Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences News

Chris Meredith launches Wordsmiths in Session

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 08:56:34 +0100

Poet and novelist Chris Meredith kicks off the first in a series of monthly literary events at The Hours Cafe and Bookshop in Brecon on Saturday April 16th at 7pm.

The event is a poetry reading and conversation with Chris on Writing the Landscape, followed by an Open Mic. Chris is the Subject Leader for undergraduate Creative Writing at Glamorgan and teaches on the Masters course.

Entry is £5, £3.50 concessions, £2.50 Lapidus Members and a 10% reduction for Academi Members. Soup, cake, and refreshments available from 6pm prior to the start of the event.

Event details

The Hours Cafe and Bookshop, 15 Ship Street, Brecon, LD3 9AD
Telephone (01874) 622800 for more information

Psychology Student Awarded Prize at British Psychological Society Conference

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:56:52 +0100

Hayley Bartlett, a Final Year Psychology student was awarded 3rd prize at the 40th British Psychological Society Welsh Branch Annual Student Conference. At the conference, held on Saturday 26th March 2011 at Swansea Metropolitan University, final year undergraduate students were given the opportunity to present their work to peers. The conference attracts students from universities across Wales and received over 60 presentations.

Hayley presented the findings of her Final Year Dissertation, which was a qualitative study on the psychological effects of online gaming. Dr Martin Graff Psychology lecturer at Glamorgan said: “She has worked very hard towards her dissertation carrying out numerous detailed interviews with players of online games from different geographical regions.” Hayley’s findings include the advantages and disadvantages of online gaming.

Hayley Bartlett commented: “I would definitely recommend students participating in next year’s event. Presenting at the conference has been challenging, but very rewarding. It has boosted the confidence that I have in my Dissertation project and in my presentation skills. I was given good pointers by the audience and can now feed these into my dissertation.” Dr Martin Graff described Hayley’s prize as “an illustration of the quality of Glamorgan students”.

Find out more about our psychology courses at Glamorgan

Diamond Star Halo out in paperback

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:06:07 +0100

Tiffany Murray’s book Diamond Star Halo, which describes her rock ‘n’ roll childhood, is now out in paperback.

The book, based on her experiences of growing up in a rural recording studio around bands like Black Sabbath and Iggy Pop, has received rave reviews from everyone including The Guardian to Heat magazine, who placed it at number 1 in their top ten books of the week and placed it at number 4 on The Hot List!

Tiffany Murray is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing.

Philip Gross on genealogy programme

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 10:27:00 +0100

In ‘Look Up Your Genes’, a new Radio Wales documentary transmitted this Sunday, April 10th at 5.30pm, Professor Philip Gross recalls the story of his Estonian father who fled to Britain during WWII.

Presenters Charlotte Evans and Cat Whiteaway hear how the Second World War impacted on families across Europe, leading to separation and relocation.

They also speak to Kristina Taylor from Cardiff, who has traced the second family of her Jewish German grandfather, who fled Dresden leaving his two young children (one of whom was Kristina’s mother) in an orphanage there.

And Richard Davies from Cwmbran, whose father served with the rifle brigade and met his German wife in Hamburg while in action.

Listen

The programme will be broadcast on Radio Wales this Sunday, April 10th at 1730, and repeated on Tuesday April 12th at 0530.

Art to celebrate World Autism Day

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:12:01 +0100

Foundation Art and Design staff from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences have been putting their creative skills to good use in the community through a month-long collaborative art project with Beechwood College (Wales’ only specialist residential college of Further Education dedicated to students over the age of 16 years with an Autism Spectrum Disorder or Asperger’s Syndrome) in Sully, South Wales. The project was fully funded by the Strategic Insight Programme which aims to help university staff develop and build relationships and promote knowledge transfer with external partner organisations

Based on the theme ‘a journey to the beach’, the collaborative project was designed to give students and staff a broader experience of education and learning through creative process and will result in a student exhibition of art work on the University’s Treforest campus during the first week of April 2011. The exhibition will coincide following on from ‘World Autism Day’ on 2 April. Beechwood College students who were involved in the project will be visiting the University on Monday 4 April to view their work as well as meet students from the Glamorgan’s Foundation Art and Design course.

Throughout the project staff from Foundation Art and Beechwood College were able to record and share their experiences in a blog created specifically for the project. Catherine Brown, Lecturer in Foundation Art and Design posted: “This teaching experience is so challenging and makes me question my own behaviour, communication and social interaction. I love it!”

Darren Jackson, Principal of Beechwood College stated:“I am saddened to see this project draw to a close, we look forward to future partnerships with the Foundation Art team that continue to explore the creative talents of those with an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) ….. The art that has been created within this project is pure, rich in energy and emotion, and full of the passions of those we teach. This project has enriched the lives of all involved and has undoubtedly motivated our students to unleash their inner creativeness.”

The ‘Journey to the beach’ exhibition will be open for viewing from Monday 4 April to Friday 8 April in the University’s Foundation Fine Art Studio, Brecon Building, Treforest Campus. A public exhibition of the work will take place in the Washington Gallery in Penarth between Monday 28 – Wednesday 30 May.