Newnham at the Cambridge festivals
***Updated with further information***
Newnham Professorial Fellow Claire Hughes and Dr Sara Baker share insights into children’s emotional development and what works well for families in a session at the Cambridge Festival this spring.
Getting ready for school: tips, stories and fun! is a session for families with children starting primary school or moving up to Year 1, and includes creative art activities, a new picture book designed to help children talk about the ups and downs of school life, and pick up practical tips.
You can find more about the session, 2:30pm-4:30pm on Saturday 28 March, on the Cambridge Festival website: Getting ready for school: Tips, stories & fun! | Cambridge Festival
Bye-Fellow Dr Sarah Lloyd-Fox and former Senior Tutor Terri Apter will talk about Grandparenting: perspectives from across the globe in a session on Sunday 29 March
Dr Apter, author of many books about family relationships, will introduce her new book on grandparenting, which draws on a wealth of multi-generational interviews conducted in the UK and the USA. Then Dr Lloyd-Fox will report on findings from focus groups with grandparents in The Gambia and the UK.
Other speakers share research on ‘left behind’ children in China, and fieldwork with BaYaka hunter-gatherers in the Congo on the role of grandparents in childcare, community organisation and knowledge dissemination. Two NHS colleagues from Addenbrooke’s Hospital will talk about the importance of social stimulation for healthy ageing.
You can book for this afternoon session here: Grandparenting: Perspectives from across the globe | Cambridge Festival
Newnham Fellow Dr Caroline Lansky has curated an exhibition, Seasons of Freedom: Impressions of life in Britain after imprisonment abroad, at the Institute of Criminology, Sidgwick Avenue, from Monday 16 March to Thursday 2 April.
It arises out of research between the University of Cambridge and the charity Prisoners Abroad, and comprises interactive artworks including poetry, spoken word, soft installations, textiles and a zine which capture memorable moments in people's lives since their deportation back to the UK and experiences that have shaped their journeys of pain, alienation, reflection and hope.
Dr Niamh Mulcahy, Special Supervisor in Sociology at Newnham, co-leads the talk Together We Thrive: Communities, research, and resilience in times of instability on 1 April, 6pm, in the Keynes Library at the Cambridge Union. The talk covers economic inequality in Cambridge, which is regularly rated the most unequal city in the UK.
Alongside the knowledge-intensive economy with thriving technology and life sciences sectors there is a lack of secure, mid-tier employment and rising housing prices that increase the cost of living. This talk delves deeper into a research collaboration with charity Abbey People, to understand how community connections are supporting local households and the value of community-based research for local policymaking.
Cambridge Literary Festival
On Thursday 23 April, Newnham College alumna Dame Margaret Drabble will talk at the Cambridge Literary Spring Festival about The books that made me, exploring a lifetime of reading that has shaped one of Britain’s most distinguished literary voices.
From her early years in Sheffield, through her studies at Newnham, to a celebrated writing life, Drabble reflects on the writers, ideas and places that have engaged her imagination. This event draws on her new collection The Great Good Places, a blend of essay, memoir and reflection in which she considers memory, ageing and the formative power of beloved books and environments.
Margaret Drabble | The Books That Made Me - Cambridge Literary Festival
- Photo shows Margaret Drabble at Newnham College