Contents

The Co-convenors of the Literature Group, Susan Billingham (U of Nottingham) and Danielle Fuller (U of Birmingham), along with the CanText (newsletter) editor Linda Knowles, require replacement since they wish to stand down at the April 2007 BACS conference.  We have been doing the job (with decreasing amounts of energy/time) for nearly 10 years and are looking for 3 people who can bring some new ideas and enthusiasm to these roles.  The work is not onerous but it is fun.  CanText is published 2 or 3 times a year.  For the convenors of the group there is scope to organize new events such as one-day seminars and to contribute to the organisation of regional and the annual BACS conference (e.g. finding plenary speakers).  Please think about taking over from us!  If you have any questions, please direct them in the first instance to Danielle ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Wed rather people volunteered but, if no one comes forward, some artful persuasion will have to be applied!!


2. VIVIEN HUGHES

As you may know, Vivien Hughes will be retiring from the Canadian High Commission this year. We plan to give Vivien a leaving present at the BACS Conference in Durham; if any member would like to make a contribution, please send cheques in sterling or Canadian dollars, payable to BACS, to: Jodie Robson, BACS, c/o 2 Ancroft Southmoor, Berwick-upon-Tweed TD15 2TD. Donations can also be made via PayPal (preferably in sterling), in which case they should be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Please mark your envelope/PayPal payment "VHughes". Thank you.


3. LECTURE AT THE INSTITUTE OF COMMONWEALTH STUDIES

Thursday 22 March, 17:00 - 19:00
The Influence of the Boer War on Canadas Participation in WWI
Carmen Miller, McGill University
Convenors: Christopher Dummitt, Institute for the Study of the Americas, and Phil Buckner
Menzies Room, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, 28 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DS

Further information: www.americas.sas.ac.uk


4. CANADIAN COMMONWEALTH POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS 2007-2008

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK has recently been asked by its partner body in Canada to nominate 12 candidates from the UK to undertake post-doctoral research in Canada during the academic year 2007-08. As you will see from the attached details, the awards are fully funded by the Canadian government. Whilst the Canadian authorities will make the final decisions on who should have an award, they have told us informally that they have funding to support 7-8 candidates from the UK.

Nominations have to be in Ottawa by 15 May, and in order to arrange selection procedures in the UK the deadline for candidates to apply to us is 15 April 2007. Applications should be on the official application form, together with a short covering letter (maximum 500 words) stating the candidate's reasons for applying, and describing any previous experience of collaboration with Canada.

Applicants must also have a letter of invitation from their prospective hosts by the time of application.

Application form and associated documents can be downloaded from http://www.csfp-online.org/hostcountries/ca.html


5. REROUTING THE POSTCOLONIAL
The University of Northampton, UK, 3-4 July 2007

Keynote Speakers:
SIMON GIKANDI PATRICK WILLIAMS ELLEKE BOEHMER  ALASTAIR NIVEN

In an increasingly mobile and globalised world, new ROUTES become available to people through movement, migration, diaspora and relocation, and through the temporary inhabiting of new spaces offered by cosmopolitan travel and tourism. These movements contribute to a critique of  ROOTS of fixed origins and traditional identity frameworks such as family, society and nation. Looking to recent developments and influences, and exploring both routes and roots, this conference seeks to REROUTE the Postcolonial to address the tensions that both amplify and redirect postcolonial studies in the 21st century.
Some key questions underpinning this conference:
What REROUTINGS of the postcolonial occur due to accelerated movements of peoples, the theorizing of diaspora, transformed modes of production through the impact of global technologies, new paradigms such as the glocal, and the reshaping of culture and the environment by globalization? What is the effect of the current shift away from resistant and counter discourses and the politics of liberation and representation? How is writing the postcolonial, in areas such as pedagogy, genre and the canon, and aesthetic and textual practices, changing in response to these developments?

