Technecast

We spoke to Liz Wilkinson, a technē Careers Consultant, who gave us some valuable advice and insights about what to expect after the PhD finishes, and what we can do to prepare for this turbulent and challenging time. We covered everything from imposter syndrome, to time management and spinning plates; from advice for filling out postdoc and job applications, to how to book a one-on-one tutorial with Liz. Technē students can book a one-on-one tutorial with Liz by emailing: [email protected] or calling 0207 863 6008.

Introducing the technē conflux: Philosophy and Critical Theory! Ruth Hansford, PhD researcher in the Music department at Surrey, talks to Dr Christian Gilliam, formerly at Surrey and now at Cambridge, who has devised a series of events on philosophy and critical research. They discuss how we can keep a sense of perspective, grounding our research in various traditions of thought and knowledge, but without getting overwhelmed. Or to put in another way, the importance of keeping your eye on the birdie.https://technecriticalmethods.wordpress.com

The fact is that family life is messy, oozing, and complex. It also has a burning vitality; an immediacy and a total lack of escape. There is no ego allowed here. It is a life lived in extremes - the technicolour abandon of sprinting through fallen leaves, followed by the mind numbing slowness of time passing during a meltdown outside the front door...

Reticence is an essential component of most, if not all, poetry. Eve Grubin identifies four elements that are central to reticence in poetry: absence of emotional language; withheld narrative information; unstated messages; and unexpected breaks. Exploring a dynamic, phenomenological encounter between Self as ‘reader’ and the Other as ‘poem’, Eve presents an original reading of what she terms the ‘poetics of reticence’. Taking Emily Dickinson’s work as a test case, Eve argues that reticence resides at the core of the reader’s experience of Dickinson's poetry.

In this podcast Katy Jackson examines the weird and wonderful world of nineteenth-century cutlery, and discusses why these important objects are so commonly overlooked today. Making use of the CLiC Dickens Project, produced by the University of Birmingham, Katy Jackson demonstrates that in novels of this period it is predominately male characters who show extreme anxiety over their knives, forks, and spoons. Looking at sources as diverse as The Pickwick Papers and Victorian carving manuals, it is possible to unpick cultural attitudes and find that cutlery can teach us more about the public imagination than you might expect...

What does it mean to visit an archive? How does it feel to use an archive as your base, your "home", for days, weeks or months? How do the papers inside the archives relate to the outside world? Why is there often a sense of trepidation or mysticism shrouding the prospect of an archival expedition? Joana P.R. Neves uses her experience at Smithsonian's Archives of American Art in Washington DC to explore these issues. Establishing a relationship between archival finds, the present day and her own research, Joana reflects of the "usefulness" of archives and art.

In this month’s episode we hear from creative writer Genevieve Fox, who looks at the relationship between her new book, her memoir, and her current research on memory for her forthcoming novel. As a second-year PGR, Genevieve is doing a practice-based interdisciplinary Creative Writing PhD which engages with writers such as Virginia Woolf and their relationship with selfhood and memory. Genevieve’s memoir, 'Milkshakes and Morphine: A Memoir of Love and Life', is about a collision between past and present, between a childhood she tried her best not to remember and an adult experience of cancer that forced her to look back on the love, loss and misadventures of her early life.Her reflections on the capricious nature of mutable memory during the process of writing the memoir inspired her current research and creative practice.Milkshakes and Morphine, published by Vintage press in paperback, was released on Jan 24, 2019.

In this month's episode we hear from the historian Benjamin Bland. He presents a new interpretation of the role of fascism within contemporary British history, charting the history of the British neo-fascism and explores the reflections of fascism in underground music cultures from Morrissey, to Joy Division, to the white supremacist rock band Screwdriver. Benjamin reflects on the fact that at the start of his research the idea of Brexit wasn't comprehendible and President Trump hadn't announced his candidacy for presidency. Benjamin's historical research into punk and different fascist movements in Britain shows that the extreme right has actually influenced the politics of race and nation in contemporary Britain to a degree far greater than its lack of conventional political success may suggest. Thus, this research on the late twentieth century is hugely topical in our current political turmoil. He also goes on to a broader discussion of the challenges of doing a PhD whilst juggling teaching commitments and the pressure to publish and excel within the academic job market. A fascinating listen to historical issues that resonate strongly with our current political climate.

In this podcast film director Abi Weaver speaks about her latest feature documentary, 'About a War' that explores violence and social change through the testimonies of ex-fighters from the Lebanese Civil War. The film will be screening at the Curzon in Soho, Wednesday 28th November.

In this TECHNEcast we interview TECHNE PGR Irene Revell and Karen Di Franco (AHRC CDP) about their recent exhibition, 'ORGASMIC STREAMING ORGANIC GARDENING ELECTROCULTURE at Chelsea Space this summer featuring artist Claire Potter.