Nadine Holdsworth, Professor of Theatre and Performance at The University of Warwick, was presented with the High Sheriff’s award at a special ceremony last night (19 March), where her achievements were celebrated in style, alongside other worthy recipients from across the region.

Nadine received the award in recognition of her unwavering commitment, empathy, and leadership on behalf of Coventry-based community theatre company Underground Lights, a group run for and by people experiencing homelessness, mental distress, or social isolation. The value of Nadine’s research impact achieved while working with global charity Arts & Homelessness International was also acclaimed, where she led local initiatives to platform the work of several artists experiencing homelessness, and foster confidence and community among people who have been marginalised within society.

Professor Nadine Holdsworth said: “I’m thrilled and honoured to receive this award. It is especially heartening to know that the creative organisations I work with value what I have been able to contribute by supporting and showcasing the wonderful work they do with people who have experienced often multiple disadvantages in society.”

At the awards ceremony, the High Sheriff spoke of how Nadine has been pivotal in creating a supportive, inclusive environment where disadvantaged people can engage in theatre and creative expression. He outlined how her work has made a lasting difference and embodies the true spirit of community service. Nadine was described as uniquely bridging the gap between high-level academia in one of the UK's top universities while also being a hands-on community changemaker.

Douglas Wright MBE, the West Midlands High Sheriff, said: “This event is a wonderful opportunity to honour Nadine’s hard work and commitment to making a difference in our community - congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. Nadine’s efforts inspire those around her, and we are excited to celebrate her accomplishments.”

Nadine’s work with the Coventry and Warwickshire community has been supported by the Warwick Institute of Engagement.

Film and Television Studies at the University of Warwick are delighted to be partnering with the Pod on a new collaborative research project: ‘Using Film to Affect Change: Mental Health, Social Advocacy and the Moving Image’.

Professor Susan Carruthers new book 'Making Do; Britons and the Refashioning of the Postwar World' was officially published Thursday 24 April. In this richly textured history, Prof Carruthers unpicks a familiar wartime motto, 'Make Do and Mend', to reveal how central fabric was to postwar Britain. Clothes and footwear supplied a currency with which some were rewarded, while others went without. Making Do moves from Britain's demob centres to liberated Belsen – from razed German cities to refugee camps and troopships – to uncover intimate ties between Britons and others bound together in new patterns of mutual need. Filled with original research and personal stories, Making Do illuminates how lives were refashioned after the most devastating war in human history.

The Sunday Times featured the publication as 'book of the week' and the Daily Mirror ran an exclusive two page feature about the book.

For more information about Prof Carruthers new book visit Cambridge University Press website.

‘This is a necessary inoculation for anyone prone to nostalgia. Making Do is proof that clothing is always a reflection of the human condition - especially when those conditions are dire. Carruthers deftly brings the historic significance of wartime down to the human level, with entertaining interludes and well-researched stories that will make you question your own relationship to your garments.’ Avery Trufelman - host and producer of Articles of Interest

‘From Land Girl breeches to demob suits, austerity chic to Dior’s New Look, Making Do follows the fascinating story of bodies in motion, through air raids, rationing and recycling, as a nation sought to dress the part for war and peace.’ Alan Allport - author of Britain at Bay: The Epic Story of the Second World War, 1938–1941

Autumn School for Postgraduate Students and Early Career Researchers

Venice, 30 September – 4 October 2024

We are delighted to announce the publication of Bryony White's article 'Slow, Spectacular Labours: Liveness in Contemporary Dance' in Contemporary Theatre Review.

Hispanic Studies at Warwick is saddened to hear of the death of Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian Nobel Prize Winning author and one of the greats of Latin American literature.

In the latest of our University Journey series – where members of our GSD teaching faculty discuss what they picked for their undergraduate degree and why – we speak to Professor Chris Dolan, who convenes on our modules Violence, Peace, and Sustainable Development, Taboo Topics, and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence. He shares his experiences of his university days; from switching degrees in his second year of study to his research on internally displaced persons struggling to survive conflict in Northern Uganda.

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On 8th-9th May 2025, the Liberal Arts department and the School for Cross Faculty Studies ran an international conference titled ‘Nurturing Hope: Liberal Education, Democracy, and Designing Sustainable Futures,’ which aimed to demonstrate how even 2,000 years later, Liberal Arts education can still provide valuable critical tools for addressing modern-day problems from the very local (Warwick) to the global. The conference was planned as part of the University of Warwick’s 60th year anniversary celebrations and looks forward to the Liberal Arts department’s 10th year anniversary – which it will be entering in 2026.

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A one-day interdisciplinary hybrid conference at the University of Warwick

Saturday 29th November 2025

Confirmed Keynote speaker: Dr Anna BernardLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, King’s College London

The Simone and Cino Del Duca Foundation awards three Encouragement Prizes to young, French-language writers each year. To highlight the 2024 winners, Morgane Le Roy, Head of the Institute's Bookstore, spoke with Matteo Leta, Antoine Chatelain, and Dea Liane in the reception rooms of the Hôtel Pereire, the foundation's headquarters. Full details on the website https://www.fondation-del-duca.fr/actualites/entretien-avec-les-laureats-2024-du-prix-dencouragement/  or go directly to YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iEgeuMmKek 

During a year of research leave, Prof. Beat Kümin has investigated the phenomenon of depositing chronicles and objects into tower spheres on top of prominent buildings like churches, town halls and fortifications. Documented from the Middle Ages to the present, seemingly only in and around territories of the erstwhile Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, the custom provides fascinating insights into how local societies saw themselves and what they wished to pass on to successive generations. The project, supported by the German Gerda Henkel Foundation, has so far identified over 1600 sites and thousands of separate deposits (at one Zurich church, there were no fewer than 20 between 1505 and 1996). The funder has just released a video series of six episodes (accessible in both English and German) documenting field work in Switzerland in autumn 2003.

[English Trailer] [Episodes] [Project Homepage]

Congratulations to GHCC member Professor Susan Carruthers, whose book 'Making do: Britons and the Refashioning of the Postwar World' has just been published! PGR student Jeremy Goh has also been recently published in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society

Coverage of the report aired on the BBC World Service Tech Live last Tuesday at 8:30pm, as well as afterwards on the Tech Live podcast