News

Two candidates are nominated for the general member position on the SCUDD Executive – Claire Hampton and Amy Skinner. Please read their statements below. You will then be able to go through and vote for one of them.

One vote is permitted per SCUDD member department. We anticipate that the vote will be made by the SCUDD rep in the given department, and following an internal consultation process, as appropriate, in each SCUDD member department or unit.

Below are the statements from the two candidates.

Statement from Claire Hampton:

I am currently a full-time lecturer in Drama at the University of Wolverhampton and I am completing my PhD on a part-time basis at Brunel University London. In my nuanced position as a lecturer, researcher and postgraduate student I face the challenges of balancing a composite approach to holistic career development. I am particularly keen to represent and respond to the needs of the many postgraduate research students negotiating these multiple aspects of early career academic training.

I have found the ‘SCUDD family’ to be an informative and collegiate network that has been hugely beneficial to my professional development. As a visiting lecturer, the SCUDD community offered an inclusive and welcoming environment within which to meet other academics and engage with the key issues facing drama in higher education. Attending conferences has introduced me to the REF and offered an opportunity to participate in the ongoing discussion regarding the defense of the discipline. A knowledge and understanding of these was intrinsic to my progression into full time academia.

SCUDD provides a comprehensive network for communication between drama departments and other stakeholders in performing arts. It offers a specific and strategic forum within which institutional members can engage in discussion and debate. I believe that it is an important organization and I am keen to become part of its facilitation.

As a general member of the exec, I would be an active and articulate participant in committee meetings ensuring the continued representation and support of the wider postgraduate and early career constituency. I would provide strategic support to other members of the committee, undertaking delegated tasks and responsibilities as required.

Biography:
My current research triangulates trauma theory, contemporary feminism and ethnographic cultural analysis to examine the dramaturgy and performativity of ‘Selfies’. My teaching specialisms include critical theory, physical theatre and contemporary performance practices.

Statement from Amy Skinner:

I am seeking re-election to the SCUDD Executive having served as a committee member since 2012. My time on the Executive has made the importance of SCUDD very clear to me, and I am standing for re-election in order to pursue the work I have begun over the last three years. I believe that my experience on the Executive, the initiatives I have launched, and my willingness to engage with debates within our discipline, make me a suitable candidate for re-election.

Whilst on the Executive, I have been involved in action on a number of pressing issues facing our discipline today, including A-level reform, national perspectives on Drama in HE, and open access publishing. I have taken particular responsibility for issues related to Early Career status, and I have built up SCUDD’s provision for Early Career Academics by facilitating dedicated conference panels, initiating networking opportunities, and designing and co-ordinating the SCUDD Early Career website and blog (http://earlycareer.scudd.pilcrowpixeltesting.co.uk/, due for launch in March 2015). I have been responsible for the administration of the David Bradby Award since its launch, and have been involved in the organisation of SCUDD conferences. In addition, I currently sit as a member of the Diversity in the Discipline Working Group.

In the current climate of change in Higher Education, I believe that continuity is extremely important. My experience on the SCUDD Executive puts me in a good position to continue work that has already been started. I believe that SCUDD’s initiatives for Early Career Academics have had a strong start, and I would like the opportunity to build on this. If re-elected, I would seek to expand this provision to include more support for mentors of Early Career Academics, and greater interaction with the SCUDD Postgraduate Committee, acknowledging that the routes into academic careers are multiple and complex, requiring different types of support at different moments. I would also support further collaboration between SCUDD, TaPRA and the Society for Theatre Research, already begun in relation to Early Career issues, and vitally important in representing our common concerns. As a member of the Diversity Working Group, I would continue to pursue the need for dialogue, support and representation within our discipline around mental health issues.

In addition to these areas of interest, I am open to involvement in whatever issues the membership considers to be significant in our discipline: I am keen to listen and respond to the current climate, ensuring that SCUDD really serves the needs of its member departments. I hope that the work I have undertaken for SCUDD to date demonstrates both my commitment to the organisation and to the discipline as a whole. After three years on the Executive Committee, I believe now, more than ever, in the importance of SCUDD, and in how the organisation facilitates discussion, debate and representation for our discipline. I currently consider membership of the Executive Committee to be one of the most important things I do, and would very much value the opportunity to continue in this role for a further three years.