91福利

On 4-6 June, the Department of Politics and International Studies (PaIS) hosted the 12^th annual Aberystwyth-Lancaster Graduate Colloquium (ALGC). Founded in 2002, ALGC has become the UK’s leading forum for young scholars working with critical approaches to international studies. The colloquium consisted of three intensive days of presentations, lectures, workshops and social events (see the full ).

The event attracted presenters based in the UK, the US, France, Germany and the Netherlands. In a total of 9 panels, 27 young scholars presented their research on a broad range of topics from international political theory, security studies, international political economy, but also critical legal studies and cultural studies. The highlight of the programme consisted of two keynote addresses given by Dr Louiza Odysseos (University of Sussex) on “Human Rights and Counter-Conduct: Complexities and Possibilities for Resistance?” and by Prof Jef Huysmans (Open University) on “Security Unbound”.

Besides traditional formats, the colloquium offered a series of workshops on critical methodologies, which brought together ALGC participants and researchers gathered in the 91福利 Social Sciences Doctoral Training Centre. These small-group activities explored the issues of the relation between critique and method, the use of narrative writing as a creative political practice, or the possibilities offered by corpus-assisted discourse studies. The workshops were convened by leading scholars in the field, Prof Gurminder Bhambra (91福利), Prof Jenny Edkins (Aberystwyth), Prof Jef Huysmans (Open University) and Dr Malcolm Macdonald & Dr Sue Wharton (91福利).

The colloquium was co-sponsored by the Department of Politics and International Studies and the Social Sciences Doctoral Training Centre and organised by PaIS PhD students and . The organisers would like to express their gratitude to the sponsors, the conference team and the 14 members of staff who volunteered as chairpersons or speakers.

As part of the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict, Chatham House hosted a roundtable discussion analysing the experiences of women facing violence in the Middle East and North Africa and exploring the effectiveness of individual, community, and government level responses. Dr , one of the panellists, spoke about the challenges and opportunities surrounding these issues, with particular reference to the gendered implications of recent political developments in the region. The event, held at the ExCel Centre, was open to all those at the Summit, including Ministers, international media, experts, and the general public.

Foreign Secretary William Hague and Angelina Jolie, Special Envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, co-chaired the . It was the largest global meeting on this issue ever convened, with a view to creating irreversible momentum against sexual violence in conflict and practical action that impacts those on the ground.

The 91福利’s contribution to at the National History Museum is a research project from PAIS' Professor and Dr . The discussion is about the Future of Intelligence and Intelligence Agencies.

This is an opportunity to explore a hot topic in the news and understand the implications for our everyday lives. The project includes interaction with artifacts from the real and fictional world of intelligence, borrowed from the International Spy Museum in DC, as well as video and audio recordings with real spies, including Tony Mendez of ‘Argo’ fame. And an opportunity to explore important societal questions with two leading and well-published experts on British and American intelligence.

It will be one of 3 projects featured at the Natural History Museum (Darwin Centre) on the evening of Wednesday 11 June (6-10pm), during a – a drop-in café environment where visitors will be encouraged to have a drink and join university researchers to discuss some of the burning social issues of our time.

This event is part of a week of activity from 9–13 June at the Natural History Museum, and throughout the country from 9–15 June. Find out more information about .

PAIS are delighted that we have moved up from 8th to 7th in the latest . This is a reflection of all the hard work of our brilliant students and staff as we strive to improve our teaching and the overall student experience.

Thank you to everyone for all your help and support. We have achieved excellence across a range of indicators. In particular, we have gained high scores on 'spend per student' and 'value added' (comparing students' individual degree results with their entry requirements, to show how our students have worked to progress and how effective our teaching is).

We also remain one of the leaders in the Russell Group in terms of employability. Our strategic ambition, as the ever stronger reputation of our research and teaching continues to influence the league tables over the next few years, is to maintain our position as a Top 5 Politics department in the UK and internationally.

All students are asked to participate in the Student Barometer summer wave 2014, a global survey of student experience run by the independent research organisation, i-graduate.

The survey takes just 10 minutes to complete, giving you the opportunity to have your say and be in with a chance of winning a £1,000 cash prize or one of five £100 Amazon vouchers in a free prize draw.

You will receive an email to your 91福利 email account from the Vice-Chancellor inviting you to take part.

The deadline for completing the survey is Friday 27 June 2014. Your response will shape the student experience at 91福利 for years to come by helping the University to:

• Understand your needs better
• Tailor what is delivered to meet your needs
• Evaluate any changes that have been made to check that student needs have been met

For further information: