Archive for January 16th, 2009

The world’s first international symposium on improving and developing equity in rural education will be hosted by Armidale’s University of New England next month.

Keynote speakers from around the world will attend the four day event, which offers an international forum for sharing research findings, innovative ideas and evaluated approaches to boost education in the bush.

‘International data confirm that for many countries the learning achievements of students in rural areas are often significantly lower than those achieved by peers in metropolitan areas. The aim of the International Symposium for Innovation in Rural Education (ISFIRE) is to bring together people from around the world who want to help teachers and students in rural, regional and remote locations’ explained ISFIRE convenor, Dr Chris Reading.

ISFIRE is organised around six themes, including: promoting rural policy initiatives; nurturing the rural teacher experience; and addressing special issues in rural education. ISFIRE is a joint initiative between the National Centre for Science, ICT and Mathematics Education in Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR Australia) at the University of New England and NURI-Teacher Education Innovation Center at the Kongju National University (South Korea).

‘It is not too late to register to attend. ISFIRE is not just important for teachers, educators and researchers but also for those who work in educational roles in government and private sectors. The symposium provides an exciting opportunity for professional conversation’ said Dr Reading.‘Keynote speakers from South Korea, Norway, Canada, the United States of America and Australia are taking part. We are hoping to build on successful innovations which have already been trialled and discuss ways to tailor these ideas so they can be implemented around the world’ said Dr Reading.

Over the four days (February 11- 14) fifteen different sessions will take place. Each session will consist of three presentations. After each session participants will discuss how the initiatives could be implemented in their own countries.

As part of the conference, participants will also have the chance to experience a taste of Armidale. Tours of Saumarez Homestead and McCrossin’s Mill Museum have been organised, along with visits to New England Regional Art Museum and Petersons Wines.

In 2011 the second ISFIRE symposium will be held in South Korea. It’s hoped the symposium will become a biennial event hosted in different countries.To register or obtain more information, visit http://www.une.edu.au/simerr/ISFIRE

How does Australian theatre engage with the classics? This is the theme which will be explored next month at a Sydney colloquium sponsored by the University of New England.

The one-day conference, titled Classical Tradition and the Epic Impulse in Australian Theatre: The Lost Echo and The Women of Troy is sponsored by UNE’s School of Arts.

The recent collaborations in classical performance between Barrie Kosky, Tom Wright and the Sydney Theatre Company, The Lost Echo and The Women of Troy, will be explored.

‘This is the first colloquium to be held on the work of Barrie Kosky and his work at Sydney Theatre Company. The focus of the conference is to look at how Australian theatre engages with the classics- in this case the literature of Ancient Greece and Rome’ explained Dr Elizabeth Hale from UNE’s School of Arts.

The Lost Echo was staged in 2006 at the Sydney Theatre Company. It provided an eight-hour adaptation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The Women of Troy was staged in 2008 at the Wharf Theatre in Sydney and in Melbourne at the Malthouse Theatre. It provided an intimate staging of Euripides’ text.

The colloquium will examine the significance, influence and dynamism of these two very different adaptations of classical texts, and speakers from disciplines such as performance, literature, music, and classical studies will take part.

Speakers from UNE include Adrian Kiernander (Theatre Studies) who will deliver ‘‘The ‘old’ in ‘Golden’: Images of aging and decay in Australian stagings of classical drama. Ruth Thompson (School of Arts) will present ‘Atrocities in the name of Democracy in Wright/Kosky’s The Women of Troy“. Noted speakers from other universities include John McCallum (School of English, Media and the Performing Arts, University of New South Wales): Ejaculating Blood and Michael Ewans (School of Drama, Fine Art and Music, University of Newcastle)’Trojan Women, new and old’.

Tom Wright, the writer and translator of both productions, will give the keynote address. ‘Tom Wright will also be giving wrap-up comments. This is a chance to have a conversation with him on issues involved in adaptation and classical reception and the notion of performance’ said Dr Hale.

Classical Tradition and the Epic Impulse in Australian Theatre will be held from 9am until 5 pm on February the 2^nd at Sancta Sophia College at the University of Sydney.