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34-585: Michael Paraskos , FHEA , FRSA (born 1969) is a novelist, lecturer and writer on art. He has written several non-fiction and fiction books and essays, and in the past contributed articles on art, literature, culture and politics to various publications, including Art Review , The Epoch Times , The Guardian newspaper and The Spectator magazine. Previously, he has also reviewed art exhibitions for BBC radio, and he has curated art exhibitions, and taught in universities and colleges in Britain and elsewhere. He has

68-469: A PGCHE or PGCAP . Senior Fellow and Principal Fellow represent significant leadership in the promotion of teaching excellence, and are only awarded on the basis of an assessed portfolio. The Academy was funded by grants from four higher education funding bodies in the UK ( HEFCE , SFC , HEFCW and DELNI ), subscriptions from higher education institutions, and grant/contract income for organised initiatives. It

102-594: A deputy in the Italian chamber. In 1871, he was made professor of comparative literature at Naples University . De Sanctis was a supporter of Darwinism , and lectured on the subject. As a literary critic, De Sanctis was highly regarded, notably with his Storia della letteratura italiana and his critical studies. These were published in several volumes, some of them posthumously, in Naples in 1883. De Sanctis had many faithful disciples, among whom Benedetto Croce achieved

136-504: A higher degree, such as a doctorate), expert subject knowledge. The merits of professional teaching qualifications for University Lecturers became an issue for debate during the later twentieth century. The Dearing Report (1997) recommended the establishment of a professional body for Lecturers that would define standards and accredit training for university teaching and that, during their probationary periods, all new Lecturers should be required to achieve 'at least associate membership' of

170-526: A kind of disruptive anarchist literature, although the subject matter of the book is not overtly concerned with political anarchism. A feature of both Paraskos's fiction and non-fiction writing is the place of the author in the writing. This is clear in the personal elements of his novel, In Search of Sixpence , where Paraskos is a character in his own novel, but in his non-fiction writings on Herbert Read, Steve Whitehead and Clive Head Paraskos also frequently refers to himself and uses personal anecdotes that have

204-498: A lifetime of social exclusion and crippling self-doubt". After leaving school at the age of 16, Paraskos became an apprentice butcher at a Keymarkets supermarket. After becoming a vegetarian, he left butchery and enrolled in evening classes at Canterbury College of Technology to study for university entrance examinations. After this, he went on to attend the University of Leeds and University of Nottingham , studying at Leeds under

238-749: A particular focus on modern art, having published books on the art theorist Herbert Read , and he is also known for his theories connecting anarchism and modern art . He lives in West Norwood in south London . Paraskos was born in Leeds , Yorkshire , the youngest of five children, to Cypriot parents. As a child, his family moved to Kent , where Paraskos attended a secondary modern school in Canterbury Paraskos claimed in The Guardian newspaper that those who attend secondary modern schools "are condemned to

272-440: A portable qualification transferable between institutions. There are four grades. Associate Fellow represents the minimum level of competence expected of any university teacher. Fellow represents the level normally required in an established academic post. These grades can be awarded on the basis of an assessed portfolio (containing a candidate's statement and supporting references) or on completion of an accredited course such as

306-613: Is a voluntary scheme for describing the competences and values expected of university teaching staff in the UK . The scheme consists of four "descriptors" corresponding to different roles in higher education, and defines the areas of activity, core knowledge and professional values expected at each level. The UKPSF was developed by AdvanceHE and the descriptors correspond to the levels in HEA's professional recognition scheme . The introduction of national professional standards for university teachers

340-723: Is now a Senior Teaching Fellow and head of adult education at Imperial College London ’s Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication. As a freelance reviewer of books and exhibitions, he has worked for The Spectator magazine, and the London edition of the Epoch Times newspaper. He has also reviewed art exhibitions for BBC Radio 's Front Row programme, and SVT Television in Sweden, and appeared on Tariq Ali 's political and cultural magazine programme, Rear Window , produced for TeleSur Television , as well as on various radio programmes for

374-474: Is owned by the representative bodies of the higher education sector – Universities UK and GuildHE (formerly known as the Standing Conference of Principals). The Academy incorporated "Subject Centres" to share best practices in specific disciplines (2003-12). These were based around the UK at relevant university faculties (until they closed on 1 January 2012). Francesco de Sanctis De Sanctis

