In the middle of September I attended the timely conference In and Out of Europe: British Literary and Cultural Discourses of Europe in the 20th and 21st Centuries in Basel. I presented my paper on Julian Barnes’ novel England, England, which emerges from a chapter of my DPhil thesis. I received helpful responses and criticism, for instance, one respondent pointed out an important reference in the novel which I had overlooked. I made contacts with several postcolonial/British literature scholars in Europe – mainly Swiss and German – and I hope to see them again at a conference next year. The conference was small enough to enable good participation and over the course of two and a half days we had an ongoing and lively discussion. Robert Holland’s keynote was a particular highlight for its deep historical grounding of the British-European relationship and its counterpoint to certain more simplistic discussions of ‘Brexit’. As well as attending the conference, I was able to explore some of the city, visiting the Comics Museum (tying in with the TORCH Comics and Graphic Novel network I am involved with), as well as the Fine Arts museum (with its strong collection of Swiss art, particularly Tinguely). Overall, I am very grateful for the travel fund that enabled me to undertake this trip.

Find out more about the range of travel grants and scholarships available to assist Univ students on our Travel Grants page or read further travel reports.

Published: 17 July 2016

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