The Faculty of English is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to a proactive and inclusive approach to equality, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes an inclusive culture, and values diversity. Here you can find Faculty specific information. More can be found on the University's EDI and Student Support sites.
We recognise that while your time spent here can be wonderful and transformative, it can also be stressful and challenging. Your physical and mental health is of fundamental importance to us and the University offers a variety of sources of support.
The Faculty of English has earned an Athena SWAN bronze award (2024) for our work on advancing gender equality. We are committed to the eight key principles in the Athena Swan Charter and to adopting these principles within our policies, practices, and culture:
You can see the successful application and action plan here:
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The Faculty of English is committed in its pursuit of academic excellence to equality of opportunity and to a proactive and inclusive approach to equality, which supports and encourages all under-represented groups, promotes an inclusive culture, and values diversity.
To achieve that, it is important that all Faculty members feel able to talk about constructions of race, racism, racial inequality and the impact of colonialism in primary texts, secondary criticism and in the institutions within which we work. It is equally important that the language we choose to engage with those issues is reflective and shows sensitivity to the lived experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students and staff within Cambridge.
Even while quoting from a text, using offensive and highly charged terms (such as the n-word) can have a detrimental impact on the ability of BAME students to learn. It can create a hostile learning environment and reinforce stereotype threat by foregrounding negative perceptions about a group of people.
To experience ‘stereotype threat’ is to feel that you are at risk of confirming, as self-characteristic, a negative stereotype about your group through your anticipated performance. This can have a detrimental impact on that performance.
For these reasons, lecturers and supervisors are strongly discouraged from reading out or displaying on presentation slides the n-word and other racial slurs when quoting from a text or discussing it and to carefully consider the educational and emotional impact the use of such language may have. While a case may be made for preserving a quotation in full on a handout for the sake of accuracy, thought should be given to how such quotations are introduced.
When dealing with material that raises issues involving matters of race or ethnicity, you should give careful thought to students’ potential sensitivities and to the way you are using the power dynamic which inevitably pertains to teaching situations. Consider also posting an ‘advisory content’ warning, which should be verbally repeated at the start of the session and again at the moment when difficult material is being aired. You should be prepared to respond to legitimate concerns from students on the handling of such material.
Advance HE has created a Race Literacy Glossary that provides an understanding of terminology around race and ethnicity. This is linked to here to encourage reflection on the vocabulary we might use to talk about race.
Language changes constantly and what was acceptable at one time, may become unacceptable. In choosing language to discuss race and racial inequality, be guided by whether the term is acceptable to members of the groups you are describing, rather than by the practice you are used to or your own personal preferences.
Progressing race equality and tackling racism robustly is one of the University’s key priorities. However, talking about racism can be difficult and you might not always know how to report it. Below is some guidance that aims to make that process easier, it draws on the University’s advice on working towards ‘Race Equality at Cambridge’
If you need any help working out what to do or how to report an incident, you can talk to the Faculty’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Officer in confidence.
The University of Cambridge does not tolerate racial harassment or racial discrimination in any form. Racial harassment is an incident or a series of incidents intended or likely to intimidate, offend or harm an individual or group because of their ethnic origin, colour, race, religion or nationality, and a racist incident is any incident that is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person (MacPherson Report 1999).
Such behaviour may include:
There are different options available to you if you have experienced racial harassment. These are outlined under 'Reporting Options' on the University's Student Support site.
In addition to the reporting options listed above, if you have experienced racism there is an ‘End Everyday Racism’ campaign in Cambridge. This initiative is an independent research project developed by Dr Ella McPherson and Dr Mónica Moreno Figueroa based at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge.
The project aims to develop our understanding of everyday racism with numeric, descriptive and geographic evidence, in order to build a collective case to support antiracism advocacy and social justice activism at the University and further afield.
It differs from the anonymous reporting that the University offers because it asks for more detail with the aim of highlighting how racism is normalised.
The University is dedicated to creating and maintaining a safe, welcoming, inclusive and diverse community which nurtures a healthy environment and culture of mutual respect and consideration, allowing all members to thrive without fear of harassment, bullying, discrimination, sexual violence, abuse, coercive behaviours or related misconduct.
Reporting procedures for students include a complaints procedure where students can request that another student’s behaviour is investigated without formal action being taken; the University disciplinary procedure; and an anonymous reporting option, which enables the University to monitor the number and type of reports and the reasons why those reporting wished to remain anonymous.
You can find full information about how the University prevents and responds to harassment and sexual misconduct on the Student Support pages, including reporting options.
If you need any help working out what to do or how to report an incident, you can talk to the Faculty’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Officer in confidence.
There is a University-wide Buildings Access Guide available which outlines the provision for wheelchair users and those with sensory disabilities in departments and colleges across the University.
In brief, the Faculty of English building (9 West Road) has level access at the main entrance and at the rear of the building, through automatic doors. There are five floors in total, including a basement. A large lift provides access to all floors. All lecture and teaching rooms have level seating and are accessible. There are disabled toilets on all floors except the ground floor.
The main entrance to the Faculty of English Library is on the ground floor of the Faculty building, through two wide manual doors. The Library has three floors, accessible via external lift, but you must arrange for a librarian to open the doors from the inside. (email: english@lib.cam.ac.uk, phone: 01223 335077)
Any student with a Student Support Document will automatically receive access to the recorded lectures for the papers they are studying.
If you are a disabled staff member, the University’s Occupational Health and Safety Service can provide advice and support. It can arrange an occupational health assessment to support you if a disability, impairment or chronic illness may affect your ability to perform your job. An occupational health practitioner will then be able to give advice and recommendations to you and management regarding potential modifications and adjustments to the work environment and/or job design.
You can find further support through the University’s Disabled Staff Network, which welcomes all individuals who work for the University, a College or an associated institution and consider themselves to be a disabled person.
The Faculty receives copies of Student Support Documents from the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC). A Student Support Document (SSD) is a summary of recommendations for supporting and teaching disabled students. It consists of recommendations specific to the student and subject studied, which are concise and focussed. These are sent to seminar leaders where attendance is known in advance. However, an SSD is an advisory, summary document, so if you would like to discuss your needs with seminar leaders in person or with the EDI Officer, please get in touch with them. For lectures where attendance is not known in advance, you should contact the lecturer if you need any adaptation to make their teaching more accessible.
The Faculty will make every effort to meet support requirements, in co-operation with Colleges, the University central administration and the ADRC. Impairments which have been accommodated in the past include dyslexia, visual impairment, restricted mobility and chronic illness.
Where study is interrupted or effected by disability-related circumstances, the College may apply to the Student Registry for examination access arrangements. All personal information is kept completely confidential amongst those members of Faculty who need to be informed.
When planning an event please consider whether it is accessible to all of the intended attendees. This particularly effects events organised in colleges and post-seminar socialising, where the only access to the pub or restaurant is via steps.
There are some simple things that can be done to make sure all staff and students feel welcome.
If you are organising an event, please:
AccessAble provides accessibility information both for the University and many restaurants and pubs in Cambridge.
CUSU have created an ‘Accessibility statement generator’ that will provide clear and concise access information for events.
‘You might think, it doesn’t take long for someone to just send an email to ask [about accessibility] – but if someone has to send an email to ask about every conference panel, meeting, social event, and talk that they attend, that actually does take a lot of time and energy. Even if you can’t make your event accessible, you can actually help just by publicising the fact that it isn’t! Publically accessible information is so helpful. Bear in mind that if no one comes to your seminar or events who seems to you to have a disability, this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to publicise this information because no one needs it – you can’t be sure that someone isn’t coming *because* of this lack of information or accessibility.’ (Respondent to survey)
The Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre provides guidance on inclusive teaching and learning, which is an approach that recognises and values the diversity of students and works with them to optimise the learning experience for all.
The Faculty's EDI Officer chairs the EDI Committee, which reports to Faculty Board, and is responsible for monitoring progress of the Faculty's Athena SWAN commitments. If you are a member of the Faculty seeking advice or support, you are encouraged to contact our EDI Officer, Dr Mina Gorji.
