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REED-L  October 2003

REED-L October 2003

Subject:

Re: RIP Medieval History at University of Kent, Canterbury

From:

Thomas Larque <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

REED-L: Records of Early English Drama Discussion

Date:

Wed, 1 Oct 2003 20:57:38 +0100

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (55 lines)

*** Cross-posted to Chaucer Discussion Group and REED-L ***

Some additional information about the University of Kent issue that has been
discussed in both these groups.

I am at University of Kent, albeit studying English Literature at
undergraduate level.  Any changes to the Centre for Medieval and Tudor
Studies may ultimately affect me, as I am planning to study Shakespeare as
English Literature at postgraduate level.  Staying at Kent is a possibility,
and although I probably wouldn't be studying directly at the Centre (since
my interests are more strongly focussed on 18th-21st century responses to
Shakespeare rather than Shakespeare in the Renaissance itself) I would
certainly have hoped to be able to have useful contacts with the staff and
students of the Centre, which was (and may remain) strong on Medieval and
Renaissance Drama.

Kent insists that it isn't abolishing Medieval studies, just shifting its
focus from late Medieval scholarship to early Medieval (with a particular
aspiration to link up with the specialisms of the archaeology department),
however this seems to involve some sort of cull of at least some of the
current History staff, replacing them with more research-active Medievalists
specialising in an earlier period.  The real motive behind all this seems to
be an attempt to improve the research profile of the History department so
that it can move from a disappointing 4 in the last Research Assessment
Exercise (all departments rated 4 are losing huge amounts of money in an
ongoing rejigging of the funding system by the government) to a hoped-for
rating of 5 in the next (which would mean more funding).

Kent's explanation and justification of the changes can be found at
http://www.kent.ac.uk/campusonline/campusnews.html?id=ccmts.txt .  One of
the questions that it doesn't seem to answer is exactly what impact these
changes will have on the relationship between the Medieval and Tudor
sections of the Centre's studies.  Everybody seems focussed on the Medieval
aspects (both Kent and the external media), but if the major focus of the
Centre's research and teaching is shifted back to the earlier part of the
Medieval period, then it will presumably do serious damage to one of the
Centre's main raison d'etres, which is a focus on study of the links between
the Medieval and Tudor periods.  If you are studying such links then it
makes sense to study the later Medieval period and the way that it runs into
the Tudor period which grew out of it.  I don't see how the Centre could
realistically keep up this focus if the two spheres are split into the very
early Medieval period at one end, and the Tudor period at the other, with
only token efforts to maintain study of the latter Medieval period that
joined the two eras.

My understanding of these events is drawn from the Guardian article that has
been posted here; an article from the Times Higher Educational Supplement;
and the Kent response which I have given a link for above, but I don't claim
any great understanding or insider knowledge.  Despite studying at Kent, I
don't know very much more than anybody else.

Thomas Larque.

"Shakespeare and His Critics"       "British Shakespeare Association"
http://shakespearean.org.uk           http://britishshakespeare.ws

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