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Let Our Legacy Continue: an exhibition for Black History Month, Oct 2-28

This week the Applied Sociology Research Group, the Drama, Theatre and Performance Research Group, University of Greenwich Galleries and the Caribbean Social Forum are launching a collaborative online and gallery exhibition running throughout October for Black History Month.

The exhibition is a truly unique experience combining technologies such as Zoom and the traditional gallery experience to tell a story, you will encounter a layered experience of video, audio and imagery. The li ve experience will be in the Stephen Lawrence Gallery, Stockwell Street, is expected to take no more than 45 minutes to travel through, and each ticketed session will be restricted to six attendees in line with COVID-19 regulations. There will also be an online version of the gallery launching for those who are shielding or would prefer to join online. For more information and tickets visit the University of Greenwich Galleries website here and read on for a taster of what to expect from the teams:

From the Caribbean to the UK to Lockdown, we carry and re-remember stories of where we came from, journeys and first impressions. We do what we have always done to survive and thrive. We adapt and refresh skills. We innovate, create and re-create. This project uses visual art, sound, music and words to capture and celebrate the rich material of our unique Caribbeaness as reflected in our everyday lives.

Our journey ends with an exhibition which we invite you to travel through, marking the beginning of a new adventure. This exhibition appears both in a digital format* and at The Stephen Lawrence Gallery. Both formats of the exhibition are open to the public from 2 October, after an invited launch on 1 October.

*The online exhibition will launch on October 23

PARTICIPANTS

Bernie Ferguson (Jamaica); Cynthia Gaynor-Bailey (Jamaica, Government Officer); Dolcie Gibbs (Jamaica, Nurse); Esther Precod (Barbados, Nurse); Fabian Best (Barbados, Nurse); Harry Franklyn (Barbados, Builder); Joycelyn Williams (Trinidad and Tobago, Entrepreneur); Denzil Winsburrow (St Vincent, Education); Neville McGregor (Jamaica, Builder); Sonia McIntosh, MBE (Jamaica, Civil Servant); Tony Durrant, MBE (St Vincent, Civil Servant); Velmar McGregor (Grenada, Education); Victor Turton (Barbados, Transport)

EXHIBITION TEAM

Adele Chambers (UoG Student Intern); Dave Hockham (Drama, Theatre and Performance Research Group, UoG); Ingrid Pollard, Dr. (Artist and Curator); Jean Campbell (Workshop Facilitator and Curator); Pamela Franklin (Caribbean Social Forum); Shamica Ruddock (Creative Digital Specialist); Tracey Reynolds, Prof. (Applied Sociology Research Group, UoG)

We all hope to see you there!

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University of Greenwich Scholar features in successful Women’s Writing publication

Dr Justine Baillie, a member of the Literature and Language Research Group – under the auspices of CREL (Centre for Research and Enterprise in Language) – has edited, and contributed an essay to, Global Morrison, a special issue of Oxford University Press’s journal Contemporary Women’s Writing. The issue is dedicated to the global significance of the Nobel prize-winning African-American novelist, Toni Morrison. Having been commissioned by the general editors of Contemporary Women’s Writing to lead the Global Morrison research group, Justine organised a very successful two-day international conference at the University of Greenwich in June 2017 and has now edited the proceedings for the OUP publication. Contributors examine Morrison’s literary articulations with the works of writers such as Italian novelist Umberto Eco, British novelist Zadie Smith, French writer Gisèle Pineau, Afro-Brazilian author Conceição Evaristo, and American poet Robin Coste Lewis.  

The publication is timely, as recent Black Lives Matters activism has focussed attention on global histories of colonialism, slavery and racism. In her Introduction to the issue Justine writes that Morrison’s 1987 neo-slave narrative Beloved ‘was the catalyst for new interrogations of race, slavery, trauma and of colonialism’s displacements, which connect the local, specific experience with world history’. Justine’s contribution to Global Morrison, ‘Morrison and the Transnation: Toni
Morrison, God Help the Child and Zadie
Smith, Swing Time‘, brings together contemporary debates about the postracial and the post-black with conceptualizations of the transnation that destabilize the alignment of race and gender with nationalism. Morrison’s considerations of globalization, nationhood, and race in her essay The Origin of Others (2017) are used to illuminate the central concerns of her last work of fiction, God Help the Child (2015) and British writer Zadie Smith’s novel Swing Time (2017). 

Future projects, coordinated within CREL by Literature and Research Seminar Series leaders Justine Baillie, Emily Critchley and Katarina Stenke, include the organisation of a conference on neo-slave narratives that will continue the work initiated at the Global Morrison conference at Greenwich. Ade Solanke’s script in hand performance of Phillis in London, her play about the first female African-American poet Phillis Wheatley’s visit to London in the eighteenth century, was a highlight of the Global Morrison conference of 2017 and Ade’s continued research on the eighteenth-century black presence in London will feature in the proposed neo-slave narratives conference. 

