The departments of Classics and Ancient History, Film & TV, and History of Art collaborated to create an exciting programme based on the ancient world and how it is represented in art and modern media. Students looked at how classical themes have been taken and adapted through art and modern media; how the stories and ideas of the past have developed and still remain relevant today; and how the seemingly separate disciplines of Classics, Film & TV, and History of Art can be studied in a creatively integrated way. To view the student work created, please visit the webpage hereLink opens in a new window.

"For this year's Sutton Trust Summer School the departments of Classics and Ancient History, Film & Television, and History of Art joined together to create an innovative interdisciplinary stream highlighting both the diversity of our subjects and how closely they can work together. Led by Dr Paul Grigsby, Dr Matt Denny, and Dr Sarah Walford, our theme this year was conflict, focusing on the Trojan War as a starting to point to explore more idiosyncratic themes in Classics, Film and Art. Paul explored the uses of the Trojan War myth in Greek thought and life; Matt investigated the war film; and Sarah examined conflict in art. We had a very enjoyable week presenting a great group of students with this material, encouraging thinking across all three subjects, something exemplified in the final video projects where the students worked in groups to create their own research-based response to the week's combined studies." (Dr Paul Grigsby, Classics and Ancient History)

The departments of Politics, Liberal Arts & History asked students to consider how their experiences intersect daily with a world that is supposedly long since gone, and how the country’s history shapes the lives they are trying to create for themselves today. In this stream, students explored the theme of the ‘Colonial Hangover’.

During the evening, students also had an opportunity to experience the social side of university which included a ‘escape room’ style activity on the first night, which acted as a brilliant ice breaker. On the second evening we had a BBQ followed by quiz, and on the final evening we had a 3-course gala dinner followed by a silent disco. During the week students were also asked to work on a group project which they had to showcase on the final day.

The feedback from the event was extremely positive with one students saying ‘Taking part in this programme has eliminated many doubts I had about attending university and I feel a lot more motivated after meeting such driven peers.’