Tackling Giants

7 October 2020

The Royal Society of Arts have identified the biggest challenges Britain is facing today. The arts and humanities have a key role to play in addressing these ‘Five Giants’; inequality, intolerance, isolation, disempowerment and climate change.

This online research jam, 7 October 2020, seeks to explore and identify how applied humanities can combat and deconstruct these giants. How could your research and discipline challenge the major issues of contemporary society?

The event will offer an opportunity for researchers to develop exciting project ideas that utilise the arts and humanities to combat social issues. Over the course of the day, attendees will reflect on these topics, collaborative conversation will be encouraged, and research design skills practiced.

We welcome MRes and PhD students to this event. We want to foster a collaborative and creative research space that showcases what the future of applied arts and humanities could look like whilst also connecting disciplines.

Read the report of the event

Event Organising Team

Claire Boardman

Facilitator: Disempowerment

PhD Candidate (Archaeology), researching the potential of heritage content and digital storytelling to enhance sense of self, place and community in inner urban neighbourhoods.

alphaeus talks

Facilitator: Climate Change

Masters Student (Archaeology) who specialises in digital bioarchaeology and whose research includes the understanding of past environments and our relationships with climate.

Caitlin Kitchener

Facilitator: Inequality

PhD Candidate (Archaeology) who specialises in 19th century political radicalism and the heritage of protest, political movements, and revolution

Simona Manni

Facilitator: Isolation

PhD Candidate (Theatre, Film, Television and Interactive Media) conducting applied research on non-linear interactive narratives of recovery produced by people with direct experience of mental health problems

callum reilly

Facilitator: Intolerance

PhD Candidate (Archaeology), studying the role of housing, planning and the landscape in achieving social reform during the early-twentieth century.