On October 25th 2023 we held a Research Café as part of Open Access Week with the theme of ‘Community over Commercialisation’. A list of our PGR speakers, including the titles and abstracts for their papers, are listed below.

Drew Elepaño (GLEA) – Cotutelle PhDs: Too Many Masters?
International Collaborative Doctoral Programs (ICDPs), more commonly known as cotutelles, have emerged as a vehicle for fostering international cooperation and expanding access to doctoral education. These programs, often structured as studentships, provide opportunities for individuals from diverse socio-economic backgrounds to engage in research across varied academic environments. Such diversity is believed to enhance the quality and impact of research, especially when specialized expertise or resources from partner institutions are involved. At the institutional level, universities anticipate benefits such as responsiveness to market demands, diversified revenue streams, and increased research output from these collaborations.
In contrast, ICDPs come with challenges that arise from multi-level governance, differing agendas, priorities, cultures, frames of reference, and diverse research approaches. Doctoral students must navigate a “torn curriculum” making their academic journey highly challenging. At the institutional level, diverse rationales for organizing ICDPs can result in a lack of coherence in defining overarching goals, endangering their sustainability. Without a unified strategic framework, universities may struggle to secure necessary resources and long-term commitments.
Amidst these complexities, ICDPs face a critical juncture. While championing collaborative and diverse approaches to doctoral education, they must confront challenges related to the “torn curriculum,” sustainability, and their core purpose. The multifaceted nature of ICDPs prompts questions about whether they are attempting to achieve too many objectives simultaneously. This research sets out to critically examine how ICDPs are conceptualized and theorize transnational pedagogies and learning ecologies within case studies.

Adeola Eze (CAMC) – The Scroll’s Journey through Time
This study explores the evolutionary history of the scroll as a significant medium for preserving written texts in several ancient societies, highlighting its notable durability as one of the primary formats for books. The scroll motif holds significant connotations related to sacred Scripture, legal decrees, and ancient manuscripts, hence influencing the literary traditions of several cultures throughout several centuries. This study highlights the significant influence of scrolls on the contemporary exploration of ancient book formats by examining their evolution across time, exploring the notion that the long-lasting influence of scrolls on contemporary experimental literature serves as evidence of their symbolic and historical importance. This analysis focuses on the examination of several scrolls, including the Torah scrolls, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Derveni papyrus, and the Book of Esther. The objective is to shed light on their cultural and theological significance, and importance and how they continue to reverberate in contemporary works. The legendary Jack Kerouac’s manuscript On the Road (1951), which depicts the fast-paced spirit of the Beat Generation, exemplifies a mid-20th-century return to the scroll format. In Kerouac’s hands, the scroll becomes a physical embodiment of his impulsive prose and unconventional spirit, drawing parallels with the fluid narratives of ancient texts. The ‘Interior Scroll’ performance art piece by Carolee Schneemann in 1975, which weaves written text within the female body, as she pulls a scroll from her vagina, connects the ancient and contemporary. It echoes the innovative nature of experimental literature by symbolising the subversion of established formats. By reviving the scroll motif, this study argues that contemporary experimental literature pays tribute to ancient book formats. The symbolic significance and haptic qualities of scrolls stimulate an impression of continuity with literary history, providing an avenue for writers and artists to explore non-traditional narratives and push the boundaries of storytelling. The study thus reveals the complex relationship between ancient formats and avant-garde expressions, illuminating how the scroll’s journey through time continues to motivate and influence contemporary literary experimentation.

Kayden Schumacher (GLEA) – Transcribing the Trans Experience: Trans Embodiment in the English Education System
The aim of this research is to set out on a journey of exploration and transcription surrounding transgender and gender diverse people’s experiences and embodiment within the English education system. This work has three primary paths of inquiry. Firstly, the research asks about the lived experiences of transgender and gender diverse people within the English education system. Secondly, the research queries how transgender and gender diverse embodiment intersects various policies, laws, curriculums or interventions in the English education system. Finally, the research employs transcription and reflexive thematic analysis to analyse what has been a done and should be done, according to interviews and a restorative circle with transgender and gender diverse participants, to improve the English education system for transgender and gender diverse people.