To find out more or to discuss a please get in touch.

Activities for schools and colleges
We offer many experiences to schools and colleges to inspire and educate students interested in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
How we can work with you
On-campus events include subject taster days, student mentoring schemes, campus tours and bespoke programmes. There are opportunities to attend our events as either a school or college group, or independently. Additionally, we run a selection of teachers’ conferences and CPD sessions.
We can also bring Lancaster to you; academics from our broad range of subjects can deliver lectures or workshops at your school or college, as well as attending careers fairs or higher education events where possible. You can also get involved by downloading our online resources or taking part in one of our essay-writing competitions.
We'll come to you
We have a variety of fascinating and informative taster sessions and talks available from across our subjects and departments that we deliver in schools and colleges. Each session can be tailored to fit in with you and your curriculum.
Arts and Social Sciences Taster Week 2021
Arts and Social Sciences Taster Week 2021 took place 14th-18th June. The week featured a series of talks by our academic staff themed around 'Horizons'. If you would like to request a recording of a talk that occurred during the week, please contact schools@lancaster.ac.uk
View our Arts and Social Sciences Taster Week reading lists below
Accordion
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Holistic Approach to Design for Sustainability
Books:
1. Manzini, E. (2015). Design, when everybody designs: An introduction to design for social innovation(Design thinking, design theory). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.
2. Ehrenfeld, J. (2008). Sustainability by design a subversive strategy for transforming our consumer culture. New Haven: Yale University Press.
3. Walker, S. (2020). Design and Spirituality: A Philosophy of Material Cultures.Milton: Taylor & Francis Group.
4. Walker, S. (2014). Designing sustainability: Making radical changes in a material world. Oxfordshire, England; New York: Routledge
5. Walker, S., Cassidy, Tom, Evans, Martyn, Holroyd, Amy Twigger, & Jung, Jeyon. (2018). Design Roots: Local Products and Practices in a Globalized World.(1st ed.). London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
6. Bhamra, T., Lofthouse, Vicky, & ProQuest. (2007). Design for sustainability a practical approach(Design for social responsibility series). Aldershot, England : Burlington, VT: Gower ; Ashgate Pub.
7. Fuad-Luke, A. (2009) Design activism: Beautiful strangeness for a sustainable world. London: Earthscan.
8. Papanek, V. (1985). Design for the real world: Human ecology and social change(2nd ed., completely rev. ed.). London: Thames and Hudson.
9. Reubens, R. (2019). Holistic Sustainability Through Craft-Design Collaboration.(Routledge Studies in Sustainability Ser). Milton: Taylor & Francis Group.
Articles:
1. Ceschin, Fabrizio, & Gaziulusoy, Idil. (2016). Evolution of design for sustainability: From product design to design for system innovations and transitions. Design Studies,47, 118-163.
2. Elkington, J. (2018). 25 Years Ago I Coined the Phrase “Triple Bottom Line.” Here’s Why It’s Time to Rethink It., Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2018/06/25-years-ago-i-coined-the-phrase-triple-bottom-line-heres-why-im-giving-up-on-it.
3. Nascimento, A. (2009) ‘Reinventing Modernity through Tradition: Product Development in Traditional Craftsmanship’, in Nordic Design Research Conference. Oslo, Norway. Available at: http://ocs.sfu.ca/nordes/index.php/norde (Accessed: 29 March 2010). sh009/paperiview/239/157.
4. Walker, Stuart. (2019). Another Reality: The creative gift and the spiritual sense. Journal of Interior Design,44(1), 5-11.
5. Zhan, Xiaofang, & Walker, Stuart. (2019). Craft as Leverage for Sustainable Design Transformation: A Theoretical Foundation. The Design Journal,22(4), 483-503.
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Myths about the English Language
The best book on language myths, and one that is very accessible, is:
1. Bauer, L. and P. Trudgill (1998) Language Myths, Penguin.
The chapters are short essays but give the key arguments. The authors include notable academics. Highly recommended! A useful chapter is: Donald MacKinnon’s “Good and Bad English”, which is chapter 9 in Graddol, D., Leith D. and J. Swann (1996) English: History, Diversity and Change, Routledge.
For a more comprehensive treatment of language myths, particularly as they relate to English, I recommend:
2. Watts, Richard J. (2011) Language Myths and the History of English, Oxford University Press.
If you are interested in myths about Shakespeare, and not just his language, I recommend the very readable:
3. Maguire, Laurie and Smith, Emma (2013) 30 Great Myths about Shakespeare, Wiley-Blackwell.
This talk will contain detailed analysis of the following poems:
- Emily Dickinson, ‘These tested Our Horizon’
- Derek Walcott, ‘The Castaway’
No prior familiarity with any of these texts is necessary.
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German on the Horizon
The Drama Online website about Brecht’s works
Bertolt Brecht and Epic Theater: Crash Course Theater #44
The Threepenny opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, The Beggar's Opera, and four ballads by François Villon, with music by Kurt Weill.
For a feel of the era of the Weimar Republic, watch Cabaret Cabaret is a 1966 musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Joe Masteroff. The musical was based on John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera which was adapted from the semi-autobiographical novel Goodbye to Berlin (1939) by Anglo-American writer Christopher Isherwood.
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The Social and Political Horizons of Theatre
1. Boal, A., 2006. Legislative theatre. London: Routledge.
2. Campbell, A. and Farrier, S., 2016. Queer Dramaturgies: International Perspectives on Where Performance Leads Queer. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
3. Fortier, M., 2016. Theory/Theatre: An Introduction. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
4. Hargrave, M., 2015. Theatres of Learning Disability: Good, Bad or Plain Ugly?. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
5. Kelleher, J., 2009. Theatre & Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
6. Kuppers, P., 2019. Community Performance. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
7. Lichtenfels, P., 2013. Performance, Politics and Activism. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
8. Rowe, C., 2021 [forthcoming]. Performance in an Age of Digital Populism: Embodying Alternatives. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
9. Svich, C., 2021 [forthcoming]. Toward a Future Theatre: Conversations During a Pandemic. London: Methuen.
10. Woynarski, L., 2020. Ecodramaturgies: Theatre, Performance and Climate Change. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
11. Young, H., 2013. Theatre & Race. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Please feel free to contact Dr. Cami Rowe for further information about this topic – c.r.rowe@lancaster.ac.uk
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From Rebellion to Revolution: The War for the Throne, 1199-1265
To get you started (in chronological order of topic):
- Marc Morris, ‘Was King John really that bad? Yes!’, BBC History Magazine (June 2015), reprinted on the BBC History Extra website
- BBC History Extra podcast: ‘Henry III: Inside the mind of a medieval king’ (with David Carpenter)
- BBC History Extra podcast: 'Simon de Montfort's Medieval Revolution' (with Sophie Ambler)
- BBC Radio 4's In Our Time: ‘The Second Barons' War’ (with Sophie Ambler, David Carpenter and Louise Wilkinson)
Recommended reading:
- Sophie Thérèse Ambler, The Song of Simon de Montfort: England's First Revolutionary and the Death of Chivalry (Picador; 2019)
- David Carpenter, The Struggle for Mastery: Britain 1066-1284 (Penguin, 2004)
- David Carpenter, Magna Carta (Penguin, 2015)
- Stephen Church, Henry III: A Simple and God-Fearing King (Allen Lane, 2017)
- Adrian Jobson, The First English Revolution: Simon de Montfort, Henry III and the Barons' War (Continuum, 2012)
- Marc Morris, Edward I: A Great and Terrible King (Hutchinson, 2008)
- Marc Morris, King John: Treachery, Tyranny and the Road to Magna Carta (Hutchinson, 2015)
- Nicholas Vincent, Magna Carta: Origins and Legacy (Bodleian Library, 2016)
- Nicholas Vincent, King John: An Evil King? (Allen Lane, 2020)
- Louise J. Wilkinson, Eleanor de Montfort: A Rebel Countess in Medieval England (Continuum, 2012)
- The Magna Carta Project website – produced by a team of expert historians, this website includes the authoritative translation of Magna Carta, new primary sources for King John’s reign with commentary, and KS2 and KS3 schools’ packs.
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Chinese Dreams
- A photo essay, 'Expressing the Chinese Dream', on posters promoting the Chinese government's 'Chinese Dream' campaign: https://thediplomat.com/2014/03/expressing-the-chinese-dream/
- A short documentary, 'Chinese Dreamers', on the lives and dreams of young Chinese people: https://vimeo.com/103081295
- Academic works on the Chinese Dream (for further reading)
- Gow, Michael. 2017. “The Core Socialist Values of the Chinese Dream: towards a Chinese integral state.” Critical Asian Studies 49.1: 92–116.
- Wang, Zheng. 2014. "The Chinese dream: concept and context." Journal of Chinese Political Science 19.1: 1–13.

