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Higher education changed my life and raised my aspirations and this has instilled me with a deep commitment and passion for public engagement and widening access which has in turn moulded my career path.

Biography

Having left school in the early 1980’s at 16 I came to Cardiff University to study history and archaeology as a mature non-traditional student during the mid-1990s. My joint honours degree in history & archaeology led ‘organically’ on to postgraduate study with an MA in Medieval British studies and then the completion of a doctoral thesis. Following this, in my first academic job I co-ordinated a vibrant programme of open access adult education courses in history and archaeology at the Centre for Lifelong Learning for a number of years. I recently assumed the role of Community Engagement Co-ordinator in the School of History and Archaeology at Cardiff where I also teach and research. I specialise in the history of slavery and servitude in the societies of medieval Britain. I have published a number of articles on this topic and my recent book Slaves and Warriors in Medieval Britain and Ireland, 800-1200 (2009) examines the extreme social and cultural significance of slavery for these societies. My research interests also include: Viking era settlement and society in the Irish Sea region, gender and power in early-medieval Britain and the Anti-Slavery movement in 19th Century Wales.

What motivated you to engage with the public?

Higher education changed my life and raised my aspirations and this has instilled me with a deep commitment and passion for public engagement and widening access which has in turn moulded my career path.

Describe the public engagement work you have done

As the community engagement co-ordinator for the School of History & Archaeology:

• I promote and manage community, engagement and outreach initiatives in the SchoolI contribute to and lead the development of new outreach and engagement initiatives.
• I contribute to creating collaborative initiatives and programmes internally and externally.
• I co-ordinate informal and formal outreach learning.

What are your top resources to support your engagement work?

As actions often speak louder than words I include below a brief selection of just some the community engagement initiatives I am / have been involved in:

November 2010, Life Stories A one day public engagement event exploring the immense value life stories have for our society, for communities and for individuals.

May 2010, Getting Medieval A one-day family learning event to celebrate National Adult Learners Week at a reconstructed medieval village exploring aspects of medieval life.

April to July 2009, I was the co-architect of a (partially) successful campaign to save open access humanities courses at Cardiff.

2004 to present day. Free History/Archaeology/Humanities Series I established and continue to co-ordinate this monthly series of open access lectures.

May 2009, A one day, free, open-access conference in collaboration with the Beacons for Wales project. History, Archaeology, Politics and Identity.

May 2007, An open access event to raise awareness about slavery and promote anti-slavery activities.