Social Sciences workshops

How can we use economics to understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy? What possible implications will the worldwide health crisis have for us and future generations?

For students interested in studying Economics, this session will provide an introduction to the subject at an undergraduate level while incorporating current topics and affairs to add context to their learning. 

Students will discover how Economics can help us to understand the effect of real-world problems on our economy and the possible policy implications.

In this session, we'll discuss anti-consumption and consumer resistance behaviours that can lead to subversive "doppelgänger" brand images. We'll explore the implications of these images for corporate marketing strategies. Join us for valuable insights into changing consumer behaviour. 

This session will introduce students to the core principles of conflict resolution, one of the most in-demand skills in today’s business world. By diving into real-world scenarios, they’ll learn how HR professionals manage and resolve conflicts to build stronger teams and enhance workplace culture, an essential aspect of any successful business. This hands-on introduction to HR is perfect for students considering degrees in business, management, or finance, as it highlights the key interpersonal and transferable skills taught in these programs. For teachers and career advisors, this taster lecture is an ideal way to give students a preview of what a business degree can offer, helping them envision how HR skills can be applied across various industries.

Students will be introduced to several different areas of marketing, with a particular focus on digital marketing techniques. After discussing various techniques we will watch some examples of video adverts and discuss their impact. The students will then be split into small groups and be given a short amount of time to design and film their own short advert for an item we’ll provide. Students will be able to explore more of the EBS building and campus during whilst they carry out this task. Each advert will then be shared with the whole group and discussed.

The task itself makes references to the following areas of marketing and advertising.

• Marketing vs advertising
• Digital marketing techniques
• Video production
• Psychology of brands

This activity helps to bring the reality of a career in marketing and advertising to life. Students are exposed to advertising messages every day of their lives but may not often stop to think about the thoughts behind the advert or the impact it might have on both the consumer and the brand. We will also aim to dispel common misconceptions about marketing and advertising.

N.B. For the marketing/advertising challenge, students will be required to use their own mobile devices. Each group will therefore need at least one student to be in possession of a smartphone which they are happy to use for filming their video clip and then submitting at the end. This activity also depends on having sufficient staff numbers (including school staff, EBS staff and Essex student ambassadors) to supervise each group when they leave the room/building to film their adverts.

Join us on campus where students will be challenged to complete a fun task which involves working in small teams to build a Lego tower. They will have to plan their build before the execution phase. Once the towers are complete students will calculate the profit or loss generated by their project and a winner will be crowned. We’ll then reflect on the project planning and financial management skills we have witnessed before relating what we have learned to real world construction project examples.

This activity is a fun way to put essential finance, accounting and management skills into context and helps students to understand some of the topics that may be included when studying a business management, accounting or finance degree at university.
The task itself and the reflections we make may include references to:

• Financial management/planning
• Project management
• Fixed/variable costs
• Profit/loss
• Corporate reputation

After we have concluded the task and made our reflections we will discuss the relevant courses available for students to study at UK universities, potential employment options and the entry requirements, application process and benefits for these courses at Essex Business School, University of Essex.

Join us on campus where students will be presented with a business case study for a fictional local business. They will need to read and interpret the case study which will include basic financial performance data. They will then work in teams to carry out a SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. They will be expected to include information they have gained from reading the case study as well as their own knowledge of

the type of products and services the business offers. Each team will be asked to share part of their SWOT analysis with the whole group and we will discuss.

This activity is a good example of the sort of case studies students may be presented with during seminars and group work/discussions at university. They will need to work as a team and interpret both financial data and written information. They will also be expected to draw on their own experiences as consumers which is another important skill for university.

The task itself and the reflections we make may include references to:

• SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)
• Revenue sources
• Fixed/variable costs
• Consultancy

After we have concluded the task and made our reflections we will discuss the relevant courses available for students to study at UK universities, potential employment options and the entry requirements, application process and benefits for these courses at Essex Business School, University of Essex.

Students can use industry-leading Bloomberg data in Essex Business School's virtual trading floor. This state of-the-art facility gives you access to the same tools used by traders and business analysts worldwide. The Bloomberg virtual trading floor facility at Essex Business School features 12 Bloomberg Terminals with access to the Bloomberg financial and almost real-time data feed. It's a hands-on facility that offers students at all levels the opportunity to learn essential portfolio management skills. It also helps you to learn how to model financial data in a practical setting based on the live financial markets. This taster session will give students real world insight into what it would be like to work in the finance sector and also introduce them to some sought after skills in the jobs market. 

