School of Humanities Recent news

Recent news, events and blogs from the School of Humanities in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. For all the latest news, information on our course offering and to meet the team, head over to the School of Humanities website. For earlier news and all other University news and blogs, explore our Press Centre pages

Recent 2025 news

School of Humanities staff and students celebrate 250th anniversary of birth of Jane Austen with collaborative film project

Creative Writing PhD student combating demonisation of people with albinism

Historian Simon Sandall on the trail of smugglers alongside Robson Green in new TV series

History PhD student organises conference on gender and agency

Creative Writing graduate launches comedy podcast

MA Cultural Heritage and Resource Management student creates interactive map of threatened heritage sites in his native Zimbabwe

Humanities academics run sell-out events for Winchester Heritage Open Days

Modern History Research Centre conference explores love-hate relationship between UK and Argentina

Ancient, Classical, and Medieval Studies students gain places at prestigious summer schools in Greece and Rome

Philosophy student student shares powerful message of hope at book launch

In March 2025, Philosophy, Religions and Ethics academics took part in the inaugural British Philosophy Fortnight (17 to 30 March), a new annual initiative by the British Philosophical Association to celebrate, promote and champion philosophy. It aims to raise awareness of what philosophy is and why it matters. The Winchester events were organised by Dr Elizabeth Mackintosh (photo). 

Recent 2025 blogs

A brief archaeology of the horror story, a Halloween blog by Katy 'Spooky' Soar

My experiences with juggling research and caring commitments, by PhD student Susan Birch

2024 News

In October 2024, Dr Matthew Leggatt, Senior Lecturer in English and American Literature, launched a new podcast series on Utopian and Dystopian Fiction, which looks at the differing depictions of Utopias and Dystopias in fiction and film. Matthew presents the podcasts with Liam Knight from the University of Birmingham, and for one of the episodes, the pair chatted with Dr Daniel Varndell, Senior Lecturer in English Literature. Listen to the Utopian and Dystopian Fiction podcasts.

In July 2024, The University renewed its successful partnership agreement (in place since 2018) with Winchester Poetry Festival. At the signing ceremony, Reader in English and Creative Writing Dr Julian Stannard gave a reading of three short poems from his bilingual collection Sottoripa: Genoese Poems. Dr Stannard recently won the prestigious Lerici Anglo-Liguria Prize, which honours English language poets who pay tribute to the literary traditions of the Lerici and Liguria area of northwest Italy, frequented in the past by Byron, Shelley and DH Lawrence among others. 

March 2024 also saw the launch of Breaking Barriers, a book that shares 100 personal accounts of mental ill health, recovery and connection. It was edited by Dr Glenn Fosbraey and Creative Writing graduate Katie Pether (photo), who now works for the Department for Education as a Mental Health First Aid Instructor.

 

Image top: University of Winchester student actors and film makers on the set of 'Fanny Price's Tea Party' at Jane Austen's House and Museum in Oct. 2025