Publishing News
Historian wins large Research Grant from ESRC
The School of Arts and Humanities is delighted to announce that Dr Virginia Crossman, Senior Lecturer in History, has been awarded the sum of £454,965 by the ESRC towards the costs of her three-year research project, entitled 'Welfare Regimes under the Irish Poor Law 1850-1921'.
The project focuses on the history of poor relief in Ireland from the end of the Great Famine to the establishment of the Irish Free State. Using qualitative and quantitative data, the project will explore the character, organisation and operation of the poor law in Ireland and will trace national and regional patterns in the provision and distribution of relief. Irish experiences of the poor law system will be examined in relation to welfare provision within the United Kingdom as a whole. At the same time, the impact of factors such as religion, national identity and regional economics on the scope and character of welfare practices will be assessed. By analysing both general trends in relief policies and the micro-politics of relief, the project will provide a historical context for contemporary debates on the position of the poor and marginalised in Irish society, and will facilitate the integration of Ireland into the international history of European welfare.
Dr Crossman is one of a number of experts on the history of welfare provision based in the History Department at Oxford Brookes, and her award confirms the growing importance of this area of research.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 22 Sep 2006 around 11am
Filed Under Research
Publishing lecturer takes part in The English Literature Project, Russia
Claire Squires recently returned from a two-day seminar on contemporary British Fiction in Perm, Russia.At the invitation of the Oxford Russia Fund, Claire took part in The English Literature Project, which aims to introduce Russian university teachers of English Language and Literature to works of contemporary British fiction. The seminar, which is in its second year, is led by Karen Hewitt of the University of Oxford and Boris Proskurnin of Perm University, and was attended by approximately 100 Russian delegates. During the seminar, 6000 copies of books, bought by the Oxford Russia Fund and delivered to Russia by Blackwell's, were distributed to attendees.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 18 Sep 2006 around 5pm
Filed Under Publishing | European Publishing
Seminar at the Beijing International Book Fair
Angus Phillips and Adrian Bullock gave a seminar to over a hundred people at the 2006 Beijing International Book Fair on Friday 1 September.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11 Sep 2006 around 12pm
Filed Under Publishing
Victoria Barnsley of HarperCollins receives honorary doctorate
On Friday 8 September Victoria Barnsley, CEO of HarperCollins UK, received an honorary doctorate from Oxford Brookes University.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11 Sep 2006 around 6am
Filed Under Events | Publishing
Summer internships at the World Bank
Jing Wang and Nina Schipper, MA students in Publishing at Oxford Brookes University, are experiencing a challenging and enriching summer this year. At Washington DC, within the headquarters of the World Bank, the two students are pursuing an internship at the Office of the Publisher of the organisation.Jing Wang (China), is working with the Marketing and Online Resources publishing team, dealing with marketing analysis, rights licensing and worldwide co-publishing partners. Those include some British companies such as OUP and Palgrave Macmillan. Jing interprets the internship as ‘a great opportunity to know the World Bank working system and its projects, and to let the world know more about the World Bank.' Everyday she feels very glad when stepping into the beautiful office building: ‘Working at the World Bank signifies that you are going to do something meaningful and helpful for the people in the world, especially those living in poor countries.'
Nina Schipper (Brazil), has been working with the Acquisitions team, and so far has been involved in the preparation of leading publications such as the World Development Report, the Annual Report, and the youth guide Getting to Know the World Bank. She has also been participating in the e-library project, which makes available in full text, for readers everywhere, the contents of the World Bank's books and reports. Nina commented that: ‘Learning about the serious yet creative way the World Bank disseminates the knowledge on development that is produced here, either through printed books or online resources, is an important step in my career.'
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10 Aug 2006 around 10am
Filed Under Postgraduate | Publishing
OpenBooks - OpenMinds
The Publishers Association’s (PA) Textbook Action Group has agreed to provide funding for the establishment of a research network by the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies (Adrian Bullock and Dr Jane Potter) into what motivates students today and, in particular, how they use textbooks and other learning resources, such as the internet, on-line journals, and VLEs, when they study.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 08 Aug 2006 around 4pm
Filed Under Publishing
Award-winning MA dissertation published
Rachel Craven's MA dissertation, E-volution and Revolution: Internet Marketing in English Language Publishing has been published as a Print on Demand (POD) book.Rachel's dissertation was chosen for the inaugural Lightning Source Dissertation Award. E-volution and Revolution has been produced as a POD title by Lightning Source, and published by the Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies. The book analyses the importance of Internet marketing for English Language Teaching (ELT) publishing by examining the relationship between the marketer, the consumer, and the Internet.
Rachel, a graduate of the MA in Publishing in 2004, now works in e-marketing at The Stationery Office, following employment at Pearson.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 03 Aug 2006 around 11am
Filed Under Research | Postgraduate | Publishing
Is blogging bad for publishing?
Journalist Tracy Hofman recently featured comments from Claire Squires, lecturer in Publishing, in an online article about blogging.
In the article, Squires is quoted by Hofman on the blogging phenomenon, saying that, 'We are using written language far more than we did ten years ago, and this has resulted in a vibrant reading and writing culture.' Hofman is less positive, arguing that the 'self-expression frenzy' is the result of a craving for 'airtime in a frenetic world where we feel increasingly alienated'.
Squires also commented on the trend for celebrity novels, with Katie Price (aka Jordan)'s novel Angel currently high in the bestseller lists. Hofman writes, 'Now call me churlish, but why claim to be a writer if you can't actually write?' Squires responded to Hofman's question by arguing that 'People want to write ... because people see authorship as something to aspire to.'
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01 Aug 2006 around 9am
Filed Under Publishing
Arts Council award for lecturer in Fine Art
Dr Mohini Chandra has been awarded £4500 by the Arts Council for a project entitled ‘Imaginary Edens'. The work will explore diaspora and migrant experience through photography, collage and installation media. Lifesize photographic backdrops from the Indian diaspora will be combined with family photographs to create fantastic 'imagined' landscapes. The funding will support the research and development of a major series of works for exhibition in 2007/8.Mohini is an artist and researcher whose work is concerned with issues of memory, time and geographic displacement as expressed through the 'everyday' photography of diaspora families. She regularly exhibits at a range of international and national venues and has sucessfully completed a number of publications and site specific projects.
‘Imaginary Edens' will have relevance to any group of people who have experienced migration or diaspora, whatever their cultural background.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 28 Jul 2006 around 11am
Filed Under Research
Grant success for History Professor
Professor Steve King (History) has been awarded a grant of £2060 by the British Academy for a project entitled ‘The economics of overseeing, 1750-1834'. The work aims to explore the local operation of the Old Poor Law in England, and will lay the foundations for a workshop on the history of welfare provision as well as an application to the ESRC for a more substantial project. He has also won £380 from the Economic History Society to support his one-day conference on The Clothing of the Poor 1650-1900: Multi-disciplinary Perspectives (April 2007). This is in addition to funding (£200) already secured from the Royal Historical Society.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 28 Jul 2006 around 7am
Filed Under Research