Encounters – December 2020

Birkbeck, University of London, 3rd-4th December 2020

This Encounters conference took place online. Due to technical limitations, not all of the sessions were recorded. The recordings and extended abstracts of relevant sessions can be found in bold below, at their point in the programme.

The delegate list for this Encounters conference can be found here.

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We are delighted to announce that CHASE Encounters will be returning on 3–4 December 2020, hosted by Birkbeck, University of London, but taking place completely online.

The biannual Encounters Conference is a chance for doctoral students to share ideas and research, build contacts and make networks across the eight institutions in CHASE: Sussex, Essex, Kent, UEA, Goldsmiths, the Courtauld, SOAS, and Birkbeck. There are also still CHASE students at the Open University: we welcome them into the mix too.

From this year the conference will be open to all doctoral students in the Arts and Humanities at the host CHASE institution not just CHASE-funded students across the consortium. So this call includes all Birkbeck Arts and Humanities students!

This year’s online event will take advantage of the possibilities offered by a virtual environment to enable encounters with each other and each other’s work in a variety of formats, new and old. The conference welcomes contributions on any topic and encourages research and ideas at any stage of development. In the climate of COVID-19, we encourage contributions which take account of the challenges which the pandemic has posed to your research or creative process. All presentations will include opportunity for questions, feedback, and discussion.

Potential forms of contributions include:

3 – minute thesis presentations — Share the research questions, aims, key concepts or subjects, and methodologies of your research to peers.

Work-in-progress —present snapshots of your thesis, explore your hypothesis, or initial research discoveries in a 3–5 minute presentation of your research.

Video ‘posters’ — Prepare a short video about any aspect of your research to be hosted on the conference site for the duration of the conference.

Completed research — For those closer to completion, use the CHASE environment to trial a conventional 20-minute conference paper or propose a themed panel of papers with your peers.

Research during a pandemic – space for people to discuss and explore the possibilities and challenges of researching in the midst of a public health crisis.

Themed presentation or discussion panels — network with colleagues to plan a thematically structured group of presentations or plan a structured conversation or set of debates.

Build networks – join established CHASE networks, including the Feminist Network, the Climate Action Network, the Diversity in Body and Mind Network, or the Medieval and Early Modern Studies, or develop new ones emerging from your research area. Online chat rooms and virtual spaces will be provided to generate new connections.

Creative work — Share short creative performances in visual or textual form, using the possibilities of the digital environment.

Propose new digital formats for Encounters! — Maximum creativity is encouraged: this is a student-led conference space.

As usual, all CHASE-funded doctoral students will be expected to take part in the conference. Please discuss with your supervisor if you unable to attend.

Please email your proposal to conference lead Aren Roukema at a.roukema@bbk.ac.uk by 31st October 2020. Please also note that prerecorded media will be due for final submission by 25 November 2020.

Proposals should include a title and short description of your intended contribution. If you are proposing a conference paper or panel, please attach an abstract describing the content and approach of your paper or panel (100–300 words). Please also include a brief bio (<50 words) with, at minimum, your year of study, institution, and department.

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