Being Human: Bath

 News 

National festival celebrating the humanities is coming to Bath

Bath Spa University, Bathscape and Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, are pleased to share an exciting programme of events coming to Bath this November as part of Being Human: Bath. 

As a hub of the national Being Human Festival, we join others across the UK in showcasing the brilliant ways in which humanities subjects and research inspire and enrich our everyday lives.  

Celebrating the festival's 10th anniversary, the theme of ‘Landmarks’ will weave through the rich variety of free inclusive and welcoming events soon to arrive in a city steeped in history, heritage and literary acclaim. 

There’s something for everyone to enjoy, running from Thursday 7 November to Saturday 16 November, the festival brings ‘how to make a picture book’, ‘being otherwise: dancing the pluriverse’, ‘haunting the archives’, and a whole host of ways to immerse yourself in reading during the headline event, ‘Bath Readathon!’, and so much more.  

Rebecca di Corpo, Bath Spa University’s Manager for the Centre for Applied Humanities and Hub Leader said,

“Our Bath Hub programme offers creative interactive events that celebrate intergenerational knowledge, imagination, and place. We are delighted to be spreading the joy of exploring what it means to be human in the world today by bringing this national festival of the humanities to Bath this year.” 

Self-guided, online or at one of our participating venues, the headlining ‘Bath Readathon!’ will see participants set a series of activities inspired by the landmarks of our much-loved city. With everyone choosing their own books, plays, poems and texts to fit the bill, the readathon will help everyone to share their enjoyment of reading, bringing people together from across the city, surrounding areas, and online. 

Senior lecturers of English at Bath Spa University and Bath Readathon! co-leads, Elizabeth Wright and Nicola Presley said,

“We are really excited to share our literary tour of Bath and the Southwest with readers. We hope to create a sense of community and foster a shared love of all things literary with anyone who wants to give it a try.” 

The celebration doesn’t stop there. There is so much more to explore, with events inspired by humanities subjects and academic research at Bath Spa University, as well as celebrating the city the University and its festival partners are proud to call home.   

Lucy Bartlett, Community Projects Officer at Bathscape said,

“We are always looking for new ways to show off Bath’s landmarks. For us, those landmarks are the historic viewpoints into and out of the city, which have inspired generations of artists and writers. Our urban trees are living landmarks and a crucial part of the city’s visual character and residents’ wellbeing.” 

James Hamilton, General Manager at Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution said,

“As an organisation that advocates learning in all shapes and forms, we’re looking forward to welcoming the Being Human Festival to the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution in 2024.” 

This is part of Being Human Festival, the UK’s national festival of the humanities, taking place 7–16 November 2024. Being Human is led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, with generous support from Research England, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. 

Find out more about the programme and sign up for the free Being Human: Bath events.