School of Literature, Art and Media (SLAM)

At its meeting of 14 August 2006 Senate approved the change of name of the School of English, Art History, Film and Media to the School of Letters, Art and Media. [Senate Minutes 14 August 2006, p,13]In 2009 SLAM was made up of the following Departments: Art History & Film Studies; Digital Cultures, English, Linguistics, Media & Communications, Performance Studies, and Studies in Religion.A review of the School of Letters, Art and Media was conducted in July, 2014. The areas of review ranged from financial management to management of curriculum. The committee’s overall impression was that SLAM was a well-managed school in transition from being a group of loosely affiliated Departments to a cohesive School that was developing a shared strategic direction. The School was internally organised into departments and programs of varying size. It consisted of one large Department, the Department of English, two medium-sized departments “Art History and Film Studies” and “Media and Communication”, the three smaller departments of “Performance Studies”, “Linguistics” and “Studies in Religion” and an organisational unit, The Writing Hub. Recent amalgamations had seen the consolidation of two smaller programs within the School to two of its medium-sized departments: “Museum Studies” with the “Department of Art History and Film Studies” and “Digital Cultures” with the “Department of Media and Communications”. “The Writing Hub” had recently been transferred from the Faculty to SLAM. A program in Film Studies had been created drawing principally on courses in the “Departments of English” and “Art History and Film Studies” in SLAM but also drawing on courses from sister Schools of Languages and Cultures and Philosophical and Historical Inquiry. [DOC2015/66491 School of Letters Arts and Media Review Report 2014]As part of the University's strategic planning 2016-2020, Senate decided at its meeting on 14 December 2015 to reduce the number of faculties from 16 to six, with three additional schools reporting directly to the Provost, to come into effect 1 January 2017. On 12 December 2016 Senate passed the University of Sydney (Governance of Faculties and University Schools) Rule 2016. Under the rule schools are established by the Vice-Chancellor on recommendation of the Provost.In 2017 SLAM expanded and became known as School of Literature, Art and Media and was home to the following departments and programs: Art History, Celtic Studies, English, Linguistics, Media and Communications, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, Museum Studies, Studies in Religion, Sydney College of the Arts, Theatre and Performance Studies, Writing Studies. [SLAMmag, Issue 11, Summer 2017-18]