Hear from members of staff from the departments that have made the Faculty of Arts Building (FAB) their new professional home.

1. Hi David, tell us about your role as Professor in the Classics Department?

I’m the most recently appointed professor in our department and delivered my Inaugural Lecture on 1 June: “The Future of the Lyric Encounter”. Departmental inaugurals are a tradition for new professors, a fun occasion for meeting old friends and for sketching forward-looking research perspectives. I work on Greek lyric poetry, but from a perspective that is increasingly non-traditional, and strive to forge new connections across disciplinary boundaries, incorporating modern philosophical and theoretical perspectives as well as comparative literature.

In my capacity as Deputy Head of Department, alongside other roles, I help to support the teaching and learning initiatives of the department as a community.

2. How did you feel before the move to the Faculty of Arts building and how do you feel now?

Working at Warwick has always been liberating in the sense that I have freedom to research and teach the kinds of things I think are important; but the new building is wonderful. We seem to have come a very long way in a very short time (forgetting the pandemic for a moment…) from the dingy and unwelcoming corridors of old. It means, among other things, that we now have our brilliant, and prominent, Antiquities Room, which is many things in one – a mini-museum, a teaching and learning space, a staff meeting room, a space for social gatherings. We also now have dedicated spaces for students to study and feel at home.

3. In what ways has the re-location and the access to new spaces/facilities positively impacted the development/ teachings of the department?

It certainly makes it a more attractive place to work and study, which can only be a good thing. It makes the department feel a more open, welcoming, sociable environment. Having a range of different teaching spaces at our fingertips is also a great bonus.

4. How has the move enhanced co-collaboration between different arts and humanities disciplines now that many departments are under one roof?

It’s early days yet, but I think there’s great scope for a range of joined-up initiatives, perhaps especially in research and engagement activities (and the interrelation between them). It’s so great to have SCAPVC* integrated into the heart of the faculty in one central space.

*School of Performing Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures

5. What plans does the Classics Department have for next academic year?

Welcoming new undergraduates onto a restructured first-year programme of modules, to further distinguish and clarify the diversity and accessibility of our offering for students from all backgrounds and interests.

6. What’s the best thing about the Faculty of Arts Building?

Within the Faculty of Arts Building, from the uplifting poem ‘Resonance’ by Raymond Antrobus installed at the base of the staircase to the recent displays of support for the people of Ukraine, I’m not sure it could be any clearer how central Arts and Humanities at Warwick can be for fostering a better future; yet these are merely some outward signs of what is going on within. I like to think we all strive to provoke and inspire reflection on the stakes and responsibilities of human culture, from the past into the future.

7. How do you feel Arts and Humanities at Warwick) help us to recognise the importance of understanding human culture, as a foundation of creating a better world?

The now-famous staircase and the prevalence of wood and the use of light in the internal architecture, which gives the place a glowing sense of warmth.

My main de-stress activity is film photography, so of course I’ve made some recent images of the architecture of the staircase and of our new Antiquities Room…