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Day: 5 December 2014

Poor entry figures lead to pulling of Middle Eastern languages courses

Written by Charlie Spargo on . Posted in News.

The University of Manchester is to close three language courses under the umbrella of Middle Eastern Studies, after consistently poor admission figures.

Over the past three years only a total of 17 students have been admitted to the Hebrew, Persian and Turkish courses at the University of Manchester.

In the 2013/14 academic year, no students joined the Persian course at all. This data does not include those who dropped out or transferred to other courses.

The University of Manchester has made numerous attempts to improve admission figures, including making changes to the teaching portfolio, but has been thus far unsuccessful and has had to withdraw these courses.

Current students of Hebrew, Persian and Turkish will continue to be taught and their graduation will not be affected by the cancelling of the courses.

The university has been a major centre for the study of Middle Eastern affairs for more than 100 years.

The University of Manchester Library has one of the largest Middle Eastern Collections in Europe and one of Britain’s finest manuscript collections.

Manchester has been regarded as the UK’s language capital and the university has its own dedicated Multilingual Manchester project.

A spokesperson for the university said, “[Our] commitment to research and scholarly activity in Middle Eastern Studies remains strong and it is not closing the undergraduate degree programme.

“However, over a number of years, we have seen extremely low recruitment to a small number of undergraduate language programmes.

“As a result, the university has decided to withdraw a very small number of programmes associated with the Turkish, Persian and Hebrew languages.

“The university will continue to offer a range of undergraduate programmes and course units which consider the cultural, societal and historical elements of the Middle East, as well as enabling the study of the Arabic language.

“Additionally, we will continue to offer students the opportunity to study Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Turkish languages through our University Language Centre.”

Live: Erasure

Written by Dan Whiteley on . Posted in Music.

30th November

O2 Apollo

7/10

For the uninitiated, Erasure are a British New Wave duo formed in 1985 by frontman Andy Bell and synth player Vince Clarke, the latter of which’s long and winding list of projects also includes Depeche Mode and Yazoo. Since their late 80s heyday they’ve sold over 25 million albums and continue to retain a fiercely dedicated following. Their sixteenth album, The Violet Flame, was released earlier this year, and they’re currently supporting the record with a worldwide concert tour, including a sold out date in Manchester which proved to be camp, nostalgic fun for all.

Opening up with old favourites ‘Oh L’amour’ and ‘Star’, the band delivered a sleek, professional set that was unapologetically designed to please their rabid, deafeningly loud crowd. Bathed in blue and purple strobe light and flanked by two Grace Jones-esque backing singers, Bell snaked around onstage with the energy of someone half his age wearing a sequinned tailcoat and top hat that made him look like the long-lost third Pet Shop Boy. Clarke, meanwhile, chose to keep a low profile, coaxing out his trademark lush, layered soundscapes from behind the safety of his synthesizer.

More recent EDM-influenced singles like ‘Elevation’ sat seamlessly next to signature tunes such as ‘Victims of Love’, with the hard 4/4 club beat hardly letting up throughout the 90 minute performance. When the time came to bring out the biggest hits, ‘Blue Savannah’ and ‘A Little Respect’, the crowd were shouting the lyrics so loudly you could barely hear the band themselves; even the security guards could be seen mouthing along slyly, which is of course a testament to the irresistible pop songs the band have been creating for almost three decades. After closing the main set with ‘Chains of Love’, the band then returned for a short, punchy encore of ‘Always’ and ‘Sometimes’ before departing for good.

In a world where being ‘cool’ and ‘edgy’ is an overriding concern for many musicians, it’s refreshing to see a band who, though now deemed pioneers of electronic music, refuse to take themselves too seriously. Erasure’s live show prioritises kitschy fun and a party atmosphere, and leaving the venue it was hard to see it as anything other than a success. A big, garish, camp success.