Lives & Letters Mailing: March 2018
Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to another Lives & Letters Mailing. This month’s mailing contains information about:
1. Whites Writing Whiteness: Project News
– New working paper – To the Letter: An Overview of Letters in Sociology
– New Overviews: Working with Dorothy Smith
– From the Blog: The epistolarium reloaded – Olive Schreiner’s letters
– From the Blog: Miscellaneous
– From the Blog: Open letters, famous letters, and a settler colonialism footnote
2. Women and Archives (3/15/2018) Special issue of Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature
3. New book by list members: British autobiography in the 20th and 21st Centuries
4. Founding of IABA Africa in 2017–a report
5. Family, Memory & Identity Symposium (3/15/2018; 5/23-24/2018) Denmark
6. Qualitative Research Methods Courses at the University of
7. The End of Racism?: Black Studies City Talk
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1. Whites Writing Whiteness: Project News
There are five new items of project news we would like to share:
New working paper – To the Letter: An Overview of Letters in Sociology
Abstract: The use of letters in sociology has a long history. While somevsociologists might be puzzled about being interested in an apparently literary topic – the letter – there are good sociological reasons for being concerned with letters and correspondences. Topics discussed include: early progenitors, biographical sociology, letters as documents of life, letters as sources, migration and diaspora letters, letter writing practices, letterness and theorising the letter as an epistolary form. To read this working paper, please visit the Working Papers area: http://www.whiteswritingwhiteness.ed.ac.uk/publications/working-papers/
New Overviews: Working with Dorothy Smith
In using letters to explore ‘whites writing whiteness’, some important practical questions arise, concerning how these writings should be worked with, including whether this is with individual letters, flows of letters between particular people, or white letter-writing overall over the 200 year period of concern. The work of Dorothy Smith, a feminist sociologist who is deeply concerned with the analysis of texts of different kinds as part of her wider intellectual project, is helpful in thinking through how to do this. To read more about this, please visit the Overviews: http://www.whiteswritingwhiteness.ed.ac.uk/overviews/working-with-smith/
From the Blog: The epistolarium reloaded – Olive Schreiner’s letters
The concept of the epistolarium was first developed a good few years ago now and has been re-thought or expanded at a number of junctures (see the references at the end of the blog post). There are some useful extensions and revisions can be made now, including because there is an extensive five year engagement with many South African letter-writings to draw on. To read more, please visit the blog: http://www.whiteswritingwhiteness.ed.ac.uk/blog/the-epistolarium-reloaded/
From the Blog: Miscellaneous
Liz is currently spring cleaning (trying to) and tidying her study, to tame or reduce if not entirely to remove all the piles of paper generated over the three or four years. What are all these piles of things being reduced to, what are the traces that remain? To read more about miscellanies, please visit the blog: http://www.whiteswritingwhiteness.ed.ac.uk/blog/miscellaneous/
From the Blog: Open letters, famous letters, and a settler colonialism footnote
On 10 December 1936, Edward VIII abdicated from the British Crown. The release of official papers about this shows that the abdication document – ‘The Abdication Instrument’ – is in fact an open letter, and characteristics which look odd in relation to ‘ordinary letters’ are shared with other open letters. Open letters are recipient-designed, tailored for particular times, circumstances and places and people. To read more about this, please visit the blog: http://www.whiteswritingwhiteness.ed.ac.uk/blog/open-letters-famous-letters-and-a-settler-colonialism-footnote/
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2. Women and Archives (3/15/2018) Special issue of Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature
Women and Archives
Special Issue of Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, edited by Emily Rutter and Laura Engel
In “Archives, Records, and Power: The Making of Modern Memory” (2002), Joan Schwartz and Terry Cook assert, “Archives have the power to privilege and to marginalize. They can be a tool of hegemony; they can be a tool of resistance” (13). This dual function of the archive as a vehicle for both reinforcing social inequities and engendering counternarratives frames this special issue of Tulsa Studies in Women’s Literature, scheduled for publication March 2021. We understand the term archive in a scopic sense, inclusive of institutional vaults of artifacts and records; traces and residues of embodied performances and affective experiences; and/or imaginative literature that renders historically marginalized voices legible. We welcome theoretical essays that build on the work of Jacques Derrida, Diana Taylor, Ann Cvetkovich, among other theorists of the archive, as well as essays that examine the relationship between women’s literary and/or cultural production and archival knowledge. Essays should be 6000-9000 words (excluding notes), should conform to the endnote style of the 16th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, and should be submitted in Microsoft Word.
