A major investment in the humanities by the University of Lincoln will see staff and students benefit from even greater access to world-leading research and teaching excellence.
The Lincoln School of Humanities welcomes a number of significant appointments to start the new academic year, as renowned experts arrive in Lincoln from around the globe.
The Humanities team has been boosted by the arrival of two professors in English, and four lecturers who specialise in diverse areas of English and History, with the School making a total of 11 academic appointments since 2012. The newest cohort of academic staff members took up their positions in September 2013, having moved to Lincoln from universities in Oxford, Sussex and Salford, and from as far afield as New Zealand and Canada.
Professor Mary Stuart, Vice Chancellor at the University of Lincoln, said: “We have been building our School of Humanities over the last year with research specialisms in medieval history, gender studies, political history and contemporary literature. Humanities is strategically very important to the future of the University, and is extremely popular with applicants at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. I am delighted with the range of colleagues who have joined us, all of whom bring complementary research and teaching experience creating a bright future for the School.”
Additions to the University’s English department include Professor Antony Rowland, a British Academy Fellow and leading scholar on post-Holocaust poetry, and Professor Lucie Armitt, founding Treasurer of the Contemporary Women’s Writing Association and author of six books, who both join as Professors of Contemporary English Literature. Also taking up positions in English are Dr Owen Clayton, Dr Ruth Charnock and Hannah Field, and Dr Christine Grandy will join the University as Lecturer in History.
Dr Ian Packer, Head of the School of Humanities, said: “Here at the Lincoln School of Humanities our strong commitment to teaching is informed by research and scholarship, and this is a major reason for the popularity of our programmes of study. It is unquestionably our staff that are our greatest asset, both in terms of our excellent teaching record and our lively and expanding research culture.
“I am delighted that the University has committed further funding to our Humanities programmes by appointing no fewer than six new members of staff this summer, and 11 over the last year. They will further strengthen our team and allow us to expand our commitment to new and exciting research opportunities.”
Professor Norman Cherry, Pro Vice Chancellor for the College of Arts, added: “I am delighted to be welcoming our new staff members to the College of Arts. The investment in top quality staff over the past 12 months is a very public statement of the University of Lincoln’s confidence in the Humanities.”
The investment adds to the School’s existing expertise, and signifies the University’s commitment to pursuing world-leading research in the arts and humanities. The facilities available in Lincoln, including the Tennyson Research Centre and MACE (Media Archive for Central England), also support the career advancement of staff and students alike, and Dr Christine Grandy cites this as one of the University’s many attractions.
She said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Lincoln School of Humanities, with its strengths in the history of media and its housing of MACE, which is a fantastic resource for any historian of 20th century Britain. The sheer range of material will be key to the development of my current research project and I am very much looking forward to exploring MACE in the classroom with students, as they develop their own research projects from its holdings.”
