ICLS British Branch AGM

XVIIth Triennial Congress (Vancouver): In person and online

Wednesday 26 July 2023 22.00 BST

Minutes

Present: Emma Cayley (President, chair), Tom Hinton (Secretary, minutes), Matthew Lampitt (Treasurer), Karen Pratt, Paola Scarpini, Finn Sinclair, Leah Tether, Eliza Hoyer-Millar, Linda Gowans, Holly Dempster-Edwards, Ramani Chandramohan.

1. Commemoration of deceased members

A minute’s silence was observed to mark the deaths of Amanda Hopkins and Johanna Green, and any other colleagues members wished to remember.

2. President’s report

The President reminded members thatEncomiais now a journal published by Garnier, edited by Richard Trachsler along with the International President (Patrick Moran, as of the end of the conference), and is keen to receive submissions. The 2019 proceedings are in progress, to be published by Liverpool University Press. 14 essays will appear.

3. Treasurer’s report

The Treasurer's report (attached), including the branch accounts, was shared with members present. Matt pointed out that the branch's finances are in good health, and that now Encomia had become a free open-access journal there was a need to decide how members' fees might be used (as previously discussed in the previous AGM). The officers' current proposal would be discussed later in the meeting (see item 4 below). Matt confirmed that there are currently 55 paying members of the British Branch. The standard subscription rate remains £25, and concessionary rate £17 (unwaged, student, retired, etc). Payment by standing order receives a £5 discount on these totals. There are no current plans to increase these rates. And there is an online form on the website allowing new members to join.

Matt also mentioned two actions he had completed since the previous AGM: to present the Society in Welsh, alongside the English presentation text, on the branch website welcome page; and to remove the additional fee for overseas members. On the first point, there was a brief discussion of what other British languages members might wish to be present on the site. On the second, Matt had now updated all platforms to reflect that the membership fee was now identical for home and overseas members.

4. Future British Branch conferences

The President and Secretary proposed the following format for future three-year cycles (on the assumption that the Triennial Congress continues as previously): Y1 - in-person Branch conference; Y2 - online Branch conference; Y3 - Triennial Congress. This would lessen the organisational pressure on hosting colleagues while the variety of formats would enable promotion of the branch and of the research being undertaken by its members to a wider range of attendees. Karen noted that this has worked for the London Medieval Society, who have seen a big increase in their participation numbers since using an online format. The proposal was accepted by members present and will be adopted for 2024 (in-person) and 2025 (virtual).

ACTION: Secretary to explore options for hosting the 2024 conference [Secretary’s note (Feb 24): the 2024 conference will take place at Trinity College Dublin.

5. Use of subscriptions

At the 2022 AGM it was agreed to use membership fees to support the invitation of an early career researcher to deliver a plenary talk at each British Branch conference, in order to encourage the attendance at conferences of as many early career and postgraduate researchers as possible. The Secretary reported that he had met in May with the President, the previous Secretary (Miranda Griffin) and Emma Campbell, as agreed at the previous AGM, to discuss how to proceed on this. The proposal was for a maximum fund of £500 per year to be earmarked for this, with the remainder of yearly funds to be retained to offer strategic support for events such as last year's medieval French workshops.

Discussion focused on how the ECR would be chosen. It was agreed that an invitation-based model ran the risk of being exclusionary. The preference within the room was to invite applications from ECRs, with the chosen candidate selected by a panel of branch members. There was also some discussion around nomenclature (might 'plenary' be intimidating?).

ACTION: President, Secretary and Treasurer to meet to work out the details of this scheme.

Linda commented that she would like to see any conference-facing funds used for a wider number of members, for instance as contribution toward a block booking to reduce costs overall. Leah suggested that the feasibility of this might depend on where an individual conference is being held. The outcome of discussion was that £500 of branch monies should be earmarked yearly for a Conference Attendance Fund, with the precise nature of the sponsorship dependent on a conference's location and the most strategic use of the fund. The ECR plenary would be funded from this fund in the years of the in-person branch conference.

6. Developing the branch: membership and communication

The President suggested that the branch might be developed through targeted sponsorship of receptions or sessions at major conferences such as the IMC (annual, Leeds) or New Chaucer Society (biennial). Tom noted the significant number of English Studies scholars involved with the NCS who work on texts in other languages, many of whom might not be aware of the ICLS or what it covers. Leah noted her experience of hosting conference receptions – they can be expensive. Eliza expressed the hope that hosting a regular online conference might be a game-changer for exposure, and wondered whether there might be potential for other online events. Karen suggested reading groups as a possible model, though Tom mentioned his experience of declining attendance over the course of such groups – and that they tended to work best for the more committed members rather than new recruits.

ACTION: The President to investigate how much a drinks reception would cost at the Leeds IMC.

The President noted that a new Social Media Officer is needed and thanked Paola for her recent work in the role. The website is currently hosted by Warwick University and there are no current plans to change this; Matt is happy to continue updating the branch website. Paola suggested that a better Instagram presence is needed. Ramani volunteered to take on this role and her candidacy was accepted by members present.

ACTION: Paola and Ramani to liaise over Ramani's transition into the role.

7. AOB

No other business was raised, and the meeting concluded.