Broadening Byzantium: Inclusivity and Diversity in Byzantine Studies

Undergraduate Research Scholarship project 2020

Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology

Project academic: Dr Dan Reynolds

Project summary 

Byzantine Studies is a growing and international discipline that is gaining popularity in university faculties and research centres across the UK. However, it is also a discipline that can sometimes appear intimidating and esoteric — especially to students (of all levels) and early career researchers who have not come to Byzantine Studies through more traditional routes.

Broadening Byzantium aims to address these issues by looking at ways that we might make Byzantine Studies more inclusive in its teaching and address the barriers that face students, researchers and academics from reaching their full potential and participating fully within the discipline.

During this project, you will work closely with members of the executive committee of the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies (SPBS), the UK’s international representative for Byzantine Studies, to provide resources on and suggestions for how issues of Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (EDI) might be integrated into the working practices of Byzantine Studies specialists in the UK.

What you will do  

  • Help to create  Byzantine Studies teaching resource packs  that tackle EDI issues
  • Collate and analyse the results of the national EDI Byzantine Studies survey
  • Contribute to the drafting of a framework for best practice in Byzantine Studies  
  •  Produce online resources about EDI issues in Byzantine Studies and the Higher Education sector

Skills required 

Essential

  • A passion and interest for issues of Equality, Inclusivity and Diversity in Higher Education
  • Good organisational skills
  • Good research skills

Desirable

  • Experience with collating data sets and questionnaire feedback
  • Some knowledge of Byzantine Studies as a discipline in the UK and the remit of the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies 

How will the project benefit you?

  • Provide the scholarship holder with an in-depth understanding of EDI issues in the workplace and Higher Education sector (ideal for those seeking careers in corporate HR or education)
  • Provide the scholarship holder with experience in managing and collating large data sets and presenting them in clear and accessible ways (ideal for those seeking careers in
  • Provide the scholarship holder with experience working with national subject bodies and helping to steer strategies for the discipline.   
  • Provide the scholarship holder with insight into curriculum design, teaching strategies and even organisation.

Where now?

Colleges

Professional Services