Northumbria academics hosted an exhibition on campus where student perceptions of Sociology and Politics were celebrated through photography this month.
The exhibition, which was open to all undergraduates studying either Sociology or Politics, gave students the opportunity to express their own personal sociological or political view of the world with an image. The idea behind this was to encourage students to use their imagination and view their discipline in a unique way.
Dr Katy Jenkins, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Northumbria said: ‘”The exhibition was a fun and creative way to engage students. We really want to capture their own perception of Politics and Sociology, and encourage them to think differently. It was really great to see such different and personal interpretations of both disciplines.”
The students’ entries were judged by two special guests; political correspondent for ITV Tyne Tees and Border, Helen Ford, and Dr Dawn Mannay, from Cardiff University, who was representing the British Sociological Association on the day. Both were given the difficult task of choosing winners for the Sociology and Politics students’ photo entries.
Helen Ford, political correspondent for Tyne Tees said: “I found the students’ entries incredibly thought provoking. Politics is not just about politicians, but people in general, and this has very clearly been illustrated today.”
Dr Dawn Mannay from the British Sociological Association said: “As someone who has a long standing interest in the visual, it has been great to attend Northumbria’s Seeing Sociologically and Seeing Politics photo exhibition today. I think it is important that the discipline of Sociology becomes more and more visual, particularly as society becomes increasingly digital. You don’t get many photography competitions in the Social Sciences, so it’s been really great to attend and see such fantastic entries from the students.”
The winners of the competition were Politics student Jake Bell, and Sociology student Akanksha, who were each awarded an iPad as prizes. Jake explained how taking part in the competition had significantly increased his understanding of Politics. He said: “My photo entry was based on what I saw when walking around the city of Newcastle. I feel like I have a much better grasp of how Politics affects us every day, in particular, my own personal perception of the discipline.”
The runners up for the Seeing Politics competition were Oliver Hallsworth-Baines and Anna McGuire in joint second place and Alexander Birch in third place. Dr Dawn Mannay, judging the Seeing Sociologically competition, named Helena Fagan’s work the most thought provoking, Rea Goodwin’s as the most uplifting and Katie Hirst’s as the most intriguing.
Professor Mike Rowe, Head of the Department of Social Sciences and Languages at Northumbria said: “It was fantastic to see such imagination from our students here at Northumbria. The pieces of work at the exhibition really illustrate how students connect local and personal issues, to the broader social issues in society.”
This year, Northumbria celebrates 50 years of Sociology at the University.
For more information on our Sociology and Politics courses, register for Northumbria’s Open Days on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 June at www.northumbria.ac.uk/openday
