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SELLL Student Leadership Programme 2021-22 Applications now open!

Are you passionate about the School of English? Looking for work experience that fits around your studies? Then we want to hear from you!

We are looking to recruit energetic and ambitious students from the school to help on a range of student-focused tasks across the year. If you join the programme, you’d be asked to help with the following kinds of work, paid for your time and have your expenses covered:

1. Induction week assistance for the school office

2. Open and Visit Days

3. Help with major public events run by the school (ushering, ticketing, administrative support etc.)

Of course, there’d be no expectation that you worked on every single event and we’d always be working to find ways to fit this around your studies.

We are also looking to recruit a Student Blogger. Please read the attached role description to see if this would be something you’d be interested in.

To be successful, you’ll need to be confident, reliable and self-motivated, have good communication skills and a clear understanding of how our degrees work and the strengths of Newcastle University. Experience of working in customer service or marketing is desirable but not essential. 

The programme is open to all students from our school.

Application Deadline: Friday 7th May, 4pm.

Interviews for the Student Blogger position will be held on Thursday 20th May. 

To apply please complete the following form. 

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Literature Speaker Series Online Events

The Literature Speaker Series is proud to announce two upcoming talks by Joseph North (Yale) and Grace Lavery (Berkeley). These online events aim to help the SELLL community think critically about the value of literature and to reflect on the big questions animating the field of literary studies. Please join us for what promising to be two exciting discussions. 

Undergraduate SELLL students can check their Canvas enrichment page for the Zoom joining details for the following events:

Joseph North (Yale), “In Praise of the Mob” – Thursday 25th February, 11.00-12.00

Grace Lavery (Berkeley), “Some Objections to the Anti-Pornographic Reading of The Old Curiosity Shop“ – Thursday 4th March, 16:00-17:00

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Mastering a Masters Degree

Are you interested in Further Study? Want to learn more about the PG options in SELLL?

Join current SELLL Masters Degree students Abi Hockaday, Shaun Thomas and Becky Robinson and academic Stacy Gillis in a friendly, informal Q & A session with EngSoc President and UG 3rd year Olivia Blackham.  

When: Thursday 28th January 2021 @ 4pm on Zoom 

You are welcome to join either with video turned on or off, or via the text chat function – whatever you prefer.  

Please note the event is being recorded so that we can upload to Canvas for those who are unable to join the live event. 

If you have any questions you would like Olivia to ask on your behalf please email o.blackham@ncl.ac.uk by midday on Thursday 28th January. 

Zoom details:  

Link: https://newcastleuniversity.zoom.us/j/84040466176

Meeting ID: 840 4046 6176 

Passcode: Available on Canvas

Following this SELLL event, Newcastle University are holding a Virtual PG Open Day on Monday 8th February – sign up to register from NU’s home page! 

For all PG related enquiries please email pg.english@ncl.ac.uk, or directly to administrative or academic staff. 

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Professor Linda Anderson awarded OBE

Congratulations to Professor Linda Anderson who has been awarded an OBE for services to Higher Education. She has changed the face of the literary landscape in the North through her outstanding contribution to the field of creative writing for nearly 40 years.

She was the first Director of Newcastle University’s Centre for Literary Arts (NCLA), which she launched in 2009 and was Head of the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics, for a decade.

Her role at the NCLA has earned the organisation an international reputation for its work promoting literature and creativity. Thousands of people have enjoyed its free programme of talks, readings and events.

Professor Anderson is a respected poet and her reputation has attracted word-class writers to work at Newcastle including TS. Eliot Poetry prize and Forward Poetry prize winners. She has also helped to shape the way creative writing is taught nationally and has championed work on employability in the cultural industries.

She was also responsible for Newcastle University acquiring literary archives from Bloodaxe Books and the writers including Sean O’Brien, Selima Hill, Jack Mapanje, Moniza Alvi and Selima Hill, greatly enhancing Newcastle’s importance as a centre for literary research.

She also devised grassroots projects where writers worked with NHS, prison service and Northumbria Police.

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Northern Bridge CDA Competition Success

CONGRATULATIONS to three of our colleagues, Prof Karen Corrigan, Dr Rosalind Haslett and Dr Fionnghuala Sweeney who have successfully secured PhD studentships through the recent Northern Bridge CDA competition!  Project titles are listed below:

Prof Karen Corrigan, Prof Joan Rahilly and National Museums, NI – ‘Eavesdropping on our past: Mapping the oral soundscape of Northern Irish English (NIE)’

Dr Rosalind Haslett and Open Clasp Theatre – ‘Developing new models to evaluate the impact of Open Clasp’s theatre for social change’

Dr Fionnghuala Sweeney and the National Library of Wales – ‘Native Ground: Moses Roper, Fugitive abolitionist; emancipatory activism, anti-slavery radicalism and Print Culture in Wales’

Full details on the application process and deadlines for these projects can be found here: http://www.northernbridge.ac.uk/competition/cda/

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Job Opportunity – Lecturer in Linguistics

The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics wishes to appoint an outstanding scholar and teacher as a Lecturer in Linguistics. 

You will have a PhD, either in hand or near completion, in Linguistics, and have undergraduate teaching experience in linguistics. The ability to teach semantics/ pragmatics at undergraduate level and multilingualism at undergraduate and postgraduate levels is essential. 

For more information check out the Newcastle University Vacancies website.

For further inquiries please contact Dr Heike Pichler, Head of the Language/Linguistics Subject Area (Heike.Pichler@newcastle.ac.uk) or Dr James Procter, Interim Head of School (James.Procter@newcastle.ac.uk). 

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Welcome Professor Jo Robinson

In 2021 we will be welcoming Professor Jo Robinson as the new Head of School for Newcastle University School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics.

Jo is coming to us from the University of Nottingham where she is currently Professor of Drama and Performance, and Head of Drama and Creative Writing in the School of English.

Congratulations Professor Robinson and we look forward to welcoming you in person, when we can!