Research
The School of Humanities is one of the larger Schools in the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences, comprising the following departments/subject areas: Classics and Ancient History, English, History, History of Art, Religion and Theology.
Our size means we host a huge range of research interests, from ecological research on the dry valleys of Antarctica to the food rituals of Sri Lankan Buddhism. As you would expect, we work with archives, visual art and historical and literary texts, but our sources also include medieval croziers, video games and hospital blankets. Our research methods are also highly diverse, encompassing creative writing, print setting, and the use of artificial intelligence.
While our research in the School is historically wide-ranging and thematically rich, we share a commitment to the importance of public engagement, the benefits of the humanities as a social good, and the study of the past to inform the present. The School’s research mission, supported by the School Research Director, is to create a research culture where everybody’s research is valued and colleagues are supported to do their best work.
Departmental Research
Our Departments foster lively disciplinary research cultures, host Departmental seminars, and provide a home for staff at all career stages from postgraduate to professor.
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Classics and Ancient History
A pioneer in the field of classical reception in the modern world, with additional strengths in literature and historiography in the Greek and Roman worlds
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English
The Department supports research into the production, transmission, and reception of literatures in English from the UK and around the world, and from the earliest period to the present day
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History
With an emphasis on public engagement, the department has strengths in medieval and early modern history; colonial, global and transnational history; and contemporary history
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History of Art
Providing a significantly wide coverage of art history from the medieval to the contemporary, in the UK, Europe, and beyond
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Religion and Theology
Focusing on research in Buddhism and Judaeo-Christian studies, drawing on textual studies, religious practice, and inter-religious dialogue
Research Centres and Institutes
The five Faculty Research Centre and seven Faculty Research Groups are important meeting points for interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration. Humanities academics are also active participants in the work of the university’s Research Institutes which bring together researchers from across the institution.
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Research in the Faculty
Our research forms part of the overall research activities and strategies of the Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences.
Research Projects
The School is proud to host a number of funded research projects, from the Virtual Reality Oracle Project which brings together classicists, computer scientists and neuroscientists, through Literary Activism in Sub-Saharan Africa, which explores literature as a form of protest and critique in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ugandaand Kenya, to the first holistic cultural history of the medieval Welsh Marches. You can find a full list of all active research projects in the School here.
Active research projects in the School
We are strongly committed to collaboration beyond the University, and colleagues from Humanities are involved in engagement projects as diverse as the Good Grief Festival, the Research Institute for Sociotechnical Cyber Security , and collaboration with Impermanence Dance Theatre.
Active research projects
For a list of current research projects in the school, please see the faculty research website's list of active research projects.
Looking to join us?
Interested in being a visiting researcher?
If you would like to be a visiting researcher at the University of Bristol, please see the School of Humanities' guidelines for visiting researchers, where you will also find an application form.