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408-487: Is the author of one work of fiction, In Search of Sixpence (2016). This book is a semi-fictionalised account of the life and death of Paraskos's father, Stass Paraskos , who died in 2014, but it is combined with a Chandleresque detective story and other elements. Real life figures are also woven into the book, including Ezra Pound and Mariella Frostrup . These elements, which undermine the division between fiction and non-fiction writing, form what Paraskos has described as

442-551: Is to use our expertise and resources to support the higher education community in order to enhance the quality and impact of learning and teaching. We do this by recognising and rewarding excellent teaching, bringing together people and resources to research and share best practice, and by helping to influence, shape and implement policy. Advance HE devised a particular set of standards for university teaching (the ' UK Professional Standards Framework '), conferring professional recognition on academics who have met these standards, and runs

476-486: The Athena Swan Charter framework (established in 2005) which is used to support gender equality within higher education and research. In June 2022, Advance HE announced it would change its guidelines that ask universities to commit to "collective understanding that individuals have the right to determine their own gender identity and tackling the specific issues faced by trans and non-binary people". Academics at

510-561: The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation . As a writer, he has published fiction and non-fiction extensively. His first fiction work, a novel entitled In Search of Sixpence , was published in 2016. Although he has never formally declared himself to be an anarchist, preferring instead the term syndicalist or co-operator , Paraskos's work has intellectual connections to anarchist ideas, and he has personal connections with anarchist circles. In 2006, Paraskos wrote an article for

544-524: The University of Cambridge had refused to comply; Arif Ahmed , reader in philosophy said: "A university should absolutely not be ‘fostering collective understanding’ on controversial issues but encouraging open debate." Advance HE operates a professional recognition scheme for university teachers who have demonstrated that their teaching practices are well-aligned with the UKPSF . This is intended both to encourage excellence in teaching and provide academics with

578-745: The University of Hull from 1994 to 2000. In 2000, he went to work in Cyprus as Director of the Cornaro Art Institute in Larnaca, Cyprus, and also taught in Cyprus at the Cyprus College of Art . After returning to Britain in 2014, he worked at SOAS, University of London until 2017, whilst also working as a lecturer at the City and Guilds of London Art School . Still teaching at the City and Guilds of London Art School, he

612-742: The Academy would be Paul Ramsden . The Bell Review Archived 20 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine recommended a single sector agency for equality and diversity, learning and teaching, and leadership and governance in higher education. Consequently, the Academy merged with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and the Equality Challenge Unit to form Advance HE on 21 March 2018. Advance HE has stated its overall aim: Our mission, as stated in our Strategic Plan 2012-2016,

646-560: The Cypriot art newspaper ArtCyprus entitled 'Portrait of the Artist as a Terrorist' in which he used the theories of Francesco de Sanctis to argue that art creates new realities by destroying old ones. Although de Sanctis was not an anarchist, in Paraskos this statement, equating the creation of a new reality through the artistic destruction of an old one, seems to have sparked a particular interest in

680-582: The Higher Education Academy was responsible for the UK Professional Standards Framework for higher education practitioners and merged (with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and Equality Challenge Unit) to form Advance HE on 21 March 2018. Despite Higher Education involvement in teacher training, University Lecturers have not required any formal qualifications beyond demonstrating (usually through publications and

714-490: The UK's annual National Teaching Fellowship awards. It also provides many online resources, some discipline-specific and some more generic, and organises workshops, seminars and journals on matters of interest. The HEA has a 'policy think-tank' and is engaged in research into teaching and learning, e.g. exploring the applicability of 'grade point average' schemes to the UK. The UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) for teaching and supporting learning in higher education

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748-662: The UK's education funding councils and Universities UK to develop new standards which became known as the "UK Professional Standards Framework" or "UKPSF". The framework has two elements: the "descriptors" (describing higher education roles and associated competences), and the "dimensions of practice" (describing the activities, core knowledge and professional values expected of practitioners). There are four descriptors corresponding to support staff with minor teaching duties, full academics (e.g. lecturers), senior academics with teaching specialisms, and senior management with strategic responsibility for teaching. The descriptors correspond to

782-459: The effect of personalising the texts and rooting them in Paraskos's own experiences. His second novel, called Barfrestone was published in February 2024. In 2015, responding to a call by the government-run Cyprus Tourism Organisation for ideas to promote Cypriot food and drinks to foreign visitors to Cyprus, Paraskos suggested a new cocktail using only Cypriot ingredients, called the ouzini . This

