The First World War in Perspective
History
Online short course
Offered each term from January 2014
The First World War is widely regarded as the defining event of the twentieth century, and continues to fascinate and appal in equal measure. This course seeks to explain why and how the war was fought, and to understand why its legacy remains relevant almost a century after it began.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/V100-129

English Poetry of the First World War
Literature
Online short course
Offered each term from Janurary 2014
Some of the most powerful and moving English poetry of the modern period was written during or about the First World War. This course examines the context of that poetry and issues involved in studying it by exploring the life and writing of three major war poets: Owen, Rosenberg and Sassoon, amongst others.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/Q200-7

First World War Poetry
History, Literature
Dayschool: Sat 25 Jan 2014 in Newbury
1914-1918 was awash with poetry, 'Modernist' and 'Georgian', pacifist and patriotic, by men and by women, combatants and civilians, and published in individual volumes, anthologies, and newspapers. Propaganda and remembrance, humour and pathos, co-existed, if uneasily. The output of poetry continued well after the Armistice and has had lasting resonance, profoundly influencing the literary interpretations of later wars and continuing to be one of the prisms through which war is culturally interpreted and 'understood' in the early 21st century.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/Q200-151

Investigating First World War Archaeological and Architectural Legacies
Archaeology, Architectural History
Dayschool: Wed 5 Feb 2014 in Oxford
Archaeological techniques are increasingly being applied to study of First World War battlefields in France and the Near East, and on training areas in England. The aim of this course is to inform curators, field practitioners, consultants, and members of voluntary and community groups of the diverse physical legacy that the war has left in England.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/V400-326

Modernisms: The Art of Extremes 1914 1945
History of Art
Weekly classes programme
Thu 24 Apr to Thu 26 Jun 2014 in Oxford
The period 1914-45 is the high test of artistic modernism as the forces ranged against it coalesce and the term itself is reforged; never again will the debates about the public role of art assume such critical importance - or prove so vitally engaging.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/V350-152

Picturing Armageddon: The First World War in Painting, Photography and Cinema
History of Art
Weekly Classes programme
Tue 22 Apr to Tue 24 Jun 2014 in Oxford
2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War I. This course will investigate the many ways in which the experience of the 'War to end all wars' has been reflected through art, photography and film. We shall explore the early development of war photography, and will examine the work of the official 'War Artists'. We shall then investigate the depiction of the war in the popular illustrated press, before turning to the many and varied ways in which cinema has dealt with the memory of the First World War - from such early Hollywood classics as 'All Quiet on the Western Front' to more recent cinematic epics as 'Lawrence of Arabia'. Finally we shall conclude by discussing what we shall have learned of the relationships between fact and fiction in the various ways in which the First World War was, and has subsequently been, imagined and depicted.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/V350-169

The Art of War
History
Weekly Classes
Thu 24 Apr to Thu 26 Jun 2014 in Oxford
From the first crude caveman etchings to the the imagery of 'Top Gun' aviators, warlike images have beguiled the human race. Artefacts, paintings, scultures, buildings and weapons themselves have reflected the significance of the warrior across centuries and diverse cultures. We will examine and analyse these phenomena by looking at the Art of War in its broadest sense and concentrating on Western civilisation.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/V100-157

Poetry of the First World War
Literature
Oxford Experience Summer School
Sun 13 to Sat 19 Jul 2014 in Oxford
A hundred years ago the civilised world was torn apart by one of the bloodiest wars in human history the First World War. Young men in their thousands went to their deaths on the battlefields. The war was a catastrophe both on a personal and on a cultural level; it was a watershed in European civilisation. Paradoxically, it elicited a great creative burst of poetry as many of the combatants tried to come to terms with, and make some sense out of, their experience of carnage and loss.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/Q220-89

The First World War in Perspective
History
Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA)
Sat 12 to Sat 19 Jul 2014 in Oxford
The First World War continues to fascinate and appal in equal measure. Popular publications and media outputs often highlight the carnage in the trenches on the Western Front and raise questions about the war's ultimate purpose.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/V100-224

1914-2014: One Hundred Years of War
Literature
Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA)
Sat 19 to Sat 26 Jul 2014 in Oxford
This is the centenary of the beginning of the Great War, the writing about which entered our collective consciousness. Since the achievements of the Great War poets, conflicts have continued to cause people to write about their personal experiences in startling and memorable ways, whether they are combatants themselves or the families and lovers left behind. We shall explore writing about the world wars, Vietnam, 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan, in poetry, fiction and memoirs.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/Q220-119

British Art of the First World War
History of Art
Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA)
Sat 26 Jul to Sat 2 Aug 2014 in Oxford
In the centenary of the beginning of the "Great War", our course examines the production of magnificent art from such luminaries as Paul Nash, Richard Nevinson and William Orpen. Despite many dangers and difficulties, our artists created images of "terrible beauty" from scenes of conflict and desolation. We examine the compelling works of many less prominent painters such as Eric Kennington and Muirhead Bone, and conclude with the huge canvases commissioned for the never-realised Halls of Remembrance. A visit to Stanley Spencer's magnificent Sandham Memorial Chapel is incorporated within the course.
www.conted.ox.ac.uk/V350-243

Ms Hewitt said: 'I was thrilled to receive the MBE for work which would not have been possible without the support of many colleagues at the Department for Continuing Education and throughout the University.'

Karen has taught continuously for the Department since Michaelmas term 1963 over 50 years on weekly classes, day and weekend schools and summer schools, including the Oxford Summer School for Adults (OUSSA). 'I suppose you can say I've taught the equivalent of 350 termly classes, 100 OUSSA weeks, and many extras,' said Karen.

Karen tells the story of her experience visiting and teaching in Russia that led to her MBE:

'In 1984 I took members of an Oxford Continuing Education class on Russian literature to Moscow and Leningrad, with the strong support of the then Director, Dick Smethurst. I was so fascinated that I spent the next four years trying to establish links with Soviet Russia and learning elementary Russian.

'In 1988 I and Lawrence Goldman, then the staff tutor in History at the Department, took another group to Russia at the height of perestroika. In 1989 I visited Perm (formally a closed city) and began teaching at Perm State University a visit which led to the signing of an agreement between Oxford University and Perm State University which is regularly updated.

'In 1990 the Department welcomed the first groups of Russian (then Soviet) university teachers from Moscow State University to study literature; later a group from Perm State University spent three weeks at Rewley House studying British society and culture.

'Funding has always been tricky, so I found a way to pay for these courses by sending groups of adults from Oxford to Perm as guests of Perm University. The money they pay stays in Oxford to cover the costs of the Perm teachers coming here. Several of the Department's tutors and many students have visited Perm on this long-running exchange which continues in each direction each year.

Pictured above: Karen Hewitt, right, and the 2010 Perm group visiting the British Museum.

'Since 2005 I have directed a project for the Oxford Russia Fund which brings thousands of copies of first-class contemporary English novels to about seventy Russian universities.

'A big annual seminar for university teachers from all over Russia is held in Perm where a group of Oxford academics speak about literature to the participants. Among those who have spoke at the seminar are Sandie Byrne, Director of the Literature programme at OUDCE and (in 2013) Andrew Blades, one of our tutors.

'In May, we have an annual two-week course on English literature for Russian specialists to which several departmental tutors contribute as well as members of the English faculty.

'It is thirty years since the Department first helped me to visit Russia with my students, and I am deeply grateful for that opportunity and all the opportunities since.

Angus Hawkins, Director of the Department's Public and International Programmes, said of Karen's MBE 'Not only has Karen contributed to the Department's teaching over many years she has also overseen the academic exchange programme between Oxford and Perm. The Honour is an appropriate and well-deserved recognition of all she has done.'

Please join the Department in congratulating to Karen and her family for this public distinction.

Karen is teaching the following courses on this summer's Oxford University Summer School for Adults (OUSSA):

• Miltons Paradise Lost
  www.conted.ox.ac.uk/Q220-122
• Three Contemporary Classics: "The Beginning of Spring", "Ulverton" and "Black Swan Green"
  www.conted.ox.ac.uk/Q220-115

She is currently leading two weekly classes, 'Literature and Politics: Conrad's "Nostromo" (www.conted.ox.ac.uk/Q200-157) and 'Cities and People in Literature' (taught in Milton Keynes) (www.conted.ox.ac.uk/Q220-69).

The award has been used to develop training workshops that will enable research scientists, doctoral students, graduates and professionals from across the country in the environmental sciences and management to attend at no cost. The funding also covers accommodation and course materials for the duration of each workshop.

The workshops will focus on priority training areas identified by NERC, in Multivariate Ecological Statistics, Geographical Information Systems and Insect Taxonomy and Field Sampling. The workshops will be held in January, February and March 2014, in Oxford.

