Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies
Annual Report for Academic Year 2006-07
Overall:
During this academic year the Board of Studies of the GCMS has made major moves
to clarify and strengthen the structure of the GCMS. Firstly, the link between the
GCMS and RCLABS will end after this academic year, in order to simplify planning
for the two Research Centres (which are very different in structure). Secondly, it was
agreed that for the Director to be both Director of the Research Centre and Director of
the MA programme (with responsibility also for MPhil and PhD students) is complex.
Thus, from 2007-08 on, the GCMS will have a Director for the Research Centre and a
Programme Co-ordinator for the MA.
Higher Degrees:
Amanda Ball has now almost completed her first-year as a self-funding Overseas
higher degree student with the GCMS, and has made good progress. Equally, Tracey
Leppard is about to complete her first year as an Overseas MPhil student, and is
progressing well.
The GCMS is particularly pleased that Maria Carolina Escobar Vargas has been
awarded a University Studentship, which will enable her to undertake PhD research,
starting in Autumn 2007.
MA Programme:
1. Recruitment; following publicity campaigns last year, recruitment increased
for this year, with an intake of eight new students in October (of whom one is
an Overseas student). A further campaign has been undertaken this year, and
applications have increased. At present (June ’07) fourteen applications have
been received, of which ten are for full-time places. Enquiries have recently
been received from a further five potential students, of whom at least two
seem likely to make serious applications.
2. Completion of programme; ten students are expected to graduate this year,
having successfully completed the MA programme.
3. Introduction of the MA(Res) in Medieval Studies; this has been another
major development this year. The new programme has been agreed by the
Board of Studies, and has now been approved by the Faculty and by the
University (and the GCMS would like to thank the Faculty Director of
Teaching and Learning for advice and help). The new programme will be
available on a part-time and modular basis as well as fulltime; PG Cert and PG
Dip routes have also been approved. This programme is intended to address
the needs of students aiming at research degrees and at AHRC funding. It is
designed to deliver specific research skills for medieval studies whilst
retaining the strong esprit de corps which is a valued aspect of the existing
MA programme (and which considerably helps word-of-mouth recruitment).
The new programme will continue to offer skills modules to students on other
relevant MA programmes (such as those in Medieval Archaeology, Art
History and Classics). Special attention has been given to the issue of
progression from first degree to the MA(Res).
The Research Centre:
1. Publications; during this year discussions took place with O.U.P. about their
possible acquisition of Reading Medieval Studies. We are in discussion with
the OUP Journals editor as to ways of increasing individual subscriptions,
since this would be of particular interest to them. Plans are ongoing to raise
money to pay for the digitization of the back copies, so that electronic
‘offprints’ (probably as pdf files) could be sold via a dedicated RMS section of
the GCMS website. This follows approaches from several publishers
interested in acquiring the rights to individual articles for edited volumes on
themes such as ‘the Crusades’. The GCMS will be hosting a reception at the
Leeds International Medieval Congress in July 2007, at which both RMS and
recent monographs by members of the GCMS will be publicised. The 2007
vol. of RMS is already out, and 2008’s is well underway, since it will contain
papers from the Symposium on 27 June.
2. Electronic publications; Reading Medieval Reviews continues successfully,
and has recently published reviews by leading academics (such as James
Campbell, Oxford). The link between RMR and the MA students will be
continued in the new MA(Res) programme, where students will still be given
a book from those sent in by publishers, will be shown how to write a
‘professional’ review, and will have successful reviews published.
3. Conferences at Reading; the Annual Symposium for 2006 was on the theme
of ‘Treasure’, and distinguished speakers came from Birmingham, Royal
Holloway, Roehampton and English Heritage. Papers included a presentation
on the findings of a major AHRC-funded project on the treasure of Richard
III. The Annual Symposium for 2007 is on the theme of ‘French Texts and
Manuscripts’ and speakers include Prof Peter Ainsworth (Sheffield) and Dr
Karen Pratt (King’s, London). Papers from this Symposium will be published
in the 2008 vol. of RMS.
4. External Conferences; the GCMS is presenting a panel of speakers at the
prestigious Anglo-American conference in London, July 2007. Speakers
include Dr Anne Lawrence (Reading), Prof. Theodore Evergates and Dr Rose
Walker (Courtauld, London). In addition to the reception mentioned above,
the GCMS is also sponsoring a set of three sessions at the 2007 Leeds IMC.
Two present a range of papers on Le Mans and the ‘Angevin Empire’ while
the third looks at aspects of the Crusades. Speakers include Prof Lindy Grant
(Reading), Prof Malcolm Barber (Reading) and Dr Richard Barton (N.
Carolina).
5. Research papers and visiting speakers; as usual this year the GCMS has
hosted three groups of visiting speakers, in addition to the Annual
Symposium. Speakers in the Autumn and Spring terms gave papers on the
theme of ‘Material Culture and Material Life’, and included Dr Klaus Tragbar
(Munich) Dr Baerbel Brodt (Oxford and Roehampton). Speakers in the
Summer included Prof Eric Fernie FBA and Prof Gayle Owen-Crocker
(Manchester).
6. Facilitating External Grant Income; Dr Margaret Yates continues to run a
major KTP project, with Danae Tankard as post-doc research assistant; they
have presented joint papers at a range of other universities and conferences.
Preliminary findings were presented and discussed at a dedicated research
session of the GCMS in Autumn 2006, at which feedback was offered by
members of the depts of Archaeology, History and English. Dr Adrian Bell is
joint director (with Prof Anne Curry, Southampton) of a major AHRC funded
project on the Medieval Soldier. A Reading post-doc research associate post
is funded by this grant; Dr Bell will be part of the GCMS representation at the
Leeds IMC in 2007. Prof Francoise Le Saux has submitted an application to
the AHRC for a major grant in association with her editing of the Brut for
O.U.P./E.E.T.S. If successful this will enable Prof Le Saux to prepare and to
publish electronically a full edition, with transcription and commentary.
7. Future Research Activities and Grant Applications; Prof Lindy Grant is
putting together a research project and Board (based in the GCMS) for a major
grant application to the AHRC on the theme of culture and identity in the
Angevin realms. Collaborators include Prof Judith Green (Edinburgh), Prof
David Crouch (Hull), Prof Veronique Gazeau (Caen) and Dr Jorg Pelzer
(Heidelberg). If successful, this will fund at least one PhD student and one
post-doc at Reading, as well as leading to two major conferences and a range
of publications. Seedcorn funding has been granted by the RETF for a pilot
project which is being carried out in France in June 2007. Dr Anne Lawrence
has research leave in Autumn 2007, as a part of which she will develop a
research proposal on the theme of ‘the medieval history of time’. An
application has been made to the RETF for seedcorn funding for two pilot
projects to be run during this term (one in Durham, conducted by Dr
Lawrence; and one in Oxford/London, conducted by Carolina Escobar
Vargas). The first outcome will be an article on Dr Lawrence’s findings. This
will be accompanied by a research grant application to the Welcome Trust. Dr
Lawrence is also involved in the setting-up of the UK branch of CARMEN,
and will be attending meetings at Leeds and Prato in order to develop an
international panel for a collaborative grant application to the EU FP7
programme (to be finalised in Nov. 2007).
Anne Lawrence, June 2007