HUMANITIES RESEARCH CENTRE
Annual Report 2003-2004
Lectures and Seminars
The 2003-2004 HRC Visiting Fellow in February was Monica Ali, author of the
internationally acclaimed novel, Brick Lane. In an event at the Arts Centre that
attracted over two hundred people, Monica Ali discussed her novel with Maureen
Freely of the Creative Writing Programme at Warwick. Monica was also the focus of
two graduate seminars. In one, four Warwick postgraduates prepared presentations
on Brick Lane and shared their observations with the author. In the other seminar, a
group of students from the MA in Creative Writing discussed examples of their own
work with Monica. Her visit overall was a great success.
The 12th Donald Charlton Lecture was given by Professor Efrain Kristal, the Chair of
Comparative Literature at UCLA. His lecture on the Argentine writer, Jorge Luis
Borges, entitled ‘Borges and Translation’, led to a lively discussion among the seventy
or so students present.
In the course of the academic year, the Centre also organised and supported a
variety of conferences and symposia:
‘Hermeneutics and Traditions’, Dr Christine Battersby (Phil/Lit)
‘Public Art Public Authorship: Jochen Gerz in Coventry’, Dr Jonathan Vickery (History
of Art)
‘Continental Philosophy and the Sciences’, Miguel de Beistegui (Philosophy)
‘Cross-national Cultural Policy Research: The Methodological Challenge’, Eleonora
Belfiore (HRC Doctoral Fellow/Cultural Policy Studies)
‘Perceptions of the Supernatural’, Sasha Handley (HRC Doctoral Fellow/History)
‘Warwick Symposium on Parish Research’, Peter Marshall and Beat Kumin (History)
‘The State He’s In: Political Philosophy and the Figural’, Dr Christine Battersby (Phil/Lit)
‘Nasty, Brutish and Short: Cheap Print and the Scholar’, Angela McShane Jones and
Lynn Robson (History/English)
‘Philosophy: Problems, Aims, Responsibilities’, David Miller (Philosophy)
‘University Ceremony and Festival in Early Modern France, Italy and Spain’, Dr Sarah
Knight (Renaissance Studies)
The Interdisciplinary Research Seminar
The History and Representation of the Emotions
The past few years have seen burgeoning scholarly interest in human (and animal)
emotions. This seminar, held in terms 1 and 2, drew upon recent work in literature,
history, philosophy, psychology and visual culture to explore the interdisciplinary
potential of these lines of inquiry. At the first two sessions, participants discussed a
common set of readings; at the remaining sessions, speakers read unpublished
papers.
Doctoral Fellowships
This year, the Centre has been able to sponsor four (internal) Doctoral Fellowships.
The Fellows contribute to the life of the HRC by organising a one-day post-graduate
interdisciplinary conference, and are given financial support for their PhD dissertation
research. The four fellowships for 2004-2005 were assigned to:
James Bennett and Tom Brown (Film and TV Studies)
Some people are disappointed to only get the film…What is a DVD?
James Brown (History)
Thinking Space in Early Modern England
Iris Kleinecke and Anna Maria Mullally (German/Film and TV Studies)
From the National to the Trans-national: European film and television in transition
Elizabeth Wren – Owens (Italian)
Dialogue With Tradition: Contemporary Writers and Literary Heritage
Warwick Humanities Series & HRC publication strategy
After a successful run which has seen the publication of a number of monographs
and edited volumes - culminating in the launch of Illuminating Eco: On the
Boundaries of Interpretation which took place at Warwick in May and was attended
by more than 500 people - the collaboration between the HRC and Ashgate is now
drawing to a close. A review of publication strategies at Ashgate has highlighted
changes in editorial line which would make it difficult to maintain the wide scope and
interdisciplinary character of the series. As a result, it was agreed that all volumes
already commissioned would be published, but no further proposals would be
accepted. At the same time, the HRC is undergoing an internal review of its
objectives in this area. These include enhanced visibility for Warwick-based Arts &
Humanities research in general and for HRC-supported interdisciplinary projects in
particular. The review has highlighted both shifts in the academic publishing market
and new opportunities afforded by communication technology. The HRC is therefore
considering a number of options, including the publication of occasional papers and
the production of a fuller version of the Centre's newsletter.
