English Research Seminar

The final English Research Seminar of the semester will be given by Dr Samuel Thomas from the University of Durham. His paper -  '"Yours in Revolution": Retrofitting Carlos the Jackal' - examines representations of the Marxist-Leninist political activist and convicted murderer Ilich Ramírez Sánchez in fiction and film. Staff and students from all faculties are welcome to the talk, which takes place in Priestman 201 at 5pm on Wednesday 29th May.

Jairus Omuteche on Toni Morrison and Ngugi wa Thiong'o

Jairus Omuteche has published an essay in Africa and Her Writers (2013). This collection, edited by Charles Smith and Chin Ce, is the tenth anniversary edition of a series from the International Research Council on African Literature and Culture. Jairus's essay on Toni Morrison and Ngugi wa Thiong'o derives from his PhD research on representations of home in the work of these authors.

Laurence Eagle at the Higher Education Academy

Cross-institutional dialogue can enhance the learning and teaching experience for students in both participating institutions, according to a paper which will be given at the annual conference of the Higher Education Academy in July. Dr Laurence Eagle (CSP) and Dr Peter Lumsden (University of Central Lancashire) will report on the enhancements made to the students’ learning and teaching experience as a result of dialogue.

Peter Hayes on adoption, age and puberty

Children adopted from abroad are more likely than other children to be diagnosed with precocious puberty and are sometimes treated with drugs that delay pubertal development.  Now, in an article in the journal Pediatrics, Dr Peter Hayes (History and Politics) has called the supposedly high risk of precocious puberty amongst internationally adopted children into question.  Dr Hayes suggests that the risk of precocious puberty appears to be high because some adopted children are significantly older than their recorded age.  This raises concerns over the treatment of these children.

‘International Adoption, “Early” Puberty, and Underrecorded Age’ will be published in Pediatrics in June 2013.

Peter’s previous articles on adoption include studies of international adoption, transracial adoption, and adoption in Korea. He is also co-author of the book Adoption in Japan.

Dr Abdalla Mustafa Warayet

Abdalla Warayet has been awarded a PhD in TESOL. His thesis, entitled "The influence of speech context, language mode and exposure to English on the use of English discourse markers by EFL students" explores the discourse markers used in English by two groups of Libyan EFL students: those who learned English while living in the UK accompanying parents during their postgraduate studies; and those who had never been abroad and learned the English language in Libya as a part of the school curriculum. The comparison identified how different environments affect the use of English discourse markers - words and phrases which perform a variety of functions relating mainly to structuring and organizing language - through examining the influence of speech contexts such as interviews and discussions, different modes of English use including speaking and writing, and exposure to the English language. Dr Warayet's Director of Studies was Dr Maddalena Taras (Education).