Degrees to Save the World - Humanities

Whether it’s plastics in our oceans or the possibility of war - nearly every decision and its consequence comes from human decisions. By understanding the Humanities we can understand what makes us human and in turn help us to look to the future to make it a better place.

Join us on Campus on Friday 1st July 2022 to learn more about the challenges facing Earth's inhabitants and how, by studying one of these key degree areas, you could help save the world. The day will run from 09.30 – 15.30 and sessions will cover the following degree subjects:

• Philosophy
• English
• History
• Film
• Music

The programme of the day is as follows*:

9.30am Arrival & Registration

9.50am Welcome & Introduction

10am - Session 1

Ethics in a Pandemic - Alex Gregory - Philosophy

The COVID-19 pandemic raises numerous ethical questions long-discussed by philosophers and others. What values should guide us in times like these? Are there any moral principles we can use to decide how to allocate medical care, or when to supply such care at all? This talk will discuss ethical questions about healthcare allocation, such as whether the young should be prioritised over the old, and how we might compare the value of a life with other things.

Or

Words to Save the World - Stephanie Jones - English

‘Risk’, ‘waste’, ‘extinction’: these are some of the key words for understanding our global situation; as ‘care’, ‘resilience’ and ‘sustainability’ are just a few of the terms we need to address it. But what might these words really mean? These are pieces of language that carry different meanings in diverse contexts and are themselves the subject of often fierce argument. This talk will introduce you to some of these debates and so to the critical role of rhetoric in troubling times

Or

Food Stories & Cultures : Why do they matter? - Marion Demossier – Modern Languages

The session will explore with participants how food stories contribute to a wide range of social relations and senses of belonging. It will discuss how places, people and experiences connect with each other to shape the multilingual and multicultural experiences of being human in an increasingly complex world. It will introduce participants to food ethnography as a skilled mode of enquiry relying on observation, listening and translation skills as well as reflective learning.

11am - Session 2

The East India Company: The corporation that globalised Britain - John Mcaleer - History

This talk situates today’s world of global connections and multinational corporations in its historical context by considering an early example of globalisation in action: the East India Company. By introducing a range of coveted commodities to European consumers, this commercial organisation changed the lives of millions of people around the world. In Britain, it affected what we eat, what we drink, the clothes we wear, and the language we speak. And in India, the Company laid the foundations of the British Empire in the subcontinent. What are the legacies of the Company? What does this example tell us about corporate responsibility? And how might a better understanding of the history of globalisation inform the decisions we make in the future?

Or

Are Robots Coming for My Gigs? Musical Work in the Age of AI - Kieron Owen– Music

Fully automated music performance, composition and production have reached every day musical life. Not only do Machine Learning agents steer you to the music they imagine you like on your favourite streaming services. Now they are beginning to make the tracks you hear. Some musicians fear for their jobs. In this session you will learn to listen to your music in a new way, understand the behind-the-scenes technology that is shaping it and imagine a sustainable future for musical work in a world where machines make music that sounds human.

12pm - Lunch

12.45pm - Session 3

Stories for Environmental Literacy - Stephanie Jones - English

How do we understand our environment? By studying the complex interactions between species and local habitats? Or considering the larger forces that shape our globe? Or by concentrating on the impact of human behaviours on nature? These are all important approaches to understanding the environment; and all of them require us to exercise our imagination. This talk is about one of the most powerful ways in which we exercise our imaginations to achieve environmental literacy—storytelling.

Or

Film & The Environment - Malcolm Cook & Nina Halton-Hernandez - Film

Film is crucial to thinking about the environment and our present climate crisis. Making and watching films, whether in cinemas or streamed on television or other devices, has a substantial environmental footprint. Moving images have long been utilised by petroleum and fossil fuel companies as part of their business activities or to influence public opinion. Cinema has shaped our very idea of the environment, from the earliest travelogues to present day nature and wildlife shows. Eco-narratives in cinema force us to contemplate the potential futures resulting from climate change. Do documentary, experimental, and activist films have the capacity to inform and enact change in our behaviours and attitudes? This talk will get you thinking about how understanding and making films can address the most pressing issue of our time.

1.45pm - Session 4

Data Environmentalism: humanities insights for clean computing - James Baker – Digital Humanities

Data is material. It is produced by people, it is made possible by resource extraction, it needs power to survive, it inhabits and resculpts the landscape. The use of data, then, contributes to climate catastrophe. But that role can be hard to see, hidden as it often is by a veneer of utopian hype. We in the humanities don't design computers or data systems for a living. But, as this talk will discuss, our insights on the histories and cultures of computing media, of where and from whom its utopian hype comes from and the impacts it creates, can positively change how computers are used and the environmental futures we create.

Or

Using History as a Counterterrorism Tool - Christopher Fuller – History

Terrorist organisations constantly seek to develop new tactics and methods to exploit gaps in our security. They learn from their predecessors’ successes and failures, making their violent art one of constant evolution. Meanwhile, those working in our security services are charged with the challenging task of staying one step ahead, pre-empting these security flaws and addressing them before harm can be done. The discipline of History has proven indispensable in aiding this pursuit, revealing how and why terrorism has changed, and offering vital insights into what might come next. This talk will examine how terrorism has evolved over the last century and ask you to consider, based upon these patterns, what might be coming next?

2.45pm – Break

3pm - Summary – Q&A

3.30pm – End of Event

*This programme may be subject to change due to staff availability and other limitations. The final programme will be confirmed shortly before the event.