Welcome

This blog was created as part of the Erasmus Mundus Crossways in Cultural Narratives Masters programme, which is the only one of the EU approved and funded Erasmus Mundus Masters programmes to specialise in traditional humanities with a modern languages background. The Crossways Consortium comprises 6 top-class European universities.

For further information, please check the programme's official website and the universities' websites on the Useful Links section on the left. If you wish to have a specific question answered, please click on Email here and submit your query.

Mundus students, here you will find regular posts regarding the universities of the consortium, tips, activities, events, pictures, etc. Apart from checking it regularly to keep yourself up to date, a good way to use the blog is through the search device. We already have a significant amount of information on some universities of the consortium, so if you want to find information on a specific city, type its name in the search field (top left). You will then see all posts related to that specific city (because each post title contains the city's name in it). You can also type "General" in order to find information concerning everybody.

Friday, 24 April 2009

Lisbon: IndieLisboa Festival

IndieLisboa

"INDIELISBOA is a privileged event to meet the most recent and interesting works of independent cinema from all over the world.

The main aim of the Festival is to discover new films and new directors, in the universe of independent cinema. Keeping its attention on the author's creativity and independence, INDIELISBOA was able to become the most important Portuguese Film festival.

On its way to the 6th edition, INDIELISBOA is looking forward to enhance its national and international position as the main Portuguese film festival." (Festival's official website)

When? 23 April to 3 May 2009

Where? Cinema São Jorge, Cinema Londres, Cinema City Classic Alvalade and Museu do Oriente

How much? 3.5€ per film

For more information and for the Festival's day to day films and events, please click here.

Sheffield: Spring Concerts

Message from the University of Sheffield's Concert Season

EVENING CONCERTS


Tuesday 28 April, 7.30pm, Firth Hall
BENJAMIN FRITH (PIANO)

Mendelssohn: Songs without Words, Op. 67, Book 6
Beethoven: Sonata in C Sharp minor, Op. 27, No 2 (Moonlight)
Mendelssohn: Fantasy in F Sharp minor, Op. 28
Schumann: Fantasy in C, Op. 17

Benjamin Frith has performed with many of the great orchestras and conductors including the Israel Philharmonic, the BBC Philharmonic, CBSO, and the Berlin Symphony. He achieved international recognition by sharing the top prize in the Busoni International Piano Competition, and 1st prize in the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition. He regularly appears at international festivals and has won several golden opinions for his recordings.

"Benjamin Frith is the prodigy of prodigies"
DENNIS MATTHEWS


Tuesday 05 May, 7.30pm, Firth Hall
CAMARILLA ENSEMBLE

Mozart: Fantasia in F minor, K.608
Zemlinsky: Humoreske (Rondo)
Gordon Jacob: Sextet in B flat, Op.6
Ligeti: Bagatelles
Poulenc: Sextuor

Wind Quintet; the Camarilla Ensemble are winners of 2008's Royal Over-Seas League Annual Music Competition Ensemble prize. They are quickly establishing themselves as one of Europe?s leading chamber ensembles, and individual members have performed extensively world wide, working with Sir Elton John, Bombay Chamber Orchestra, Royal Opera House and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra amongst others. The ensemble enjoys a programme of varied engagements from recitals to workshops, and has been coached by such eminent musicians as Sir Colin Davis, Sebastien Bell and Matthew Souter.


Sunday 10 MAY, 7.30pm, Firth Hall
SHEFFIELD UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Mendelssohn: Overture - Ruy Blas
Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Op. 56
Sibelius: Symphony No. 1, Op. 39

Amy Finch (violin)
Edward Harper (?cello)
Gary O?Shea (piano)
Nigel Simeone (conductor)


FREE LUNCHTIME CONCERTS

All at 1.10pm, University Drama Studio

Thursday 30 April: Rosie Williamson (soprano) Alan Brown (piano)

Thursday 07 May: Sheffield University Ensembles Concert

Thursday 14 May: Sheffield University Composers Concert



TICKETS AND ENQUIRIES

EVENING CONCERTS: £8, £5, (senior citizens/staff) and £2.50
(students,unwaged)

FREE LUNCHTIME CONCERTS: Admission is free and tickets are not required. These concerts are designed to be an informal, alternative way to spend part of a lunch hour and members of the audience may arrive and leave between items.

Complimentary wine and juice is available during the interval at all our evening concerts.

For more information on all concerts and information on how to purchase tickets please contact us on:

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0114 222 0499
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If you would like to subscribe to our weekly newsletters, giving more detailed information on programmes, composers and artists, with the option to view in a graphical format, or if you would like a copy of our season brochure delivered to your door for free, please add yourself to our mailing list at the following address


For video clips and pictures of our performers, as well as the opportunity to purchase tickets online, please see our website

Sheffield: Arts-Science Encounters

2009 Arts-Science Encounters presents...

Three Ways of Looking at Deception

Tuesday 28th April. 5:30pm. Humanities Research Institute, 34 Gell Street.

An exploration of lying in brain science, Holocaust testimony and philosophy with Dr Paul Faulkner (Philosophy), Professor Sean Spence (Neuroscience), and Professor Sue Vice (English).

