Inaugural Professorial Lectures

• Professor Esther Maccallum-Stewart

Why is Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) experiencing such a massive revival? The UK games industry is worth £5.3bn, 47% of players are under 24 and the most watched show on Twitch is a D&D playthrough. Esther MacCallum-Stewart discusses how and why a 1974 game with too many rules to be playable has become such an essential touchstone of popular culture. Along the way – magical cats, gazebos and games conventions located on top of volcanos all feature in this story of grim and perilous adventure. Roll for initiative!

• Dr Peter Kevern

Faith-based communities are everywhere, and many of them have a reputation for doing ‘good works’. But what is the relationship between being religious and serving the community? At a time when COVID-19 is forcing us to rely more on each other, this lecture will look at research on the difference they may make.

• Stella Jones-Devitt

This inaugural lecture presents a challenge. As Giroux (2013) notes there is a need to invent modes of pedagogy that release the imagination, connect learning to social change and create social relations in which people assume responsibility for each other. Yet why do we find this so difficult in higher education? Stella Jones-Devitt recounts some of her struggles and triumphs along the way in trying to make learning engaging for all, whatever the starting point. Within this lecture, she hopes there will be something useful for everyone, concerning her forays with donkey rides, origami frog-making, osmotic walls, zombies and more.

DNA profiling is an incredibly powerful criminal investigation tool, but it is capable of so much more. This presentation explores the research behind the use of DNA in criminal casework.