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AHC UG Skills workshops

collage of multiple people teaching or learning

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures Enhancement Team are hosting four skills sessions across the academic year (semester two tbc).
These sessions are aimed at Undergraduates in AHC. To book sessions please go here, we will send you a calendar invite.

Building compelling arguments: how to use sources efficiently

Monday 30 October
15:00-16:30, Parkinson B.09
Led by Manuel Farolfi, Music

Book here 

Through practical examples, this workshop shows participants a number of techniques relating to the tasks of screening, sorting, and presenting sources, with an emphasis on how these techniques can support argument building. The aim is to provide participants with guidelines on how to organise their own database and to demonstrate how a well structured database can be crucial to the task of developing compelling arguments.

Short biography
Manuel Farolfi is a musicologist and sound engineer. He completed his doctoral study at the University of Leeds in 2022 with a thesis on the American composer John Cage and
currently holds a postdoctoral fellowship at Leeds Arts & Humanities Research Institute.
His research interests centre on experimental music and music technology. He has presented his work at several international conferences, including the International
Musicological Society Quinquennial Congress, the Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie Annual Conference, and the Society for Music Analysis Conference. His works have been
published in edited collections and scholarly journals, including those issued by Peter Lang, Olms, and Brepols. He worked as a sound engineer in recording studios for over a
decade and is credited, among others, on albums by Mariah Carey, Robert Palmer, The Orb, Akhenaton and Veronique Sanson.

Improving your presentation skills

Thursday 7 December
15:00-16:30, Parkinson B.09
Led by Rosalyn Cousins, History

Book here 
Session objectives:
  • To understand how to choose a topic and plan a presentation
  • To learn how to improve your public speaking skills and overcome nerves
  • To consider different techniques and styles of presenting
This session will be useful to AHC undergraduates because presentations are usually part of their module assessment, and, in their second and final years, they may have the opportunity to present your work to different audiences, such as at the Undergraduate Research Experience (UGRE).
The session will cover the skills needed to plan, create and deliver an effective presentation. These skills are applicable to all types of presentation, but we will also spend some time discussing what may differ between a ‘required’ presentation (i.e. in a module) and an ‘optional’ presentation (i.e. the UGRE or a conference), such as choosing your own topic. The session will particularly focus on narrowing down your topic; what to include in your presentation; creating an effective PowerPoint or visual aid; public speaking skills; and answering questions confidently.