Archived News

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Merit Scholarship Awarded

The School of English is delighted to announce the success of Ged Hodgson (First year, English) who has been awarded a Bangor University Merit Scholarship. Formerly winner of the Achiever of the Year award for the Abergele, Denbigh and Llanrwst Colleges of the Llandrillo Network, Ged is now one of many mature students studying in the School of English. Pictured is Ged with Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Colin Baker.

November 2008: English Subject Centre

Your literary skills are in demand in the City now! Read the English Subject Centre report by Ceri Sullivan and Eben Muse, just out.

September 2008: Moving the Screensaver from Corporate Wallpaper to Communication Channel

Ceri Sullivan has received £35,198 from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and another £23,466 from a media company to transfer research about the most creative and persuasive structures of communication

Oxigen is a small new media business next to the Ritz Hotel based in London, which produces screen savers whose content rotates. It works with organisations with a strong membership, from football clubs to poetry societies, to let fans download their own constantly changing pages. It is interested in gaining expertise on the visual and verbal rhetoric of the e-office.

The Oxigen screen saver acts like a slide projector, displaying a carousel of content. A content management system allows new slides to be dropped into the carousel at will. The carousel contains two types of content: editorial content and advertising content, typically in a 5:1 ratio of editorial to advertising. This advertising funds the whole system, which can then be provided free of charge, both to clients and the end users of the screen savers. Recent advertisers have included national newspapers, film distributors, mobile phone providers, banks and government agencies.

The project will recruit a graduate to contact organisations likely to appeal to students, from the British Library to the BFL, help select digital images, and speak with Student Unions and University Communications Directors across the UK

February 2008: Philip Pullman heads day of celebration in School of English

The School of English recently played host to some 600 visitors to the University at a day of celebration of English at Bangor, entitled “Upon My Word”. The audience was composed of many alumni of the School of English who had been especially invited back, as well as current students in the School, staff and students from other Schools, and members of the local community. The highlight of the day was a talk by novelist Philip Pullman, internationally known as the author of the “His Dark Materials” sequence, one of which has recently been released on film as The Golden Compass. Read article and view image gallery

February 2008 - Songwriting interview on BBC Radio Wales

Listen to Prof Ian Gregson from the School of English and Pwyll ap Sion from the School of Music talking about the new English with Songwriting course on BBC Radio Wales.

February 2008 - Upon My Word!

Curious about what goes on in English Literature at Bangor? Come and find out! Upon My Word - Saturday 9 February. Download the event flyer (pdf)

February 2008:Postgraduate success!

'Medievalism Transformed', the annual postgraduate conference sponsored by the Centre for Medieval Studies, has recently attracted funding from two pretigious funds: The Royal Historical Society and the AHRC, and a well-known guest
speaker, Prof. Nicholas Orme (Exeter). This interdisciplinary conference was initiated by students in 2005 and continues to attract participants from universities across the UK and US. Following the success of the palaeography and codicology training provided at Bangor in the last few years, the 2008 conference will include a palaeography workshop on educational material. To read more about the conference, consult the website, at www.bangor.ac.uk/medievalismtransformed

January 2008: English with Songwriting

Learn to write songs and get an English degree from a top university.

An old university with new ideas, in September 2008 Bangor is starting a new degree course. You’ll spend a third of your time on writing and analysing songs, and two-thirds of your time following a traditional literary course covering texts from 1066 to 2008.

This is the only degree in the UK that teaches songwriting in all its aspects: the composition of words and music, the theory, the history, recording technology, business skills...

Bangor has over 15 years experience in composition and creative writing. Some of our students have gone on to professional careers in both, others have taken advantage of a top-quality English degree to branch into jobs ranging from journalism to finance, health to tourism. The course is taught by award-winning composers, lyricists, and poets. Bangor has four studios equipped to international standards for recording, research, and composition, a dedicated centre for creative and performing arts, with its own digital cinema and studio theatre, and a media centre, with editing suites and production studios.

For more information, visit the English with Songwriting page or contact i.gregson@bangor.ac.uk or papsion@bangor.ac.uk

January 2008: George Herbert

Having published the first book containing the poems of George Herbert, the greatest devotional poet in the
English language, in 1633, Cambridge University Press (then referred to as 'Printer to the University') has again published his work. The English Poems of George Herbert, edited by Helen Wilcox, is described as 'the definitive modern
scholarly edition of his works, accompanied by extensive explanatory and textual apparatus'. Read on...

December 2007: Arthurian Literature at Bangor

The MA in Arthurian Literature is attracting attention from students around the world. Read more here...

