Collaborating across the Atlantic
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and King’s have been strategic partners for over 8 years and there are especially close ties between departments in the School of Arts & Humanities and UNC. Many staff and students have taken advantage of the opportunity to work or study on the other side of the Atlantic and there have been many fruitful research and teaching collaborations. Last month, staff and students from UNC were welcomed to London for a series of collaborative events with the School of Arts & Humanities.
At the beginning of the month, the Arts & Humanities Research Institute at King’s hosted the graduate conference: ‘Shakespeare, memory and culture’ which explored how early modern drama reflects on the past, present and future. The event followed on from a joint event held at Chapel Hill last year: ‘Shakespeare and the natural world’.
Towards the end of the month, the History Departments at King’s and UNC hosted a joint workshop on ‘Transatlantic historical approaches’ which formed part of an annual event organised by the two institutions. It featured panels ranging from classical and medieval authority in Rome, nation building politics in 19th century Britain and America, and the political role of space and environment in Edwardian England and contemporary Germany.
The Departments of History and War Studies worked with the Department of History and the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense at UNC to host the joint international conference ‘War, demobilization and memory’ which explored the legacy of war in the era of Atlantic revolutions. Event organiser, Professor Michael Rowe, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History at King’s commented: ‘It has been a pleasure working on this conference with UNC and welcoming them and many other delegates from around the world to King’s. King’s and UNC are very close partners and I am sure that this event and the future collaborations that come from it will continue to strengthen our relationship.’
King’s Music Department rounded off the busy month with the second annual graduate music conference: ‘Performing the metropolis: music, urban geography and spatial practices since 1789’. The event brought together students from both sides of the Atlantic whose research intersects with the study of ‘Music and the City’ in the 19th and 20th centuries and involved a series of workshops, panel discussions and a public symposium.
Looking forward, there are a further two joint History events scheduled for September this year, both in Chapel Hill, and it is expected that UNC will continue to be a popular destination for students in Arts & Humanities looking to study abroad.