Essay topics may include (but are not limited to):
- Women authors’ efforts to fill in archival lacunae about slavery, colonialism, and/or Jim Crow segregation
- The archive, theater, dance, and women’s performance histories
- Women, material culture, and the archive
- Resistance to “great men” readings of history through women’s archived diaries, letters, journals, and/or autobiographies
- Gendered epistemologies and/or the recuperation of intersectional identities in the archive
- Alternative ways of understanding what constitutes an archive and/or alternative sites of artifactual or historical knowledge
- The role of the archival researcher in shaping the public’s understanding of women’s writing
We also invite two types of shorter essays: Archives pieces should be 1500-3000 words in length and present new bibliographies, descriptions of particular archives, or narratives of archival research. Innovations pieces should be 2000-5000 words long, and describe new scholarly approaches to the relationship between archives and women’s writing, such as digital humanities projects, or reflections on the effects of such projects on the field.
Initial queries and abstracts are encouraged, though final acceptance will be determined by the completed essay. Please send submissions to Emily Rutter at errutter@bsu.edu and Laura Engel at engell784@duq.edu, and use the subject line “Tulsa Studies: Women and Archives.” Full-length essays, archival pieces, and innovation pieces must be submitted by March 15, 2018.
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IABA-L: A LIST FOR LIFE WRITING
International Auto/Biography Association
https://sites.google.com/ualberta.ca/iaba/home
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3. New book by list members: British autobiography in the 20th and 21st Centuries
British Autobiography in the 20th and 21st Centuries
Edited by Sarah Herbe and Gabriele Linke
Published by Winter Verlag, Heidelberg, 2017
https://www.winter-verlag.de/de/detail/978-3-8253-6848-7/Herbe_Linke_Eds_British_Autobiography/
Autobiographies are among the bestselling books in Britain, and beside the book format, other forms of autobiographical expression such as blogging and vlogging flourish, too. As a response to this ‘autobiography boom’ since the late 20th century, the study of life writing has developed into a vibrant field of research. Although there have been many British contributions to the field, a collection that assembles critical views on the variety of contemporary British autobiographical writing has still been missing.
This volume cannot close this gap and provide a comprehensive overview on recent British autobiography but brings together exemplary studies of different media, forms and issues of British autobiographical writing, testifying to the creativity and diversity of both autobiographical texts and analytical angles. Contributions focus predominantly on non-canonical texts, including some of the most popular contemporary autobiographical genres, such as graphic memoirs, fan autobiographies, disability memoirs, or blogs, addressing, for example, questions of genre, ethics and identity as well as ideas for teaching.
Contents:
Sarah Herbe and Gabriele Linke: Introduction
Ralf Schneider: The Autobiography of the First World War
James Fenwick: “Freddie, Can You Talk?” The Ethics of Betrayal in Frederic Raphael’s Memoir Eyes Wide Open (1999)
Sarah Herbe: Online Self-Presentation and -Promotion in Jeanette Winterson’s Column (2000–2014)
Simone Herrmann: Graphic Isolation? Imagining Contemporary Britain in Graphic Memoirs
Markus Oppolzer: Teaching (British) Autobiographical Comics
Katrin Röder: Acknowledging Anger, Problematising Shame: Affirming New Identities in British Women’s Disability Autobiographies
Cyprian Piskurek: Support Therefore I Am: British Football Fan Autobiographies
Gabriele Linke: Between Ethnography and Ecology: Autobiographical Narratives from Rural Scotland since the Second World War
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IABA-L: A LIST FOR LIFE WRITING
International Auto/Biography Association
https://sites.google.com/ualberta.ca/iaba/home
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4. Founding of IABA Africa in 2017
On the strength of the Stellenbosch University English Department’s research and publications in diverse forms of ‘life narrative’, in January 2017 the department was awarded the IABA charter to found the Africa chapter. The inaugural colloquium was organised by colleagues Dr Tilla Slabbert and Prof Sally Ann Murray, under the title “The Textualities of Auto/Biography: or, the Auto/biogrAfrical”. The event, held at Stias (The Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies) on 19-20 October, 2017, attracted scholars from South African and African universities, as well as from universities in Australia, and England.
The plenary address was given by Dr Ricia Chansky of the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, and editor of a/b: Auto/Biography Studies. While the devastating hurricanes that had so recently ravaged Puerto Rico put paid to her travel plans, Dr Chansky fortunately managed, amid the crisis of evacuation and disrupted services, to video-record her paper, and her virtual presence at the colloquium made for an extremely moving plenary address on “Instability and Autobiography: Rereading Lives in Times of Crisis.” The topic couldn’t have been more apt. For many in the audience, the talk brought home the oppressive, debilitating relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico, and the examples of women’s life writing which Chansky discussed carried the message of environmental disaster in relation to the ongoing political disaster that shapes the lives of Puerto Ricans.