816-605: The four grades within the HEA's professional recognition scheme and academic staff are usually expected to demonstrate that they meet the second descriptor during their probationary period. The framework is used to accredit training schemes for university teachers such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) and the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) . Advance HE manage

850-686: The merging of the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education , Learning and Teaching Support Network and National Coordination Team for the Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund. The Academy became a registered company in October 2003 and charity in January 2004. In February 2004, the Minister for Higher Education, Alan Johnson , announced to Parliament that the first Chief executive of

884-460: The new Institute. The Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education was founded in 2000. In January 2003, a committee (established by HEFCE , Universities UK and the Standing Conference of Principals ) recommended the establishment of a single central body responsible for standards of teaching in higher education. Subsequently, the Higher Education Academy was formed (2003) by

918-451: The novelist Rebecca Stott , and at Nottingham with the art historian Fintan Cullen . At Nottingham University, he gained his doctorate in 2015 on the aesthetic theories of the anarchist poet and art theorist Herbert Read . After teaching as a visiting part-time lecturer at various colleges and universities, and for the WEA from 1992 onwards, Paraskos was made head of Art History for Fine Art at

952-476: The relationship between anarchism and art. This was further developed in 2007 when Paraskos published an essay on his father, the artist Stass Paraskos and the painter Stelios Votsis , in which he argued that their series of collaborative paintings, begun when both artists had reached their 70s, represented a kind of "anarchist commune" on the canvas. Notably, Paraskos ended this essay, written in Greek and English, with

986-545: The revolutionary government and was later imprisoned for three years in Naples. Following his release, de Sanctis' reputation as a lecturer in Turin on Italian authors such as Dante Alighieri ( c.  1265–1321 ) led to his professorship in 1856 at ETH Zurich . De Sanctis returned to Naples as minister of public instruction in 1860, and filled the same post under the Italian monarchy in 1861, 1878 and 1879, having in 1861 become

1020-416: The slogan "Ζήτω η αναρχική επανάσταση!", or "Long live the anarchist revolution!" Paraskos's first novel, In Search of Sixpence , was described by the critic Paul Cudenec as an example of anarchist literature, with its "dizzying hall of mirrors, where reflected moments bounce around in a loop and end up staring each other in the face." This is an anarchist approach to literature, according to Cudenec, even if

1054-582: The subject matter might not seem overtly anarchist. Michael Paraskos is the author of a number of non-fiction books on art. These include Herbert Read: Art and Idealism (2014) in which he explores the ideas of the British anarchist art theorist Herbert Read and Four Essays on Art and Anarchism (2015), a collection of four lectures turned into essays. He has also written monographs on the British artists Steve Whitehead (2007) and Clive Head (2010). He has edited books by and on Herbert Read and other subjects, and

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1088-779: Was born in the southern Italian town of Morra Irpina (renamed Morra De Sanctis in his honor in 1937) to a family of middle-class landowners. His father was a doctor in law and his two paternal uncles, one a priest and the other a medic, were exiled for having participated in the Carbonari Uprisings of 1820–1821 . After completing his high school studies in nearby Naples, he was educated at the Italian language institute in Naples founded by Marquis Basilio Puoti (1782–1847). De Sanctis later opened his own private school where he soon became recognized in academic circles for his profound knowledge of Italian literature . In 1848, he held office under

1122-474: Was one of the higher education reforms proposed in the DfES white paper "The Future of Higher Education" (2003) which outlined plans to introduce new standards and ensure that all new university teaching staff achieved a qualification that met them. These would be the responsibility of a new "centre of excellence" in the form of a "teaching quality academy". The Higher Education Academy was formed and commissioned by

1156-748: Was picked up by local media, and promoted by the Cyprus Tourism Organisation. Following a suggestion by the Cypriot journalist Lucy Robson that the problem with the ouzini was that it lacked a compelling story, Paraskos included the ouzini in his 2016 novel In Search of Sixpence . Higher Education Academy Advance HE (formerly the Higher Education Academy ) is a British charity and professional membership scheme promoting excellence in higher education. It advocates evidence-based teaching methods and awards fellowships as professional recognition for university teachers. Founded in 2003,

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