THURSDAY 5th November- Redefining Dyslexia
Today marks the fourth day of the DysFest, a free film festival about Dyslexia held at UCL. Thursday's evening programme focuses on hands on learning activities illustrating a task oriented approach to integrating technology with study skills and variety of learning styles. There will be demonstrations carried out by a panel of educators on time management, note taking in lectures, digital active reading and note making and essay writing. There will also be more than 10 apple mac computers for people to try out and freebies given out on the day. To reserve your place visit the dysfest website.FRIDAY 6th November- Calligraphic Abstraction
Today I am heading to the Green Cardamom art gallery to take a look at the exhibition exploring the work of the late Pakistani artist Anwar Jalal Shemza (1929-1985). Shemza was a modernist who used a variety of artistic mediums: such as novel writing and graphic design to express life experiences, such as belonging to a diaspora community in England during 1950s-1980s. The exhibition traces the artist's development specifically looking at Shemza's work which incorporates Arabic calligraphy and oriental carpet designs. This is the first of a series of exhibitions which the Green Cardamom will present over the next two years exploring Shemza's work. Each exhibition will be curated by a group of art historians, curators and artists. Calligraphic Abstraction has been curated by Cornell based art historian and artist Iftikhar Dadi.SATURDAY 7th November- Turkish Film Festival
The 15th London Turkish Film Festival is in full swing. Running until the 19th of November, the festival features a programme of short documentaries, directorial debuts, UK premiers as well as panels and discussions. The festival aims to provide a platform in the UK for aspiring film makers of Turkish origin who live and work in Western Europe. One of the festival partners is Balik Arts, a charity who works with Turkish Kurdish and Turkish Cypriot communities in London to advance arts education amongst young people. Click here, to find out more about festival screenings, venues and ticket prices.SUNDAY 8th November- Social Science for Schools
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), have just launched a new website called Social Science for schools. The aim of the website is to provide teachers with accessible information bringing together ESRC funded research on issues such as migration, citizenship, youth crime and other topics, so that they have reliable quantitative and qualitative data to use in their classrooms. This is an excellent resource for any social science teacher! MONDAY 9th November- Cultures of Fear
'Freedom from fear is a universal right and fundamental for human well-being'. But what does freedom from fear really mean? and who is responsible for providing communities with a sense of security? Dr. Uli Linke, Professor of Anthropoogy at the Rochester Institute of Technology, has edited a new book with her colleague Danielle Taana Smith, called Cultures of Fear. The book takes an interdisciplinary approach, examining the ways in which organisations such as governments and humanitarian agencies use 'cultures of fear' to control, monitor, and contain human beings in zones of violence. Noam Chomsky, Slavoj Zizek, and other world class scholars have contributed to this book which take a critical approach at what is seen as the production and normalisation of fear in the context of war and terrorism. The book will be released on November 16th 2009. TUESDAY 10th November- Sing about Anthropology!
Imagine you were going to be a contestant on a social sciences musical talent show and you had to create a song about Anthropology. What lyrics would you choose to represent such as diverse discipline? What about the genre? Is anthropology more attune to a ballad? pop? or heavy metal acoustics?There are several songs about anthropology on YouTube, but one which has recently acquired some fame inside anthropology circles, has been produced by a TA at the University of Toronto. The song is called: The Anthropology Song: A little bit anthropologist. Have a listen and become inspired! WEDNESDAY 11th November - A not so natural disaster
Today I am going to reserve a place for a book launch held at the British Medical Association on Thursday 12th November from 5:30-7:30pm. The book edited by Xavier Crombe and Jean-Herre Jezequel is called Niger 2005-A not-So Natural Disaster, and examines various perspectives and interpretations of the causes and nature of the 2005 Niger famine crisis. One of the book's main focus is the work of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and their treatment of over 40,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition in Niger. Both editors will speak at the launch, in addition to Samuel Hauenstein-Swan (Huger Watch Adviser) and Stephanie Doyon (Nutrition Team Leader) for the MSF Access Campaign. To reserve your place email: odile.mendel@london.msf.org