Possible topics include:
       third world cosmopolitan versus/complementing theories of the indigenous
       diasporic theory and the transformation of existing  postcolonial paradigms
       revisiting empire  in an age of transnational  migration
       new itineraries and iterations of modernity and post-modernity
       migration, exile and changing identities
       global travel, tourism and new geographies
       interrogations of the aesthetics of resistance
       cultural representations and reimaginings of social transformation
       the environment and eco-critical perspectives
       the postcolonial sacred and/or profane
       new and old spoken/written/visual media in a global age
       changing modes and practices in writing and teaching the postcolonial

Please send abstracts of 200-300 words by Monday 19 March 2007 to: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Conference organisers: Janet Wilson, Fiona Tolan and Alison Rudd
Registration Fees (excluding accommodation and food further details available on request):
Before 1 April 2007:  65 (35 students and unwaged)
After 1 April: 85 (45 students and unwaged)
At the door: 100 (50 students and unwaged) 
Cheques (sterling only) or international money orders, payable to The University of Northampton, to Chris Woolmore, The University of Northampton, St George's Avenue, Northampton, NN2 6JD, UK.


6. DOING A a PhD; ISSUES, CONCERNS, APPROACHES
 
European Research Institute
University of Birmingham
Thursday 26th Friday 27th April 2007
A free workshop presented by postgraduate students from the University of Birmingham and the University of Glasgow

The organising committee is very pleased to announce the first Doing a PhD workshop to be held at the University of Birmingham's European Research Institute.
This gathering of post-graduate students and established academics aims to explore many of the compelling issues and questions around social science doctoral work not addressed elsewhere in a mutually supportive, collegiate environment.
The two-day programme aims to be engaging and informal, while also retaining the rigour and practical focus budding researchers will benefit from. Attendance is free and open to anyone presently embarking on a PhD.
Attendance is strictly limited to 40 individuals. With this in mind it is strongly recommended that those interested in this new and exciting venture to contact the organising committee by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
This event is co-organised by doctoral students from the University of Birmingham and the University of Glasgow, and is financed by the Roberts Funds of these institutions. It is hoped that this will be but the first in a series of workshops aimed at helping new doctoral students learn from the experience of their peers and eminent researchers from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds.

Schedule
The first day will largely be presentation based, with invited speakers and postgraduate students giving papers under three broadly titled sessions;
Starting out aims to address the sometimes daunting task of starting your PhD research. Speakers will discuss their own experiences of this often nerve-wracking time and discussion will centred around the 'basics' that don't seem so basic at the time, including; deciding on a research topic; keeping on track; coping when things go wrong; chance opportunities; relationship with your supervisor(s).This event is co-organised by doctoral students from the University of Birmingham and the University of Glasgow, and is financed by the Roberts Funds of these institutions. It is hoped that this will be but the first in a series of workshops aimed at helping new doctoral students learn from the experience of their peers and eminent researchers from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds.

Schedule
The first day will largely be presentation based, with invited speakers and postgraduate students giving papers under three broadly titled sessions;
Starting out aims to address the sometimes daunting task of starting your PhD research. Speakers will discuss their own experiences of this often nerve-wracking time and discussion will centred around the 'basics' that don't seem so basic at the time, including; deciding on a research topic; keeping on track; coping when things go wrong; chance opportunities; relationship with your supervisor(s).
Practicing Ethics In light of the ESRC's recently introduced 'Research Ethics Framework', adherence to formal research ethics are of paramount importance. Speakers will cover a wide range of issues in this often difficult area, including: power relations; collaborative research; cultural differences; trust issues; overt/covert research; and, how to deal with issues of personal moral concern. 
Writing: how, when, why and for whom aims to address the thorny issues surrounding all aspects of writing, including: research diaries; field notes; interview transcripts; translation/language issues; writing 'up' the PhD; writing for publication. Issues to consider include reflexivity, positionality and situated knowledge.
The second day will be based around more informal group discussions of issues raised from the day before.

Further information:
Please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Join our discussion list: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/DOING-A-PHD.html
For a list of confirmed speakers and the latest updates, please visit:
www.doingaphdworkshop.co.uk