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PRESIDENT'S
REPORT 03
SECRETARY'S
REPORT 03
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BACS
BULLETIN 2004 Report of 2003 |
President’s Report
for AGM of the British Association for Chinese Studies,
Durham University, January 2004
The
year has been shadowed by the news of the closure of Durham’s Department of
East Asian Studies, a decision which was taken after BACS decided to hold the
conference here. Though neither BACS nor this conference have persuaded the
university authorities to change their minds, BACS, BAJS, BAKS and many
individual members have written in protest to the university, and letters have
also been published in the name of the three associations in the national press.
Despite
this, and with almost cruel irony, the year has been a productive one for
promoting the cause of Chinese Studies in the UK.
1. Chinese in Schools
Jenny Clegg’s report on ‘Chinese Studies in UK Schools’ was published in
2003. A seminar to discuss its implications was held in the British Museum on
December 8, in collaboration with the DEA (Development Education Association),
with invited representatives from schools, business, subject associations and
the DfES and FCO. In part as a result of its collaboration with the DEA, BACS is
meeting Charles Clarke in February to discuss some of the recommendations which
came out of this meeting. Most specifically it will suggest funding to establish
a resource centre/coordinating agency, comprising a think tank of academics,
teachers and members of the business community interested in developing Chinese
Studies in schools, and coordinating applications/projects for funding,
assisting in curricula development initiatives, and so on. Major credit is due
to Jenny Clegg for her continuing commitment to developing these initiatives,
and with the very positive feedback we have received from the Dec 8 seminar, we
hope that good things will come of our February
meeting with Charles Clarke.
2. AHRB
Considerable time and effort over the summer months last year went into
coordinating a joint application by BACS, BAJS and BAKS in response to an AHRB
call for applications for subject ring-fencing. My thanks to the other
Presidents and Beth McKillop of the British Library for their work. Our proposal
to fund six PhD scholarships per annum over a three year period in the
humanities and arts of East Asia was not, in the final event, approved. The
AHRB’s decision to support other, mainly European-oriented fields of study was
disappointing, to say the least, but our joint representation to the AHRB has
put on the record our collective concern about the under funding of East Asian humanities in UK PhD
programmes.
3. HEFCE
Following suggestions put forward at the
Sheffield conference, a meeting was held with HoDs on June 9 2003 to discuss the
use of the 1998 HEFCE allocations as a basis for making future representations
to HEFCE. Our discussions clearly showed that HEFCE funds have been extremely
helpful, in anticipated but sometimes utterly unanticipated ways, but the future
of some of the HEFCE funded courses is not secure. The meeting concluded with a
suggestion that BACS approach HEFCE to discuss a ‘tapering down’ of some of
the courses, to support universities in their efforts to put the newly
established programmes on a permanent basis, thereby consolidating the gains
made through the last round of funding. BACS will follow up its contacts with
the relevant personnel in HEFCE in the coming months.
Finally,
BACS’ profile in promoting Chinese Studies in schools is now on the map.
Supported by business, teachers and universities, it now needs further support
from our members. To this end we shall be launching a subscription drive,
particularly to appeal to potential ‘stakeholders’ not as yet associated
with BACS.
I
want to thank Laura Rivkin for her continuing management of the BACS website. I
also want to note that expansion of the website to include more substantial
information about Chinese Studies in UK universities will be one of Council’s
tasks in the coming year. Thanks also to Rana Mitter for his editorial skills in
putting together the BACS Bulletin, despite electronic impediments. I want to
thank the other Council members, and particularly Carol Rennie and Lynn Baird
for their patient support and administrative skills as I have worked my way
through this last year. Finally, we are grateful to the UCC and the British
Academy for sponsoring our work. Without their support, our recent initiatives
would have been impossible.
Professor
Harriet Evans
Secretary’s Report: Sept 2002-Jan 2004
The past year, my second as the Association’s
Honorary Secretary, has seen a good deal of BACS activity, and
evidence (in spite of the biggest setback, the closure of the
Department of East Asian Studies at Durham) that there is a growing
awareness of the importance of Chinese Studies to the UK, which it
is hoped BACS will be able to spur on and link into over the next
few years. A summary:
BACS-Taiwan scholarships
SARS clearly caused a major disruption, but in
the event most recipients of the awards did make their trips to
Taiwan: the Ministry of Education allowed flexibility in arrival
dates for students in receipt of two-month awards. The drop-out rate
for one-year candidates was, as usual, fairly high: only twelve
candidates applied for the eight places, and in the end all of these
students were given the opportunity to take up an award. Only seven
students did so, leaving one place unfilled. While we are keen to
ensure that only serious applications are made, we do perhaps need
to encourage more applications for one-year scholarships to prevent
this happening in future years.
Happily, the new incumbent at the TRO, Dr C J
Liu, has helped stave off the insistence of the Ministry of
Education that no student may receive more than one award, which, as
BACS has forcefully argued, unfairly discriminates against previous
recipients of 2-month awards (only made in the UK). The MoE’s
initial rejection of two of the 2003 nominees for one-year awards
was dropped, and while none of BACS’ compromise solutions (such as
reducing the one-year awards to 10-months) were officially accepted,
in one case an award of 10 months was made to an individual who had
previously received a two-month award. The MoE now states that
"those scholars who have previously been awarded a two-month
scholarship will be of low-priority in receiving a further one-year
scholarship. This will mean that only the most outstanding
candidates should be put forward." BACS must therefore make the
case for its recommendation of any past recipient of an award, which
we will be happy to do. There are some indications that the MoE may
be seeking to take more control over the selection of candidates,
but as yet no actual moves in that direction. Non-British students
are unfortunately still ineligible to apply through BACS.
Schools’ liaison and links with other organisations promoting
Chinese studies in UK schools
The main achievement of this year was the
publication and launch of Jenny Clegg’s report "Chinese
Studies in UK Schools". A seminar was held on December 8 2003
to discuss the promotion of Chinese Studies in UK schools, attended
by representatives from the DfES, FCO, subject associations, the
Specialist Schools Trust etc. Charles Clarke, Secretary of State for
Education, has agreed to meet with BACS representatives in February
2004 to discuss our findings and recommendations. Finally, years of
lobbying on the part of BACS seem to be bearing fruit! All credit is
due to Jenny, who has been tireless in this effort. (Thanks also go
to the UCC for financial support, and to the DEA and British Museum
for support in kind).
BACS has been informed that ‘international
education’ is one of Charles Clarke’s priorities, and has also
heard snippets of information about an initiative called the ‘China
Task Force’, on which the FCO and British Council are working –
so ears are obviously open and it is hoped that some real action may
be forthcoming in promoting the study of China and Chinese in the
UK. The British Council/HSBC ‘Schools Links and Partnerships with
China’ programme, currently in its third year, is already making a
significant impact. The Hanban has worked together with the British
Council to produce a raft of teaching materials for GCSE Chinese,
and is also planning to open a centre in the UK in the next year or
two. The BBC is launching a Mandarin course for adults and
documentary series on China in January 2004. Good contacts have been
made with various bodies in this field (eg the British Council, the
Development Education Association, the Specialist Schools Trust, the
British Museum), and BACS is keen to work closely with them in
building initiatives based on the growing swell of interest in and
awareness of the importance of China.
Membership
BACS members are at present primarily in higher
education. A subscription drive is due: we need to boost our
membership both in this primary academic constituency, but also, as
a professional body, from outside academia. We plan to launch a
subscription drive in 2004 to increase the range of representation
and expertise in both the BACS membership base and on Council.
Website
We are most grateful to Laura Rivkin, who has
continued to manage the BACS website. The site currently provides
information on the Association and its activities, the bulletin, CPN,
and links and addresses of HE institutions offering Chinese studies.
We plan to apply to the British Council China Grants this year, to
fund improvement/extension of the website into areas beyond those
which it currently covers – a portal for information on Chinese
studies at all levels, for the BACS membership but also schools and
the wider public.
CPN
Alessandra Alessu’s active convenorship of the CPN over the
last year has revived the organisation after a shaky year in 2001/02
– she held monthly meetings at the University of Westminster,
where postgraduates had the opportunity to socialize as well as
listen to research presentations. The annual conference in November
was well attended, and the CPN bulletin will be produced shortly.
BACS looks forward to supporting the next convenor, and thanks
Alessandra for her efforts.
Carol Rennie
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BACS 2002- |
Honorary
Secretary Norman Stockman |
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secretary@bacsuk.org.uk |
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