'With increasing use of digital and large monitoring data-sets to solve environmental problems it is imperative that we train the next generation of environmental scientists and managers in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) software and technology, and how to understand multivariate data analysis,' said Dr Jocelyn Hughes, Academic Director. 'These workshops will provide the skills needed by environmental scientists and managers to critically respond to the key environmental issues that will affect us in the 21st century.'

The workshops will help delegates gain the skills needed to record and monitor different species in their habitats, to better understand the relationship organisms have with their environment, and to identify and classify insects in order to make site assessments and to understand the impact human activity has on biodiversity.

Delegates will use Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment in field work for GIS and will learn how to incorporate their data into specialist software QGIS and R, to analyse and present geospatial information.

An emphasis will be placed on using real data to solve real problems in species and habitat conservation management, and delegates will have access to real data sets related to flooding in Oxford.

Said Dr Hughes, 'We are delighted to work with the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History in insect taxonomy where delegates will be able to access world class collections of invertebrates.' The Museum's collections include samples of beetles, bees, and wasps, and delegates will undertake fieldwork and practical surveying during their visit to Oxford to study insect taxonomy.

Each workshop is designed to provide practical training and problem-solving experience, and will be led by a team of tutors from both academia and industry. The cost to participants is free.

The three new workshops are positioned within the wider range of professional development courses offered by the Department in environmental management and ecology.

Current programmes include graduate-level training in ecological survey techniques and data analysis, led by Dr Jocelyne Hughes, and short-courses in environmental management and climate science.

To find out more about our courses in environmental management and ecology contact us via email at: envman@conted.ox.ac.uk or follow us on Twitter at: @ox_environment to stay up to date.

Tricia, who decided to pursue her lifelong interest in Archaeology as she neared retirement from her career as a speech and language specialist, fit the bill.

A leaflet in her local library led Tricia to apply for our Undergraduate Certificate in British Archaeology, which she completed in 2011.

In the article, Tricia says 'Studying keeps my brain active and stimulates me. There is no way I would just spend this part of my life with my feet up. It's the perfect time to do something challenging.'

Tricia has now progressed to the Undergraduate Diploma in British Archaeology.

The article appears in the February 2014 issue of Good Housekeeping (UK), on page 36.

Commenting on her experience of being featured in a national magazine, Tricia said: 'I had an enjoyable day in London for the photo shoot, which was more difficult than you might imagine. I was a bit surprised to see that my interview ended up as a first-person narration - this is probably standard for this style of journalism. The speaking style isn't exactly mine - but the sentiment is spot-on!'

• To learn more about all our offerings in Archaeology, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/archaeology
• To learn more about our part-time undergraduate and graduate award programmes, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/courses/oxfordqualifications/qualificationtypes.php

She receives a first prize of 1,000 euros and publication in Southword Literary Journal. She will be flown to Ireland to take part in the Cork Spring Literary Festival.

Maya completed the Master's in Creative Writing in 2013 under a Clarendon Scholarship. In addition to the O'Donoghue Prize she is the 2013 winner of the Oxford Poetry Society Martin Starkie Prize.

Previously she took a Master in Fine Art from NYU, where she worked with veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan under a Veterans fellowship.

Her poems and criticism appear in The Kenyon Review, Poetry London, Oxford Poetry, FIELD, Colorado Review, Southword, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She hopes to return to Oxford in the future to continue her research on 19th-century devotional poetry.

To learn more about Maya and to read some of her published poems and articles, please visit: www.mayacpopa.com

For more information about the Gregory O'Donoghue Prize, please see: www.munsterlit.ie/gregod_winners.html

Sara developed the proposal for the legislation through writing her dissertation for the Master's programme.

'As a graduate student in international human rights law at Oxford I wanted to use my studies to make a tangible difference to the lives of children,' said Sara. 'The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) was the only international human rights legislation without a mechanism to allow complaints, so children whose rights were violated had no way to actually hold governments accountable. This was unacceptable to me.'

The new legislation, called the 'Third Optional Protocol' provides for a communications procedure that allows children, groups of children or their representatives to submit a complaint about violations of their rights by their State to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

'Children are the most vulnerable - and often the most exploited - citizens in many countries,' said Sara. 'The decision to build my dissertation around a proposal for the third Optional Protocol to the CRC was easy. I defended my dissertation in the spring of 2006; then the real work began,' said Sara. 'Over the next eight years I worked with a coalition of NGOs relentlessly pushing the UN to make this law a reality for the millions of girls and boys who grow up abused, ignored or neglected.'