This political theory lecture will examine the reasons for and against lowering the minimum voting age from 18, as we currently have it, to 12. We will consider the political status and interests of young citizens, as well as the capacities required for successfully exercising the right to vote. The lecture will conclude with some remarks about the role of secondary schools in a world with 12 year-old voters.

Social media was considered to be a tool that would liberate citizens from autocracy and enhance the quality of democracy around the world. Yet that hasn’t happened. Instead, autocrats and would-be autocrats have harnessed technology to use social media to brainwash, confuse and flood their citizens with propaganda, while also targeting citizens in vulnerable democracies. Additionally, with the rise of artificial intelligence, bots and micro-targeting, are we using our free will? How is social media negatively impacting the quality of democracy?

With the recent wars in Ukraine and Gaza, the world appears to be on fire. But is it really more conflict prone than it was in the past? Or has the character of war changed, and we are entering a new phase of “new wars”? We explore what we mean by new wars and whether or not the world has become more conflictual.

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.

Why do people leave everything behind and flee their homes? In this session, we’ll dive into the real reasons people become refugees, where they go, and what challenges they face along the way. Through powerful stories from Lebanon and Syria, you'll gain a deeper understanding of their journeys—and why it matters to all of us.

When people think about what drives people to support radical-right parties, they often assume they are voting in that direction because of economic deprivation or because they oppose immigration. Radical-right parties often put immigration high on their agendas and pledge to improve the lives of economically vulnerable people. But social vibrancy in local places is also important.

The decline of the high street has been hollowing out British town centres in recent years. When pubs, community centres, libraries and banks close, it adds to a sense of local decline.

How does the closure of pubs contribute to the rise in support for the radical right?

More than 70% of the world lives in non-democratic regimes today, with 5.7 billion people calling authoritarian regimes home. But how has this happened? There are fewer coups today than ever and yet more countries are becoming autocratic. What are the tools that would-be autocrats use to undermine democracy? What is the role that the public plays in supporting the rise of strongmen? Should we be worried about this?

We’ve heard of the rise (and fall) of oligarchic power in Russia, but what about in other countries. In the US at Donald Trump’s second inauguration the combined net worth of the six richest people in the front row is roughly equal to a third of the value of the entire UK economy. Is the US now an oligarchy as well? What is an oligarchy? How do oligarchs accumulate power? What impact does this have on the state, society and democracy?

Ever wonder why negotiations can go smoothly with some people but totally clash with others? In this session, we’ll explore how culture shapes communication, decision-making, and what “yes” really means across the globe. Through fun activities and real-world strategies, you’ll gain essential tools to navigate international and cross-cultural negotiations like a pro!

Discover what it means to have an accent and how our accent might communicate and define parts of our identity. 

Students will understand what drives our attitudes towards different accents whilst addressing the important consequences of our biased responses to people who sound a certain way.

This intriguing taster session offers the perfect introduction for students interested in the study of Language and Linguistics at undergraduate level.

Throughout recent decades the Essex accent in particular has become a highly stigmatised accent. But how has that come to be?

Accent bias does not reflect any inherent property about any specific accent, but instead reinforces inequalities in society.

In this taster session, students will learn about accent bias and the long-established hierarchy of how different accents are evaluated in Britain, with particular focus on the Essex accent.

This taster session aims to tackle the common misconception that a linguist is simply someone that knows many languages.

In this session, students will be introduced to the various linguistic fields and, through a mixture of activities and group work, will gain a better understanding of what studying linguistics entails.

This session will also briefly focus on a case study of forensic linguistics, a subfield of linguistics, as well as the requirements to study at an undergraduate level.

A short introduction to signed languages: their features, common misconceptions, and current research. 

This taster session covers a few basic facts about language acquisition and use by Deaf individuals, situated in findings from the last several decades of research. 

Framed as an exploration of common myths surrounding signed languages, students will explore whether sign language is universal, the relationship between BSL and English, and whether children benefit from learning a signed language alongside other therapies.