Congratulations to Justine Baillie and all contributing authors for the well deserved spotlight!

Out now: Contemporary Women’s Writing

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Summer research update from the School of Law and Criminology

We may have been locked down for the Spring and Summer but that has not hindered the research activities of our resident lawyers and criminologists. There have been a number of exciting publications launched over recent months and here is a round-up of some of the highlights, with links to each publication included.

A new chapter has been published by Dr Camille Stengel titled ‘Creating safe spaces in dangerous places: ‘Chicks Day’ for women who inject drugs in Budapest, Hungary‘. Published by Routledge, this chapter forms part of an interdisciplinary collection examining the role played by alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in framing certain groups as ‘dangerous’.

Dr Alexandra Fanghanel has authored a new article called ‘On Being Ugly in Public: The Politics of the Grotesque in Naked Protests‘ . Published in Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, this article continues Alex’s innovative work around sexualised naked protest in public spaces.

Prof Olga Martin-Ortega and the Business, Human Rights and the Environment research group continue their march towards revolutionising the electronics industry in collaboration with the GoodElectronics Network and the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations. Their recently published report proposes a new approach to the urgent need for disclosure and transparency in the global electronics industry, and you can read more about it here.

Dr Melissa Pepper has recently co-authored the article ‘Exploring the Role and Contribution of Police Support Volunteers in an English Constabulary‘. Published in Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, Melissa’s paper can be accessed here.

Perhaps one of the most topical publications in our update comes from Dr Maria Kaspersson who has recently contributed a chapter called ‘‘You Always Hurt the One You Love’: Homicide in a Domestic Context‘ to the edited collection ‘Why We Kill: Understanding Violence Across Cultures and Disciplines’.

Finally, if audio content is what you’re here for then Dr Louise Hewitt has got you covered. Louise has recently launched her brand new Innocence Project London podcast where you can find an honest account of the organisation, how important their work is to a clinical legal education, and why it matters. You can find it here, and make sure you subscribe to catch every episode.

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Women, Crime and Criminal Justice Network Paper Prize 2020


We’re delighted to announce that Dr Alexandra Fanghanel from the School of Law and Criminology has come first place in the Women, Crime and Criminal Justice Network (WCCJN) Paper Prize 2020 for her paper ‘Asking for it: BDSM sexual practice and the trouble of consent’.

The WCCJN is part of the British Society of Criminology and they exist ‘to support scholarship on women, crime and criminal justice, and to foster research of the highest standard. In addition to promoting scholarship on women, crime and criminal justice, the network also aims to support women as criminological scholars’ and you can find out more about them here. We hope you will join us in congratulating Alex on her worthy first place prize.

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The Office of Undergraduate Research defies lockdown and launches its second publication

The Office of Undergraduate Research proudly presents its 2020 publication, in collaboration with Combined Sociology Students. The book, ‘When the Personal Gets Political: Linking Student’ Sociological Autobiographies to Broader Social and Political Contexts’  is the second edition of a series of collated Autobiographies  written by students and is available on request. Dr Louise Owusu-Kwarteng led the project.

Second edition

Simply put, we are in tricky times. Socially, political and economically, it has been like this for a while, 2020 has, however taken us to a whole new level. We’ve had COVID-19, the world wide global pandemic, which has had some serious ramifications for everyone. This has led to collective worries about our health, and that of others who are close to us. The lockdown meant we have not been able to see our families, in some cases for months. It has had a knock on effect for our students’ education, due to the switch to online teaching, which meant losing face to face contact with their tutors and peers.

For those who graduate this year, for many the lockdown means no physical graduation. There are concerns about opportunities for graduate employability, due to the downturn of the economy – also a result of the pandemic. Mental health is also a growing concern, especially since particularly since COVID. As noted in a Lancet case study, the mental health of the nation has deteriorated since the pandemic, largely because of the impacts of lockdown, fears of contracting the disease and loss of loved ones (www.lancet.com July 2020). Racism, though always prevalent in society, has reared its head in a virulent and violent way with the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, and many others due to police violence. Islamophobic hate crimes also continue, and like racism it operates at a micro and macro level, and on a day to day basis…

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Jim Hobbs presents Moribund State[s] – Exhibition

The University of Greenwich Programme Leader for MA Digital Arts, Jim Hobbs has announced the opening of his exhibition Moribund State[s]from 1st August at Project 78, as the restart of their exhibition programme. The project has been 18 months in the making and is a perfect reflection of the ideology and intention of Project 78. The show will run until 29th August 2020.

For Moribund State(s), Hobbs has returned to his childhood home (Ohio, USA) in order to confront the place where one is originally from.  With a perspective that is only gained from a distance (in both time and space), he has gathered indigenous materials in order to forge a series of new works which poetically ascribe a familiar yet foreign place.

