Welsh language provision for students is to be enhanced by five new Welsh-medium lecturers who have been welcomed to Swansea University this term.
The academics lecture in the fields of Geography, Modern Languages, History and Media Studies, four of them having been appointed under the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s Academic Staffing Scheme.
Kate Evans joins the University as a lecturer in Geography in the College of Science and becomes a member of an established team of Welsh-medium Geography lecturers and researchers currently at Swansea University. Kate is a Human Geographer and her current research involves the study of parkour and free running, and the experiences offered by these physical activities to individuals as they become acquainted with urban locations and their own bodies through physical experiences.
Dr Geraldine Lublin, who is originally from Argentina, has been appointed a lecturer in Spanish through the medium of Welsh in the Department of Languages, Translation and Media. Her research interests include the study of identity and culture in Patagonia and Argentina, the Welsh community in Chubut and the way local and national narrative is constructed in Latin America. Students will have the opportunity to study the contemporary life and culture of Patagonia in Dr Lublin’s lectures.
Another lecturer appointed to the Department of Languages, Translation and Media at Swansea is Dr Sophie Smith. Dr Smith is a lecturer in French and is researching, amongst other subjects, the portrayal of gender in literature from Islamic countries written in the medium of French. Dr Smith’s teaching explores the Algerian War through the medium of Welsh and is currently preparing modules on language policy in European countries and the history of French and British imperialism.
The final appointment made at Swansea University under the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s Academic Staffing Scheme is Dr Gethin Matthews who has joined the History and Classics Department. His appointment is unique amidst our new lecturers as Dr Matthews, despite being located in Swansea, will be collaborating with History Departments in Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff Universities to develop the co-operative provision in historiography. Whilst lecturing on historiography, Dr Matthews will continue to research the history of Welsh emigrants and Welsh communities overseas, and also the impact of the Great War upon Welsh society and culture.
Whilst these appointments have been made through the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol’s generous support, Swansea University has also invested in a new appointment in the field of media through the medium of Welsh. Dr Elain Price has been appointed lecturer in Media Studies. Television in Wales is her main research interest and her PhD thesis concentrates on the early history of S4C and the way Wales and the Welsh were portrayed in its channels in its formative years. Dr Price will continue to research S4C in the public and cultural life of the nation as well as the rise in children’s television in Welsh and the prosperity of the private production sector in Wales during the last thirty years.
These new members of staff will all support the work of Academi Hywel Teifi not only in developing the Welsh-medium teaching provision at Swansea University but also to promote the Welsh-language culture of the University.
Professor Iwan Davies, Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Swansea University said: “The University is delighted to appoint these talented academics to their new positions. The appointments allow Swansea University to enrich the Welsh-medium provision currently available with the emphasis being upon research-led teaching at the highest level. Swansea University acknowledges the support of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and through its funding the confidence expressed in the exciting Welsh-medium Strategy being developed at Swansea University. Our students will benefit greatly from the expertise of these new lecturers and we welcome them warmly to the University.”
