AHRC Knowledge Transfer Fellowship scheme - next deadline 12 November 2009

The Knowledge Transfer (KT) Fellowship Scheme is designed to support academics to undertake a programme of knowledge transfer activity in a flexible way. The knowledge transfer project should be planned around an existing piece of arts or humanities research which has the potential to make a significant difference beyond the world of academia. KT Fellows may work either on their own or as part of an academic team, to collaborate with, and bring tangible benefits to, non-academic organisations through a process of knowledge exchange. These benefits may be economic, social or cultural in nature.

Researchers can apply to work on the project on either a full time or part time basis for between 4 months and 3 years. The award can be between £5,000 and £1 million on a full economic cost basis.

The Knowledge Transfer Fellowships scheme has two closing dates each year, in November and May. The next closing date will be 12 November 2009, at 4pm. A revised scheme guide will be available in August, and the J-eS system will open for applications to this round at the same time.

For more information see: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/KTFellowshipScheme.aspx

For more general information about Knowledge Transfer see the RCUK Knowledge Transfer Portal: http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/innovation/ktportal/default.htm

‘Building on History: The Church in London’ Project

A pioneering project aiming to disseminate fascinating and important new insights into the modern history of religion in London in order to inform both policy-making and self-understanding was launched at a reception at Lambeth Palace Library on 18th June 2009. Dr Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, spoke at the event along with the Project leader, Professor John Wolffe of The Open University. Over the next three years ‘Building on History: The Church in London’ will see two leading historians of modern British religion -- Wolffe and Professor Arthur Burns (King’s College London) – work with the leading national depository for English religious history, Lambeth Palace Library, and the Anglican Diocese of London to enhance the diocese’s self-understanding and effectiveness.

‘Building on History: The Church in London’ is funded by a £234,000 Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Knowledge Transfer grant. It is amongst the first ventures of its kind involving academic historians collaborating not with a gallery or museum but with a major public institution, as the Church of England seeks eagerly to unlock its own history to bring insights to its clergy, congregations and the broader multi-cultural community of contemporary London.

The project enjoys the strong support of the Bishop of London, who spoke at a Building on History seminar at St Paul’s Cathedral on 5 May of the importance of historical awareness to London Anglican identity and the development of informed strategy. Many of the social changes and pastoral challenges currently facing the diocese, such as rapid urban development, and heavy migration (both within and to the area) have been perennial issues for both Church and the metropolis since at least the late eighteenth century; and a historical perspective on the experience of these phenomena over time will help inform current and future responses.

The last twenty years have transformed academic understanding of the place of religion in modern English society, particularly in relation to ‘secularization’. It is increasingly clear that claims of religion’s inevitable decline in the face of modernization are not borne out by the ability of religious groups to respond react to changing contexts. Building on History creates a new space in which those active in the contemporary religious life of the capital can reflect on and learn from the remarkable stories now emerging about the experience of the churches in one of the world’s great cities responding to two centuries of challenge and change.

Following the launch, the project will engage with the Diocese of London at every level. Seminars and workshops for clergy and laity will provide a context in which history can provide helpful perspectives on practical contemporary concerns. In addition, seminars will be convened with church leaders responsible for formulating both diocesan and national policy. As the project progresses, it will interact with other Christian traditions and with London’s diverse local and cultural communities.

For more information see project website: http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/building-on-history-project/index.html

Partners: Arts and Humanities Research Council; The Diocese of London (Church of England); King’s College London; Lambeth Palace Library; The Open University
Directed by: Professor John Wolffe, Professor Arthur Burns
Project Researchers: Dr Lucinda Matthews-Jones, Dr John Maiden

Futurism and the Avant-Garde - OU Art History Study Days at Tate Modern

Saturday 27 June 2009, 11.00–17.15
Starr Auditorium, Level 2, Tate Modern

This symposium explores the controversial status of Futurist movements in art history, and some of their 'avant-garde' practices. Speakers engage with various forms of Futurist art, performance and film, including the use of manifestos and demonstrations. Italian Futurism will be viewed in relation to other radical art practices across Europe. The Futurists' disdain for traditional values and their pursuit of an 'art of modern life' will be explored in relation to prevailing concepts of modernity and 'avant-garde' utopias.

The seminar has been organised by Tate Modern in collaboration with The Open University

Speakers

• Lutz Becker is a director of political and art documentaries such as ‘Double Headed Eagle’ 1972, ‘Lion of Judah’ 1981 and ‘Nuremberg in History' 2006. A practicing painter, he is also a curator of exhibitions. He collaborated with the Hayward Gallery on ‘The Romantic Spirit in German Art’ 1994, ‘Art and Power’ 1995 and Tate Modern on ‘Century City’ 2001. He is an expert on Russian Constructivism and Italian Futurism. His recent exhibition on European photomontage 'Cut & Paste' was held at the Estorick Collection, London.
• Mary Ann Caws is Distinguished Professor of English, French, and Comparative Literature, Graduate School, City University of New York. She has edited the HarperCollins World Reader, the Yale Anthology of Twentieth Century French Poetry, Surrealist Love Poems, Surrealist Painters and Poets, Surrealism, and authored The Surrealist Look, Glorious Eccentrics, Surprised in Translation, To the Boathouse: a Memoir, Provencal Cooking: Savoring the Simple Life in France, and illustrated biographies of Picassos’s Weeping Woman, Proust, Picasso, James, Woolf, and Dali. She has co-translated volumes of René Char, Tzara, Reverdy, Breton, and Desnos, and held Fulbright, Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundation fellowships.
• David Cottington is a Professor of Art History at Kingston University London, and the author of several books on the early twentieth century avant-garde, including Cubism in the Shadow of War: The Avant-Garde and Politics in Paris 1905-1914 (Yale University Press, 1998), Cubism and its Histories (Manchester University Press, 2004) and Modern Art: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2005). He is currently working on two books about the avant-garde.
• Alex Danchev is Professor of International Relations at the Univeristy of Nottingham. He is deeply interested in the interconnections and intersections of art and politics. He is the author of a number of widely acclaimed biographies, among them GEORGES BRAQUE (Penguin, 2007). His most recent books are PICASSO FURIOSO (2008) and ON ART AND WAR AND TERROR (2009). He is currently working on a biography of Cezanne, and a collection of artists' manifestos.
• Matthew Gale is Head of Displays at Tate Modern and curator of Futurism.

