College of Arts and Law's most read news stories in 2023

1. Hearing ‘bad grammar’ results in physical signs of stress – new study reveals - A new study by professors at the University of Birmingham has revealed for the first time how our bodies go into stress-mode when hearing misused grammar. Professor Dagmar Divjak, Professorial Research Fellow in Cognitive Linguistics and Language Cognition, is principal investigator of the study alongside Professor Petar Milin from the University of Birmingham, and Dr Hui Sun who was working as a postdoctoral researcher on the project at the time.
2. Marvel Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D star and university alumna Elizabeth Henstridge returns to Birmingham - Our 2023 B-Film Annual Lecture welcomed UoB graduate Elizabeth Henstridge, actor-director and star of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Elizabeth talked about her time as a Drama student at the University, including her first time on campus.
3. Police ‘warrior culture’ makes US-style police brutality a UK problem too - Police violence is not just a problem in the United States - it's a reality in the UK and at its core is ‘warrior culture’ among police officers. Dr Tara Li Quinlan, Associate Professor in Law and Criminal Justice, wrote for the Birmingham Brief on the reality of U.K. police violence. 

4. University of Birmingham makes key appointments in Jain Studies - The University of Birmingham has appointed key members of its new team teaching and researching Jainism. The University made three key academic appointments in establishing its new world-leading teaching and research portfolio in Jainism.

5. Change the law to make sexual activity by deception illegal, say experts -  The law must be toughened up to make intentionally deceiving a person into engaging in sexual activity a crime, according to a new report published in January. Professor John Child, Professor of Criminal Law and co-director of the Criminal Reform Now Network, says that the current law is inadequate in several cases.

6. How to spot fake news through journalists’ use of language – study - Grammatical patterns in language use can distinguish between real and fake news stories – potentially helping to combat disinformation, a new study revealed. Professor Jack Grieve, Professor of Corpus Linguistics, and PhD researcher Helena Woodfield revealed a detailed linguistic analysis of the work of former New York Times journalist Jayson Blair.

7. 'Walking the line’ on LGBTQ+ issues does not work for Christian leaders - Three powerful Christian leaders uniting to condemn ethnic violence in South Sudan sends a strong message about Christianity’s moral opposition to hatred. Professor Candida Moss, wrote for the Birmingham Perspective on how a joint visit with three Christian Leaders threw a spotlight on the treatment of LGBTQ+ people in the region.

8. English language pushes everyone – even AI chatbots - to improve by adding - A linguistic bias in the English language leads us to ‘improve’ things by adding to them, a new study revealed. Dr Bodo Winter, Associate Professor in Cognitive Linguistics, with an international research team built on existing research which showed that when people seek to make improvements, they generally add things rather than take away.

9. Live immersive experience only possible with ‘deep pockets’ of creators, report reveals - More than half of creatives who put on live/location-based immersive experiences are having to self-fund performances. Dr Joanna Bucknall, Lecturer in Drama and Theatre Arts, and the Immersive Theatre Network's report revealed that the sector is overly dependent on individuals and lacking in development opportunities and access to funding.

10. Dizzy apes give clues on human drive for mind-altering experiences - Great apes' spinning behaviours could provide clues about the role of altered states for the origins of the human mind. Dr Marcus Perlman, Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics, discovered that Great apes deliberately spin themselves in order make themselves dizzy and the discovery could provide clues about humans’ drive to seek altered mental states.