AAH Student Conference in Conference Oxford 1998
Eighth Conference on Research-in-Progress
23 May 1998, Keble College, University of Oxford
What more fitting setting for a conference on research-in-progress than the spires of Oxford, and it was to Keble College that a sizeable group of students made their way on a sunny Saturday in May. The programme for the conference was even more tightly packed than usual, with four papers scheduled for the morning, and three for the afternoon.
The morning session was chaired by Gabriele Neher, and took as its theme 'Religious Controversy and Princely Authority'. Honor Miller's (University of Warwick) paper on 'The Umiliati and the Abbey of San Pietro, Viboldone' opened the morning's proceedings, followed by a presentation by Deanna McHugh (University of Oxford) on 'Two Sixteenth-Century Lunatics and the Liberation of Grotteschi'. The third paper of the morning, Mina Moore Ede's (University of Oxford) talk on 'Sebastiano del Piombo in the 1530s'.
A change of focus and pitch marked the final paper of the morning session, Sonja Walker-Sherrard's (University of Essex) short delivery of her ideas for future research on the 'Equestrian Portraiture in the Courts of the Habsburg.'
After a short lunch break, speakers and audience reconvened for the afternoon session, chaired by Margaret Burgess, for a discussion of the theme of 'British Art: Explorers and Collectors'. The session was opened by John Bonehill's (University of Leicester) colourful exploration of 'The Embodiment of Empire: Captain Cook, Joseph Banks and the Pacific Encounter'. The next two papers, Dongo Chun's (University of Manchester) presentation on 'Consuming and Collecting British Art: The case of Sir John Fleming Leicester', and Helen Rees's (University of Manchester) talk on 'Art Exports and the Construction of the National Heritage in Late Victorian and Edwardian Britain' took a more domestic perspective, and rounded the afternoon off with a series of discussions and debates.
Once again, it was the consistently high standard of the presentations which made the day so enjoyable for the audience, and it was the constructive and involved criticisms of the presentations, which benefitted the speakers. One of the presentations, Sonja Walker-Sherrard's piece on 'Equestrian Portraiture' highlighted the need for a different type of conference presentation, though: instead of presenting a completed and fully formulated paper, Miss Walker-Sherrard introduced the audience to her ideas on future research, and on how she hopes to achieve her results. The ensuing debate focussed less on the content of her paper, but more on research tactics, and led to an exchange of tips and strategies from the audience on how to approach a piece of research. As a direct result of this presentation, future conferences on research-in-progress will include slots of not more than 10 minutes for students at the very beginning of their research. It is hoped that the availability of such slots will appeal to students both at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level, and will make future conferences even more attractive and helpful to students at any level.
It is important at this point to add a postscript: the conferences on research-in -progress are organised by volunteers from the student membership of the AAH twice or three times a year. The aim of the conferences is to provide student members of the AAH with a forum for the presentation of their own ideas and the results of their research, to offer an opportunity for the practising of the art of the conference paper, and, even more importantly, a social forum for making the acquaintance of fellow students at other Universities.
These conferences are organised by students and for students, but what the student sub-committee needs is to hear from those student members who feel that their needs are not met by the provision of either these conferences, or any of the other projects the student committee have organised. Any suggestions and ideas are invited, and should be addressed to the chair of the Student sub-committee, Dennis Wardleworth.
Gabriele Neher
Department of Art History, The Arts Centre
The University of Nottingham, University Park
Nottingham NG7 2RD
The morning session was chaired by Gabriele Neher, and took as its theme 'Religious Controversy and Princely Authority'. Honor Miller's (University of Warwick) paper on 'The Umiliati and the Abbey of San Pietro, Viboldone' opened the morning's proceedings, followed by a presentation by Deanna McHugh (University of Oxford) on 'Two Sixteenth-Century Lunatics and the Liberation of Grotteschi'. The third paper of the morning, Mina Moore Ede's (University of Oxford) talk on 'Sebastiano del Piombo in the 1530s'.
A change of focus and pitch marked the final paper of the morning session, Sonja Walker-Sherrard's (University of Essex) short delivery of her ideas for future research on the 'Equestrian Portraiture in the Courts of the Habsburg.'
After a short lunch break, speakers and audience reconvened for the afternoon session, chaired by Margaret Burgess, for a discussion of the theme of 'British Art: Explorers and Collectors'. The session was opened by John Bonehill's (University of Leicester) colourful exploration of 'The Embodiment of Empire: Captain Cook, Joseph Banks and the Pacific Encounter'. The next two papers, Dongo Chun's (University of Manchester) presentation on 'Consuming and Collecting British Art: The case of Sir John Fleming Leicester', and Helen Rees's (University of Manchester) talk on 'Art Exports and the Construction of the National Heritage in Late Victorian and Edwardian Britain' took a more domestic perspective, and rounded the afternoon off with a series of discussions and debates.
Once again, it was the consistently high standard of the presentations which made the day so enjoyable for the audience, and it was the constructive and involved criticisms of the presentations, which benefitted the speakers. One of the presentations, Sonja Walker-Sherrard's piece on 'Equestrian Portraiture' highlighted the need for a different type of conference presentation, though: instead of presenting a completed and fully formulated paper, Miss Walker-Sherrard introduced the audience to her ideas on future research, and on how she hopes to achieve her results. The ensuing debate focussed less on the content of her paper, but more on research tactics, and led to an exchange of tips and strategies from the audience on how to approach a piece of research. As a direct result of this presentation, future conferences on research-in-progress will include slots of not more than 10 minutes for students at the very beginning of their research. It is hoped that the availability of such slots will appeal to students both at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level, and will make future conferences even more attractive and helpful to students at any level.
It is important at this point to add a postscript: the conferences on research-in -progress are organised by volunteers from the student membership of the AAH twice or three times a year. The aim of the conferences is to provide student members of the AAH with a forum for the presentation of their own ideas and the results of their research, to offer an opportunity for the practising of the art of the conference paper, and, even more importantly, a social forum for making the acquaintance of fellow students at other Universities.
These conferences are organised by students and for students, but what the student sub-committee needs is to hear from those student members who feel that their needs are not met by the provision of either these conferences, or any of the other projects the student committee have organised. Any suggestions and ideas are invited, and should be addressed to the chair of the Student sub-committee, Dennis Wardleworth.
Gabriele Neher
Department of Art History, The Arts Centre
The University of Nottingham, University Park
Nottingham NG7 2RD