LEAP Events Programme 2021-22

Please check out our programme for LEVEL ONE LEAP students (please note, Final Year LEAPers are always welcome to join us!).
All sessions take place ONLINE, Wednesdays 1-2pm (unless stated)

Semester Two 2021/22

THURS 27 January	Dance in the City (in the Fresh Start Festival marquee outside LUU) Tirna Sengupta, PCI Here is a chance to both observe and be a part of a social experiment. What happens when an ancient Indian dance form becomes a part of the everyday in Leeds? Can dancing in the busiest spots in Leeds cause an interruption in the movement from place A to destination B? Is it possible to feel safe being artistic amongst crowds that do not know you? Is it weird dancing in public spaces? Is it freeing and democratizing for the arts to be in a place where everyone can experience it and not just those who go to elite spaces where performances are held? Let's think through all of this with a Bharatanatyam dancer who has spent about 5 years exploring the public space as a dancer! By the end of the session, you will have reflected on: The value of arts in the public space Audience engagement with dance in an urban locale Activism and Aesthetics in Life Worlds No clothing requirement, just wear anything comfortable. There may be some stretching involved! All welcome - not just LEAP students!
2 February	Crossing the line: Interdisciplinary futures in Humanities Karen Fox, LCS Have you ever had a great idea but it creeps outside the limits of your degree? Have you ever wished you had done a joint honours or feel guilty for enjoying your discovery module more than your core modules? Have you ever wondered if an ancient author actually knew the behaviours of dolphins or it was just poetic fantasy? No? Just me? This workshop will help you take that curiosity and make it your superpower instead of your limit by empowering you to ask the big, hard questions in academia and understanding what it takes to be truly interdisciplinary with another subject, school or even a faculty.
9 February	Contemporary conspirituality: misinformation, rumour-panic and conspiracy culture in the online world Bethan Oake, PRHS This session aims to introduce and explore the concept of ‘conspirituality’ – belief systems that incorporate a combination of both ‘religio-spiritual’ and ‘secular-conspiratorial’ themes – highlighting its significance as an emerging field of research today. Through exploring a number of contemporary case studies – such as QAnon, the Satanic Panic, and Covid-19 conspiracies - as a group, we will discuss the following questions:What are the characteristics of conspiritual movements? In what ways do these types of beliefs emerge and spread, particularly online? Who does conspirituality appeal to, and what societal circumstances lends to its popularity?
16 February	Decolonising your research Flávia Pessoa Serafim, Media & CommunicationThe coloniality of knowledge is a concept created by Peruvian sociologist Anibal Quijano, according to which current knowledge building is Eurocentric. Following this view, the modern system of knowledge is still influenced by colonialism. In other words, Quijano affirmed that the system of knowledge we use today is western-centred and does not favour other forms of knowing.Quijano was not the only theorist who paid attention to the western-centrism of knowledge building: many other scholars have noted how that happens in society in general. They have also discussed how this kind of thinking is reflected and reproduced in academia and proposed ways for researchers to walk away from it.In the face of this context, this workshop will discuss concepts related to decoloniality, postcolonialism, and decolonisation to allow students to understand the debates around the theme and suggest ways to decolonise research. Thus, the workshop aims to further the discussion on the matters at hand and humbly contribute to constructing an academic environment more open to non-western forms of knowledge building and more accepting of thinking that comes from the Global South.
21-25 February	Undergraduate Research Experience (UGRE) Join us as we celebrate our ELEVENTH UGRE. Our amazing UG students will be presenting a wide range of topics throughout the week.
23 February	The Importance of Culture, Religion and Tradition in Health Care Rana Sabbouh, LCSThis session aims to highlight the significance of culture, religion and tradition in improving health care for ethnic minority patients. Dealing with ethnic minority patients may involve dealing with patients with different languages and cultures. Language is the mirror through which we reflect our beliefs, habits, thoughts, and ideas about people or attitudes towards certain aspects of life.This session will demonstrate that using the linguistic model in interpretation can be insufficient, because disregarding others' beliefs may result in a poor interpretation service, and consequently negative clinical results. To deliver a high-quality health care service it is important to understand the meaning of culture, religion, and tradition. In this session you will be asked to give examples of what they think is cultural, religious or traditional practice, whether in the UK or other parts in the world, and discuss the reasons behind their beliefs.
2 March	Human-Animal Relationships: Researching the Medieval Warhorse Emma Herbert-Davies, History This session aims to explore how cultural ideology shapes perceptions of the past by exploring the relationship between humans and horses in the Middle Ages. Horses were an integral part of medieval society, and the image of a knight riding into battle on a warhorse remains one of the most enduring images of the period. Through analysing a range of evidence such as art and literature, the cultural construction of the warhorse will be examined to investigate its role in creating an image of the perfect warrior. However, this session will also ask the following questions: to what extent did ideology reflect reality? Was the human/warhorse relationship rooted in fact or fiction? The answer to these questions will be discussed using examples from contemporary texts, manuscripts, and archaeology. This session will demonstrate the value of adopting an interdisciplinary approach to research. It will also help students develop critical skills in analysing a variety of sources, and to evaluate the sometimes stark differences between cultural representations and reality.
9 March	Language and Power Souad Boumechaal, LCS The discussion workshop is an excellent opportunity for UG students to discover new perspectives about how language can be more than a communicative tool. Students will explore the ideological dimension of language and how it can be used to maintain and exert power. They will also discover different forms of power (Repressive power, soft power, and normalising power) and how they operate through language. Examples and practical activities will be provided in the workshop to inspire students with ideas applicable to researching social and political issues. Students will also benefit from the workshop as they learn about how to use language as an analytical tool in their future research project.
16 March	Planning your Dissertation Ana Garcia Soriano, English How and when should I start my dissertation? How do I choose a topic? This workshop offers students a friendly and welcoming space to share their thoughts and concerns about their final year project. It is aimed at Level 2 students who are at an early stage of the planning process, although everyone is welcome. Drawing on MA students’ advice, we will discuss top tips to successfully plan your project. We will move on to offer pragmatic advice about the different stages involved in your final year project.
23 March	Dissertation Preparation: Academic Writing with Confidence Toby Huelin, Music This session explores the dissertation writing process: you’ve got an idea of what you want to write about, you’ve read some of the literature and have a sense of the field, but what are the next steps? We’ll use a range of examples from across the Arts and Humanities to explore areas such as: dealing with the dreaded blank page, finding your academic voice, creating an inclusive bibliography and more. There’ll be plenty of opportunities to share your views and to develop skills which will be essential in completing your dissertations to a high standard.
27 April	LEAP CELEBRATION Event