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School of Design project globally recognised by UNESCO partner organisation

Another proud moment for the University of Greenwich and a triumph in current times. The Research project on diversity and inclusivity by design, based in the School of Design and led by Dr Anastasios Maragiannis achieved global recognition by UNESCO partner organisation.

The research is recognised by the prestigious International Institute for Information Design (IIID) awards, which celebrate information designers’ contribution to society. A list of awarded projects can be viewed on IIID website .

The awards, which take place every three years, look for evidence of where designers have applied creativity and design thinking to solve complex communication problems with a view to improving aspects of human life.

Follow the link for more info:  https://www.gre.ac.uk/articles/public-relations/greenwich-academic-receives-prestigious-award#

Congratulations to Dr Anastasios Maragiannis and the School of Design for the prestigious award and for stealing the spotlight!

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Criminology student writes policy paper based on experience in working within the prison system

University of Greenwich student, Madeleine Hatton, an undergraduate Criminology and Criminology Psychology programme, expressed how she felt about the experience of working withing the prison system: “I feel that gaining a variety of experiences in the criminal justice system is invaluable. Earlier this year I gained a unique experience through my involvement with the Inside-Out programme, where I completed a criminology module inside of a prison”.

Madeleine worked closely with the prison policy team and completed a variety of activities, including conducting a literature review into the coping mechanisms for self-harm and suicide in prisons during a lockdown, writing a policy paper on the same topic, and then presenting the main findings of this paper to the prison policy team.  

Madeleine Hatton

“This module was extremely eye-opening and has encouraged me to widen my future career path to potentially working within the prison system. Over the lockdown period, I was fortunate enough to gain two weeks work experience with the Ministry of Justice”.

Although the lockdown in response to COVID-19 in prison has been one of the largest, it is not the first prison lockdown to occur. There have previously been prison lockdowns due to viral outbreaks and prison riots, amongst other reasons, so there is a lot to learn about prison lockdown responses, easing restrictions, and the impact this has on self-harm and suicide of incarcerated people and the staff who work in and around prisons. This policy paper explores the different aspects of self-harm and suicide in relation to the prison lockdown, additional coping strategies after lockdown restrictions are eased, and recommendations for the policy professionals.

The literature review highlighted multiple areas of research surrounding self-harm and suicide in prisons that require further research, listed in the research paper. The student found “the opportunity was challenging as the work revolved around investigating suicide and self-harm, as well as mental health and the impacts of COVID-19 on inmates, their friends and family, and the staff members”.

Madeleine concluded that “this experience was a preview of the work the Ministry of Justice do each day, and the pace and pressure of working here. Though, this has definitely fulfilled my aspirations for working for the Civil Service in the future. All of my work placement activities were completed remotely due to COVID-19, but this did not hamper my enjoyment of what proved to be an insightful experience. This opportunity has furthered my confidence in why the degree I do is so important, as we are the future generation of people that will hopefully be in the position to be able to make positive changes in the criminal justice system”.

Congratulations to Madeleine and the School of Law & Criminology for stealing the spotlight!

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Victorian Popular Fiction Conference Returns to Greenwich

Over three days 15-17 July, the annual conference of the Victorian Popular Fiction Association (VPFA) was held by the University of Greenwich. It was the second year in a row that we held the conference  – the Association’s President is Professor Andrew King (HSS) – but the first it was held virtually. 103 delegates from 5 continents came together on Teams to discuss topics such as Medical Encounters, Science and the Supernatural, Vampires, Travel, and Disaster.

Professor Alexis Easley from the University of St Thomas, Minnesota, gave a stunningly researched paper which (literally) mapped and quantified the contributions of hundreds of women writers to the famous Chambers’s Journal, the first periodical to aim at a truly mass market in a modern sense. She showed how women were absolutely central to the founding of mass-market reading, and that, contrary to expectation, they suffered from less than a 3% pay discrimination. Such repositioning of women as core producers in the cultural industries and our narrative imaginary is fundamental to the VPFA’s mission, and almost all of the papers confirmed this.

A handful of the best papers will be selected for publication in Victorian Popular Fictions, the organ of the VPFA, edited by Andrew King and by Prof Mariaconcetta Costantini (University of Chieti-Pescara).

Conference participants

Conference delegates were unanimous that the conference was a great success: they were especially grateful that we found a way to go ahead when so many others have been cancelled or indefinitely postponed. Given the huge cuts in research budgets across the globe as well as the greener credentials of online conferences, what we have pioneered here may well be the way forward. In whatever form, planning for the 2021 conference at Greenwich is already underway. The successful conference was coordinated by Karen Ward from FLAS Research and Enterprise Support Office.

Congratulations to Professor Andrew King for stealing the online spotlight!