Visiting campus
We welcome schools and colleges from across the country to visit us here on campus. Working in conjunction with teachers, we offer tailored experiences of Lancaster University that can include subject talks, taster sessions and campus tours, to give a rounded picture of university life.
Taster Days
School and college groups or individuals are invited to join us on campus to experience a taste of studying at Lancaster. The programme of events can vary from year to year so get in touch to find out more.
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Taste of the Law School
This popular event gives students in Year 11 and above the chance to experience studying Law or Criminology at university. The day combines taster lectures and workshops, with a campus tour including our state-of-the-art mock court room. There is also the chance to speak with staff and current students.
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English Language Workshop
This event is delivered by the Department of Linguistics and English Language on a weekday in the summer term. It offers a programme of sessions for students and their teachers on English Language studies and on forensic linguistics in particular.

Summer Schools
We offer a range of exciting Summer School opportunities for Year 12 students, who meet two of our Widening Participation criteria. Subjects change from year-to-year but there is always a selection from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
Summer SchoolsGet involved with us
There are lots of ways you, your students and your school or college can get involved with us.
Each year, we run various competitions and welcome entries from groups or individuals at your school or college. In the 2018 – 2019 academic year, the departments of Languages and Cultures and English Literature and Creative Writing are both running essay prize competitions.
We also offer a number of free online courses on arts and social sciences topics as varied as Lancaster Castle, Wordsworth, and Gender and Celebrity Culture.