A diverse and dynamic research culture

Research

The School of Humanities is the largest School in the Faculty of Arts, 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 ofresearchinterests, 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,encompassingcreative 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 presentThe 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.

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.

Research in the Faculty

Our research forms part of the overall research activities and strategies of the Faculty of Arts.

Research Projects

The School is proud to host a number offunded 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.

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.

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