Dr Paul Faulkner is a lecturer in the Department of Philosophy. His research interests lie in epistemology and in particular the epistemology of testimony. He explores such questions as: 'What is the psychologically correct description of how we respond to testimony? In what ways does believing what someone says introduce problems of trust? Is there anything wrong with lying?' Paul's publications include 'What is Wrong With Lying?' (Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 2007) and 'On Telling and Trusting' (Mind, 2007)

Sean Spence is Professor of General Adult Psychiatry in the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Sean and his research team are exploring ways of mapping the neural correlates of deception in the human brain. Neuroimaging can detect differences in brain response ('signatures') when a subject is lying or telling the truth, which may have a practical application in legal cases of possible miscarriage of justice. Sean Spence's work has appeared in Nature, Science, Wired, The Sunday Times, and a 2007 Channel 4 documentary series called 'Lie Lab'.

Sue Vice is Professor of English Literature and one of the foremost critics of Holocaust literature in the UK. Her recent work has focused on false or embellished Holocaust testimony, which includes articles analysing Binjamin Wilkomirski's notorious false testimony 'Fragments' and attempting to account for such texts in literary terms. Sue Vice's publications include Holocaust Fiction (2000) and Children Writing the Holocaust (2004).

To book a place for this event, and others in the series, please visit http://www.arts-scienceencounters.co.uk/

Places are limited, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Information related to this message is available at http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/english/arts-science/.

Sheffield: New Creative Writing Master's course

Message from the English department at Sheffield University

The University of Sheffield

Creative Writing Pathway
The New Creative Writing Pathway through the MA in English Literature

Following on from the success of creative writing initiatives the School of English has developed at undergraduate level – with courses offered through the Institute for Lifelong Learning, a thriving student writing magazine, Route 57, CILASS initiatives, and significant courses across the School which involve writing – the School is proud to announce the launch of a creative writing pathway to the MA in English Literature, with a view to helping young and emergent writers towards successful publication. These new writers are following in the footsteps of graduates such as Ann Sansom, Chris Jones, Cliff Ashcroft, Eleanor Rees (all of whom have published two or more collections), Claire Lockwood (published in Poetry Review), Andrew Bailey (winner of the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize) and Ben Wilkinson.

General description

The course is made up of one theory course and one practical workshop module – students taking the pathway will take these two 30-credit courses as core, and choose a further 60-credits from the modules available on the general English Literature Masters programme. The pathway ends with a 60-credit dissertation (80% creative; 20% critical-reflective) written over the summer. The practical workshop is an autumn semester module, students submitting the portfolio and essay at the end of the semester. The workshop continues, however, through the Spring term as a combination of dissertation-preparation workshops and student-led, peer-feedback editorial sessions. The theory module is a Spring semester module, run weekly, and team- taught, dealing with the more abstract issues related to writing. The staff teaching on the course will be: creative writing professional, Vahni Capildeo; course leader, Prof Adam Piette; members of staff with creative writing experience, including Neil Roberts, Matthew Campbell, Sue Vice, Richard Canning, Rachel Falconer, Brendan Stone.

Teaching staff

Vahni Capildeo, a Trinidadian poet, will be the leading force behind the creative writing pathway in its launch year. She is the author of four collections of poems, a book-length poem sequence No Traveller Returns (Salt, 2003), Person Animal Figure, a three-character series of dramatic monologues (Landfill Press, 2005), a three-section book that actively engages with William Carlos Williams's Paterson, The Undraining Sea (Eggbox Press, 2009), Dark and Unaccustomed Words (completed 2008, forthcoming). She is currently working on her fifth collection, Utter, on the theme of 'Monolithicity'. She is a Contributing Editor at the Caribbean Review of Books (edited by Nicholas Laughlin) and a freelance researcher for the Oxford English Dictionary. We have experience of creative writing provision within the School – not only with published creative writers on the staff, but also Adam Piette, who helped set up the highly successful Edwin Morgan Creative Writing Centre when at the University of Glasgow, and taught creative writing there for eight years. Members of staff with creative writing experience will also be involved in the course provision, including Neil Roberts, Matthew Campbell, Sue Vice, Richard Canning, Rachel Falconer, Brendan Stone.

Entry requirements

Portfolio submission of 2000 words of prose/drama or 8 poems (or equivalent, roughly 150 lines), to be sent along with the application form. This is a pathway through the MA in English Literature so applicants must also abide by the entry requirements of that programme. Students apply for the MA in English Literature – Creative Writing pathway. The application form is available at: http:// www.shef.ac.uk/postgraduate/research/apply/


The general requirements for the MA in English Literature are as follows:

Students wishing to take this degree should have a good first degree (2.i or above) in English literature, language, linguistics, or a related discipline (e.g. history, philosophy, modern Languages).

International students whose first language is not English are required to provide proof of English language proficiency. For example, students may have an IELTS certificate (7.5 minimum) or a ToEFL certificate (paper test: 630 minimum score, with a Written English Score of 5; computer test: 267 with a Written English Score of 5).

