National Teaching Fellowship Scheme - Higher Education Academy

Dr Brendan Stone
Senior University Teacher, School of English
Literature, Language and Linguistics
University of Sheffield
Dr Brendan Stone’s work focuses on developing initiatives which have tangible social impact, and offer
undergraduate and postgraduate students opportunities to develop their experience and knowledge
in practical demonstrable ways. His interdisciplinary expertise centres on the study of how narrative,
and other forms of representation, can illuminate our understanding of wellbeing, mental illness, social
exclusion, community, and social cohesion. He has been influential in supporting and developing the
University’s ‘civic’ identity, and frequently works in partnership with commercial, public-sector and
third-sector organisations.
Brendan has developed several highly innovative initiatives including the Storying Sheffield project, a
central component being a degree module in which undergraduates and residents of the city with
disabilities and/or mental health problems study together at the University. They then stage a public
exhibition of narrative artefacts which examine contemporary urban life. Brendan’s students have also
worked with a variety of groups including older people with dementia in residential care; new women
migrants to the UK; women who worked in the Sheffield steel industry during World War II (from
which the acclaimed student-made Women of Steel film was produced); and school children.
Brendan has developed and led educational projects within a high-security psychiatric hospital, and has
worked extensively with NHS Trusts and local authorities to understand and articulate the benefits of
education to people living with serious mental illness. He has also developed courses in Medicine and
Social Work which require students to engage at a deep and personal level with patients and clients,
and with the conceptual underpinnings of their disciplines, using insights from arts, social science and
medicine. Brendan frequently contributes to, develops, and leads equality and diversity initiatives
including work on mental health and employment, and developing support mechanisms for students
with complex mental health needs.
Leaving school at 16 with few qualifications, Brendan returned to education in his mid-thirties on
a university access course. He has personal experience of long-term disability and unemployment,
and views this non-traditional background as an asset and a major influence in shaping his approach
to his work.
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