Semester One 2021/22

Date	Workshop Details
13 October	Welcome and introduction to LEAP Find out more about this fantastic scheme and meet fellow LEAPers.
20 October	Discussion Session Identity: Is One Enough? Mark Shearwood, History The aim of the workshop is to re-evaluate how we think about identity and how our understanding of identity impacts our research. The workshop will discuss various forms and issues of identity, including constructed identity, fluid identities, imagined identity, imposed identity and multiple identities and how we categorise and label people by a given set of pre-set parameters and will introduce the participants to concepts of identity theory and spatial turn theory.
27 October	Discussion Session Turning Refugees into Migrants: The Great Migration and Windrush in Visual Culture Isabelle West, FAHACS What inspires the big names in the international world of art and photography, past and present, to document the stories of whole communities, families and individuals who face the difficulties and dangers of relocation? What can their creative works tell us about what constitutes forced and voluntary migration? In this workshop, you will be encouraged to look beyond the media headlines of recent migrations, in order to discover the individual and collective experiences of settlers and migrants, through discourses on population movement in visual culture from the twentieth century to the present day. The workshop asks you to critically engage with concepts and debates pertaining to migration and resettlement and analyse comparatively how these phenomena are depicted by the artist Jacob Lawrence, in relation to The Great Migration, and the artists and photographers that have depicted the Windrush Generation. You will be introduced to key art historical terminology and artistic and photographic techniques, relevant to the works being examined. This workshop is partially inspired by The Black Curriculum and includes a study of the Hackney Windrush Art Commission, which is to be unveiled from October 2021 by Hackney City Council and Create London. You will be invited to participate in group discussion and present your individual and collective findings in the session, after completing stimulating activities. This is a great way to boost your confidence in public speaking and debate and helps lay the foundational blocks of higher-level academic study. Session Aims: • Explore methods for undertaking comparative analysis of migrant themes in different visual culture • Further debate the lexical boundaries of different types of resettlement by looking at more causes for migration • Re-evaluate the definition and status of "refugee" by debating what is forced and voluntary relocation, whilst considering such factors as community, race and identity
3 November	Discussion Session Why a Degree in the Arts and Humanities? Marika Ceschia, English This workshop will make you reflect on the benefits of studying for an arts and humanities degree. In groups, you will discuss what skills you are acquiring and how they can be relevant for finding jobs outside academia. You will also share your own motivations for pursuing a degree in the arts and humanities. Some questions you will explore are: What can the arts and humanities offer? What transferable skills can you achieve? Why are those important?
10 November	Skills Session Academic Organisation Elisabeth Trischler, History Have you ever agonised over what you need to cite and why? Would being able to take better notes improve your writing so that you don't waste time going back to the text? Or maybe you struggle for hours formatting your bibliography and citations one by one? Discover various online (free) tools that will enhance your note-taking productivity and make sure you never find yourself wasting time manually formatting citations or searching frantically for a source. If you identify with any of these, then this LEAP workshop is for you.
17 November	Discussion Session Participating in Justice Tim McConnell, LCS How can we decide what is just and fair? Whether you are a protester, prime minister or president you may have broken the law, but it is a court that will ultimately decide the consequences. We are so familiar with our own justice system, it can be difficult to imagine how alternatives would functions. This workshop will get to the heart of how a justice system is designed, and in the process explore how we can use the experiences of the past. Trial by jury was the ultimate expression of ancient Athenian democracy, in which the citizens held all the power. In this interactive workshop we will reenact an ancient trial to get inside the minds and discuss justice. What can we learn about justice from how the ancient Greeks built lasting justice as a community? You don't need to know anything about this subject, just come along and get involved! Session Aims: To re-enact and ancient Athenian trial and discuss what this teaches us about our ideas of justice.
24 November	Skills Session Improving your presentation skills Rosie Cousins, History This session will be useful to second-year undergraduates because you will usually be required to give presentations as part of your assessment, and, in your second and final years, may have the opportunity to present your work to different audiences, such as at the Undergraduate Research Experience (UGRE) or at an online conference. 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. Session Aims: 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
8 December	Discussion Session Speak well, think well and live well. Reasons and benefits for choosing to study languages Camilla Bambozzi, LCS Studying languages is generally considered fruitful for various reasons, but what makes the study of language so important and formative, for personal, academic, and work experience? The aim of this Workshop is to understand the reasons behind the importance of this field of study, investigating how language structures. This does not only pertain to the sphere of foreign languages acquisition, but it applies to the study of mother-language, as well. Specifically, the Workshop highlights how a better knowledge and use of your own language can be an extremely useful tool. Indeed, language and thought are tightly connected and generally, a proper use of language corresponds to a better quality of thinking. The workshop is addressed to second-year undergraduate students who choose to undertake an academic path focused on the study of languages, but also to those who desire to acquire the theoretical basis of how language works to develop and improve their communications skills.