Frontrunners experience with the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Literary Studies

The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Literary Studies (CIRLS) launched in October 2023 with plans to organise events and activities during the year. The University of Essex Frontrunner Scheme (now Essex Interns) therefore provided an ideal opportunity to create paid internship opportunities for students to get involved in CIRLS and gain valuable work experience. This has enabled CIRLS to promote an interest in research with students, as well as fostering interdisciplinary research in the broadest communities from early career research to advanced career stages.

In spring term 2024 two Events and Activities Frontrunners, Ana Marin Sandoval and Erah Sithole, helped to organise a programme of events. The Frontrunners’ enthusiasm, dedication, and creativity led to a varied and thought-provoking set of topics. In addition to the organisational support, activities to promote and deliver the hybrid events, the Frontrunners demonstrated responsiveness to current cultural and news events.

The Frontrunners organised the following events:

• 21 February 2024 - Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office: Drama, Technology, and Miscarriages of Justice
• 28 February 2024 - Poor Things and Frankenstein: A Conversation on Translation and Adaptation
• 13 March 2024 - Reading Robots: Representations in Film and Literature
• 20 March 2024 - Book Club: What Are You Reading?

After their last event, Katharine interviewed both students about their experience.

What did you do as part of this role?

Ana

First of all, I got the opportunity to choose the best topics to cover during the events. I also did some research into the topics after they were chosen. This helped me devise the best possible way to structure the discussions for the event.

I also discussed with the team the best way to promote the events and took an active role in carrying out the promotion strategies agreed upon.

When the time came to carry out the events, I managed most of the technical situations as the events were hybrid and needed attention both in the room and in the Zoom meeting.

Erah

I worked with the team on deciding on topics for all four of our hybrid events. And in preparation for each event, I’ve worked on creating slides with questions and subtopics to guide the discussions we will have. I did research on our chosen topics and also read and watched most of the material related to the events to aid in the discussions. I stayed in touch with the departmental office to help with the promotion of events and carried out any roles needed to help further with our chosen methods of promotion.

On the days of the events, I helped with moderating the Zoom chat and letting people in from the waiting room, while also presenting at some of the events.

What did you learn from this experience? Would you recommend it to others?

Ana

No one day is the same as the previous one, but my favourites are the ones in which we have events. I usually put up posters for the event in the morning and get the details ready for the afternoon.

One thing that I have learned so far is to organise my time better, to be better at public speaking, and to think ahead of the situation.

One highlight of working for the Centre is that I received constant feedback and support, so I felt confident in doing the activities, and hence was more productive. The biggest challenge — specifically talking about event planning — was to get everything ready within only one day of work per week.

I’d definitely recommend the experience to other students; you don’t always get the chance to practice how to be effective at work in a safe environment.

Erah

I’ve learned how complex event organisation can be. There are so many components that make an event successful, from the planning stage to the execution stage, and it was very enlightening seeing how that works.

I have better time management skills and have learned to develop my people skills, communication skills, and teamwork from this internship. You get to work in a safe environment with a supportive team that works well together, and you also grow and develop multiple skills together. I would highly recommend the Frontrunners scheme to other students.

Feedback from event attendees

"I was fortunate enough to be able to attend two events; both were thought-provoking and extremely well presented. The cross-disciplinary focus gives the discussions a wide breadth, and I also enjoyed the instructive array of film clips. Bravo to the students who put in such a lot of work to create these sessions." - Ruth Dugdall, Royal Literary Fellow, University of Essex.

"It has been inspiring to attend these events. As a writer, it has helped my practice to explore the cross-disciplinary aspects of literature, film, and television." - Petra McQueen, doctoral candidate in creative writing, University of Essex.

"The Center's event on 'Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office' inspired me to use the Horizon scandal and film clips when teaching access to justice and reparations to human rights postgraduate students this term." - Professor Lars Waldorf, Law School, University of Essex.

The Essex Frontrunners Scheme is now known as Essex Interns.