October 2007:Philip Pullman - Honorary Professor

Philip Pullman, the prize-winning author, has been made an Honorary Professor in Arts and Humanities at Bangor University. The School of English is delighted by this affiliation and we look forward to a series of lectures and workshops by Philip Pullman on the 'science of writing' for staff and students.

October 2007:English Literature AS/A Level Study Day,

English Literature AS/A Level Study Day, Friday 12th October 2007
Hosted by the School of English, Bangor University

The School of English hosted a Study Day for AS/A Level Students on Friday 12th October, 2007 between 10.30 and 4pm. The event was attended by 165 students and a dozen staff from schools in North Wales. They were treated to a choice of parallel workshops on aspects of their curriculum and a plenary lecture on reading unseen literary texts. Professors Justin Edwards, Helen Wilcox and Tony Brown and Drs Ian Davidson and Sue Niebrzydowski provided subject specific guidance and information covering, respectively, the American novel, reading Shakespeare, tackling unseen literary criticism, reading contemporary poetry and Chaucer. Dr Raluca Radulescu, Admissions Tutor for English, was present to answer any queries about studying English at Bangor. The event was highly successful and enjoyed by all. For information about English at Bangor and suggestions for further events of this kind please contact English@bangor.ac.uk.

October 2007: Book Releases

By Andrew Hiscock co-edited (with Lisa Hopkins of Sheffield Hallam University) a collection of new essays entitled Teaching Shakespeare and Early Modern Dramatists, published by Palgrave Macmillan during the summer. This is part of the series 'Teaching the New English' in co-operation with the English Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy, and again indicates how prominent Bangor's School of English is in the national academic community.

By Helen Wilcox, a fully annotated scholarly edition of The English Poems of George Herbert (the seventeenth-century writer widely believed to be the greatest devotional poet in the English language) will be launched by Cambridge University Press next week. It is the fruit of extensive research over many years, and is being spoken of as a landmark in Herbert studies.

October 2007: English Success!

Bangor’s School of English has been successful in its bid to edit the prestigious journal English (Oxford University Press). With seventeen bids in the running, the competition to edit this international journal of literary criticism, creative writing and reviews was intense. After making the short-list, the School of English was selected for the editorship by the English Association Board of Trustees. The Board commended our aim to broaden the critical perspectives and period range of the critical material. They also championed our desire to develop the creative writing input and use the reviews section periodically as a forum for critical reflection on the discipline.

English is the journal of The English Association, the oldest national learned society devoted to the dissemination of knowledge, understanding and appreciation of English language and literatures in English.

The editorial team consists of Dr. Andrew Hiscock and Prof. Helen Wilcox (editors), Dr. Ian Davidson and Prof. Ian Gregson (creative writing editors), and Dr. Stephen Colclough and Dr. Sue Niebrzydowski (reviews editors).

September 2007: Bangor Graduate Publishes Major Self-Employment Book

Bangor graduate Bill Hilton has recently co-authored Working for Yourself, a major new guide to self-employment. The book, written in conjunction with Mike Pywell of BusinessClub365.com, was published by Which? on 3rd September. Click here to read the full story...

September 2007: The Pleasures of the Text

On the 18th September 2007, The School of English was delighted to host an evening for Access students from Coleg Menai and Coleg Landrillo Yn Rhos. Professor Helen Wilcox, Drs Andrew Hiscock, Ian Davidson, Sue Niebrzydowski and the students explored the pleasure gained from considering Shakespeare's staging techniques, the language and form of modern poetry and the puzzles posed by contemporary prose. For further information about the work of the School and future events please email english@bangor.ac.uk

September 2007: 'Medieval Women in their Third Age: Middle Age in the Middle Ages'

An International Conference to be held at Bangor University on Wednesday-Friday, 12-14th September, 2007, hosted by the School of English, Bangor and the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies, The Universities of Wales, Bangor and Aberystwyth.

This conference gathers together established scholars internationally renowned for their work on medieval womanhood. The papers are drawn from a variety of related disciplines; history, literary history, archaeology, art history and theology, and pose radical and provocative questions about the way in which the middle-aged woman perceived herself and how she was perceived by others.

Keynote Speaker: Anneke Mulder- Bakker (Leiden). Featured speakers; Roberta Gilchrist (Reading), Clare Lees (King's, London), Sara Elin Roberts (UWB), Nicola McDonald (York), Carol Meale (Bristol), Sue Niebrzydowski (Bangor), Helen Phillips (Cardiff), Jane Geddes (Aberdeen), Raluca Radulescu (Bangor), Corinne Saunders (Durham), Diane Watt (Aberystwyth).

