking at some of this research and technology. Following the screenings there will be a Q & A
session with some of the scientists and film-makers.

Dr James Smyth - Lest Scotland Forgets: recording the nation’s Great War Memorials (2-
3pm, Room C1)
http://www.historyandpolitics.stir.ac.uk/research/flagshipprojects.php
Dr. James J. Smyth. Dr Michael A. Penman, & Ms Sarah Bromage
Lest Scotland Forgets is a pilot project, jointly funded by the University of Stirling and the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, which is currently working with a group of school teachers and their students.
This project has two related aims:
Firstly to examine the erection of a series of local memorials: the individuals and civic societies
behind construction, location, type of memorial, architectural style, and the manner in which the
names of the ‘fallen’ were presented.
Secondly, by using a variety of archival sources (local and national) alongside online, electronic
datasets to utilise record linkage in order to provide life stories of a selection of the ‘fallen’.
Our talk will examine the process of memorialisation in Scotland and show how we can create
individual biographies of the ‘fallen’ through census, civil registers, newspapers, military records.
In so doing we illustrate the human costs and consequences of the conflict while providing
students with a valuable experience in how to conduct historical research.
The ultimate ambition of Lest Scotland Forgets is to extend the project to cover all of Scotland and
to produce a freely accessible database of Great War Memorials and those listed on them. In late
summer an Exhibition (‘The Stirling Hundred’) on the parish memorials of Stirling and a selection of
those listed on them will be displayed in the Pathfoot Dining Room
Sarah Bromage - The Scottish Political Archive (3-4pm, Room C1)
This talk will discuss and showcase some of the collections of the Scottish Political Archive
(SPA). Alongside politicians personal papers the archive contains photographic, oral and
ephemeral material relating to the political history of Scotland in the twentieth and twenty first
centuries. The presentation will focus on the archive’s collections relating to the devolution
referendums of 1979 and 1997 and will be illustrated by images from SPA’s photographic
collections. There will also be the opportunity to view pamphlets and other campaign material from
the collections.
Tim Thornicroft – Presentation of Student Work (2-3pm, Pathfoot Lecture Theatre)
Tim Thornicroft – Workshops in Radio Drama and Digital Filmmaking
These workshops are aimed at beginners and designed to explore—at a very simple level—some
important aspects of radio drama and narrative film production.
There should be a minimum of two people, and a maximum of five per workshop.
A Beginner’s Guide to Recording Radio Drama (Room D4)

This workshop offers the chance of recording a short scripted scene in the radio studio. Sound
effects from CD and music will then be added to the recorded dialogue, although there will also be
an opportunity to create some of these effects during production. As well as acting in the scene,
those taking part will be able to watch the techniques of mixing and editing recorded material, plus
they’ll see and hear how soundscapes are produced.
Filmmaking—the Magic of Continuity (Room D14)
When shooting films, continuity of action is vital to establish a believable sense of space and time
for the audience. Though editing techniques have changed over the years, the fundamental
principles of continuity remain much as they were when originally established early in the 20th
century. In this workshop, we will use a simple scenario to shoot and edit a brief sequence of shots
to explore the line of action, continuity of screen direction, eyelines and matching on action.
The workshops will be repeated on the hour from 10.00-3.00 as follows:
A Beginner’s Guide to Recording Radio Drama: 10.00, 12.00
Filmmaking - The Magic of Continuity: 11.00, 1.00, 3.00
During one of the radio workshop slots Tim Thornicroft will present a one-hour programme of the
best of student work from recent years.
Tours of the Art Collection (11am and 1pm, Pathfoot reception)
The Art Collection at the University is a varied one comprising of over 300 works including
paintings, sketches, tapestries, sculpture and silver.
The tradition of collecting art goes back to the founding of the University in 1967 when Professor
Tom Cottrell was the first Principal. A scientist by training, he came from an artistic background
and had very clear ideas about art and its place in society. He felt that art should be part of the
everyday experience at the University and it is philosophy that has been driving and inspiring us to
keep on collecting and showing exciting art to the public ever since.
Staff will meet interested parties at the reception of the Pathfoot building just before the hour and
will guide you through our collections on display, including the famous Fergusson paintings - and
give a brief description of the history of the Art Collection at Stirling.