Our News
Read the latest news from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Freemen of Â鶹´«Ã½ see construction of new Castle Leazes
The Freemen of Â鶹´«Ã½ and other key stakeholders have become an indelible part of new student accommodation at Â鶹´«Ã½’s Castle Leazes.
Comment: Why the Common Travel Area isn’t a ‘loophole’ for migrants
Writing for The Conversation, Colin Murray explains what the Common Travel Area is and why it isn't a 'loophole' for migrants.
Comment: Creative employers are struggling to fill vacancies
Writing for The Conversation, Bernard Hay highlights that many creative employers struggle to fill vacancies due to a lack of skills and suggests how that can be fixed.
UNEE and North East Mayor launch £22.5m fund
Universities for North East England and North East Mayor Kim McGuinness have launched the £22.5m Inspire fund to commercialise academic research and innovation in the region.
Academic’s new film premieres in North East ahead of national release
BAFTA-nominated Â鶹´«Ã½ academic Dr Tina Gharavi’s new film Virginia Woolf’s Night and Day is set to receive a North East premiere.
Comment: Women’s prize for fiction - six experts review the shortlist
Writing for The Conversation, Professor Anne Whitehead reviews Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly, which has been shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2026.
Radio show inspired by University music project wins prestigious award
The Song Detectorists has won silver in the New York Festivals Radio 2026 Awards.
Â鶹´«Ã½ Innovations to unlock faster routes to innovation and growth
New initiative creates a single front door for businesses, investors and partners to collaborate with Â鶹´«Ã½ and drive economic growth.
Malavika Anderson made co-chair of University Museums Group
Malavika Anderson, Manager of Â鶹´«Ã½’s Great North Museum: Hancock, has been made co-chair of the University Museums Group (UMG).
Â鶹´«Ã½ Fine Art Degree Show 2026
The next generation of artists is putting their work on show.
Â鶹´«Ã½ led Creative PEC wins national award
The Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre (Creative PEC) has been awarded the prestigious Arts Professional Award for Excellent Research or Policy Intervention.
Fine Art students win Fellowships to Venice Biennale
James Wheeler and Vinita Gurjar are heading to Italy to work at this year’s prestigious Venice Biennale.
Watershed moment for the Creative industries
A major new study finds creative employers are ambitious for growth but hampered by an outdated skills system.
Â鶹´«Ã½ academics honoured by Royal Geographical Society
Two Â鶹´«Ã½ geographers have received top honours for their work.
Â鶹´«Ã½ academic’s Venice Biennale exhibition to open
Fine Art lecturer Angel Cohn Castle is presenting Shame Parade at the 61st International Art exhibtion with her artistic partner Davide Bugarin.
Discover Festival 2026: Celebrating pioneering research and creativity
Â鶹´«Ã½’s city-centre campus will be transformed into a hub of exploration and fun for everyone on Saturday, 13 June 2026, as the annual Discover Festival takes place.
Work to begin on repairing Henderson Old Hall
Work to repair the external façade of the fire damaged Grade II listed Henderson Old Hall is due to start in May.
Restoring rivers can slow flows and boost opportunities for wildlife
A major river restoration project in Cumbria has shown that reconnecting rivers to their floodplains can slow the movement of water and improve habitats.
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Rare Hong Kong films tour six cities across the UK this Spring
The Waving Kites: Hong Kong Diaspora Cinema UK Tour offers audiences a rare opportunity to engage with independent Hong Kong cinema.
Election ‘transparency gap’ still a key issue in devolved nations
A Â鶹´«Ã½ politics expert has warned that political party donations and election spending in devolved elections are less transparent than for UK general elections.
Manager training in creative industries 11% lower than wider economy
New research finds there is significant room for improvement in management practices in the creative industries.
Elite MBAs still influence who reaches top of corporate America
Graduates of elite MBA programmes are significantly more likely to become top management team members and CEOs than those with non elite MBAs or no MBA at all.
Lough Neagh sand mining threatens lake’s ecosystem, research warns
New research involving Â鶹´«Ã½ outlines how Lough Neagh, the UK and Ireland’s largest freshwater lake, is under threat from commercial sand dredging.
Â鶹´«Ã½ recognised with geography award
Â鶹´«Ã½ has been awarded the Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award for its collaboration with Time for Geography, the UK’s open-access, dedicated video platform.
