talkmagic.co.uk

Hi,

As some of you may know, I work as a Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of Huddersfield. My main area of research is Performance Magic and I am eager to develop this area as an academic discipline.

I would be keen to hear from anyone who might be interested in undertaking post-graduate research/study as we can offer an MA by research / Mphil route in Performance Magic or related disciplines.
PM or email me and we can have an informal chat how it all works, etc.

Best wishes,

Nik

www.hud.ac.uk

-approved by the mods-

Sounds like a great idea, put the MA in MAgic...OK, I know, hat, coat, door...

Id love to actually be A doctor of magic.

I mean, come on....how cool would that be! Particually if you were the first

mega publicity or what!

daleshrimpton wrote:Id love to actually be A doctor of magic.

I mean, come on....how cool would that be! Particually if you were the first

mega publicity or what!

That would be immensely cool, but I have a feeling that the Whyohwhy brigade (A.K.A the Daily Mail) will throw their toys out of the pram at a "useless" degree.

I seem to remember the immensely wonderful Stephen Fry saying on QI that to be declared a professor of ventriloquism, you need to swallow your swazzle twice. I suspect swallowing one is only the start of your problems. "That's the way to poo it!"

I'll get me coat...

daleshrimpton wrote:Id love to actually be A doctor of magic.

I'm working towards that very thing!

I can think of more useless degrees than a one in magic but that's me

would bring a new dimension to the 'doctor, I've got a' type of joke

Tomo wrote:That would be immensely cool, but I have a feeling that the Whyohwhy brigade (A.K.A the Daily Mail) will throw their toys out of the pram at a "useless" degree.

I wouldn't worry too much about what that opinionpaper has to say. I know quite a few people with what would be commonly regarded as "useful" degrees, yet they are doing jobs that make no use whatsoever of their qualifications. I think it may actually be quite common.

I think it's a great idea and nikmagick may be onto a winner with these courses.

Mandrake wrote:Sounds like a great idea, put the MA in MAgic...OK, I know, hat, coat, door...

HAHAhahahahaha

Sorry but that just hit the spot! brilliant! A career in advertising awaits!

Chaps, I'm not saying it's a useless degree. I'm imagining how the smug right will dismiss all that hard work.

Replicant wrote:I know quite a few people with what would be commonly regarded as "useful" degrees, yet they are doing jobs that make no use whatsoever of their qualifications. I think it may actually be quite common.

I'm one! Honours degree in biology, working as a puzzle magazine proofreader. Life takes strange twists sometimes.

By the way, I wasn't implying that having a degree is largely useless, because that would be wrong. I was just telling it like it is from my point of view.

Hi again,

Just thought I'd post a weblink to some generic information about the MA by research.

http://www2.hud.ac.uk/research/gradcent ... search.php

Aww man, if I'd only knew this MA existed or would've come in existence on such short notice... it would've been an almost perfect synthesis of what I enjoy in life.

"Useless" academics and magic.

I mooted this idea at our university since we have a dram theatre and literature department, but we also have a centre for psycho-analytic studies and an acting school called East 15. We are refurbishing a church in southend into a new performance space as well. I do think that a degree in performance with specialised courses in the theory and peformance of magic would be very nice.

Larry Hass runs a similar programme in Mulhenburg Pennsylvania so there is a precedent. His course is on the theory and performance of magic, and each year he has a conference with papers, presentations and performances from the top name in magic.

Peter Lamont is a research professor in the history of magic, which sounds fabulous.

Nik, how about some guest lecturers

PM me for more details...

My experiments with mixing magic with my undergraduate teaching have worked well. I'm hoping that if can get some MA researchers onboard we might have a little Magic Research centre starting.

'from little acorns' and all that

Guest Lecturers sound a great idea, perhaps even come and perfom in one of our studios...