I hope that no-one will object to my redistributing this. Our Kent
collection was certainly enriched by the resources of the University
of Kent - Canterbury. Please note the addresses at the end of the
original message.
Abigail
Abigail Ann Young (Dr), Associate Editor/ Records of Early English Drama/
Victoria College/ 150 Charles Street W/ Toronto Ontario Canada
Phone (416) 585-4504/ FAX (416) 813-4093/ [log in to unmask]
List-owner of REED-L <http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~reed/reed-l.html>
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~reed/reed.html => REED's home page
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~reed/stage.html => our theatre resource page
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~young => my home page
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 22:27:19 +0100
From: Graham Mallaghan <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Later Roman Empire and Mediterranean World in Late Antiquity.
<[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: RIP Medieval History at University of Kent, Canterbury ...
With apologies to the original sender. But as someone involved closely with the
relevant department, I thought this ought to come to the attention of as many
people as possible. Please read and email any protest to the email addresses
specified.
----- Forwarded message from "Ferzoco, G.P." <[log in to unmask]> -----
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 20:21:22 +0100
From: "Ferzoco, G.P." <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture <MEDIEVAL-
[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [M-R] medieval studies at Canterbury -- R.I.P.?
To: [log in to unmask]
medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear colleagues,
The UK's Education Secretary, Charles Clarke, not long ago was associated with
declarations of medieval studies being a waste of public money. It is perhaps,
therefore, not surprising to read the following in *The Guardian; this is from
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1050017,00.html:
-----Original Message-----
And gladly wolde he lerne - but not in Canterbury
Cost-cutting proposals at University of Kent could lead to demise of medieval
centre in city which gives its name to Chaucer's tales
Rebecca Smithers, education correspondent
Friday September 26, 2003
The Guardian <http://www.guardian.co.uk>
Medieval historians are joining forces over proposals at the University of Kent
which could lead to the demise of an academic centre that specialises in the
teaching of the medieval history of Canterbury - Chaucer's adopted home.
The "restructuring" plans - drawn up on cost-cutting grounds - have already
forced the resignation of Andrew Butcher, director of the Canterbury Centre for
Medieval and Tudor Studies (CCMT) which is housed within the university and
whose work could not continue.
Senior academics blame "disastrous government policy" whereby some history
departments have lost automatic central funding and become vulnerable to
university funding cuts. As an interdisciplinary centre within the faculty of
humanities, CCMT draws heavily on the university's history teaching facilities,
which have been singled out for major staffing cuts under the restructuring
proposals.
A letter of protest is being prepared for the university's vice-chancellor and
pro vice-chancellors by John Thompson and Stephen Kelly at Queen's University,
Belfast. Its other signatories include Felicity Riddy, deputy vice-chancellor
of York University and a member of its centre for medieval studies, and Mary
Swann of the centre for medieval studies at Leeds University.
The CCMT has built up an unrivalled reputation for highly specialist teaching
in the city which spawned The Canterbury Tales based on Geoffrey Chaucer's
pilgrimages in the 14th century.
The timing of its closing would be ironic: the Canterbury Tales have been
reworked into a 20th century format by the BBC and are currently being screened
to critical acclaim.
Chaucer's connections with Canterbury began when he arrived from London - where
he had served both nobles and kings - in 1386. He lived and worked in
Canterbury as a justice of the peace for Kent. After he retired in the early
1390s, he spent most of his time working on The Canterbury Tales, which he had
already started.
William Caxton, England's first printer, published The Canterbury Tales in the
1470s, and it has continued to enjoy a rich printing history. Chaucer's aim of
creating a literature and poetic language for all social classes succeeded, and
he is regarded as one of the great shapers of literary narrative and character.
The latest developments follow remarks about medieval history by the education
secretary Charles Clarke in May this year, when he appeared to suggest the
subject was "ornamental" and a waste of public money. He later clarified them
to insist he had been talking about "the medieval concept" of university
funding.
The restructuring proposals at the University of Kent were confirmed in a
document to members of its history board last week, which portrayed it as a
solution to the department's substantial financial deficit. The restructuring
plan singles out high and late medieval studies and early modern studies as
areas designated for significant reductions.
Dr Butcher was unavailable for comment yesterday, but in an email sent to
fellow staff he warned of five or six redundancies among history staff which
would make the work of his centre unsustainable.