There is no specific deadline for places on the course – we will be processing applications into the summer. But early applications are encouraged as we have a maximum number of places. Do please contact Cathy Shrank for information about the courses offered on the general MA in English Literature; Jane Lowe, MA secretary, for administrative questions or Adam Piette for enquiries specific to the creative writing pathway.




The website for the course is: http://www.shef.ac.uk/english/prospectivepg/creativewriting.html

Sheffield: Skills for Life workshops

Message from the Sheffield University's Careers Service


*Upcoming Skills for Life workshops* for April & May 2009:

- Revision without Tears, Wednesday 29th April & Thursday 14th May
- Boost Exam Confidence, Friday 1st May
- Deal or No Deal: How to say 'No' when the pressure is on to say 'Yes', Tuesday 12th May
- Stress Busters for Men, Friday 15th May
- Relaxation for All, every Monday of term (excl. Bank Holidays) until 8th June 09

See below for more details.

Skills for Life workshops are free to students at the University of Sheffield. Please bring your U Card.


*Revision without Tears* workshops

Would you like to make your revision more effective and less stressful? This two hour workshop could help!

The workshop aims to help you:

- Improve your confidence in approaching revision and exams
- Help you identify revision styles that suit you
- Learn new techniques that add fun to revision and can enhance performance!

Date: Wednesday 29th April
Venue: Satpal Ram Room, Students Union (No. 120 on campus map)
Time: 2.00pm-4.00pm, registration from 1.45pm.

Date: Thursday 14th May
Venue: University Counselling Service, 36 Wilkinson Street (No. 122 on campus map)
Time: 11.00am-1.00pm, registration from 10.45am.


*Boost Exam Confidence* workshop

Does worry about exams get you down? Do you find yourself getting negative and despondent thoughts about exams? This two hour workshop could be for you!

This workshop aims to help you:

- Identify your negative thinking patterns
- Introduce strategies for overcoming negative thoughts
- Learn to think more positively and realistically about managing exams

Date: Friday 1st May
Venue: University Counselling Service, 36 Wilkinson Street (No. 122 on campus map)
Time: 2.00pm-4.30pm, registration from 1.45pm.


*Deal or No Deal - how to say NO when the pressure is on to say YES workshop:

It’s not always easy to stand your ground and say NO to other people, but it is
a useful skill for many everyday situations and in managing a busy schedule.

This three hour workshop will help you:

- Be clearer about your own limits – with friends, family or when your employer wants you to do that extra shift – again!
- Say NO without being aggressive or rude
- Stand your ground when the pressure is on to say “yes”

PLEASE NOTE this is a three hour workshop and those attending are expected to stay for the whole workshop – so please ensure your commitments will enable you to do so.

Date: Tuesday 12th May
Venue: University Counselling Service, 36 Wilkinson Street (No. 122 on campus map).
Time: 10.00am-1.00pm, registration from 9.45am.

*Stress Busters for Men* workshop

This workshop is aimed at helping men learn some practical skills to reduce stress and cope with stressful situations.

This three-hour workshop will help you:

- Manage aggressive feelings/conflict
- Understand your stress cycle, and break it!
- Learn different ways to relax

Date: Friday 15th May
Venue: University Counselling Service, 36 Wilkinson Street (No. 122 on campus map).
Time: 2.00pm-5.00pm, registration from 1.45pm


*Drop-In Relaxation for All* workshops

These free, 35 minute workshops aim to help you learn practical exercises to:

- aid relaxation
- achieve a beneficial effect on your well-being
- help you cope with difficult and stressful situations

Dates: Every Monday term time (excluding Bank Holidays) starting 2nd Feb until 8th June.
Venue: Quiet Room, Chaplaincy, 344 Glossop Road (No. 198 on campus map).
Time: 1.10pm-1.45pm, registration from 1.00pm.

*Booking info for above workshops:* - No need to book, simply drop in on the day. Places are limited and allocated on a first come first served basis.

Wednesday, 22 April 2009

Perpignan: Procession de La Sanch

by Lorenza Tiberi



When I woke up this morning I thought I was dead. The only thing I could hear was sacred music and Gregorian tones and luckily so after couple of seconds I realised that I wasn't going to meet ST. Peter but my flatmate, as usual. I opened the window and I noticed that speakers had been placed in all the city centre and were spreading the holy music. After my cup of coffee i realised (I know it takes me a while to come back to life everyday) that today was Good Friday, which in Perpignan also means Procession de la Sanch.

The Procession de la Sanch has its origins in the middle ages. As condemned prisoners were led to their deaths, both prisoner and executioner were hooded. In order to protect their identities and perhaps in a show of solidarity with the principle actors in these dramas, the groups of men who accompanied them also wore the distinctive peaked hood. These Penitents were there to give solace to the person about to die, remembering that Christ too was condemned and that through his sacrifice even the lowliest of sinners could be saved through penitence.


Over time the drama developed into a regular, annual religious procession. The original purpose dropped by the wayside but the garb remained, and the Penitents' purpose evolved exclusively into a commemoration of the most famous condemned man in Christendom. Thus, on his day of execution, Good Friday, they march through towns in a somber display of mourning.