Chair's Welcome
Whether this is your first or your tenth TaPRA conference, I want to thank you for making the time to share, discuss, critique and dream with the research community that we comprise and forge together.
The TaPRA Executive wants you to feel welcome and valued – and not simply regardless of your nationality, gender, body, sex, race, ethnicity, dis/ability, age, institutional affiliation, research interest, field or area of practice, but because of these lived experiences. TaPRA aims to facilitate an environment in which a productive balance of researchers at all career stages are able to work together, supporting and learning from each other.
TaPRA held its first conference in 2005 and at its core are its Working Groups. With the exception of the keynotes and a sponsored full conference panel, Working Groups drive the conference; they choose the feel, format, themes and presenters for their own sessions. They create spaces for dialogue and development – of ideas, networks and projects – over an extended period of time, and are constantly evolving to incorporate the energy of new participants.
We are often asked how the conference should be negotiated and the truth is that it’s completely up to you, your needs and your interests. But it would be disingenuous not to say that there is an expectation that those presenting in a Working Group stay and engage with that group throughout the conference by attending its sessions. The Open Panel sessions, by contrast, each curated by a different Working Group (or two together), are designed so that you can ‘break out’ of your normal group and explore others.
If you are not presenting within a Working Group session or sponsored panel, then you are absolutely welcome to pick and mix and attend any session you like throughout the conference. It is worth saying that occasionally Working Groups circulate papers in advance or hold ‘business meetings’ (especially in final session) – so it’s worth contact the Working Group convenors in advance to ask them about the nature of a session. All Working Group convenors are listed with photos on a page on the conference app and also the TaPRA website.
This is a difficult time for researchers, across all disciplines, in the UK, but perhaps even more so for those in the arts & humanities who need to negotiate precarious conditions and are often made to instrumentally justify the value of our knowledge generation. As a result, it is even more important that we practise a form of radical acceptance and solidarity – that we make space, that we respect each other and that we look to common goals and aspirations related to the vitality of our disciplines.
You will probably know that the TaPRA Executive made the decision to withdraw from our intended conference venue very late in the planning cycle. This means that, atypically, this conference has not been organised by and on behalf of the host institution but, rather, the TaPRA Executive. The Drama Department at the University of Exeter has opened its doors to us with great generosity and openness and has made this conference possible. I would especially like to thank Dr Katie Beswick, who is Communications Officer on the TaPRA Executive, for holding the organisation of this conference together. Her commitment to and work towards this event has been extraordinary.
It’s important to note that TaPRA is an organisation of volunteers. All of the Executive, all of the Working Group Coordinators, and all of the Prize judges are giving of their time and doing their best for the organisation, often on top of full time jobs. We know that nothing is perfect and we want your feedback. But if something isn’t working for you, try to express this with respect and sensitivity.
And please also remember that you are now a member of TaPRA and have a voice in its running and priorities. Your membership runs until the day before next year’s conference, 1 September 2020. This means that you may attend any other TaPRA events during the year (either for free or at a reduced rate), nominate or run for the TaPRA executive, nominate for TaPRA prizes, will receive the newsletter by email, and so on. You also have the opportunity to contribute to discussion and vote on issues during our Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will take place on the final day of the conference.
Please do not hesitate to come up and talk to me during the conference (unless, of course, you find me in the ‘introvert room’). I want to know about your research, your experiences and your ideas for TaPRA as an organisation.
For TaPRA2019, I am setting myself the task of properly listening. Here I am referring to Rolando Vázquez’s decolonial listening, a listening with “conviviality” and as critique; a listening that is also an “ethical orientation, towards knowledge as relationality”. I hope you will join me in this attempt, and that you have a rich and rewarding conference.
Professor Roberta Mock
Chair, TaPRA
https://www.macmillanihe.com/series/results/14409/