To give a tantalising glimpse of the wonderful range of papers given at IABA Africa: there were presentations on “Queer Self-writing and Archive Creation in Francophone North Africa”; “Ken Gampu: Between Biopic Stardom and Colonial Beingness”; “Uncanny Times: the Case of Eugene de Kock”; “The Tension Between ‘Disability Autobiography’ and ‘Autre-biography”; “‘Reconstructive Imagination’ at Work in a Child Soldier Narrative”; “Lives in Crisis: Constructing the Self in Ebola Narratives”, and “Love and Struggle: the Auto/biographies of Ayesha Dawood and Fatima Meer”. The event was very deliberately welcoming of papers from many disciplines – hence the lively melee of literary scholars, historians, psychologists, social anthropologists, writers, and cultural studies practitioners. The structure of the colloquium also took inspiration from the innovations experienced at previous IABA international conferences: longer academic papers were interspersed with brief ‘a/b re-mXd’ sessions, allowing presenters to sketch out work-in-progress, or to read from their creative life writing projects. It was a heady intellectual mix which also made space for the affective and the embodied. And let’s not forget the super supper at Tastebud, where food and vino contributed to the veritas of relaxed collegiality.
IABA Africa now begins to look forward. What is in the offing? The team plans to build on the inaugural energies which supported graduate student attendance, and fostered a collaborative environment for those interested in the wide range of a/b studies in African contexts, creating conversations among established a/b forms such as letters, archival research, biopics, and fiction, and new social media, digital platforms, orality, and creative work. The Africa chapter is presently compiling a membership list, and planning a special journal issue. If you have ideas, or are interested in joining IABA Africa, please email both samurray@sun.ac.za and mslabbert@sun.ac.za. All are welcome to contribute!
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IABA-L: A LIST FOR LIFE WRITING
International Auto/Biography Association
https://sites.google.com/ualberta.ca/iaba/home
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5. Family, Memory & Identity Symposium (3/15/2018; 5/23-24/2018) Denmark
Family, Memory & Identity Symposium
The family has long been a central unit of social organisation, understood as key to child development, the production of personal and familial identity, and the transmission of values. It is a unit of political significance, identified as the ‘nursery of the nation’ from at least the medieval period and thus subject to significant analysis and intervention. The family is also implicated in the production of nations, where particular families (not least monarchies) and family stories become national histories – defining the boundaries of who belongs and who does not. Such processes of identity-making require a range of forms of inheritance and memory-making, whether at a personal level in stories told to children or the ways that family becomes embedded in heritage sites and museums to explain our national stories. This symposium explores the relationship between family, memory and identity, asking how family is defined, articulated and transmitted to its members and those beyond; how inheritances, storytelling and processes of memory-making become implicated in these processes; and how various forms of identity are produced through family memory, from the personal to the national. It is particularly interested in the diversity of ways that family has been understood and memorialised over time and to the present, including but not limited to fictive kin, single person families, LGBT families, and friendship-families.
We invite proposals for papers that explore the symposium theme. Topics might include, but are not limited to:
- Families and personal identity
- Families in national history and heritage
- Family, politics and memory
- Family and memory studies
- Families and technologies of intimacy
- Genealogies, family histories, ancestry DNA
- Objects of family identity – photographs, clothes, jewellery, inheritances
- Emotion, affect, intimacy as memory/identity
- Commemorating family, storytelling
- Making identity in the absence of family
Papers that expand our understanding or interrogate the boundaries of family, identity and memory are particularly welcome. This is an explicitly inter and multi-disciplinary event and we welcome proposals from people in any discipline exploring this topic.
Abstracts of no more than 250 words, and a short bio, should be emailed to Katie Barclay, katiebarclay@aias.au.dk by 15 March 2018. Questions or queries can also be addressed to the above. Venue: Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS), Aarhus University, Buildings 1630-1632, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
Contact Info:
Katie Barclay, Associate Professor, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, and Senior Lecture, University of Adelaide
Contact Email: katie.barclay@adelaide.edu.au
URL: http://aias.au.dk/events/aias-symposium-family-memory-and-identity/
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IABA-L: A LIST FOR LIFE WRITING
International Auto/Biography Association
https://sites.google.com/ualberta.ca/iaba/home
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6. Qualitative Research Methods Courses at the University of Oxford
*Apologies for any cross-posting *
The Health Experiences Research Group (HERG), at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford runs a highly-regarded programme of core qualitative research methods short courses, including the one-week Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods<https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods/introduction-to-qualitative-research-methods> (QRM), Introduction to Qualitative Interviewing<https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods/introduction-to-qualitative-interviewing>, Analysing Qualitative Interviews<https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods/analysing-qualitative-interviews>, and Introduction to Focus Groups<https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods/introduction-to-focus-groups>. Note that the one-day interview and the two-day analysis courses are scheduled so that participants can take either or both of the courses.
Our courses are very popular so please book early to avoid disappointment. For further information about each course and to book please follow the links above, go to our courses website<https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods> or visit the University Stores <http://www.oxforduniversitystores.co.uk/browse/product.asp?catid=165&modid=5&compid=1> website.
