We're taking part in the Being Human Festival 2019!

TORCH is delighted to support several events as part of the national Being Human festival 2019. 

Being Human is the UK’s only national festival of the humanities. A celebration of humanities research through public engagement, it is led by the School of Advanced Study at the University of London, the UK’s national centre for the pursuit, support and promotion of research in the humanities, in partnership with the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Academy.

Held in November each year, the nationwide festival brings together universities, museums, galleries, libraries, community and commercial partners to stage stimulating and engaging activities that make research accessible and relevant, strengthen community identity, and increase understanding of the relevance of the humanities to everyday life.

Several key events that TORCH is supporting as part of the festival are highlighted here:

• Humanities Light Night: Oxford Research Unwrapped | 15 November 2019 
  Oxford Research Unwrapped will be a spectacular explosion of colour, sound and activity for thousands of people. With a huge video projection onto the 3-storey Radcliffe Humanities building, the public will be amazed by the video co-created by Oxford Humanities researchers and The Projection Studio, world-class projection and sound-artists. There will be activities for all ages led by groups of researchers, who look at everything from 'how do we decipher ancient languages?' to 'what role does maths play in AI?'
   
• Uncomfortable Oxford Tours | 15, 16 & 17 November 2019
  These free tours aims to raise awareness of ‘uncomfortable’ events in Oxford’s history, encouraging discussion about historical legacies which have a lasting impact on the modern environment of the city and University. Topics covered include imperialism, inequality, slavery, gender history, religious diversity, violence, and memorialisation.
   
• Inherited Secrets: What do you really want to know about your DNA? | 14 November 2019
  Advances in science mean that we can now discover a range of potentially life changing facts about our DNA. Would you want to know your chances of getting various diseases in later life? How certain should this information be before you're told? Would this knowledge affect your life choices, or whether you inform your family? In this free event, hosted by Vivienne Parry, three experts will discuss these complex ethical issues. 

   

• Death at Teatime | 23 November 2019
  This free drop-in event aims to encourage wider conversations around death and dying in the UK and overseas. Through exploring both historical perspectives of death and bereavement, through to present day ethical dilemmas; we welcome anyone to come along, enjoy an afternoon tea and enter into the often-taboo discussion of death.

Being Human festival, the UK’s only national festival of the humanities, takes place 14–23 November. Led by the School of Advanced Study, University of London, in partnership with the Arts & Humanities Research Council and the British Academy. For further information please see beinghumanfestival.org.