UNC and King’s College London scholars explore opportunities for collaboration

November 12, 2007

Chapel Hill, N.C. — Faculty from UNC-Chapel Hill and King's College London convened in September and November to explore a range of opportunities for collaborative research.

Sessions held Sept. 6-7 focused on the literature of narrative medicine, life writing and opportunities for graduate student and faculty collaboration. A Nov. 6 seminar focused on digital humanities.

The events, hosted by the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, were the latest in a multi-level exchange program between the two universities. King's College, part of the University of London, is one of the most distinguished research and teaching institutions in the United Kingdom. Faculty members from the two institutions have been collaborating on research and teaching initiatives since 2002.

"To have a conference on this scale, on an academic issue of this significance in terms of the level of debate, is a realization of a vision that we had back in 2002," said Bob Miles, UNC Associate Dean for Study Abroad and International Exchanges, during the September gathering. "The relationship with King's College as it has evolved over the last five years is, from my point of view, the perfect example of what can be achieved when you seek strategically to link different levels of potential academic collaboration."

UNC-Chapel Hill undergraduates have studied abroad at King's College since 2002, and the two universities began a formal exchange program for undergraduates in 2004. In 2005, the collaboration expanded to provide opportunities for graduate students and for faculty.

Graduate students at both institutions benefit from having access to distinguished faculty advisers in both the United States and the United Kingdom. UNC officials plan to expand the exchange further so that students eventually will be able to graduate with a joint degree from both institutions.

Faculty exchange between the two institutions will include opportunities for teaching at each institution, joint research and joint colloquia, such as the life-writing conference, said Miles.

Like UNC, King's College is noted for outstanding academic programs in the humanities and social sciences. The expanded exchange is open to students and faculty in classics, comparative literature, English, American studies, geography, history, religious studies and the curriculum in peace, war and defense.

Mark Turner, chair of the Department of English at King's College, said that the collaboration reflects the global nature of education today. "Universities shouldn't work in isolation. This is an effort in which two institutions are linking up and talking to each other in quite committed ways, rather than just leaving it up to lone scholars to come across each other," Turner said.

Max Saunders, professor of English at King's College, said that in the field of life writing, the strengths of each institution complement each other. "At King's, there's been more emphasis on critical analysis of life writing forms. At UNC, there's very much a tradition of life writing coming out of identify politics, and how it can transform individuals' lives, such as in African-American life writing or women's life stories," Saunders said.

IAH Director John McGowan, an English and comparative literature scholar, is enthusiastic about potential writing collaborations between UNC and King's College faculty. "I think the model of work in the humanities has been much too individualistic," McGowan said.

The seeds of new collaborations were planted at the meeting. "Everyone's quite interested and excited about possibilities, but not in an abstract way," Turner said. "There have been real conversations about taking projects forward, and I think that only happens when people sit in a room and talk to each other."

The Institute for the Arts and Humanities, part of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's College of Arts and Sciences, offers programs and activities that support UNC faculty at every stage of their careers. The Institute funds individual and collaborative research projects, showcases faculty work, develops faculty leaders and teachers, and facilitates the formation of collaborative, interdisciplinary communities that promote intellectual exchange. For more information, contact the Institute at (919) 962-0249 or visit www.iah.unc.edu.