Philanthropist and co-founder of the Lonely Planet, Tony Wheeler, has funded and launched a new series of PhD scholarships in the history of travel writing at the University of Warwick.

On Tuesday 21 May, we brought together staff and student members of our community for the Inclusive Education in the Arts Conference 2024! Our 20 presenters – both those in the room, and asynchronous video presenters – showcased those areas where the Faculty is leading in inclusive education, highlighting more examples of positive inclusive practice in the Arts and asking where we can go next.

David Curwen (BA History 1985) was inspired during his time at Warwick to pursue a career in Law. He is now devoted to helping people who struggle with legal problems to help make a positive impact on their lives.

Anita Chagar (BA English Literature, 2015), Samita Sall (BA History, 2018) and Kerry Flora (BA French with Spanish, 2022) are all cousins and Warwick alumnae. We caught up with them to talk to them about their time on campus, their favourite memories from their time here and what they’re doing now.

The Arts Faculty is holding an undergraduate elective choice module fair on Tuesday, 30^th April 2024 from 13.00 – 16.00 in the FAB on the ground floor and on the mezzanine.

The fair is aimed at first year and second year UG students choosing their elective modules for the following year.

Representatives will be present from across our Arts departments and disciplines: Classics & Ancient History, Cultural Media Policy Studies, Design Studies, English & Comparative Literary Studies, Film & Television Studies, Global Sustainable Development, History, History of Art, Liberal Arts, Modern Languages and the Language Centre, Theatre and Performance Studies, Warwick Writing Programme.

Also present will be representatives from IATL, WIISP, Warwick Business School’s Gateway to Business, School of Law, SELCs – Teaching Education and Education Studies, Warwick Award, Student Opportunity plus the Arts Study Café and the Digital Arts and Humanities Lab.

Award-winning theatre and TV producer and director Lawrence Till (BA English and Theatre Studies, 1985) has blazed a trail in the Arts with a host of recognisable productions to his name. He tells us how Warwick helped him lay those firm foundations for success and how the common ethos shared by Warwick alumni is one of the most powerful he’s come across.

Benjamin Nuga (BA French with Chinese, 2022), has already diversified his skill set by working as a production assistant, scriptwriter, and musician and he’s also been a contestant on Countdown. Having only graduated in 2022, his achievements are centered around his willingness to step outside his comfort zone.

Two Warwick alumni have scooped the win at the StudyUK Awards that celebrates UK higher education and achievements of alumni across the world.

The prestigious international awards, hosted by the British Council, had more than 1,450 applications from 100 countries. The selected winners, who all studied at UK universities, were chosen from four categories. Kamila Lukpanova (MA Global Media and Communication, 2013) was awarded the Culture and Creativity Award and Yerkenaz Zholymbayeva (MSc Industrial Process Management, 2015) received the Science and Sustainability Award in a ceremony in Kazakhstan

The tradition of eating hot cross buns as we know them dates back to the 18th century, according to English HeritageLink opens in a new window. It has been suggested that the St Alban’s Bun, a cake local to St Alban’s, was the "ancient prototype" for the hot cross bun.

These buns are flavoured with "grains of paradise", sometimes known as Meleguata pepper and closely related to cardamom, and a cross was slashed into the dough rather than piped on.

Some historians say that bakers who marked their loaves with crosses believed it would ensure the bread rose successfully and would ward off evil spirits.

Later, it was believed that hanging loaves and buns marked with crosses that were baked on Good Friday would provide protection against evil spirits. These miraculous loaves were also believed to never mould and would last all year long until the next Good Friday came along, when they would be replaced.

The hot cross bun’s links to religion have always been quite clear - even if they haven’t always been welcome. Professor Rebecca Earle, food historian at the University of Warwick, tells Yahoo UK: "I don’t think there’s any ambiguity about hot cross buns being associated with Good Friday and therefore, Easter.

Author and academic, Professor Maureen Freely from the School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures at the University of Warwick, achieved a resounding victory last night at the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards in New York. Professor Freely was awarded the Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize for her translation of Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü.