Insight Days

Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies:

Is Barbie (2023) a feminist film? When Barbie came out in the summer of 2023, it was heralded as an important moment for feminism. The film made over a billion dollars at the box office, making it the highest-grossing film of that year and the highest-grossing film by a solo female director. This session will interrogate the feminist politics of Barbie and examine its strengths and limitations. Ultimately, this session will try to answer the question: is Barbie a feminist film?

Edge Hotel School: 

Situational Leadership and leadership styles in the hospitality industry. This session will introduce students to Situational Leadership theory, with a particular focus on Lewin’s Leadership Styles. The three main styles, democratic, autocratic and laissez-faire will be analysed, identifying the impact this may have on team motivation and productivity in the hospitality industry.

Department of Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies:

Psychoanalytic Criminology in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. How can we learn about psychoanalysis through Robert Louis Stevenson's 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'? This innovative taster session introduces your students to the concept of psychoanalytic criminology, showing how it can be fruitfully applied to the novel and - surprisingly - how it is quite true that we can carry more than one personality within us. Students will also use psychoanalytic assessment from a criminological perspective to shed light on Hyde's murder of Sir Danvers Carew. Why does Hyde murder a complete stranger in the brutal and violent way that he does?

Department of Economics:

Big Brother versus the Invisible Hand: the economics of regulating markets. Governments throughout the world have a profound impact on the economy in many different ways. They not only tax and spend, they also restrict what and how buyers and sellers can trade. These regulations permeate our lives. This talk will consider how economics interprets and justifies government regulatory intervention as well as how do we as economists decide whether there is too much or too little regulatory intervention.

Department of Language and Linguistics:

To be confirmed.

Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies:

To be confirmed.

Essex Law School: 

The legal response to some of the most notable maritime casualties – special focus on the Titanic. The session will explore the how major maritime accidents have helped shaping the law. It will particularly focus on the Titanic accident and the follow up legal response to the accident and how this helped created safety standards still in place today. Among the cases discussed, the Maersk Alabama will also be covered- everyone is encouraged to watch the movie “Captain Phillips” with Tom Hanks prior from the session – and the legal framework regarding piracy.

Essex Business School:

Consumer Resistance, Anti-Consumption & Doppelgänger Brand Images. Brands aren’t always in control of their image, sometimes, customers and consumers push back. This session unpacks anti-consumption and consumer resistance, exploring how people challenge brands, reject influence, and even create “doppelgänger” brand images; twisted, rebellious versions of a company’s identity. We’ll break down how these counter-brand narratives spread, their impact on marketing strategies, and what brands can (or can’t) do about it. If you’re curious about how consumer activism is reshaping the marketplace and marketing campaigns in general, this one’s for you!

Department of Government:

Information Wars! What is propaganda? How has it changed? How has it become a tool of conflict, and how does it affect the quality of democracy? This taster lecture provides students with information about what propaganda is, disinformation and fake news, and how these terms have evolved in practice. In other words what is the difference between disinformation campaigns, and marketing? What is the difference between sharp power and soft power? We then look at how disinformation campaigns are used by different actors to undermine the quality of democracy both in their own countries and abroad.

Department of Sociology and Criminology:

Can We Trust Scientists? The Hidden Pressures Behind Scientific Misconduct and Questionable Scientific Practice. Science shapes our world, but can we always trust the research behind it? This talk explores the hidden pressures scientists face—funding, publication demands, and career ambitions—that can lead to questionable research practices (QRPs) and even scientific misconduct. Discover why some researchers cut corners, what this means for scientific integrity, and how we can safeguard the pursuit of truth.

Health and Social Care:

Introduction to nursing. This session will introduce students to the Nursing programme at Essex, giving them an insight into what to expect from their studies. They'll explore how nursing is taught through hands-on skills sessions, online platforms and placements, as well as learn about opportunities to study nursing abroad.

Sports, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences: 

An Introduction to Sport and Exercise Science: Exploring the Science of Exercise Through Blood Analysis. This session offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with the biochemical aspects of exercise science, enhancing your ability to make informed decisions about training strategies and athletic development.

Computer Science and Electronic Engineering:

AI in Healthcare: Shaping the Future with the University of Essex. This session will offer a compelling insight into AI in Healthcare. Through cutting-edge research, industry collaborations, and hands-on learning, CSEE prepares students to tackle real-world healthcare challenges using artificial intelligence. The session will explore the intersection of AI, healthcare innovation, and human impact, showcasing how the department’s research drives advancements in diagnostic systems, patient care, and medical technology.

Psychology:

Where Do We Look? The Science Behind YouTube Viewing. An interactive session providing students with a demonstration of our eye-tracking technology here at Essex!

Mathematics:

Faking it: How can you tell if data is fake? We will explore some random sequences and data sets to see if the fakes can be spotted, before discovering the rather surprising property of random data, known as Benford’s Law.

Life Sciences: 

To be confirmed.

Sports, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences:

An Introduction to Sport and Exercise Science: Exploring the Science of Exercise Through Blood Analysis. This session offers a unique opportunity to engage directly with the biochemical aspects of exercise science, enhancing your ability to make informed decisions about training strategies and athletic development.

Psychology:

Rhythms of the brain. Join us for an exciting EEG demo in psychology, where we’ll explore how the brain responds to the perception and production of emotional facial expressions! EEG is a powerful technique that non-invasively captures how the brain processes information with millisecond precision. Discover how key components of the EEG, like the N170, provide insights into face perception and emotional reactions, and how the perception of emotional faces (at the behavioural and neural level) can be influenced by one’s own facial muscle activity.