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.

Warwick alumna Monita (MA Writing, 2011) is a content magician and pop culture enthusiast who has taken her skills across the world.

Professor James Poskett from the Department of History at the University of Warwick has had his book Horizons: A Global History of Science voted one of the best books of the year by BBC History Magazine.

In Horizons: A Global History of Science, James Poskett challenges the traditional Eurocentric narrative in a radical retelling of the history of science and celebrates scientists from Africa, America, Asia and the Pacific and the parts they played in this story.

The Architect's Journal (23/11/2022) AJ Architecture Awards 2022 winners revealed Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios has brought together all University of Warwick's arts departments under one roof for the first time in a new £43 million faculty building. Four light-filled pavilions grouped around a central stair, designed around the site's trees, sit at the heart of a parkland campus. The judges thought the scheme was ‘worthy of note' for its ‘pure architectural diagram'. They praised the atrium for its success in bringing the programme together. ‘It's a clear heart to the centre of the building,' they said.

Before Warwick, alumna Armani Chante Samuel-Carthy (BA Film and Literature, 2022) found work experience with support from a charity, who help students from underprivileged backgrounds into the creative industry. Fast forward to now, she’s the proud owner of a first-class degree, her own production start-up, a role with Netflix, and even more determination to write her own shows. It’s no wonder she’s been featured on Powerful Media’s Future Leaders 2022/3 list, which recognises 150 of Britain’s most outstanding Black university students.

We know our arts alumni go on to do wonderful things after they leave us, and we love that everyone’s story is a little different. Arts advocate, Sunday Times columnist, mum, self-confessed cake scoffer, women’s fiction writer and ex Tellytubbyland resident alumna Pernille Hughes (BA Film and Literature, 1994) has had a rollercoaster of a journey since she graduated from Warwick. Here she tells us how she found her writing voice, and why your arts degree will always be a good talking point.

The Undergraduate Research Support Scheme (URSS) 2022 Showcase event will take place on Wednesday 16th November between 1-4pm in the Panorama room in the Rootes Building.

The event will provide an opportunity for you to meet this year's participants and find out more about their summer research projects. There will also be some live presentations. If you are considering applying for the scheme in 2023 or are just interested in research come and join us. Everyone is welcome.

URSS Showcase event programme is available at URSS Showcase 2022 ProgrammeLink opens in a new window

You can view some of last year's projects via the online showcase site at URSS Showcase 2021Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window.

The Faculty of Arts promotes digital learning and teaching innovation through the Digital Arts Lab (DAL). The Digital Arts Lab Showcase is an annual event where students are invited to submit their best piece of academic work or personal artefacts created through or about digital tools. This can be an academic assessment which utlises a digital tool (for example a video, podcast or website), a personal endeavour that uses or showcases a digital tool, or a short piece of writing that comments on the digital world (both fiction and non-fiction welcome). Each submission has to be accompanied by a reflective piece, which captures the learners' journey in producing the digital piece. Individual and group submissions are accepted and this year for the first time the DAL Showcase had separate undergraduate and postgraduate categories.

As in previous years, the panel judging the Showcase had the enjoyable task of listening and watching all the entries. Topics covered ranged from a podcast looking at how the legacy of slavery leading to institutionalised racism impacted 1950s rock and roll and still influences the modern music industry to a digital game focusing on women's experiences in early modern Britain.