The conference has received funding support from the Royal Historical Society for the support of postgraduate delegates. Postgraduates are invited to apply for bursaries of £40 to help toward their costs to attend the conference. Those interested should send a short description (500 words) of their current research project, authorised by their institution, to Dr Sue Niebrzydowski, The School of English, Bangor University, Gwynedd, LL57 2DG, by 25th August, 2007.

August 2007: School of English staff performing their work in the UK and Europe

In August, Zoe Skoulding performed her poetry in Schiphorst near Hamburg with Ronny Warnes before travelling down to Scheer in Southern Germany where she performed with the group Parking Non Stop.

Ian Davidson will be reading in at a Shearsman reading in Bloomsbury in London on September 12 before catching an early morning flight to Riga in Latvia to read on September 13. In Riga he will be reading his poems in English while the translator Janis Elsbergs will be reading them in Latvian. The poems can be seen on a website Ian built while on a residency in Riga last August at http://partlyinriga.wikispaces.com.

August 2007:Skald Magazine

In a recent report on the magazine Skald, the Welsh Books Council, who provide funding, said:

"The pages of Skald are never without interest; what they contain is often challenging and exciting ... There is a real openness to the experimental which is refreshing and which is, I think, largely without parallel amongst current Welsh magazines ... it has the potential to influence the development of writing in Wales, not merely to anthologise what is already going on."

Skald is co-edited by Zoe Skoulding and Ian Davidson, both of whom work in the School of English at Bangor. It has appeared in print twice a year since 1994 and publishes poetry and prose in Welsh and English with visual artworks. It aims to publish a broad range of writing, including the innovative and experimental, and is interested in the connections and differences between the local and the international and the visual and the verbal. Each issue also features reviews and notices of books received.

The next issue appears in October 2007.

June 2007 - Justin Edwards' book is published

Justin Edwards' book, Understanding Jamaica Kincaid, was recently published. Click here for more information

June 2007 - New Studentships for 2007

The School of English is happy to announce the following new postgraduate studentships for 2007 entry:

2 Esling studentships each worth £1000 towards the costs of fees (M.A. Students)
2 Bradbrook studentships each worth £1000 towards the costs of fees (M.Phil/Ph.D students)

For more information, please contact Dr Andrew Hiscock, Director of Postgraduate Studies, email: els408@bangor.ac.uk

May 2007 - Ian Davidson's monograph is published

Ian Davidson's monograph, Ideas of Space in Contemporary Poetry, was recently published by Palgrave MacMillan. Click here for more information

April 2007 -Fun and frolics at Bangor’s Fawlty Towers

Expect to see all of your favourite Fawlty Towers characters skilfully portrayed by Bangor students in a fun, fast paced BEDS production in JP Hall at Bangor University this weekend (27,28 & 29 April).

Click here to read on...

April 2007-Poetry and Cities: New Fellowship

An AHRC Fellowship in Creative and Performing Arts has been awarded to poet Zoë Skoulding for a practice-based research project in Bangor's School of English. "I will be investigating relationships between language and experiences of city space through writing and performing poetry both within Wales and in collaboration with writers in cities elsewhere," she explains. "I am interested in how gender affects these issues so I will also be undertaking critical research on contemporary poetry by women to find out how the idea of the city relates to aspects of language and identity. Read on...

March 2007

Monday 19 March at 5pm. A Research Seminar on ‘Pinter the Poet ’ will be presented by Prof. Bill Baker of Northen Illinois University, at the Council Chamber. Please note that everyone is welcome and the seminar will be held on a Monday rather than the usual Wednesday. See more events

February 2007

Wednesday 7 February. A Research Seminar on 'Ted Hughes's Myth' will be presented by Professor Neil Roberts from Shefield at 5pm at the Council Chamber. See more events

February 2007:

Nathan Abrams' book Commentary Magazine 1945-59: A journal of significant thought and opinion has recently published by Vallentine Mitchell Publishers. Read on

January 2007:

The Film and Media Studies Seminar is proud to present a screeing of Y Chwarelwr (The Quarryman) on Monday 29 January. More details.

January 2006:

Professor Ian Gregson will be reading some of his poems in the bar at Theatr Gwynedd on Monday 5th February, 8 pm

September 2006:

Elina Harjula has been awarded the pretigious Barron Bequest postgraduate award from the Trust associated with the British Branch of the International Arthurian Society. Elina is now enrolled as an MA student specialising in Arthurian Literature.

September 2006:

Dr Raluca Radulescu's latest collaborative book project, 'Broken Lines: Genealogical Literature in Britain and France' will be published by Brepols.

August 2006:

The AHRC has agreed on funding the doctoral training scheme in palaeography of medieval manuscripts organised by Dr Raluca Radulescu across the University of Wales to run for a second year. The scheme started in 2005 and has been extremely successful.

August 2006:

Professor Ian Gregson’s recent collection of poems, Call Centre Love Song (Salt, 2006), has been nominated for the Best First Collection Category in the Forward Poetry Prize. See the full story here: http://www.bangor.ac.uk/news/full.php

July 2006:

The School of English is very glad to welcome Carol Rumens back to the School of English; Carol has been appointed as a Professor in Creative Writing.

July 2006:

Dr Sue Niebrzydowski has been appointed as a Research Fellow in IMEMS, the Institute for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at UWB.

July 2006:

The School of English has become the School of English, and Tony Brown, who has been made a Professor in English, is Acting Head of School.

May 2006

Dr Raluca Radulescu has been nominated for the Philip Leverhulme award. The award, currently at £70,000 over two years, is presented to young
academics under the age of 36, on the basis of excellence and past achievements.

March 2006:

Dr Sharon Ruston has organised a conference in London with the English Subject Centre, to be held on 17th and 18th March, on the subject of ‘Teaching Romanticism’.

June 2006:

The second annual conference ‘Medievalism Transformed: Imagining the Medieval World’ was organised by postgraduates in the School of English and School of History, with sponsorship from the Centre for Medieval Studies and the School of History.

May 2006:

An English Subject Centre day conference, ‘Teaching Medieval Romance’ was organised by Dr Raluca Radulescu at Bangor University

March 2006:

a successful four-day AHRC-funded doctoral training scheme as organised by Dr Raluca Radulescu at Bangor University conference centre, Gregynog

February 2006:

The School of English is extremely glad to welcome two new Chairs: Professor Justin Edwards (a specialist in nineteenth-century American literature) and Professor Helen Wilcox (an early modern literature specialist).

January 2006:

We are happy to announce the appointment of Dr Nathan Abrams, our new film lecturer. Dr Abrams is an expert in film and Jewish studies.

December 2005:

Read about a short film made by a School of English student and a Creative Industries student here.

November 2005:

Read the Bangor School of English's Creative Writing Newsletter for November 2005 here.

October 2005:

A pilot scheme in medieval palaeography is now being organized by Dr Raluca Radulescu in collaboration with medievalists from across the University of Wales. The scheme will be running during 2005-6 and will be offered to all postgraduates registered for a doctoral degree, subject to recommendation and approval by the relevant supervisor(s) and department(s). For more details see the Centre for Medieval Studies .

September 2005:

The School of English welcomes three new lecturers: Stephen Colclough (C19th and C20th Literature), Ian Davidson (Creative Writing), Kevin De Ornellas (Shakespeare).

2-4 September 2005:

The Michael Powell Centenary held in Bangor.

June 2005:

Postgraduate conference Medievalism Transformed: Back and Forth in Medieval Studies , held at Bangor 18 June 2005

March 2005:

The March Creative Studies newsletter is now available.

Mar. 10th-11th: Postgraduate students from Bangor presented papers at the University of Wales Postgraduate conference at Gregynog , near Newtown in Powys. Topics ranged from medieval legends of the Holy Grail to present-day National Theatre programmes.

February 2005:

The latest Creative Studies newsletter is now available.

January 2005:

Dr Raluca Radulescu has joined the school as lecturer in Medieval literature. An expert on Arthurian literautre, Dr Radulescu was previously a research associate at the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Trinity College, Dublin.

December 2004 :

Dec. 16th: the School of English has created new web pages describing its postgraduate courses (MA, MPhil, and PhD) and the range of supervision available.

Dec. 10th: the December Creative Studies newsletter is now available.

Dec. 4th: Lecturer Julie MacLusky hosted a seminar, ' Is there life after Creative Writing School'. Industry professionals from feature-film direction, production, novel writing, documentaries and news shared their experiences with an audience of students drawn from throughout the School of English and the University.

Dec. 2nd: Carol Rumens read her poetry at the South Bank Centre, London, to mark the publication of her Poems 1968-2004 .

November 2004:

The School of English was awarded £4500 by the English Subject Centre to make a video showing propsective students what the English undergratudate studies. Entitled 'But what do you DO all day?' the video will be used by all admissions tutors in Britain.

October 2004:

Ceri Sullivan was a guest on In Our Time, on BBC Radio 4.

September 2004 :

Julie MacLusky has joined the school as lecturer in Creative Writing.

Sept. 11-13 : Mighty Europe Conference, organized by Andrew Hiscock