One of the key foci of research and research-informed teaching at the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies has been ‘creativity’ – who decides whether it is important and in what forms it takes, who gets to develop it and how, where it can be accessed and what kinds of creativity drive success and economic growth. So, we are delighted to see Dr Heidi Ashton’s research on arts education and culture in England, which she says has witnessed the emergence of two ‘systems’ of investment, appearing in The Guardian this week.

Originally studying languages to progress his scientific career, Tim Heenan (BA European Studies, 2015; MA French Studies, 2020) didn’t know those lessons would pay dividends for years to come. At 71, Tim’s putting his research skills to good use in supporting his local community.

Named as one of Powerful Media's 2022/23 Future Leaders and a semi-finalist in targetjobs Black Heritage Undergraduate of the Year Awards, Nosa Charles-Novia (BA Film and Literature, 2022) is studying for an MA in Writing and working as a film-critic intern. Here she tells us about her Warwick experience so far and why that little voice in your head is your most powerful weapon.

The Digital Humanities for Postgraduate Researchers certificate, which ran for the first time in 2022, saw the development and submission of an exciting range of digital research and teaching projects. Raad Khair Allah, a PhD candidate in the Department of English and Comparative Literary, used Miro to explore the "Marginalization of Arab Women and Revolutionising Patriarchy”. In this project she demonstrated how Arab women challenge patriarchal notions of gender in Arab Society through writing, film and visual arts. Her digital project is now reaching an international audience, having been a candidate for the Paula Svonkin creative art Award, and subsequently being published on the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA) Arts matter 2022 website.

This January, the Warwick's Department of Classics and Ancient History presents: Assemblywomen! An Ancient Greek comedy bought to the modern stage at Warwick Arts Centre.

Written by Aristophanes, this play follows the women of Athens as they disguise themselves as men to infiltrate the government and take over the city.

The citizens of Athens are then left trying to adapt to their new leadership, resulting in a series of ridiculous situations.

The University of Warwick awarded honorary degrees to a number of outstanding individuals this week as part of its winter graduation ceremonies, including the BAFTA award-winning writer behind the hit ‘Nativity’ films and the former CEO at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

Birmingham-born Debbie Isitt is an acclaimed screenwriter, director and writer who has proudly championed arts within the West Midlands for many years. She created and directed four films in the hugely popular ‘Nativity’ series, with the first film shot in locations around Coventry and Warwickshire.

In 2005, Debbie won a BAFTA and an international EMMY for her adaptation of the Jacqueline Wilson novel The Illustrated Mum, and has also had notable success in theatre, with Nativity! The Musical’ in its fourth year of touring the UK.

Tiny Traces: African and Asian Children at London’s Foundling Hospital, which runs until 19 February 2023 at the museum in Bloomsbury, London, explores the stories of these children. It presents a history of London life across this period. Hannah Dennett, a postgraduate researcher in the University of Warwick's Department of History, has carried out the research behind the exhibition.

Finance, mobile and digital technologies - or 'fintech' - are being heralded in the world of development by the likes of the IMF and World Bank as a silver bullet in the fight against poverty. But should we believe the hype?

In this seminar, Dr Nick Bernards (Global Sustainable Development, School for Cross-Faculty Studies)Link opens in a new window will introduce his new book, A Critical History of Poverty Finance. The book demonstrates how newfangled 'digital financial inclusion' efforts suffer from the same essential flaws as earlier iterations of neoliberal 'financial inclusion'. Relying on artificially created markets that simply aren't there among the world's most disadvantaged economic actors, they also reinforce existing patterns of inequality and uneven development, many of which date back to the colonial era.

Bernards offers an astute analysis of the current fintech fad, contextualised through a detailed colonial history of development finance, that ultimately reveals the neoliberal vision of poverty alleviation for the pipe dream it is.

Find out more about the seminar and REGISTER here: SCFS Research Seminar: A critical history of poverty finance (warwick.ac.uk)

The event takes place on Wednesday 11 January 2023 starting at 12 noon in R1.15 and online via Microsoft TEAMS.

For Classics alumna Katharine Broderick (BA Classical Civilisation, 2021, MA by Research Classics and Ancient History, 2022), 2022 started and ended on a high. From having successfully produced Bacchae for the Warwick Ancient Drama Festival earlier in January to submitting the final assignment for her Master's degree, Katharine reflects on her time at Warwick and the relevance of Ancient Greek plays in modern society.

From combat to craftsmanship and opera to Oscars, Greg Campbell (BA Theatre Studies, 1987) has spent many years of his life in the creative arts. Since then, he’s completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), two Master's degrees and is underway with an Education PhD. But it was only when he received his Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis that the world – and his struggles as an undergraduate - began to make more sense.