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Being Human: a festival of the humanities at various locations

At a glance
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Time 12:00
Date 15/11/14
Price Free
  • Produced by Being Human
  • Price FREE
  • Get ready for a festival of academic heavyweights and pop icons.
  • Bring along a crowd to kick-start discussions.
  • Surf to more info
  • See you at Various Locations

Where else can you find novelist, psychogeographer and ‘modern flâneur’ Will Self on the same bill as Al Murray, the nation’s most famous pub landlord?

Welcome, to Being Human, the UK’s first-ever national festival of the humanities, a nine-day event which will also feature an impressive roster of academic heavyweights including AI (artificial intelligence) expert Sir Nigel Shadbolt, poet Simon Armitage and renowned neuroscientist Sir Colin Blakemore.

From 15 November, more than 50 universities will partner with some 120 cultural organisations to stage over 150 free-to-attend public events. They’ll be hosted in museums, in academic institutions and art galleries, in cultural and community centres around the country – and even in pubs and street markets. The aim is to offer a variety of experiences designed to make research accessible, and to demonstrate the role of the humanities in the cultural, intellectual, political and social life of the UK.

These range from a joke-generating computer program to an exploration of the impact of data overload on the human consciousness – as well as an ambitious effort bringing together archaeologists, artists, environmental scientists and the local community to investigate the eroding Orkney coastline. A diverse range of other topics will be covered, including the role of medical humanities; how food affects memory; and a fresh perspective on the life and work of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in the centenary of his birth.

15 - 23 November; full programme here

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