One of my favourite days of the academic year is the Research Showcase held by the History with English degree team at University Centre South Devon College. It is a day of short lectures and talks given by staff and students associated with the degree, all of which demonstrates the strength of unique research undertaken on a regular basis.
I posted about the 2018 event last year – which can be read here – and I anticipate a similar high level for May’s day. The itinerary outlines the following talks:
As for your trusted blogger, I will deliver a short talk with the title: The Entire History of a Single Pub. This has been the focus of research outside of the classroom, with the pub in question being the Blue Monkey of St. Budeaux, Plymouth, Devon. This pub has become an obsession of sorts (as shown in previous blog posts), made all the more ludicrous with the pub being demolished and no longer present. I’m hoping that the talk will help me consider the key themes of the research project, thereby giving me the push needed to finalise the book that I am writing on it in order to release it to the wider public.
I look forward to watching the other talks on the day and in basking in the glow of historical research and discussion. These are the events and times in which I’m incredibly thankful to be a teacher; especially in being around so much stimulating ideas and analysis. For the occasion I’m hoping to have grown my beard to an impressive enough length in order to stroke it in a musing type manner during each of the talks. And, of course, I will cover the day’s proceedings in a future post.
Dave Does History 