Area Studies Special Advisory Group Meeting

14 December 2006

Minutes

1.	Minutes from last meeting and matters arising
Present: Dick Ellis (Chair), Tony Chafer, Katharine Adeney, Jude Davies, Susan Hodgett, Ali Dickens (Subject Centre)
Apologies: John Canning, David Shepherd, Chris Flood, Mike Smith, Michael Derham, Marie-Annick Gournet
Matters arising: events (see below), benchmarking (see below)
Use of the web in Area Studies workshop – had to be cancelled. Generic events have rarely recruited well, so other approaches are necessary. Working with subject associations on individual areas/proposals could be a way forward (often tied into subject association AGMs) and will also help in promoting topics such as linking teaching and research and using the web. Action: John to contact associations to suggest working together
2.	Update from Subject Centre 
a. Globalisation – this hasn’t recruited well so far but it is still early days. The Group requested the publicity in order that they can send it to relevant mailing lists. It was also suggested that the SC finds contacts in and sends the message to:
•	Political Studies Association
•	Politics Association
•	CSAP
•	British Association of Sociology
•	Sue Davies at UACES
Action: John to send publicity to advisory group members, relevant lists and find contacts
b. Projects – not many bids for pedagogic research projects and W2Go are coming from Area Studies. The SC is to launch new call for bids in New Year which will be specifically targeted at Area Studies, Linguistics, Literature & Culture. Projects can be developmental, evaluative or pedagogic research.
Action: John to send call for bids in special bulletin (with globalization info) to advisory group members and other mailing lists
The SC is also involved in some e-learning projects and is looking for colleagues to participate in a pilot workshop to test out a tool for creating learning objects. Jude and Katharine expressed an interest in participating. Tony has a colleague who has just developed some online materials for AS who would be interested. 
Action: Ali to send out invitation to workshop when the date is set (Feb/Mar)
Note: There is a very well-used Canadian Studies portal that has been developed with funding from the embassy and BACS
Citysites project created online texts for American Studies – www.citysites.org.uk at Birmingham

c. Interdisciplinary learning
Results from previous projects are now available and a call for bids has gone out.
Action: John to send call for bids for interdisciplinary projects

d. Linking teaching and research
The conference will now be one day but is mostly pedagogic research. There is not an obvious audience for linking teaching and research and it was agreed that this would make a good topic for subject association conferences/AGMs.

Dick requested an update on whether CILT has still got an interdisciplinary information guide and physical resources. He asked if the SC can add to this based from its AS funds following an upsurge in publications on interdisciplinarity? 
Action: John to check with CILT and SC.
The US now has interdisciplinary centre which has recently published a report.
Action: John to check and report on this

3.	Why American Studies Project

This was inspired by the Languages Box and CD. It is intended as a recruitment tool which has an apparent effect (anecdotal feedback from recipients of the languages materials suggests this) on take up at y9.
Dick and John went to the American Embassy for funding as it is concerned about the recent decline in recruitment. They acquired funding for materials relating to America but not Area Studies (19K). However this will provide a generic structure that can be reused for other areas. Other embassies might be persuaded to support other versions, which would be relatively inexpensive to develop. The presentation is aimed mostly at 6th form students and will be jointly put together by the SC and a Birmingham researcher. Contacts have been made with universities, schools and interviews will be carried out. The CD will be produced in July 07. 
Tony indicated that European Studies needs help and could seek funding from the European Commission. 
Action: Ali to check what is around (as part of research into funding).

4.	Area Studies Benchmarking Statement 

UKCASA has discussed this and will take the lead. It has done a straw poll of associations with minimal response. Most are happy and suggest only minor revisions (5-6 responses). The Group is happy to support this enterprise but will leave it to UKCASA. Tony is interested in being involved. 
Action: Susan to take lead by representing Tony’s interest to the Chair. Tony to send comments to Susan for the UKCASA meeting which he can’t attend. He proposed there was a need to emphasize employability and year abroad and intercultural skills, Internationalisation and mobility. 

5.	Languages-based Area Studies research centres. 
Teaching Literature of the Americas event- Autumn 2007
(joint with English Subject Centre).
Action: John and Dick to contact relevant associations. The SC’s Literature  and culture SIG would also like to be involved. 

6.	AOB
Research metrics
Dick raised the issue of the proposed use of research metrics in developing comparative national rankings of higher education research and its possible impact on teaching in the humanities and social sciences. He requested that Mike Kelly (SC Director) raise this with other SCs to gauge responses in other disciplines. It was felt that it could have a negative impact on student learning experience and that AS would have particular problems (of status) in getting published in the high ranked journals. It might be useful for Mike Kelly to contact Dick Ellis on this matter.

Problem of attendance at events. It was agreed that single discipline events might address this problem as well as helping to link more effectively to the research–teaching agenda and encourage more synchronicity between learning and teaching.
It could take the form of funding for keynote speakers at association conferences (these would -need to be pedagogic or e-learning related). The SC will need to check what funds might be available for this.
Action: John
There are also groupings that are beginning to work together, e.g. Canadian Studies is starting to explore how can work more closely with American Studies. 
Action: John and Dick to contact chairs of associations to offer to run pedagogic slots in conferences. Also to seek departments who will host an event.

Date of next meeting: May (John to send out some alternative dates soon) in London
Action: John