In the last week of July 2019, Liberal Arts teamed up with Politics and Sociology to deliver a Warwick Sutton Trust Summer School on the theme of “The Colonial Hangover”. The Colonial Hangover project was established by colleagues in Politics and International Studies to work with students to pose questions about the hidden legacies of Empire in everyday life, and we were keen to collaborate!

Ms. Davida Mottram-Epson, a student who has just finished her second year in Liberal Arts at Warwick, has won the award of “Highly Commended" as part of the Greg Wells Prize in the Centre for Renaissance Studies. This competitive prize is open to students from across the university for an essay between 2,000 and 5,000 words on any subject within the scope of Medieval or Renaissance Studies, and recognises undergraduate “scholarly work of outstanding merit, quality, and value” in the field.

Ceara Webster (BA Hons Liberal Arts 2020) has been appointed to a Warwick Innovation Fellowship.

The Liberal Arts community was shocked and appalled at the abhorrent messages that came out last year, and as a department we wanted to engage meaningfully with the anger and concern expressed by so many staff and students over the past few weeks. We were particularly mindful that these conversations take a toll on all community-members, but especially on the survivors of harassment and assault. Our first commitment was to develop a response that acknowledged and supported the pain of these community-members.

Prof. Cathia Jenainati—in her capacity as Head of School—called a full meeting of staff and students on Monday, 4 February to discuss what the community response should be. We had a productive meeting and really appreciate the insightful comments made by our students. We have also consulted with your Student-Staff Liaison Committee, who have been eager to participate and have been involved at every stage of our discussions.

On the suggestion of our school’s students to craft a considered process, over the next week we will provide an anonymous online portal for all members of our community to share their thoughts in order to help us make a meaningful public statement and propose ideas for longer term institutional reflection and development. We will enact any department-level changes agreed with the student body, and we will bring any wider suggestions or needs to the University. Of course, we also want to look after our students here and now: please do get in touch with your personal tutor if there’s any support you might need.

Looking ahead, we want to play a central role in reshaping the regulations, policies, and culture of our institution. As the Head of Council has indicated, there will be a full review of University disciplinary procedure and we want our students to speak loudly and clearly as part of that process. But change comes through organization, and we want to have clear goals around which we can take collective action.

The behavior expressed in those group chats is antithetical to the values we hold as a department and will not—ever—be permitted. Not as a joke, not as “banter”, not at all. We look forward to working together to making sure that our values are not compromised by process or convenience.

Message sent on behalf of the staff and students of the Liberal Arts division of the School for Cross-Faculty Studies.

A new short podcast mini-series from the School for Cross-fauclty Studies is now available. Featuring staff and students from the School's Global Sustainable Development and Liberal Arts divisions, each episode tackles a testing "global challenge", posing difficult questions and interdisciplinary solutions. Topics include human rights in Latin America, and our fascination with apocalyptic narratives. Three episodes are currently available to stream or download from the School's website via this link.