The determined attempts at Spring that the weather has been making recently can mean only one thing: Mayfest will soon be upon us! This year the university is running its annual community open day on May 9th, and the School of English has even more events and activities to offer.
Ancient Biotics at the University Museum, University Park
Dr Christina Lee, Associate Professor will be running a stall explaining the “Ancient Biotics” research project she has been co-leading, which recently hit the headlines when it used a recipe from an Anglo-Saxon manuscript to cure the MRSA superbug. This astonishing multi-disciplinary research has been profiled in media outlets from the BBC to New Scientist, and Christina and the team will be providing insights into their work to those who wander by.
Creative Writing at the Atrium of the Humanities Building, University Park
The “First Story” group, who run creative writing programmes by acclaimed writers in state schools, will be coming to University Park to collaborate with the School of English. They’ll be encouraging visitors to explore literary creativity alongside our Creative Writing Assistant Professor, Dr Spencer Jordan, and giving people a chance to produce their own short works of literary art.
Literature and Popular Culture at the Humanities Building
The other strands of the School’s teaching and research will also be in evidence down at the Humanities building. Fans of the “Literature and Popular Culture” course (so popular with our second year undergraduate students) will be able to display their knowledge of Young Adult fiction and the films it has inspired.
Linguistics at the Humanities Building
Those of a more linguistic tendency will have to contend with Dr. Ana Pellicer-Sanchez’s quiz on the more remarkable facts about the English language.
And wherever the School of English goes, there will inevitably be some squabbling about which Shakespeare quotation comes from which play; though in this case the argument will be settled by the revealing of right answers and the awarding of sweets. If only we could find a way to work that into our exam procedures ...
Dr Jem Bloomfield
Assistant Professor of Literature, 1500 - Present
School of English
The University of Nottingham