News | Wednesday, 27th September 2017

Introducing RAH!: research to shout about

The inaugural Research in Arts and Humanities public programme of events theme is 'Finding Voices'

Forgotten, marginalised and previously untold stories will be highlighted in the inaugural Research in Arts and Humanities (RAH!) public programme of events for 2017-18.

Building on the success of Humanities in Public (HiP), RAH! welcomes Manchester School of Art and Manchester Fashion Institute researchers following the faculty merger in 2016.

Audiences can anticipate fascinating events on writing, history, art, architecture, design, media, film, fashion, politics, philosophy and social science.

The theme of the first RAH! programme in 2017/18 is ‘Finding Voices’, within which fall five thematic strands of ‘Gender and Sexualities’, ‘Representations of Conflict’, ‘Migration and Diaspora’, ‘Creative Geographies’ and ‘Archive Interventions’.

Our new strapline of ‘research to shout about’ is most apt – Manchester Metropolitan University’s Arts and Humanities faculty is home to world-leading research unafraid to challenge accepted wisdom and make a big impact.  

These themes will be explored through a series of public lectures, seminars, film screenings, fairs and shows, discussions, ‘show and tell’ workshops, artist happenings and augmented reality events.

A taste of what audiences can expect includes:

A full list of events from now until the end of this year can be found on the RAH! website, with many more events set to follow for 2018. Follow RAH! on Twitter and Facebook

Professor Berthold Schoene, Arts and Humanities Faculty Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange and Director of RAH!  said: “I am delighted to unveil the programme for the first RAH! programme of events. Our annual public engagement festival is enriched by the involvement of researchers from Manchester School of Art and Manchester Fashion Institute.

“Our new strapline of ‘research to shout about’ is most apt – Manchester Metropolitan University’s Arts and Humanities faculty is home to world-leading research unafraid to challenge accepted wisdom and make a big impact.  

“From its beginnings at a critical time for the humanities in higher education, HiP established itself as a firm fixture in Manchester’s public events calendar, and helped to reassert the value, topicality and relevance of Arts and Humanities disciplines in a time of crisis. I cannot wait to see RAH! build on this and go from strength to strength.”

Success of HiP

Humanities in Public was established in 2012/13 in light of ongoing debates on the value of the humanities within higher education.

The HiP programme has provided a solid platform for many research projects, with the event cited in funding applications and as the basis for building national and international networks of researchers.

It has attempted to answer to some of the most pressing questions of our times; on global issues such as war, death, the environment, sexuality and disability; to matters closer to home during last year’s event series on Greater Manchester and Northern Identity.

Its events have attracted more than 3000 visits a year, spawned standalone festivals such as Gothic Manchester and the Beyond Babel multilingual film festival, won awards and achieved national media coverage.

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