As we arrive at the end of another semester, there have been a number of exciting happenings around the Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences department which have become some of our highlights of Semester Two so do enjoy having a read below. We wish students and staff a restful yet productive Easter period.

On Friday 22 June, the annual LANS Society formal took place as months of planning and preparation by the society committee came to fruition.

Group shot at the formal dinner

Fazeley Studios in Digbeth hosted our students, starting the event with a drinks reception and photograph opportunities followed by a two-course meal and a speech by president Florence Jones accompanied by the rest of the committee. The night ended with a stunning vocal performance by Second Year student Jess Waters as our students danced into the night!

Speaker with microphone

LANS’s first Plastic-Free Week was a success! Organised by second year LANS students Abi Chapman, Florence Jones and Verity Parkin, the week was a chance for students and staff in the department to consider the causes and impacts of plastic pollution and to share practical ways we can change our behaviour to reduce plastic consumption. The main event of the week was an interdisciplinary panel discussion considering the role that media, personality politicians, and academic discourse plays in shaping our views of environmental issues.

Other events included a screening of the thought-provoking film ‘A Plastic Ocean’, a charity raffle, interactive activities and a plastic-free LANS tea and coffee. Thank you to everyone for their generous donations which raised a fantastic total of £202 for Marine Conservation Society!

Panel discussion on plastic
Group shot after panel

It is hoped that the Plastic-Free Week will become an annual event, but in the meantime if you are keen to keep up to date with the discussion follow @UOBPlasticFree on Instagram where our students will be sharing tips for living a plastic-free life. We are also excited to announce that the plastic-free tea and coffee will be continuing from now on, and LANS Keep Cups have arrived and will be available to purchase soon.

On Wednesday 27 June a group of our students attended a Liberal Arts conference hosted by the University of Bristol. Jeevan, Will and Lizzie were accompanied by a student from the UCL Bachelor of Arts and Sciences course to discuss the integration of the sciences within Liberal Education.

On stage in Bristol

Later in the day Arianwen, Florence and Bronwen presented their research on Artificial Intelligence, Liberal Education and Society in preparation for Berlin LESC 2019. Outside our own students’ contributions was a plethora of interdisciplinary talks from an interdisciplinary perspective on Archaeology to discussions entitled ‘Are Liberal Artists Global Citizens?’ and ‘What Are the Prospects for the Interdisciplinary Graduate?’ hosted by think tank Tomorrow’s Company followed by the keynote speech by Dr Sarah Dillon, a University Lecturer in Literature and Film at the University of Cambridge.

Panel on stage