He complained of a lack of proper consultation: "It is impossible for the
centre and its programmes, as presently constituted, to continue without the
support of history and its medieval and early modern staff."
The proposals are understood to have been approved by a personnel committee
linked to the school of history, whose members include Kenneth Fincham, the
secretary of the influential Royal Historical Society.
Academics from other universities are demanding that Kent's officials clarify
their plans. They fear that once the infrastructure for medieval history
teaching has been dismantled, it will be impossible to replace. Professor
Riddy, herself an English expert, said it would be "appalling" if the centre
were to close.
"The centre is an intellectually thriving powerhouse, with dedicated staff and
very enthusiastic students. The time has come for Charles Clarke to put his
money where his mouth is. Let's not irrepairably damage the very good research
that's being done."
Dr Kelly, who used to teach at the centre, called the proposals
misguided. "There are a lot of extremely concerned people who are worried about
the damage that this will do."
Gill Evans, professor of medieval history at Cambridge University, said: "It
would be a huge loss to the country if it were allowed to happen. Suddenly the
population has got the hang of history being interesting.
"There is a sense in which medieval history sets itself up to be laughable and
a bit of a joke. But any medievalist will tell you that it's not just about
preserving things which come in and out of fashion, it's about the direct
relevance of the immediacy of the past."
The university insisted in a statement that teaching of medieval history would
continue in some form. "The University of Kent remains committed to the
delivery of teaching and research in both medieval history and medieval
studies." The statement added that much of the work at CCMTS has a unique
Canterbury focus.
Knights, turnips, and an urban wide boy
· There are more than 103 courses in medieval studies at universities in the UK
· Topics include archaeology, architecture, armour and weaponry, Byzantine
studies, the Crusades, Knightly Orders and the Knights Templar, Leonardo da
Vinci, maps, medieval Britain and Russia, medieval religion, Renaissance
studies, science and technology in the medieval period, Vikings and women in
the medieval period
· A group of medieval historians fired turnips from a 12th-century weapon of
mass destruction - a replica trebuchet siege engine, the successor to the
catapult, used to demolish the walls of castles - at Leeds University during
the 10th International Medieval Congress in July
· Soaps and sitcoms have an antecedent in plays such as Hick Scorner, the first
urban comedy known in English. The 1514 story of Southwark wide boy Hick is
uncannily similar to Only Fools and Horses
· Medieval pilgrims, merchants and travellers who never left their monastery
armchairs set a standard for graphic descriptions (unicorns and the realm of
Prester John)
· Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Lancaster,
Leicester, Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan, Newcastle, Queen Mary, Reading,
Royal Holloway, Sheffield, St Andrews, Aberystwyth, Bangor, Lampeter, and
Swansea, all offer degree courses in medieval history
-----End Of Original Message-----
If you would like to express your thoughts to the key people at UKC, please do
so by writing to:
- the Vice-Chancellor Professor David Melville:: [log in to unmask]
- the Dean of Humanities Dr Francis Lough: [log in to unmask]
- the Head of History: Professor David Turley: [log in to unmask]
**************************************
If more food for thought were needed, here is a letter to the Editor in today's
Guardian (see http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,3604,1051697,00.html:)
Britain is reconnecting with its own past through a growing diet of history
programmes on television, yet medieval studies in our universities is suffering
death by a thousand cuts (And gladly wolde he lerne - but not in Canterbury,
September 26).
The proposed closure of Kent's centre for medieval studies, while deplorable,
is just the latest of a number of losses. For example, Lancaster University is
steadily winding down all its teaching in medieval English with the retirement
of key staff, its international research standing in medieval drama
notwithstanding.
Students enjoy medieval studies and the intellectual benefits of applying
modern analytical theories to the products of a remote culture need no defence
in the academic world. Is it only in Britain that educational planners lack the
sophistication to see that just because the source material is old, the
scholarship need be neither old-fashioned nor "irrelevant" to modern culture?
Prof Pamela King
International Society for the Study of Medieval Theatre
**************************************
Best wishes to all, George
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
George Ferzoco
School of Modern Languages, University of Leicester,
University Road, LEICESTER LE1 7RH, UNITED KINGDOM
office telephone ++ 44 (0)116 252 2654
secretaries' tel ++ 44 (0)116 252 2683 / fax ++ 44 (0)116 252 3633
e-mail [log in to unmask]
list owner, medieval-religion:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html
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