Humanities

IMPACT

Our research has shaped Welsh Government policy in key areas such as decolonising historical knowledge and advancing English language education for forced migrants. By exploring medieval Welsh religious practices, we have influenced initiatives promoting faith tourism and preserving Welsh cultural heritage.

• 79% of English research outputs are world-leading or internationally excellent
• 50% of English research impact is world-leading
• 78% of History research outputs are world-leading or internationally excellent
• 100% of History research impact is world-leading or internationally excellent

COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS

We collaborate with renowned cultural institutions, museums, historical societies, publishers, and academic networks to broaden the impact of our research. These partnerships with the Welsh Government, Museum Wales, the National Library of Wales, and others enable us to strengthen cultural preservation and drive innovation in the humanities.

Collaborating with creative practitioners, such as writers, visual and textile artists, and musicians, is also central to our work, enabling innovative approaches to social and cultural issues.

The Centre for Gender Studies has a longstanding partnership with Women’s Archive Wales/Archif Menywod Cymru, which sponsors the annual Ursula Masson Memorial Lecture on International Women’s Day, promoting gender studies and Welsh women's history.

• National Library of Wales/Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru
• Museum Wales/Amgueddfa Cymru
• National Eisteddfod
• Office for Veterans’ Affairs (within the UK Cabinet Office)
• Welsh Government
• Welsh Refugee Council
• Women’s Archive Wales/Archif Menywod Cymru
• The Association of Welsh Writing in English/Cymdeithas Llên Saesneg Cymru/

Research-informed teaching

Our research shapes the content of both undergraduate and postgraduate modules in History and English, giving students the chance to engage with current academic debates and fresh perspectives. Taught by the researchers themselves, students benefit from learning directly from those at the cutting edge of their fields.

History

Associate Professor Chris Hill's role as Principal Investigator on the UK Cabinet Office-funded project, ‘An Oral History of British Nuclear Test Veterans’, has transformed the student experience in the Cold War History module. Through this project, we have invited contacts, such as leading campaigners, a PhD student from Hiroshima, and local South Wales test veterans, to speak in our classroom. Students have had the opportunity to listen to and learn from these experts. They also engage with resources produced by the researchers, including 40 life histories that offer rich potential for exploring political, social, and military history. These interviews encourage students to consider not only oral testimony and historical knowledge but also its role in legal claims and public inquiries. Far beyond simply learning from cutting-edge research, students actively participate in the research process, shaping and informing it. For example, they provided valuable feedback for the filmmakers during pilot screenings of the project films.

English

Gothic Literature: Dark Desires is an innovative cross-disciplinary module which draws on the research expertise of literary critic Professor Diana Wallace and creative writer Barrie Llewelyn. Professor Wallace has published widely on the Gothic, including her study Female Gothic Histories: Gender, History and the Gothic (2013) which traces the tradition of the Gothic historical fiction by women writers from the late eighteenth century to the present day. Barrie Llewelyn is a short story writer with extensive experience of using creative writing in the classroom and the community to facilitate creative thinking, language skills and well-being.

This module gives students the opportunity to read and analyse a selection of Gothic texts – including ghost stories, vampire and werewolf fictions, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Jesmyn Ward’s Sing, Unburied, Sing. Students use this textual engagement as a springboard for creative writing exercises and workshops in order to explore Gothic themes and narrative conventions in practice. They can then produce both critical and creative work for assessments, including essays, poetry, fiction and non-fiction.

Research students

Postgraduate researchers in Humanities benefit from supervision by leading experts who are at the forefront of their fields as well as a supportive and nurturing environment. The Group has a long-standing reputation for innovation in creative writing with most postgraduates going on to publish and often win prestigious awards. Postgraduate researchers in History benefit from the subject’s collaborative links, involvement in academic networks and partnerships with a range of archives, museums, art galleries, cultural institutions, historical societies and voluntary organisations.

Joanne Spearman is a Masters by Research student in the Humanities Research and Innovation Group.