Please pass this information on to anyone who might be interested and/or display it on your noticeboards.
We look forward to welcoming you and your colleagues on one or more of our courses in 2018.
INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
23-27 April 2018 – COURSE NOW FULL – WAITING LIST ONLY<https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods/introduction-to-qualitative-research-methods>
“This has been a fantastic week, an excellent combination of theory and practice. I feel much more confident to go back to work on my project. This should be an example to others of how to run a course. Excellent.”
This one week course is aimed at health professionals, researchers, academics and postgraduate students with little or no understanding of qualitative research methods. Everyone is welcome, regardless of research background. The course provides hands on practical experience of different qualitative methods including in-depth interviewing, focus groups and ethnography, as well as developing skills in thematic analysis. It is particularly suited for people who are starting work on a project with a qualitative dimension, doctoral students at the beginning of their projects, and those who are thinking about using qualitative research methods. The course also provides a useful introduction/refresher for researchers, academics, or managers who are supervising students or staff doing qualitative research projects.
INTRODUCTION TO FOCUS GROUPS
11 May 2018 BOOK NOW<https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods/introduction-to-focus-groups>
“I go on a lot of training courses. This was one of the best I have been to! So rarely do you get practical experience whilst training. Excellently structured and facilitated course.”
This one day course is aimed at health professionals, researchers, academics and postgraduate students who want to develop skills in organising and facilitating focus groups and in analysing focus group data. Everyone is welcome, regardless of research background. The course is suitable for those with little or no understanding of focus group method as well as those wishing to review and broaden existing skills. Practical exercises and small group work will be used throughout the course to develop competence in designing topic guides, moderating focus groups and analysing data.
INTRODUCTION TO QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWING
16 May 2018 -BOOK NOW<https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods/introduction-to-qualitative-interviewing>
“The course has been fantastic! Many thanks for the clear and useful teaching – handouts, clips. All instructors were enthusiastic and very knowledgeable. Really brought qual methods to life. The experiential work was especially useful.”
This one-day course is aimed at health professionals, researchers, academics and postgraduate students who have little or no experience of qualitative interviewing. Everyone is welcome, regardless of research background. Previous courses have attracted researchers from a wide range of disciplines including health professionals, social scientists and educators. The only requirements are an interest in qualitative interviewing and the desire to conduct better interviews. The course provides hands on practical experience of different qualitative interviewing skills.
ANALYSING QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS
17-18 May 2018 – FILLING FAST BOOK NOW<https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/study/short-courses-in-qualitative-research-methods/analysing-qualitative-interviews>
“It has been a real privilege to attend a course led by such high quality, high calibre speakers – sharing the theory but intertwined with the reality of their own experiences and interests and passions – making it meaningful and real for those of us who are researching in the real world.”
This two day course is aimed at health professionals, researchers, academics and postgraduate students who are planning to undertake or manage qualitative research using in-depth or semi structured interviews or those who have already collected qualitative interview data which they are unsure how to analyse. Everyone is welcome, regardless of research background. The course introduces the principles and practice of qualitative interview data analysis, with particular emphasis on thematic analysis techniques. It uses a combination of practical workshops, group discussions and formal lectures. The course also gives an overview of other approaches to qualitative analysis.
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7. The End of Racism?: Black Studies City Talk
Black Studies City Talk
The End of Racism?
Wednesday 7th March 6.15pm-8pm
Birmingham City University
Book for free at https://www.bcu.ac.uk/news-events/calendar/black-studies-city-talk
To celebrate the launch of Europe’s first Black Studies degree, Birmingham City University will be hosting what promises to be a lively discussion with leading experts on contemporary issues surrounding this discipline.
The panel will be made up of renowned speakers, including Princeton University’s Professor Imani Perry, one of the world’s most influential experts in race and African-American culture and who has written books on race, politics, feminism, society and citizenship.
She will be joined by Dr Kehinde Andrews, one of the UK’s leading Black British voices, and founder of the Black Studies course, and Birmingham entrepreneur Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones aka ‘The Black Farmer’. Chairing the discussion will be award-winning broadcaster and former Blue Peter presenterAyo Akinwolere.
The panel will explore the topic of ‘The end of racism?’ and why the University’s launch of a degree in Black Studies is now more important than ever.
The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A.
Dr Kehinde Andrews
Associate Professor in Sociology
School of Social Sciences,
Curzon Building, C334
Birmingham City University
Curzon Street, Birmingham B4 7XG
United Kingdom
Co-editor of NEW book Blackness in Britain
Chair of Organisation of Black Unity
Co-Chair of Black Studies Association
Director of Centre for Critical Social Research
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Last updated: 2 March 2018