For those countries which have ratified the Optional Protocol, children's complaints will be fielded by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The country in question is then required to provide proof that the changes have been made.

Countries that have ratified the Optional Protocol so far include Albania, Bolivia, Gabon, Germany, Montenegro, Portugal, Spain, Thailand, Slovakia and Costa Rica.

'The 14th of January 2014 was a watershed moment for these children when Costa Rica became the tenth country to ratify the protocol, putting it into force in the 10 ratifying nations,' said Sara.

'This was a huge win, but the work is far from finished,' Sara said. 'The original 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified convention in UN history, with only three countries choosing not to ratify. If we can get as many countries to ratify the third Optional Protocol, it will mean a drastically different future for children worldwide whose lives are marginalized every day.'

Dr Andrew Shacknove, Director of the Master's in International Human Rights Law, said: 'Sara has tenaciously advocated for the new Protocol since she invented the idea in her dissertation. Many of our students have proposed one or another new international instrument at the end of their dissertations. Sara is the first to make it happen.'

To learn more, please see the following news stories:

• www.huffingtonpost.ca/debbie-wolfe/un-children-appeal-process_b_4596684.html

To learn more about the Master's in International Human Rights Law, please see:

• www.conted.ox.ac.uk/ihrlmst

For a map to Rewley House, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/findus/index.php

February

• Undergraduate Diploma in Creative Writing - 12 February 6.30-9pm
• Postgraduate Certificate in Historical Studies - 18 February 5-7pm

March

• Undergraduate Certificate in History of Art - 19 March 6-8pm
• Undergraduate Diploma in History of Art - 25 March 6-8pm

April

• Foundation Certificate in English Literature - 16 April 6pm-8pm

May

• Foundation Certificate in History - 13 May 6-8pm
• Undergraduate Certificate in Archaeology and Undergraduate Diploma in British Archaeology - 22 May 6.30-8.30pm
• Undergraduate Diploma in English Local History - 8 May 6-8pm
• Undergraduate Certificate in Theology and Religious Studies - 22 May 6-8pm

The device, which is not yet on the market, was developed at Oxford University by Constantin Coussios, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Peter Friend, Professor of Transplantation. Both men are tutors on the Surgical Science and Practice Master's programme.

Students were taken through the principles of developing new surgical technologies, bringing a scientific concept to reality.

Organ transplantation is currently an emergency procedure in which surgeons will typically try to implant an organ within six to eight hours of receiving one.

'What it means for patients is that we can start to use more organs for transplantation, and with more confidence,' said Professor Friend.

Professors Coussios and Friend are interviewed in a video which is available online as part of the University's Annual Review 2012-13. To watch the video, please visit: www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/introducing_oxford/annual_review/research.html#chapter-2

Or you can read a transcript of the interview in pdf format here: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/news/files/13AR_pdf_liver.pdf

To learn more about our part-time Surgical Science and Practice Master's programme, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/ssp

For Sandro Sato, a 2nd year student on our MSc in Sustainable Urban Development, the Olympic Games offers a chance to put his Oxford learning into immediate practice in his role with Dow Chemical Co., Sochi's 'Official Carbon Partner'.

Sandro currently works as commercial and business development manager for Dow's Olympic Operations Unit, responsible for the 10-year sponsorship agreement between Dow and the International Olympic Committee. He is based in Rio de Janeiro and is heavily involved with planning for the next Summer Olympics as well.

Catching up with Sandro a day before the Sochi Games began, he said, 'Sustainability has become an integral part of mega-events around the globe and the Olympic Games are likely the best example of how effective public-private partnerships can make a difference and truly raise the sustainability bar no matter where the Games are held.'

Sandro explains that 'for the first time in history, a commitment has been made to offset the Games' CO2 footprint through science and technology. As the globe gets ready for the largest Winter Olympic Games ever held, the focus on medals stories will be similar to the focus on how the Sochi Games will create a legacy for the entire country.'

Sandro is fully focussed on the many infrastructure and venue projects for the next Winter and Summer Games. His research interests also revolve around sustainable models of public-private partnerships in cities from different emerging economies and the Global South, with a strong focus on Brazil, Russia and Turkey.

To learn more about the Master's in Sustainable Urban Development, please see www.conted.ox.ac.uk/msud

The Fellowship programme lasts three years on a part-time basis. The core teaching of the MSc course is delivered over the first two years. All Fellows will also have to deliver an evidence-based project, within their host organisations, during years 2 and 3. This project forms the basis for a dissertation - a key component of the award of the MSc.