Arts Faculty Research Committee
During its first year (2003-2004), the Arts Faculty Research Committee established
good communications with the Social Science Research Committee (to whose
meetings it sends a representative) and Professor John Jones, Pro-Vice Chancellor for
Research (who attended the AFRC summer meeting). In addition to serving as a
forum for discussion of research issues and deliberation of research policy, the
committee initiated two bids to US charitable foundations. The first bid, submitted in
July 2004 for an October 2004 decision, is to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in New
York. Valued at $322,896, this proposal envisions a three-year collaboration between
the Warwick Centre for the Study of the Renaissance and the Renaissance Center of
the Newberry Library (Chicago) and its consortium of 35 universities. If funded, this
project will allow postgraduate students, recent recipients of doctorates, and
academic staff from the Warwick Arts Faculty and Newberry Consortium institutions to
participate in three successive interdisciplinary seminar series (based at Warwick), in
visiting fellowships to Warwick and the Newberry, and in three fortnight-long summer
workshops (to be held at Warwick in 2006, at the Newberry in 2007, and Warwick in
2008). A second collaborative bid, the to Getty Trust in California, is currently in
preparation, for submission in November 2004. This collaborative project seeks to link
scholars, students and curators at Warwick, Waddesdon manor (Buckinghamshire),
the Huntington Library (San Marino, California), and the University of Southern
California in a research collaboration focused on the collection, transfer and display
of eighteenth-century artistic and visual culture from the Enlightenment to the
present. AFRC’s ability to mount these ambitious bids derives from the strength of the
support it has received from research Support Services, notably the assistance of Drs
Liese Perrin and Andrew Roadnight
The Humanities Research Fund, administered by the Centre, continued to give
support for research projects, conference travel and unusual publication expenses.
The fund has been in operation since October 2001.
HEROBaC
The Arts Faculty’s HEROBaC funds were used to support a variety of outreach
activities during 2003/4:
 Both the 2002/3 and 2003/4 editions of the HRC Newsletter were produced.
The Newsletter showcases research being carried out by the arts and
humanities community at Warwick as well as advertising forthcoming HRC
events. It is mailed out to the arts and humanities departments of every major
UK HEI as well as other arts organisations and many overseas institutions.
 Visit to Warwick by the Deputy Chief Executive of the AHRB in November 2003
to talk about AHRB policies, programmes and latest developments.
 Support for the public lecture, ‘Embracing Contradiction’, given by leading
actor and writer Sir Antony Sher and theatre director Greg Doran. This event,
held in the Warwick Arts Centre in March 2004, was sold out and attended by
members of the public and school parties as well as many Warwick staff.
 Support for a series of seminars on Genre and Subjectivity during the Spring
term 2004. The seminars, organised by Jackie Labbe in the English
Department, were aimed at both academic and lay audiences.
 Support for the History Department’s ‘Books Making History’ book launch
event in April 2004.
 Support for the on-going Mellon Foundation initiative over the past year.
The above activities have proved very successful and it is hoped that similar events
and activities will take place over the forthcoming year.
Future Projects
At the time of writing this report, the proposed 2005 Visiting Fellow, the distinguished
writer and critic Ariel Dorfman, has been forced to postpone his visit to us. We are
therefore looking to enlist a new Fellow over the summer.
The Donald Charlton Lecture will be given by Iran’s best-known woman filmmaker,
Rakhshan Bani-Etemad.
We are currently administering a grant to develop links with US universities. We have
recently made an award to the Phil/Lit Centre to invite Professor Judith Butler as a
distinguished Visiting Fellow in May 2005. Professor Butler, the author of many books
on philosophy, feminism and cultural criticism, teaches at Berkeley. In the autumn
term, we will also award five travel grants to Warwick staff to visit US campuses in
2004-2005. The award holders will look to forge academic links with major research
departments in the US.
The HRC has had its most successful year to date and will continue to foster and
encourage research in the faculty in the variety of ways outlined above.
The new director of the Centre is Richard Dyer, Professor of Film and Television Studies.
The new director of the Arts Faculty Research Committee is Dr Karen O’Brien,
Department of English
The bedrock of the Centre is our secretary/administrator, Sue Dibben.
Dr Liese Perrin and Dr Andy Roadnight have given us splendid support throughout the
year. Dr Perrin is closely involved in all our activities and initiatives.
My good wishes and thanks to all of them.
Professor John King
HRC Director, 2003-2004