Are your students intrigued to learn more about the study of linguistics at an undergraduate level? 

This session provides an introduction to the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex and the courses on offer. 

It also offers an introduction to the subject area of linguistics through an interactive quiz. Teachers and students will work through the quiz at their own pace and explore some of the questions that linguistics seeks to answer.

In this session, students will experience a very practical and interactive introduction to learning a new language.

Students will have the opportunity to try out the sounds of a new language, such as Chinese or Arabic, getting an overview of the tonal system and how different characters work.

Your students will leave the session with an insight into studying a language at university and able to speak a few new words!

This taster session looks at language and gender from two different perspectives. 

The first is a focus on the investigation of linguistic differences between the different genders: What have studies found with regards to how men and women speak differently? What controversies have these studies brought to light and how do newer approaches look beyond the binary distinction of man/woman? 

Secondly, students will consider the notion of grammatical gender in different languages and in particular how the calls for gender neutral language, such as non-binary pronouns, have been addressed in different languages and what resistance they have found.

What does the study of a modern foreign language at undergraduate level entail? 

In this taster session, students will focus on the introduction of three skills or processes: interpreting, translating and subtitling.

Students will translate and interpret some sentences from English into one or more modern foreign languages. By the end of the session, students will be able to understand and explain the differences among interpreting, translating and subtitling. They will also be able to identify different types of translation processes and interpreting modes.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world of education had to adjust swiftly to online teaching, a new reality which is quite stressful and even cumbersome for students and teachers alike. 

This session will focus on understanding the notion of wellbeing, how it directly applies to learning and teaching, and how it can be practically cultivated to enable all members of the school community to flourish and thrive.

What do you need to know about the English language to teach it? How do you teach English in a variety of different contexts? Do you want to understand more about the types of contexts English Language teachers work in? Do you want to graduate with a professional qualification as well as a degree? Are you interested in starting a career in TEFL and in English Language Teaching in the UK as well as in international contexts?

This taster session will answer all these questions and more, providing your students with an unforgettable introduction to TEFL.

Students will also discover what a TEFL course entails, including teaching methodology,  guided preparation sessions, and teaching practice - the perfect first step for those preparing for a teaching career.

The study of language acquisition and how children learn to communicate has fascinated linguists for decades, as they strive to identify exactly how this process occurs.

This taster session explores the common patterns available in how children acquire English in the first few years of their lives. Students will focus on the acquisition of how words and word elements (such as plural –s and past tense –ed) can be combined to create larger units – phrases and sentences.

An ideal introduction to linguistics for interested students.

What does it mean to be a speaker of English? What do we mean by English/Englishes? In what different ways can the usage of English vary?

In this intriguing taster session, students will investigate these questions  from both a sociolinguistic and a teaching perspective, enabling them to understand more about regional accent variation, the concept of an ‘International English’ and the inevitability of language variation and change over time.

This session will give your students a memorable taster of the kinds of topics they can study in a linguistics degree at the University of Essex.

This Language and Linguistics Taster session aims to give students a better understanding of a Language and Linguistics degree: different branches of linguistics and how they play a crucial role in our life.

Moreover, the session can help them explore the exciting job opportunities they are able to apply for with a language and linguistics degree. It will also provide brief introduction to Language and Linguistics courses in University of Essex and step-by-step instruction of searching for a suitable course.

The 'evil child' is a popular plot device in films, television, and literature - but what is it that makes audiences so scared? 

This taster session will introduce students to the psychoanalytic and sociological theories that help explain the ubiquity of evil children characters, helping to understand both the audiences' fear and fascination.

Students will also receive an introduction to the undergraduate degrees in Psychosocial and Psychoanalytic Studies, Psychodynamic Practice and Childhood Studies.

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?

This taster session aims to provide students with a brief overview of what psychosocial and psychoanalytic studies is and some of the topics covered when studying this subject at undergraduate level. 

We'll discuss Stroop effect, the different ways people process information and memory. 

What is sociology and criminology and what do those working the field actually do?

Perfect for introducing students to the study of Sociology and Criminology at an undergraduate level, this taster session will provide students with an introduction to the subject and the impact of sociologists on the wider world.

Using key concepts in sociology, including race, class and gender, your students will discuss their relevance in society today and how they have changed over time.