Environmental Humanities – Bath Spa University

How can humanities scholars, artists, writers, natural and social scientists work with each other and public communities to produce ethical, creative, historically informed and culturally sensitive responses to environmental problems?

In this section

About the Research Centre

About

The Environmental Humanities is a new interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary field of research addressed to the cultural dimensions of today's pressing socio-environmental problems, such as resource depletion, environmental injustice, oceanic pollution and acidification, anthropogenic climate change, and escalating extinctions.

Fostering dialogue and debate across the disciplinary divides that separate the arts, humanities, 'social' and 'natural' sciences, Environmental Humanities examine the underlying socio-cultural assumptions, values, and practices that both shape, and are in turn shaped by, particular patterns of human interaction with beyond-human others and our physical environs.

The Bath Spa Research Centre for Environmental Humanities draws together scholars from across the University, including conservation biologists, geographers, anthropologists, philosophers, historians, literary critics, creative writers, film-makers, and visual and performance artists, in pursuit of new insights and creative responses in the face of deepening socio-environmental concerns and crises.

Mission statement

Vision:

The aim of Bath Spa University’s Research Centre for Environmental Humanities is to foster multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary research projects and public engagement activities that bring methodologies and understandings from the arts and humanities into dialogue with social and natural sciences to find ethical, creative, historically informed and culturally sensitive solutions to today’s pressing environmental problems.

Mission:

We seek to create an inclusive and convivial research environment, and to support individual and collaborative research endeavours and public engagement activities among academic staff and graduate students across the University and at all stages of their career development who wish to contribute to advancing the vision of the Centre.

Objectives:

We intend to realise this mission in the following ways:

Supporting individual and collaborative research activities (bidding, researching, writing, publishing, conference participation etc.) through informal conversations, mentoring, and when possible, the provision of small conference/research grants
Creating and sustaining a vibrant research culture in the Environmental Humanities through public lectures, research seminars, symposia, and conferences
Supporting and hosting public engagement activities and helping to enhance research impact
Creating an inclusive Steering Group drawn from representatives from across the University, supported by a smaller management sub-committee to support the Director and Deputy Director to action Steering Group decisions
Developing a world-class, innovative, interdisciplinary MA in Environmental Humanities with strong national and international recruitment
Recruiting excellent PhD students undertaking inter- and transdisciplinary research in the Environmental Humanities, and mentoring them in appropriately constituted multi-disciplinary supervisory teams
Developing links between RCEH and other research groups and centres in the environmental humanities, nationally and internationally
Expanding links between Bath Spa researchers and potential non-HEI research partners, nationally and internationally.

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