Tara Brabazon podcast

Tara talks with Professor Jennifer Sumsion about the importance of early childhood education. Jennifer's goal is to demonstrate the intellectual power and importance of thinking about early childhood education with rigour, creativity and imagination.

Rural education is often neglected and frequently invisible, being marginalized by the seemingly urgent and volatile conditions within urban environments. Tara Brabazon talks with Dr Kathryn Edgeworth about her research and teaching practice in rural education. They explore the impact of this neglect of the rural, and the transformative capacity of migrants in teaching and learning.

First students in our universities are threatened by the institutional consequences of plagiarism. Yet do teachers spend an equivalent amount of time teaching information literacy as they do frightening students about plagiarism? Tara asks her students how they feel about plagiarism and why it has become such an issue in the contemporary university.

Tara asks her Scholarship students - right at the start of their first year - why they enrolled at the University of Bolton. Their enthusiasm, honesty and belief in the future is inspiring.

Tara talks with students in the University of Bolton Foundation Degree in Art and Design. She asks them what they have learnt about art, education, motivation and learning.

Tara talks with Steve Redhead about Morecambe, a town in the north west of England. Morecambe has many claims to fame, including Eric Morecambe, his statue and remarkable tides. But it is through the Midland Hotel, a stunning Art Deco regeneration, that new reasons to visit the town have emerged. Through reclaiming modernism, Morecambe has modernised.

The Hillsborough disaster remains a deep wound in British - and international - football. When 96 Liverpool supporters died in a semi final 23 years ago, the tragedy continued with blame and shame displaced onto the victims. Tara talks with Steve Redhead about Hillsborough and the recent report that finally tells the truth about a bloody day in sporting history.

In this engaging discussion, Steve Redhead, a Professor with deep expertise in Paul Virilio's work, explores the critical concepts of speed and communication. He highlights how Virilio’s theories can illuminate our understanding of accelerated culture. Redhead argues that first-year students can benefit significantly from engaging with Virilio's insights, especially regarding how contemporary media affects our perception of time and society. The conversation challenges listeners to reconsider the implications of living in a fast-paced world.

Starting a university degree is one of the most exciting moments of our lives. Yet often, that first year is filled with confusion, worry and stress. Tara talks to some of her former students and asks their advice to current first years. They answer one question: if you could do your university degree again, what would you do differently?

In this, the final podcast in their five part series, Katie, Sabera and Tara probe the future of disability support and services in this difficult time for international higher education.