Full information can be found here:
www.oxfordahsn.org/our-work/continuous-learning/msc-fellowships/

To learn more about the MSc in Evidence-Based Health Care and our other EBHC programmes, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/ebhc

Tuesday, February 18th at 19:00
Blackwell's Bookshop, Oxford
51 Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BQ

From the Blackwell's website:
'By the bestselling author of The Gurkha's Daughter comes this latest novel which depicts the return of three westernized siblings to their Himalayan hometown for a family birthday party. Things begin to sour as the day progresses...'

The event begins at 7pm. Come meet the author and enjoy the book reading and signing in Blackwell's famous Norrington Room.

This is a FREE event, but registration is highly recommended. Please telephone 01865 333623 or email events.oxford@blackwell.co.uk to secure your place. (You may also register at the door, but priority will be given to those who have pre-registered.)

Prajwal, who finished the Master's programme in 2012, had no sooner started the course than he signed a two-book deal with Quercus to publish his collection of short stories. The Ghurka's Daughter, and Land Where I Flee, a novel. Only 26 at the time, Prajwal was the youngest Indian national to sign an international book deal.

To read Prajwal's Student Spotlight, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/students/studentspotlights/creativewriting.php

To learn more about the Master's in Creative Writing programme, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/mstcw

And to view this programme's virtual open day, please visit: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/cwopenday

Both books are available for sale on the night, or on Blackwell's online shop, at: bookshop.blackwell.co.uk/jsp/a/Prajwal_Parajuly.

More information about Blackwell's Oxford, can be found on their website: stores.blackwell.co.uk/stores/oxford-bookshop/

The award will ensure that Dr Griffiths's departmental duties are covered by a replacement post for the next academic year, allowing him to devote the time to writing up the Birsay-Skaill Landscape Archaeology Project, which he has led since its inception in 2003.

The Birsay-Skaill Landscape Archaeology Project covers a wide stretch of coastal territory in Orkney, northern Scotland. Dr Griffiths and his research team, including current Kellogg D.Phil student Jane Harrison and Bodleian digital map librarian Michael Athanson, have been using a variety of investigative methods to chart the history of human settlement in the area, throughout many centuries of coastal and environmental change.

A detailed account of the project, including excavation reports and photos of 'finds', can be found on our website at: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/research/projects/birsay-skaill/

Dr Griffths said: "I am delighted that the potential of this research has been recognised by the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust, not just for myself, but for Continuing Education and Kellogg College as well, particularly the students who have participated in our fieldwork over the years".

The highlights of the project have been a new and extensive spread of geophysical survey, and several excavations. The largest and most productive of these has centred on a miraculously-intact Norse longhouse of the 11th century AD, deeply buried under layers of windblown sand.

The Birsay-Skaill Landscape Archaeology Project has research collaborations with various universities in the UK and beyond, and has been funded by Historic Scotland, Orkney Islands Council and private donation. The Senior Research Fellowship is highly competitive, with only a 6% chance of success.

The Department has an extremely strong offering of courses and programmes in Archaeology. For more information, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/archaeology

• Talk by: Dr James Sheppard, MRC Research Fellow, University of Oxford
• Date: Monday 12 May 2014
• Time: 5.30pm - 6.30pm
• Place: Oxford University Department for Continuing Education, Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JA. The talk will take place in the Mawby Pavilion

Bio: Dr James Sheppard is a MRC Research Fellow in the Nuffield Department of Primary Health Care Sciences, University of Oxford. Dr Sheppard's interests are in blood pressure management and cardiovascular disease prevention in Primary Care. As part of his fellowship, Dr Sheppard is carrying out work to improve the diagnosis and management of hypertension in primary care in the Predicting Out-of-Office Blood Pressure in the clinic (PROOF-BP). Dr Sheppard is also a member of the NIHR Stoke Research Network Primary Care Clinical Studies Group and the British Hypertension Society.

For further information about Introduction to Study Design and Research Methods, please see www.conted.ox.ac.uk/isdrm

The report of the excavations, Histories in the Making: Excavations at Alfred's Castle 1998-2000 is an Oxford University School of Archaeology Monograph and is available from Oxbow Books www.oxbowbooks.com/oxbow/histories-in-the-making.html

The report is co-authored by Professor Gary Lock (Director of Studies for Archaeology at the Department until his retirement in 2010, and co-director of the excavations at Albert's Castle.) The long period of post-excavation which was completed in 2013 has been due to the large number of finds and the complexity of the deposits within the site.

