̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Laura Moretti

Awards recognise teaching excellence

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̽��ֱ��prizes were presented by Professor Graham Virgo, Senior Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education.

Professor Virgo said: “We are extremely proud of the outstanding education we deliver at Cambridge. ̽��ֱ��prizewinners showcase many of the qualities that make Cambridge teaching exceptional. From creative curriculum design to engagement with world-leading research, from support for outreach and inclusivity to careful and committed personal attention in supervisions, our students have benefitted immensely from the imagination and dedication shown by the recipients of this year’s awards.”

This year’s ceremony was held at Girton College, which is celebrating two anniversaries: 150 years since its foundation as the UK's first residential College for women to study in higher education and 40 years since the College became co-educational. 10 Girton Fellows have previously been awarded Pilkington Prizes.

̽��ֱ��2019 Pilkington Prize winners are;

Dr Ruth Abbott, Faculty of English

A three-time winner at CUSU’s student-led teaching awards, Dr Abbott’s students attest to the life-changing experience of being taught by her. She is deeply committed to outreach, diversity and equality, and has worked tirelessly to make teaching spaces safe and enabling.

Professor Catherine Barnard, Faculty of Law

Professor Barnard consistently receives outstanding feedback from the 200+ students who take her compulsory core course on European Union law every year. There is a strong synergy between her world-leading research and her teaching, and she also undertakes extensive public engagement, particularly in relation to Brexit, on which she is a sought-after commentator.

Dr Cecilia Brassett, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience

As the ̽��ֱ�� Clinical Anatomist, Dr Brassett has pioneered the innovative use of technology to supplement traditional dissection demonstrations in the teaching of anatomy. She has also led the creation of a new Biological and Biomedical sciences module within the Natural Sciences Tripos, undertaken extensive teaching and examination duties, and engaged in vital public engagement and outreach work through the Festival of Ideas and working with the Sutton Trust.

Dr Manali Desai, Department of Sociology

Dr Desai has helped to deliver improvements in teaching at every level in the department, from slight adjustments in classroom delivery to macro-level reforms of the curriculum. She works on a continuous feedback basis, incorporating immediate change where possible, and working creatively and collaboratively to plan and deliver larger reforms where necessary.

Dr Sonja Dunbar, Department of Plant Sciences

Dr Dunbar is not only an outstanding and dedicated teacher herself, she is also committed to improving the educational experience of all students in her department. She has undertaken research into how students access scientific papers (which is now informing departmental practices), introduced new teaching methods, led course reform, revised teaching materials, and personally recruited and trained supervisors to ensure students receive teaching of outstanding quality.

Dr Midge Gillies, Institute of Continuing Education

As Institute Teaching Officer in Creative Writing, Dr Gillies is remarkably skilled at adapting her teaching to the diverse needs and experiences of students in continuing education, acting as expert tutor and critical friend to learners from a wide range of backgrounds and with a wide range of writing projects. She is a driving force for change, helping bring new courses and projects to fruition, in particular the new ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge Centre for Creative Writing.

Dr Jessica Gwynne, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy

Dr Gwynne has revolutionised teaching in her department, helping to make Materials Science one of the most popular options in the Natural Sciences Tripos. She has a passion for helping students to reach their full potential, and plays an energetic role in all aspects of departmental teaching, including lecturing on a wide range of subjects, course coordination, examining, outreach, and training and motivating staff involved in teaching.

Dr Cesare Hall, Department of Engineering

Dr Hall was voted best Part 1A lecturer in his department for two years running, and is known for his fun and accessible thermodynamics lecturers featuring live experimental demonstrations. His research, on new propulsion technology to reduce emissions from aircraft, features heavily in his teaching. He is also committed to access and outreach and regularly delivers engineering masterclasses and admissions talks.

Dr Liz Hook, Department of Pathology

Dr Hook has transformed Clinical Pathology teaching from a traditional lecture-based course into an interactive, clinically-integrated programme featuring innovative e-learning modules and a new exam structure with practical assessment. She receives glowing student feedback for her engaging teaching.

Dr Nikku Madhusudhan, Institute of Astronomy

Dr Madhusudhan introduced a novel course on the theory of extrasolar planets which has no precedent in Cambridge or elsewhere. He used a combination of the latest research literature, innovative pedagogical techniques, web-based tools and his engaging lecturing style to create a very successful course receiving excellent student reviews. He regularly goes above and beyond for his students with extra supervisions, careers guidance, and special consideration for inclusive teaching.

Dr Laura Moretti, Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies

Dr Moretti’s innovative approach to her flagship course in Classical Japanese has resulted in a dramatic increase in students opting for the paper. She is equally fervent in developing educational opportunities for younger scholars and professionals, students in Japan and the general public, and has developed and run multiple summer schools in Asian and Japanese studies for different audiences.

Professor Anna Philpott, School of Clinical Medicine

Professor Philpott has conceived, designed and implemented a highly innovative MRes/PhD programme in cancer biology and medicine which substantially extends the reach of graduate teaching in this important and cross-cutting discipline at Cambridge. Throughout her career she has championed diversity and has sought in particular to mentor younger female trainees, to encourage them to reach their full potential.

