Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The School of English takes matters of equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) very seriously. For the 2023-24 academic session, the Director of EDI in the School of English is Professor Frances Babbage: f.babbage@sheffield.ac.uk. You are welcome to contact Frances with any questions, concerns or suggestions for positive initiatives in this area. 



The School also has a number of student representatives whose remit is specifically to do with issues around equality, diversity and inclusion. For 2023-24, the EDI student reps are Livia Gregor lmgregor1@sheffield.ac.uk (undergraduates), Renhui Wang rwang125@sheffield.ac.uk and Yanli (Gloria) Wu egp04yw@sheffield.ac.uk (taught postgraduates) and Lois Gill (postgraduate research). Examples of issues previously raised with student reps include decolonising the curriculum, the use of trigger warnings, the accessibility of materials for students with different learning needs. EDI student reps are members of the School’s EDI Committee, which meets once per term and will discuss any issues raised.



Please be aware that if you experience (or witness) harassment, abuse or other forms of violence that require urgent intervention and support, you should call the University’s Security Service on 0114 222 4444. In addition, you are encouraged to make use of the university’s Report and Support system: https://reportandsupport.sheffield.ac.uk/ 

You can report an incident anonymously or by name, and you will not be obliged to provide more information than you choose to give. 


Please use the link above to view the University's Race Equality Conversation handbook 

Personal Pronouns

A new feature has been added to Blackboard which enables students to add their pronouns, and pronunciation of their name in written and audio format, into their user profile. 


This information will be visible to staff and student users within Blackboard module pages on the following features: 

We have created some web page guidance for student users to see how to add this feature into their user profile which can be found in the below links: 

If you have any questions regarding this feature please do contact the Digital Learning Team: artsdigitallearning@sheffield.ac.uk 


How to Change your Gender on Your student Record

If you wish to change your name on your student record as a result of a change of gender, please see the following guidance on the University webpages

How to Inform the Department of your preferred name and pronouns

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities is committed to providing a supportive environment for all of its students, including trans and non-binary students who wish their gender identities to be known and students who use a preferred name different to that on their student record. However, it is the right of the individual to choose whether they wish information about their preferred pronouns and names to be shared with staff.

To support this choice, we have created a process to ensure we are able to capture accurate data about students’ pronouns and preferred names throughout your time at Sheffield. Please note this shouldn't be used for nicknames. Please complete the following online form to notify the department of your preferred name and pronouns.

Please also see the Faculty of Arts and Humanities EDI Hub Pages for further relevant Equality, Diversity and Inclusion information.