Alfred's Castle is a small Iron Age hillfort situated on the National Trust's Ashdown Estate just south of the Ridgeway and the village of Ashbury in Oxfordshire. The excavations were focussed on the Iron Age and Roman periods and provided training opportunities for Departmental Archaeology students on a range of courses, as well as for local and overseas volunteers.

Alfred's Castle was excavated for 12 weeks spread out over the years 1998-2000. The long period of post-excavation has been due to the amount of material recovered and the complexity of the deposits within the site.

Alfred's Castle is a site of national importance for several reasons. Firstly the amount and quality of the material remains from the site make it one of the best assemblages of Iron Age material in England but, more importantly, the pottery typology has been tested against more than 30 radiocarbon dates. This correlation, unparalleled elsewhere in the region, has resulted in a new dating scheme for the early and middle Iron Age, 600-300 BC, which will be of importance to future excavations.

The excellent preservation of the deposits within the hillfort is due to its never having been ploughed; this has resulted in very large amounts of material especially pottery and animal bones. The conditions were also highly suitable for environmental sampling resulting in good evidence for crops and their processing.

The other aspect of Alfred's Castle which makes it of national importance is the long chronological span of the site. There is evidence of Early Bronze Age round barrows (c. 1,800 BC), a series of Late Bronze Age linear ditches (c. 800 BC), the Iron Age enclosure (c. 500-200 BC), a Romano-British farmhouse (c. AD 100-300) and then Late Saxon activity (c. AD 10th-11th century). This is unusual and makes an important contribution to current debates about continuity of use and perceptions of the past in the past. The presence of the Roman occupation adds greatly to the amount of material remains excavated and processed and is itself important for being one of the earliest Roman settlements on this part of the chalk downs, established probably in the late 1st century AD.

An unusual element of the excavation was that artist in residence, Simon Callery, produced a life-size casting of one of the trenches which was then displayed in several galleries.

The publication of the Albert's Castle report, as the last of the three in the series, also pulls together the evidence for the changing landscape for that area of the Berkshire Downs incorporating all of the known later prehistoric and Roman archaeology as well as these three sites. This will provide an invaluable reference for the archaeology of the area.

It was the third site excavated as part of the Hillforts of the Ridgeway Project, the other two being Uffington Castle and Segsbury Camp. (Reports of these excavations are also published.)

For more information on the Departments's courses in Archaeology, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/archaeology

Diploma in Creative Writing

Diploma in Creative Writing alumna Cathy Dreyer has placed third in the Wenlock poetry competition for her poem What we can see. For information, please see: www.wenlockpoetryfestival.org/competitions/adult-competitions/

Alumna Honor Somerset's poem, Exmoor, a villanelle, was published in the Lightship Anthology 3, and also won fourth prize (this time in sonnet form) in the Writer's Bureau Poetry Competition.

Alumna Megan Palmer's story Behold will appear in the July issue of literary magazine Structo. structomagazine.co.uk

Current Diploma student Emily Beecher, has won £41K for her play The Good Enough Mum's Clubthekneehighproject.com/2014/03/18/team-update-good-enough-mums-club-2/

Jan Thomas, current student on the Diploma course, has been working with Chris Goode and Company for Oxford Playhouse's world premiere of STAND - real life stories of courage and conscience from Oxford residents. For more information, please see: www.oxfordplayhouse.com/theatre/3184/STAND/

Master's in Creative Writing

Mst alumnus James Benmore's second novel, Dodger of the Dials, is due out on 5 June. It's the sequel of James' first novel, Dodger, which tells the continuing story of Jack Dawkins from Oliver Twist. Dodger of the Dials is available for pre-order on Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/Dodger-Dials-James-Benmore/dp/1780874685

Alumna Maya Popa's Gregory O'Donoghue Prize-winning poem, Hummingbird, is now available to read online: www.munsterlit.ie/Southword/Issues/25A/popa_mayacatherine.html

Student Kiran Millwood Hargrave's first novel The Cartographer's Daughter will be represented by Hellie Ogden (London) and Kirby Kim (New York) at Janklow and Nesbit Literary Agency.

Student Eva Hibbs' theatre company, Portmanteau, has been selected by the Pleasance Theatre to go to the Edinburgh fringe for the whole month. The piece, The Hemline Index, will be on at 12pm daily in 'The Cellar', part of the Pleasance.

