Birkbeck, University of London

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Birkbeck, sometimes referred to by its former name Birkbeck College or by the abbreviation BBK, is a College of the University of London. It aims at working people who want to study for degrees in the evenings (adult education). Its main building is on Malet Street in Bloomsbury.

Related Topics:
Birkbeck - University of London - Adult education - Malet Street - Bloomsbury

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While part-time undergraduate teaching remains the focus and mandate of Birkbeck, the college has recently grown into a powerhouse for progressive research in the arts and humanities. The Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities was established in 2004, with the renowned but controversial Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek appointed as International Director. According to its website, the Institute aims to, among other things, "engage with important public issues of our time through a series of open debates, lectures, seminars and conferences" and "foster and promote a climate of interdisciplinary research and collaboration among academics and researchers". The launch of the Institute wasn't without controversy, provoking an article in the Observer newspaper titled "What have intellectuals ever done for the world?" http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1361235,00.html which criticised the ostensible irrelevance and elitism of contemporary public intellectuals.

Related Topics:
Slavoj Zizek - Observer

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Meanwhile, the London Consortium graduate school -- a collaboration between Birkbeck, the Tate Galleries, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, the Architectural Association, and, until 1999, the British Film Institute -- has been running since the mid-1990s, offering masters and doctoral degrees in the interdisciplinary humanities and cultural studies, resourced and jointly taught by all the participating institutions. Its permanent and adjunct faculty include figures such as Philip Dodd, Colin MacCabe, Laura Mulvey, Steven Connor, Marina Warner, Juliet Mitchell, Stuart Hall, Roger Scruton, Salman Rushdie, as well as Zizek.

Related Topics:
Tate Galleries - Institute of Contemporary Arts - Architectural Association - British Film Institute - Philip Dodd - Colin MacCabe - Laura Mulvey - Steven Connor - Marina Warner - Juliet Mitchell - Stuart Hall - Roger Scruton - Salman Rushdie

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Birkbeck's School of English and Humanities was rated 5* in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise, as were the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, and the section for Spanish and Latin American studies within the School of Languages, Linguistics and Culture -- ranking these departments with, and in some cases above, Oxford and Cambridge.

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Virginia Woolf fans will also be interested to know that Birkbeck's School of History of Art, Film and Visual Media is housed in Woolf's former Gordon Square residence in Bloomsbury.

Related Topics:
Virginia Woolf - Gordon Square

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