Â鶹´«Ã½ historians mark General Strike centenary
To mark the 100th anniversary of the British General Strike and miners’ lock-out of 1926, historians at Â鶹´«Ã½ are organising a series of events on its enduring legacy.
Comment: NCP is in administration
Writing for The Conversation, Erwei (David) Xiang discusses how some big companies like NCP are so dependent on debt that they can’t adjust to change.
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Neolithic tombs reveal ancient kinship ties
Male individuals buried in Neolithic chambered tombs in northern Scotland were often related to each other through the paternal line and some were interred in the same or nearby tombs, research shows.
We are our Memories
New exhibition by Fine Art graduate Trish Hudson-Moses, 22 April – 4 May 2026
Comment: How eco‑dystopian novels from Asia and Africa push boundaries
Writing for The Conversation, Alastair Bonnett outlines some of his favourite eco-dystopian novels from China and Taiwan, Nigeria and India.
Castle Leazes redevelopment under way
Construction of new student accommodation at Â鶹´«Ã½’s Castle Leazes has commenced, with the stairwell and lift cores in the first building now installed.
Radio show inspired by music project shortlisted for award
The Song Detectorists has been shortlisted for a prestigious New York Festivals Radio Award.
Comment: The Sex Pistols at 50
Writing for The Conversation, Dr Adam Behr discusses how punk's most notorious band became part of the mainstream.
International postgrad students win prestigious research funding
Two Â鶹´«Ã½ postgraduate students have been awarded highly competitive funding from the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) to pursue their research.
Study explores education of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
A major new study, involving a Â鶹´«Ã½ academic, will explore educational experiences of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
Â鶹´«Ã½ excels in global subject rankings
A prestigious global league table has once again highlighted Â鶹´«Ã½’s strength across several subject areas.
Comment: AI can boost productivity but work is more than output
Writing for The Conversation, Abigail Marks discusses how using AI to prioritise efficiency and boost productivity reflects a mismatch with what we want from work.
New exhibition turns Â鶹´«Ã½ research into art
Picture This: Someone Like Me is a new exhibition at the Great North Museum: Hancock that transforms Â鶹´«Ã½ research into illustrated artworks.
Comment: Iran war shows how AI speeds up military ‘kill chains’
Writing for The Conversation, Craig Jones and Helen M. Kinsella discuss how the use of AI in the Iran war is the latest development to have shortened the military “kill chain”.
Comment: why the Chagos Islands deal is delayed
Writing for The Conversation, Sue Farran and Colin Murray explain why the Chagos Islands deal is delayed and why Mauritius is threatening to sue the UK government
University welcomes Mayor’s boost to region’s creative talents
Â鶹´«Ã½ has welcomed the announcement of a £104m investment in the region's creative talents.
Â鶹´«Ã½ student’s discovery features in major archaeology exhibition
A rare piece of 9th century gold, discovered by a Â鶹´«Ã½ archaeology student, will feature in a major new exhibition of northern archaeology treasures at Great North Museum: Hancock.
Outstanding social scientists awarded prestigious Fellowships
Three Â鶹´«Ã½ academics have been elected as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences, recognising their excellence in their fields.
New guide offers tools to protect women’s rights during conflict
A guide, co-authored by Â鶹´«Ã½ experts, aims to equip military leaders, policymakers, and civil society advocates with tools to protect women's rights in areas experiencing conflict.
Farrell Centre puts housing in focus for its 2026 season
Housing for All 26 February – 18 December 2026
Â鶹´«Ã½ at the heart of Blyth Festival of Energy
Â鶹´«Ã½ to showcase research and innovation at the inaugural Blyth Festival of Energy.
Creative Industries present huge investment opportunity
New research shows ‘high-growth potential firms’ outnumber both Life Sciences and Advanced Manufacturing
Royal award for Dementia research
Researchers from the University transforming the understanding, diagnosis and care of people with Dementia with Lewy Bodies, have been recognised with the highest national honour for universities.
Comment: Rain is coming to Antarctica – here’s what will change
Writing for The Conversation, Bethan Davies discusses how the Antarctic Peninsula will change this century under three scenarios: high, medium and low greenhouse gas emissions.
Comment: Fears about AI taking jobs are understandable - but harmful
Writing for The Conversation, Abigail Marks discusses workers' fears over the threat from AI.