Mst alumni Pat Toland and Elizabeth Thompson have both been shortlisted for the Forward Prize with their poems Drive and Four Types of Migraine. For more information about the Forward Prize, please see:www.forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-prizes-for-poetry/about/

MSt student Shahla Haque's short story, The Snake, won StorySLAM at the Royal Festival Hall She will be reading at a winners event at the end of the year: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/storyslamlive-120314-80282

Director of the Mst programme Clare Morgan's short story Charity has been anthologized in the Library of Wales (Parthian) 2 volume anthology Story. Please see www.thelibraryofwales.com/node/151

Also (not strictly creative writing) current student Zain Verjee has written and filmed a piece about mountain gorillas in Bwindi National Park for her work with CNN: cnn.it/1msBPqC. She also interviewed Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni for CNN, on the issue of gay rights: edition.cnn.com/2014/02/24/world/africa/verjee-uganda-museveni-anti-gay/index.html

The aim of the teaching award is to provide the opportunity to look at new and innovative ways of teaching and enhancing knowledge exchange. Current Certificate tutor Jane Harrison will begin this work in October 2014.

The Certificate in Archaeology is the Department's 'flagship' undergraduate entry-level award in Archaeology. Its current format is a two-year part-time course consisting of regular weekday evening teaching sessions, plus some weekend field visits and a summer training excavation week.

We now propose to move towards a more flexible, blended learning basis, with class meetings, practical sessions and fieldwork (including the training excavation week), supplemented by a considerably enhanced content of online-based work. Instead of studying separately, Year 1 and 2 cohorts will study together for several modular elements of the course across the two years.

We anticipate that students will welcome the new developments which will provide more opportunities for fieldwork and, by means of increased online provision, will make it possible for more students from further afield to attend.

For more information on the Certificate in Archaeology, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/V400-60. To see the Department's course offerings in Archaeology, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/archaeology

The idea for the tool came from Dr Ruhs whilst he was writing the Department's new online course, International Labour Migration: Economics, Politics and Ethics. Dr Ruhs had a number of ideas for learning activities that build on the benefits of having an international student cohort for a course looking at global issues and wanted a way for student-generated information to be shared in a visual way. Working with TALL, the Department's specialist online development team, the InfoMap tool was created to achieve this.

An example of how the tool is used is in a course task that asks students to research public attitudes to immigration in their country and share their findings. By using the InfoMap tool, the students' results can be presented in a visual way giving a representation of the attitudes to immigration worldwide, allowing students and tutors to see trends represented in a geographical way that was not previously possible.

As well as being used in Dr Ruhs' new online course, there has been keen interest in the tool from authors of other online courses currently being developed by the Department with suggestions for using it ranging from exploring the legacy of European occupation in non-European countries to comparing architectural features in great churches. Dr Ruhs' International Labour Migration: Economics, Politics and Ethics online course will be opening for enrolment shortly and starts in September 2014. We hope it will be the first of many online courses to use of the new tool to create student-generated map resources.

Oxford Teaching Awards are given to individuals and teams at the University as a public acknowledgement of excellence in teaching and learning.

For more information about our online courses, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/online

We asked Dr Ali to tell us of her future plans here at the Department.

'Languages have always been associated with lifelong learning. Learning a language is fun and challenging, and nurtures a global outlook, while more specific benefits include employability, personal and professional development and networking. Such a wide range of needs and interests continues to shape the thriving languages and cultural studies programme at the Department for Continuing Education.'

Why study a language?

'There are more than 700 reasons people study languages - according to research conducted by the Higher Education Academy's Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies in 2005. The strongest of these are the personal benefits and enjoyment that people gain from learning a language. People also study languages as a means toward exploring a community's identity, to gain intercultural competence, to enhance their enjoyment of travel, and to acquire an understanding of others' values, beliefs and attitudes.

'The phrase 'world languages' conveys the programme's global breadth and regional appeal - but it also encompasses the various strands of the programme: classics, the traditionally taught languages (European), the less-taught languages (non-European), heritage/community languages, language studies and linguistics.'

Weekly classes and day schools

'My plan for the Department's language courses for the coming academic year is to offer new languages and more advanced levels for progression, both in Oxford and Reading. I also want to maintain the very popular intensive weekends, and offer a wider range of options on day schools to include themes such as:

• German-speaking Refugees in Britain during WW2-Culture in Exile
• China: Traditions and Modernity
• The Representation of New Political Trends in Italy
• Traditions in Contemporary Arab Culture

'Discourse Analysis, Introduction to Linguistics, and Semantics will be included in both the day school and accredited weekly classes programmes in future.