For more information and to book see: http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/eventseducation/symposia/18175.htm

Reading Experience Database 1450-1945

Version 3 of the Reading Experience Database (RED) is planned for release in summer 2009.

RED was launched in 1996 at the UK Open University. Its mission is to accumulate as much data as possible about the reading experiences of readers of all nationalities in Britain and those of British subjects abroad from 1450 to 1945.

RED currently contains approximately 17,000 records, the majority of which have been verified, edited and released for searching. More entries are contributed and released every day and thus return visits to the database should yield new results each time.

Anyone can contribute information to the database and help to make this resource usefully and fully searchable by providing details of whatever evidence you have of a relevant Reading Experience.

RED is also looking for volunteers to work their way systematically through such materials in order to record evidence of reading.If you are interested in becoming a volunteer see: http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/RED/volunteers.html

What is a ‘reading experience’?
‘Reading’ can mean many things, from reading a book aloud or silently, to the critical ‘reading’ of a text (including dramatic and cinematic texts) in an academic sense, or (metaphorically) ‘reading’ a face, a social situation, or the symbolic value of a text. But in the interests of clarity and manageability the RED has had to exclude certain of these ‘reading experiences’ as outside their remit. For the purposes of the database, a ‘reading experience’ means a recorded engagement with a written or printed text - beyond the mere fact of possession. A database containing as much information as possible about what British people read, where and when they read it and what they thought of it will form an invaluable resource for researchers of book history, cultural studies, sociology and family history, to name but a few.

For more information see: http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/RED/

New Knowledge Transfer Fellowship awards in the Creative Industries.

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) are collaborating to support a number of exciting Knowledge Transfer Fellowship awards in the Creative Industries.

Ring-fenced funding is available to support cutting-edge projects which involve a KT Fellow working with the Creative Industries in the South West region.

The call, which will run alongside the May 2009 round of the standard KT Fellowship competition, will allow businesses in the Creative Industries sector in the South West to work with arts and humanities researchers based anywhere in the UK on a well-defined programme of knowledge exchange and benefit from the application of high-quality research in a practical context. It is expected to reap significant benefits for South West businesses, as well as providing an opportunity to raise the profile of the South West as a centre of excellence in areas where arts and humanities research is utilised by the Creative Industries, especially Digital and Pervasive Media.

As the call sits within the KT Fellowship scheme, all eligibility and assessment criteria and other guidance relating to the main scheme apply, however there are three additional criteria:

• Business partners must be based in the South West and operating within the Creative Industries sector.
• Proposals to the joint call may have a maximum Full Economic Cost of £125,000. Awards will be paid at 80% of the Full Economic Cost.
• Projects can last up to 12 months.

During the Fellowship the academic partner can be located at the partner organisation, or vice-versa the non-academic partner can spend time working within the host HEI or IRO. The jointly-funded call, worth £400k, is expected to fund around four to five projects.

The deadline for applications is 4pm on 14th May 2009. Applications must be submitted by the academic partner through the Research Councils’ joint electronic submission system (Je-S).

Further information on this joint initiative is available here.

The May 2009 round of the standard KT Fellowship scheme competition will not be affected by the additional pilot call.

The 6th round of the standard Knowledge Transfer Fellowship competition is still open for applications until 4pm on 14th May 2009.

The scheme is designed to support academics to undertake a programme of knowledge transfer activity in a flexible way.
KT Fellowship projects

• Should be planned around an existing piece of completed arts or humanities research
• Should last between 4 months and 3 years
• Must involve at least one non-academic project partner
• May involve the PI (KT Fellow) on either a full time or part time basis
• May involve a PI working alone or supported by an academic team
• Can work with project partners in a wide range of sectors e.g. business, heritage, film and media or public policy
• Must deliver tangible benefits to non-academic project partner/s (or the audiences served by the project partners) such as economic, cultural or social benefits

The first five rounds of the scheme have already resulted in a number of awards which are now underway: further information on these awards can be found on the AHRC website. The existing awards demonstrate the breadth of activity that can be supported through the scheme, with academics collaborating with a wide range of project partners.

Projects must utilise completed high-quality research within the arts and humanities subject domain. This does not necessarily need to have been funded by the AHRC. The Knowledge Transfer Fellowship scheme will not support individuals or teams to conduct research. For further information, guidance and contacts please visit the AHRC website.

Applications must be submitted via the Je-S system by 4pm on Thursday 14th May 2009.

AHRC Knowledge Transfer Fellowship scheme next closing date 14th May 2009

The Knowledge Transfer Fellowship Scheme is designed to support academics to undertake a programme of knowledge transfer activity in a flexible way. The knowledge transfer project should be planned around an existing piece of arts or humanities research which has the potential to make a significant difference beyond the world of academia. KT Fellows may work either on their own or as part of an academic team, to collaborate with, and bring tangible benefits to, non-academic organisations through a process of knowledge exchange. These benefits may be economic, social or cultural in nature.

Researchers can apply to work on the project on either a full time or part time basis for between 4 months and 3 years.

For more information see: http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/FundingOpportunities/Pages/KTFellowshipScheme.aspx