Joint honours Humanities students present multi-media work in Humanities at Work celebration event

Students from a range of Joint Honours Humanities courses presented their projects around humanities themes, with the winning project awarded a prize.

The winning group with their project titled 'Box of Love'

Students studying joint honours subjects in the School of Arts and Humanities recently came together in a celebration event of their Humanities at Work module. All joint honours humanities students complete the module during their second year of study, which includes a work experience placement of up to 37 hours and some reflective writing around their experience, along with project work.

The event was organised by module leader Neville Stankley with support from the Employability team, taking place in the Pavilion Building on the Clifton Campus. Groups of students from varying courses collaborated on a creative project exploring a theme broadly related to the humanities. They found creative and inventive ways to present their work, such as in documentaries, a comic and a board game as well as through presentations and posters. Many students took the opportunity to create a project which would help their local community, such as one group who have set up a mental health awareness campaign for the university, while another group set up food collection boxes for those in need.

Deputy Dean Karen Randell (right) presented certificates to the students

The main theme for the event was ‘The Individual and Society: altruism, ethical trade and cultural myths’. Individual student projects surrounded topics such as fair trade, altruism in homelessness charities, volunteering, feminism and immigration narratives in Britain. Students were able to collaborate between courses to explore big questions and think about issues facing society, enabling them to explore potential solutions. A focus on fair trade and sustainability also complemented the Nottingham Trent University’s commitment to becoming a more environmentally friendly university.

The day was a celebration of the work students had done towards their projects, and a chance to showcase their efforts to academic staff, alumni and potential employers. Each project was judged in three categories: evidence of good project management, evidence of good teamwork and most creative response to the brief. The winning group were awarded certificates and some fair trade chocolates presented by Deputy Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities, Karen Randell.

Module leader Neville Stankley commented: “The idea behind the celebration was for students to appreciate the importance of the study of humanities subjects to develop both the individual and society more broadly whilst working in independent multi-disciplinary teams. The imagination, research, maturity and awareness on display was extraordinary and really underpinned the value of humanities as a valuable degree. The content was creative, fun and challenging and created independently by the students.”