'Two new literature weekly classes - one in Italian Medieval and Renaissance Literature and another in Contemporary French Literature - will be introduced in the coming 2014-15 academic year. The Spanish team are also offering two new advanced level weekly classes: 'Ideology in Spanish Language' and 'Legal and Business Spanish.'

Online courses

'To reach our international audience, and to respond to the increasing interest in issues relating to multicultural societies and intercultural learning, an accredited online course in intercultural learning is currently under development. This course will meet the needs of staff working for multinational companies, community and voluntary organisations, and government departments as well as members of the public.'

Come learn with us!

'In short - my aim is to continue to engage with the wider community, anticipate emerging needs and trends, and to enhance the stimulating learning environment that the Department is known for.'

Dr Ali has a Bachelor's in Education and a Master's in Linguistics from the University of Mosul (Iraq), a Masters in Education from the Open University, and PhD in Applied Linguistics from Birkbeck College, University of London.

Since completing her PhD in 1995, she has been teaching the theory and techniques of translation practice, sociolinguistics, Arabic language and culture, and language policy and politics in the Arab World in a range of contexts, university departments and centres, including the London School of Economics, Goldsmiths College, the City Literary Institute, the FCO's diplomatic service, Imperial College, and King's College London, where she became Programmes Director for the undergraduate and postgraduate language provision covering 15 languages.

Dr Ali joined the Department in November of 2013. She replaces former Director of Languages and Cultural Studies Anna di Stefano, who retired in 2013.

To learn more about our offerings in language and cultural studies, please see: www.conted.ox.ac.uk/language. Please note that the 2014-2015 academic year's classes will be online in mid-June.

The programme was designed to help the delegates write a strategic development plan for their university, which will also provide a model for other educational institutions in Myanmar.

In addition to practical sessions on university administration, teaching methodologies, research data management and student welfare, as well as strategic planning workshops led by Loren Griffith (International Strategy Office) and Pegram Harrison (Said Business School), the delegates were introduced to potential research collaborators at Oxford University in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Zoology, Botany, Earth Sciences, History, Law and Linguistics, and to Bodleian librarians in the relevant disciplines.

Opportunities were also provided for delegates to meet potential donors of much-needed books and electronic resources for their libraries and departments, including two visits to Oxford University Press, who are providing online resources to the University of Yangon.

Academics contributing to the programme included Professor Ken Mayhew from SKOPE, who spoke about financial aspects of university administration and about skills training, and Dr Kathleen Quinlan from the Oxford Learning Institute, who worked with the delegates to develop curricula for their various subjects. The Department's Professor Angus Hawkins opened the programme with a talk on the history and structure of Oxford University.

The delegates also met the Vice Chancellor, Andrew Hamilton. Dame Elish Angiolini, Principal of St Hugh's College, hosted a lunch and showed the delegates the rooms where Aung San Suu Kyi had studied. Visits included a behind the scenes tour of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and a specialist visit to the Oxford Botanic Garden to discuss research into medicinal plants.

The LaPP programme provided opportunities to strengthen and broaden existing relationships between the University of Yangon and Oxford on a range of topics, including gender studies with Dr Maria Jaschok (LMH), constitutional law with Andrew McLeod (Law Faculty), and zoology projects with Professor David Macdonald (WildCRU), as well as creating opportunities for new collaborations, for example in plant sciences.

Through this programme, which ran between 17 March - 3 April 2014, LaPP staff developed relationships with other sections of the university and with visiting Burmese scholars and Burmese students based in Oxford. It was very rewarding to work in such close collaboration with the central administration offices, colleges, and many departments around the university, and to contribute to the exciting efforts to help the University of Yangon regain its international academic standing and fulfil its important role in the national development of Myanmar.

More information on our Leadership and Public Policy programmes may be found at www.conted.ox.ac.uk/lapp

The European Physical Society is the umbrella organization for national physical societies across Europe, and represents about 100,000 professional physicists.

Gero Thomas was the first Secretary General of the EPS, and the Gero Thomas Commemorative Medal is awarded annually for services to the Society.

Said Dr Lambourne, 'Said Dr Lambourne, 'I'm deeply honoured to receive the European Physical Society's Gero Thomas Medal. Though, in accepting the award I also aware that the EPS is nothing if not a collaboration and that I could have achieved very little without the support of colleagues across Europe and even beyond. I am very glad to have been able to contribute in any way to this great international effort.'

For more information about the Gero Thomas Medal and the EPS, please see: www.eps.org/?page=distinction_prize_gt