A Message from Our Dean
Professor Peter Buse
The School of the Arts is home to over 2500 students and almost 300 staff in five disciplines : Architecture , English , Communication and Media , Music , and Philosophy . Every year we welcome into the second year of our programmes over 100 students from XJTLU , our partner institution in Suzhou , China , and each year many students travel the other way for the Year in China programme . This year was of course like no other year before , and we hope like no other in the future . In March students who were abroad scrambled to return home , and all classes and assessments went online as the Covid-19 crisis hit the UK . While many normal activities stopped , we quickly discovered that we could continue to do ‘ remotely ’ many of things we used to do in person , including , of
3 course , student work . Some of what you will find here was produced before the crisis , but some of it was also made during it , as you will see .
This Anthology collects together some of the best work from students across the School . In it , you will find many excellent contributions , with our students showing a real willingness this year to engage with controversial and urgent issues , including neo-liberalism and the modern city , male contraception , facial recognition software , dementia , racist language , and what it means to be human in the digital age . There is creative work , including poetry , short fiction , a photo essay , famous photographs reimagined , and a bold architectural project proposed for Hilbre Island on the Wirral . You ’ ll find close , thoughtful analysis of women ’ s poetry , of the language of Harry Potter , and of the music in Catch Me If You Can , as well as a careful reappraisal of Simone de Beauvoir , and an incisive dissection of the relationship between cinema and the music industry .
If you are reading the anthology online , you will also be able to link through to short videos produced by students in Communication and