Professor Simone Teufel, Department of Computer Science and Technology

Professor Teufel was the main author of a new Part IA course in Machine Learning for Real World Data which her colleagues consider exceptionally innovative in its design, content and mode of delivery, unlike any equivalent course anywhere else in the world. ̽��ֱ��course was enthusiastically received by students and was key to the Department’s successful expansion of its first-year undergraduate teaching and restructuring of the Tripos to deliver more practical experience.

̽��ֱ��Pilkington Prizes were initiated by Sir Alastair Pilkington – graduate of Trinity College, engineer, businessman and the first Chairman of the Cambridge Foundation – who passionately believed that teaching excellence was crucial to Cambridge’s future success. Largely as a result of his efforts, and supported by a significant personal donation, the ̽��ֱ��’s Pilkington Prizes Fund was created in 1992. More recently, the Fund was augmented with a generous donation from the late Clifford Anthony Ingram.

̽��ֱ��2019 Pilkington Prizes were awarded last night (25th June) to thirteen highly gifted and committed teachers from a variety of disciplines. This year’s prizewinners demonstrate an impressive array of achievements, including developing innovative courses from scratch, incorporating the latest research into undergraduate teaching, pioneering the creative use of technology to support learning, and supporting and encouraging inclusive teaching.

̽��ֱ��prizewinners showcase many of the qualities that make Cambridge teaching exceptional

Professor Graham Virgo

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Earliest-known children’s adaptation of Japanese literary classic discovered in British Library

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Dr Laura Moretti, from the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at Cambridge, came across an unknown children’s picture-book, dating from 1766, under the title of Ise fūryū: Utagaruta no hajimari ( ̽��ֱ��Fashionable Ise: ̽��ֱ��Origins of Utagaruta) while on a study trip with her students.

̽��ֱ��British Library copy, part of the collection belonging to Sir Ernest Satow, a 19th century British scholar and diplomat, is a picture-book adaptation of Ise Monogatari. Translated into English as ̽��ֱ��Tales of Ise, it is one of the most important works in Japanese literature and was originally composed probably in the late 9th century following the protagonist, Ariwara no Narihira, through his many romances, friendships and travels.

̽��ֱ��Tales of Ise has since been adapted and reinterpreted continually down the centuries as part of the canon of Japanese literature.

“If we were to hazard a comparison, ̽��ֱ��Tales of Ise could be seen as the equivalent of the works of Shakespeare in terms of canonical status in Japan but I had never heard of or seen a children’s adaptation before – no-one knew of this book,” said Moretti. “This is a missing piece of the jigsaw. No one ever knew if it had been rewritten for children – but now we know. And it was sitting in the British Library all along.”

Dr Moretti’s new book, Recasting the Past (Brill, 2016), presents a full-colour reproduction of the 18th century edition, alongside a transcription in modern Japanese, an English translation, and textual analysis. ̽��ֱ��publication of the 1766 adaptation of the Tales of Ise fills a gap in scholars’ understanding of the work’s history. Although much scholarship has taken place on the reception of Tales of Ise and its target audiences in different epochs, no one has previously explored the age of its readership.

̽��ֱ��1766 introduction by the publisher shows that the book was intended to be read by children and there are various clues to support this view. ̽��ֱ��main character Narihira first appears as a young boy at school, a portrayal which encourages young people to identify with him. ̽��ֱ��whole text is also written using mainly the phonetic syllabary which could be understood by readers with only two years of schooling. ̽��ֱ��story was also abbreviated to include only 13 of the original 125 episodes – making it easily accessible to a broad readership and was useful for introducing those with basic literacy to Japan’s cultural heritage. ̽��ֱ��book would have educated children in the narrative of ̽��ֱ��Tales of Ise as well as the aesthetic quality of the poetry.

Moretti, though, counters the notion that only children would have read Utagaruta no hajimari, and argues that the text could also work as a substitute of the ̽��ֱ��Tales of Ise for those adults with limited linguistic and cultural literacy.

Now, after several years of negotiating the necessary permissions to use the two complete extant copies (one held at the National Institute of Japanese Literature and the other at the Gotoh Museum, both in Tokyo; alas the British Library copy has only one volume of three) and to finish the transcription, translation and textual analysis, Utagaruta is available again for readers to enjoy – more than 250 years after it was first printed.

While graphic novels and comic books such as manga remain hugely popular in Japan and across the world today, instances of books where images and text are interdependent abound in pre-modern and early-modern Japanese literature. In this specific case, Moretti shows that the primary function of images was to complement the prose by filling in the gaps left by the narrative. Images set the scene for the story and helped to characterize the protagonists by depicting their dress and physical appearance.

Moretti believes that studying this children’s adaptation can give a contribution to the study of children’s literature in general, discovering aspects that might not be apparent in other cultures.

“Utagaruta no hajimari, for example, is trying to draw children into the world of the adult, rather than shield them from it by introducing children to sex and appropriate romantic behaviour,” she said.

“A vast number of early-modern Japanese picture-books that adapt canonical literature awaits to be studied. This research is the first step in the foundation of this field of study. If appropriately developed, it has the potential to shed light onto new sides of children’s literature as well as to advance in the understanding of how early-modern Japanese graphic prose functioned.”

A chance discovery in the British Library has led to the discovery and reproduction of the earliest-known children’s adaptation of one of Japan’s greatest works of literature.

This is a missing piece of the jigsaw. And it was sitting in the British Library all along.

Laura Moretti

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